For young readers: Poems about the various small, astonishing creatures we share the planet with
The stick insect’s trick
Stick and leaf insects are fantastic mimics. They look like parts of a tree or shrub. Some even have eggs that look like seeds! But they don’t seem to know what a great disguise they have, because they drop to the ground and lie very still when approached. More than 2500 species of leaf and stick insects have been named, but there may be many more waiting to be discovered by a patient entomologist.
The stick insect can roam at large
Because of its fine camouflage
The sharpest eye cannot suspect
That this twig’s actually a live insect!
Behind its well-designed disguise
Which even stumps predator eyes
It wanders ’bout with perfect ease
Both on the ground and tops of trees!
Unafraid of man or beast
Relaxed and free, to say the least
Invisible to every foe
From chameleon to jungle crow!
I wish that I could learn this trick
Of simply looking like a stick
A good escape from people who
You’re not so very keen to view!
Mother snake’s problem
Most snakes lay eggs. Some have living young. Larger snakes like pythons can lay over 100 eggs, but the average rat snake or water snake will lay ten or 20 leathery shelled eggs. Usually, rat burrows or other holes serve as nests for snakes, but king cobras...
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