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Your Animal Questions Answered!

Ever wondered why dolphins jump out of the water, why cats knead or why bats sleep upside down? Well look no further as we have tackled some of the most common and slightly obscure questions about your favourite animal species to give you the answers you have been looking for! Why do giraffes have black tongues? A giraffes tongue (which is up to 21 inches in length) is thought to be black in colour to protect it from sunburn. Giraffes spend a large part of their day feeding in the hot African sun and it is thought that without the dark colouration, their tongues would be easily burnt! Why do fish have scales? The scales of fish are bony in structure and overlap one another to cover the whole body. These scales provide much needed protection for their soft bodies whilst also allowing them to move freely through the water! Amazingly, the rings on the scales of fish also actually indicate their age! Why do monkeys groom each other? At first glance you would ...

British Moth Species

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Of all the flying insects found in the UK, butterflies are among the most spotted and photographed as most people are often delighted by the sight of these brightly coloured creatures fluttering amongst our plants and flowers in the garden. What about their less colourful and well-known cousins the moths though? Well, here are a few things you may not know about moths in the UK.
Traditional moth guides tended to concentrate solely on certain moth species that are known as macro-moths, with around 800 British species identified and documented. However, the true number of moth species found in the UK is actually much higher with over 2,400 species of moth having been recorded here.
Despite their very similar appearance there are actually big differences between moths and butterflies. Moths often have thick antennae which are straight and feathery in appearance and unlike butterflies, they are most active under the cover of night preferring to rest during the day in habitats such as woodland where their earthy-coloured wings easily camouflage them.
One of the easiest ways to identify the difference between moths and butterflies is that when butterflies stop flying, they tend to rest with their wings together but moths in rest have their wings flat in order to maximise on their camouflage. Like butterflies, moths feed primarily on the nectar from flowers which they do by using their long tongues (depending on the species, this can actually be longer than it's body).
If you are keen to look at moths then venturing into the garden after dusk can be very successful. By looking in moth identification books you will be well on your way to identifying the species you find, and it might also be a good idea to keep an eye out for caterpillars that can then be identified by books and online.

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