Come Dine With Ralph Trivia Quiz

Answer: Overripe berries can intoxicate the waxwing, sometimes leading to death

Bohemian waxwings can be found in Asia, Europe and North America, and are so named because of their red-tipped wings.

These birds have been known to eat insects and flowers, but are almost totally dependent on berries. They are not too particular about the ripeness of the berries they eat, which is why some have been observed getting "drunk" after eating overripe fruit which they pluck from branches. Bohemian waxwings often feed in groups and will pass fruit to one another.

This course has been served up by doublemm.

Answer: Horned lizard

The decrease in the harvester ant population has been blamed for the decrease in the horned lizard population as the ants make up the bulk of the lizards' diet. Not only do the ants face competition from imported South American ants, but their population has also been decimated by pesticides. In turn, the horned lizards have also suffered since they don't eat the imported ants. Once a common sight even in suburban areas, the lizards are now considered threatened in some regions of their native southwestern United States habitat - a sad example of how a decline in one species affects another.

PDAZ used to have horned lizards in her yard when she was a little kid, but she sadly hasn't seen one in years.

Answer: Dirt

Geophagy refers to the eating of dirt. A number of birds, including Australian sulphur-crested cockatoos, regularly eat soils with a high clay content. The exact reason for their inclusion in the birds' diet is not clear, but tests on the soils which birds have been observed ingesting show that the soils contain minerals such as calcium and sodium which can be absorbed by the birds. They also have the capacity to absorb some alkaloid compounds that may otherwise pose some health risk to the birds. Both of these may explain the observed geophagy in some avian species.

Ralph tasted the clay, and agrees with Looney_tunes that a multi-vitamin pill is a more pleasant source of minerals.

Answer: Zooplankton

The box jellyfish is certainly a guest whom Ralph would not want to anger. Known for being one of the most poisonous creatures on the planet, the box jellyfish (even one the size of a fingernail) can cause fatal stings in a swimmer of any size. Dangerous creatures, they rely on small fish and zooplankton for their sustenance and they use their stingers to catch their prey. Box jellyfish are typically found in tropical waters like those found in Hawaii and Australia. Perhaps zooplankton spread on the back of some Melba Toast would be a wise choice...what side is the back side anyways?
Ralph has no time to ponder this. Too many guests, too little time!

This meal was brought to the table by Kyleisalive.

Answer: The young feed on crop milk for up to a year.

Crop milk is used to feed the young for up to the first two weeks of their life. Crop milk is the consistency of cottage cheese and is packed with protein and fat. It is felt that the constant calls of the newly hatched birds stimulate the production of crop milk so that any adult hearing the call may be able to satisfy the hunger of the youngster. Flamingos share the ability to produce crop milk with the pigeon and dove family of birds.

Ralph and maninmidohio hope that the nursery feedings will be done away from the dinner table.

Answer: They washed it

Japanese macaques, sometimes called snow monkeys, have learned to wash their food before eating it, a habit they share only with man and raccoons. Furthermore, while the macaques often wash their food simply to clean it, they sometimes wash it in seawater to add salt. As well as washing sweet potatoes, the macaques also wash wheat to remove dirt and sand. This behaviour was first observed in 1952 when researchers left sweet potatoes on the sand for the monkeys to eat. The monkeys appeared to find the gritty sand unpleasant but a female named Imo discovered that she could remove the sand by dipping the potatoes in a stream. Imo then taught her mother how to wash the food, and gradually most of the troop acquired the habit.

The macaques in the mountains of Honshu, the largest Japanese island, are also known for taking hot baths in geothermal springs, a practice that they have only adopted since 1963. Young macaques also make and throw snowballs for fun. Flopsymopsy and Ralph wonder if they'll take up skiing any time soon!

Answer: The north Sulawesi babirusa

The babirusa is omnivorous and will eat just about anything, though its diet is mainly made up of fruit. Toxins within the fruit are consumed in such quantities that the babirusa *should* experience significant health problems. However, these creatures have learnt that drinking clay from nearby "clay lakes" acts to detoxify much of the food they consume.

The teeth of the male babirusa are its most striking feature, as the canines grow so large that they erupt from the skull, just below the eyes. These serve no practical purpose in feeding and are instead used to establish male dominance.

Doublemm and Ralph agree that the babirusa will not be receiving an invite to any future get-togethers.

Answer: Eggs

The Westermann's snake, aka the Indian egg eating snake, can be found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. There is a related genus of African egg eating snakes. Both live up to their name and feed exclusively on eggs. As they have no teeth, they swallow the eggs whole and break them open using a protruding part of the spine.

Glendathecat sides with Ralph in preferring his eggs sunny-side up.

Answer: Krill

There are many interesting facts about the giant coconut crab found on a few islands in the Pacific. It is one of the largest arthropods in the world with some having been measured up to 40cm long, and weighing up to 4kg. Its 'legs' may span up to 1m across. It does not live in water, and will in fact drown. Its gills have undergone an adaptation so that although they need to keep moist, they perform the function of lungs and so are unable to breathe under water.
Seeing as krill is only found in the water, the poor old giant coconut crab is unlikely to include that in its diet.
As for Exit10 and Ralph, they're not particularly fond of coconuts anyway.

Answer: It eats its own wings

The safest way for Ralph to make sure that this behaviour does not happen is to invite an adult cricket, who is at least two days old, to the dinner party.

Short tailed crickets develop from egg, to nymph, to adult. When the nymph transforms into the adult, a pair of hindwings are present, but they are not fully developed. During the first twenty four hours these hindwings are broken off at the base and eaten by the cricket.

Ralph and EmmaF2008 are glad that they didn't have a similar rite of passage to become an adult!