Kids Encyclopedia

Australian Frilled Lizard — The Frill-necked Lizard, or Frilled Lizard also known as the Frilled Dragon, (Chlamydosaurus kingii) is so called because of the large ruff of skin which usually lies folded back against its head and neck. The neck frill is supported by long spines of cartilage, and when the lizard is frightened, it gapes its mouth showing a …

Anaconda — Anacondas are four species of aquatic boa inhabiting the swamps and rivers of the dense forests of tropical South America. The Yellow Anaconda can be found as far south as northern Argentina. There are two possible origins for the word ‘anaconda.’ It is perhaps an alteration of the Sinhalese word henakandaya, meaning ’whip snake’, or alternatively, the Tamil …

Alligator — An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The name alligator is an anglicized form of the Spanish el lagarto (“the lizard”), the name by which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. There are two living alligator species: the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and the Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis). …

Sawfly — Sawflies make up the suborder Symphyta, a group of largely phytophagous insects in the order Hymenoptera. This group is an artificial assemblage of superfamilies (the overall group is paraphyletic), but the name is still in common use, and treated as a suborder, though it seems likely it will be phased out in future classifications. These superfamilies are regarded …

Silkworm — The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of Bombyx mori (Latin: “silkworm of the mulberry tree”), the domesticated silkmoth. A moth in the family Bombycidae, it is very important economically as the producer of silk. It is entirely dependent on humans for its reproduction and no longer occurs naturally in the wild. Silk culture has been practised for …

Springtail — Springtails (Order Collembola) form the largest of the three orders of modern hexapods that are no longer considered to be insects (along with the Protura and Diplura). The three orders are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have internal mouthparts, but they do not appear to be more closely related to one another than …

Stick Insect — The Phasmatodea are an order of insects, whose members are variously known as stick insects (in Europe), walking sticks (in the United States of America), ghost insects and leaf insects. The name is derived from the Greek “phasma” meaning an apparition or phantom, and refers to the resemblance of many species to sticks or leaves. Some species …

Tarantula — Tarantula is the common name for a group of “hairy” and often very large spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae, of which approximately 900 species have been identified. Tarantulas hunt prey in both trees and on the ground. All tarantulas can emit silk, whether they be arboreal or terrestrial species. Arboreal species will typically reside in a silken …

Termite — Termites, sometimes known as white ants, are a group of social insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera. Termites usually prefer to feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, or soil, and about 10% of the 4,000 odd species (about 2,600 taxonomically known) are economically significant as pests that …

Thrips — Thrips (Order Thysanoptera) are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings (thus the scientific name, from the Greek thysanos (fringe) + pteron (wing)). Other common names for thrips include thunderflies, thunderbugs, storm flies and corn lice. Thrips species feed on a large variety of sources both plant and animal by puncturing them and sucking up the contents. A large …