Insect and Spider Mania II Trivia Quiz

Answer: Its own egg case.

Although caterpillars don't always eat their egg's case, most of the time they do. After a caterpillar hatches and eats its egg case, the next meals are only of the plant on which their mother chose to lay her eggs. Some caterpillars do also eat other insects.

Answer: The Queen Alexandra's Birdwing

The Queen Alexandra's Birdwing often measures around 28 cm across its wings.
This huge butterfly is found in the lowland coastal rainforest in New Guinea and has found itself on the US endangered species list as it is under threat because its rainforest habitat is constantly shrinking due to palm oil plantations that are being created there.

Answer: Hercules moth

This huge moth has a wingspan of up to 27 cm and is among one of the largest moths in the world. Hercules moths are found in North Queensland and Papua New Guinea. The caterpillar of this moth has been known to grow longer than 100 mm long. After mating and egg-laying the female dies as it has no mouth parts so it is unable to eat anything.

Although the Atlas moth is the largest in the world, it is not found in Australia. The Atlas moth is found in jungles of Southeast Asia.

Answer: Cuckoo bee

Just like the Cuckoo bird which lays its eggs in another bird's nest, Cuckoo bees lay their eggs in the nests of other bees. Cuckoo bees also are well known for stealing honey and pollen collected by other species of bees which means that they are a kleptoparasite (an animal that steals prey or anything else from another).

Answer: True

Centipedes have fangs, which are specialised limbs from the first body segment.
The fangs that a centipede has contain the opening to a pair of venom glands. Centipedes are found all over tropical and temperate climates. The venom of a centipede is highly toxic and is potent enough in some centipedes to produce severe reactions in humans and has been known to have killed at least one human.
The largest species of centipede in the world that is alive today is the Amazonian giant centipede which has been known to have grown to over 40 cm and has been known to have eaten rodents and spiders.

Answer: Spider silk

A spider's web is made out of silk which is mainly made up of proteins. Silk leaves a spider's body as a liquid then hardens rapidly once it is exposed to the air. Silk can stretch to about one third more than its length then once it has been stretched beyond what it is capable of it breaks and goes back to its size before it was stretched. Spider silk is produced in glands that are inside of the spider's abdomen.

The spider has different glands inside of its body which can make different kinds of silk for different purposes such as to make egg sacs, line shelters and of course to make a web.

Answer: They fight and the victor gets the losers babies.

After the victor eats the vanquished and has allowed all the young to climb onto her back from the now dead parent, the young spiders stay clinging onto the back of that spider for up to six months with her original babies. These species of spider are found in a variety of habitats, ranging from dry shrublands to wet coastal forests.

These species of spiders aren't usually aggressive, but during mating season can become a little aggressive. If bitten by this spider, the victim usually just becomes itchy around the bite but in rare cases nausea can occur.

Answer: They breathe using air trapped in the hairs of their abdomen.

Water spiders are frequently found along the sides of fresh or brackish water or in the water running across the surface. These spiders feed on floating insects but have been known to eat things such as tadpoles, fish and small frogs. These spiders don't make webs. Just like most species of spider, the male of this species is smaller than the female being around 15-20mm in body size and the female of this species being 20-30mm in body size.

This spider can be very aggressive if startled and can give a very painful bite but the venom of this spider is quite mild so symptoms usually are just mild swelling.

Answer: The size of a small postage stamp.

The net-casting spider makes a rectangular framework of dry silk, then fills in the "net" with very sticky silk with its hindlegs. The net of this spider can stretch up to around 10 times its original size as it is very flexible and strong. When a net-casting spider has eaten its prey, it may eat its net for a quick protein boost as the net is very high in protein.

Answer: By sending out odours that insects find attractive.

The odours that a bird-dropping spider makes lure things like moths closer because they find the smell attractive. Once the moth or another insect comes closer the bird-dropping spider pounces at the insect. These interesting spiders are found throughout most of Southern and Eastern Australia and can be found in suburban gardens but are often not seen as they are often mistaken as bird droppings. Like most spiders, the female is significantly larger than the male with the female of this species body being around 12mm while the male being just around 3mm in body size.