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Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Dung beetle

I am your typical kind of girl who screams and jumps at the nearest sight of insects. I would avoid all costs of being on the same ground as the menacing creature. If there are no other alternatives, I would jump and cling on to the person right next to me - *ahem* I only do that to certain people though :P The fact is, most of us, at least the girls, react this way at the sight of beetles, roaches, lizards, or whatever bug that flies and makes this threatening, buzzing noise. Even so, some of us just don't like to talk about the subject - insects. They are perceived as disgusting, harmful, weird, creepy crawlies. I cannot deny the fact that I would kill any bug standing in my way (if I had the tools and if I am capable of doing so).

However, insects and bugs being featured on educational programs have a different impact on us. Since it is not live and crawling right in front of our feet, we do not feel the same fear. Ironic, eh? In fact, we become awestruck while watching and learning how these creatures go about their daily lives. The things that they do, the stuff that they eat (yuck) and the way they hunt - it is just amazing to know how these creatures who seem so disgusting and dangerous are actually important to our lives. Muahaha...not mosquitoes though or flies...I HATE THEM. THEY OUGHT TO BE EXTINCT.

I was watching The eXtreme on Animal Planet last night. It was a countdown on extreme creatures who have an enormous, and not to mention, weird appetites too. One interesting feature, who was topped fourth on the list, was the dung beetle. Haha! You're right! They eat dung, alright. God, you should have seen the way they eat it. Eew. To us, we don't even want to smell dung but to these guys...whoa...they swarm their "food" at the mere "scent" of it!

Ehehehe...they even fight for dung. Phew! Such a different world it is out there. Yet, we are all living on the same planet! And their eating habits are actually of great help to the environment. What do you expect if someone so willingly eats poo up for ya? They are cleaning machines! Not only do they eat shit, but they also use it to lay their eggs so that the larvae will have a reasonable amount of food for it to grow. The dung beetles use their legs and mouth to shape up "fresh" poo into a huge circular ball. Then, they begin to roll it to their underground nest. The female beetle will then lay her eggs inside the dung ball.

I have to admit it was so exciting to watch them on TV. But I would smack one dead right away if I see one. Or, at most, I would just run and let my sister catch it to be her playmate - yucks. And I did not know ants were actually poisonous. Well, how is this true? Dart frogs feed on ants and dart frogs are the most poisonous creatures on earth. So, weird but true, they got their poisonous venoms from their heavy appetite of poisonous ANTS!!! Gosh, I often see trails of tiny ants in the kitchen...in the living room...in the bathroom...yikes! Their venom can be 25 times more than the cobra's sting! Whoa...I really love this channel. It is like my daily feed of rice hehe :P Never ever ever ever hold a dart frog if you see one. Hehe, it is colourful and pretty, but you know...looks can be deceiving...and that applies to lots of cases in our daily human lives as well :) Good lesson to be learnt!

Yun @ 3:28 AM | |

about me

Home: KL, Malaysia
School: U of A

I am someone who frets a lot - I call it a psychological disorder. I am constantly trying to escape my complex mind which, very often, drives me and my close companions to the edge of insanity. Born under the sun star Libra, I am greatly affected by a disease called "indecisiveness". Nicknames were never part of my dictionary until I met some people who decided to name me "turtle". Soon, I was representing a zoo of hamsters, "sotongs", pigs, cats, etc...

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