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	Home Videos Photos Press Articles Animals Writing Classes Bellydance Pilates Yoga Contact	Names And Faces © Despina Rosales, 2007 First published in The School Magazine (Blast Off, April 2007, Vol. 92, No. 3) Names And Faces: TEXT or PDF Illustrations by Kerry Millard IMPORTANT NOTE: Teachers and parents, feel free to print out my stories, poems or articles to use in class or at home. But please point out to the children that referring to animals as "it" - as I did in these articles - is wrong. Animals should not be given the status of a thing ("it") but rather of a living being ("he" or "she"). I know better now and would like kids to learn from my mistake. Here we are again at CCC: the Creepy Crawly Convention! The theme for this year is Names and Faces. So we're talking to everyone about how their name relates - or doesn't relate - to their looks. First up, we've got the Ladybug. "That's right. Ladybug. Sometimes we're called Ladybirds, but as you can see I'm not a bird - I'm a beetle. There's still a problem with the 'lady' part of my name, because although there are female Ladybugs, I myself am not." Hmm...seems like there should be some rethinking of your name, Ladybug. Now let's chat to the most religious insect of all: the Praying Mantis. "The way I hold my front legs up and together makes it look as though I'm praying - hence my name. But I've got a confession to make: I’m not really praying at all. I wouldn't even call myself religious." A secret revealed. You heard it first here at the CCC! Let’s move into the Moth Division. Hi you two. Tell us a bit about your names. "I’m called a Snout Moth because of the short 'snout' on the front of my head. But it's not a real snout, so I'm in no way related to the pig or anything." "I’m a Skipper Moth. My name doesn't come from what I look like, but from what I do. I dart about when I fly, and it looks as though I'm skipping." And here's a talented arthropod for you. "Nice to see you, pal!” Tell us about your name, Grasshopper. “Grasshoppers like myself have large wings and we do fly. We also jump - not hop! So the name should really be Grassjumper, if it were to be truly accurate." Another misnomer discovered. Now for the insect world's brightest star - the Firefly. "A Firefly like myself isn't really on fire. Nor do I do anything like breathe fire. But what I do have are luminous organs on my abdomen that make flashes of cold green light.” Thanks for the glowing report, Firefly! Okay, let’s talk about wasps. Speak to me, big fella! "Well, my name is self-explanatory." That's a funny name for a wasp! "No, no. What I mean is, I'm called a Mammoth Wasp, and that's because I’m mammoth! The biggest among us can grow up to 5.5 centimetres. And that's mammoth for a wasp!" What about you, Velvet Ant? “Yes, I might be a wasp, but I’m called a Velvet Ant. Now, for starters, no part of me is made of velvet - though females like myself have soft, velvety hairs. And I'm also not an ant - but though we females do look like a little like ants due to our winglessness. i guess that's how we ended up with the second part of our name." Well, well, well! If it isn’t my many-legged friend, the Centipede. How many legs do you really have? "The name 'centipede' implies that we have 100 feet - or legs. But the fact is most centipedes have about seventy. Some have as few as 30 legs, and others have hundreds of legs!" That clears that up...I think. In which case, do you, Millipede, truly have a thousand legs? "Despite our name, no known millipede has a thousand legs. The most any of us have is about 750 legs - which makes us the creature with the most legs in the world!" Wow! Time to visit the spiders. Let’s start with the daddy of all spiders: Daddy Longlegs. "We're actually not big spiders, as such: the longest among us only grows up to 14 millimetres. Most of that length is leg, hence our fitting name. Having said that, the 'daddy' part of the name does not really suit the females among us." How about you, little buddy? "I'm a Dwarf Spider. As the name suggests I’m a very small arachnid. You'll never find one of us that grows more than a centimetre long." I'd better be careful where I step, in that case. How about you two? "My name is Crab Spider.” “And I’m Spitting Spider.” “I don’t look like a crab, but I often use a crab-like sideways movement to walk around." "I'm called a Spitting Spider because I squirt two zig-zag streams of sticky, glue-like substance to stick my prey down." I see...well you're looking a little hungry right now, so I think it might be time for me to go.

Names And Faces
© Despina Rosales, 2007
First published in The School Magazine (Blast Off, April 2007, Vol. 92, No. 3)
Names And Faces: TEXT or PDF
Illustrations by Kerry Millard

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Teachers and parents, feel free to print out my stories, poems or articles
to use in class or at home. But please point out to the children that referring
to animals as "it" - as I did in these articles - is wrong. Animals should not be
given the status of a thing ("it") but rather of a living being ("he" or "she").
I know better now and would like kids to learn from my mistake.

Here we are again at CCC: the Creepy Crawly Convention! The theme for this year is Names and Faces. So we're talking to everyone about how their name relates - or doesn't relate - to their looks. First up, we've got the Ladybug.

"That's right. Ladybug. Sometimes we're called Ladybirds, but as you can see I'm not a bird - I'm a beetle. There's still a problem with the 'lady' part of my name, because although there are female Ladybugs, I myself am not."

Hmm...seems like there should be some rethinking of your name, Ladybug. Now let's chat to the most religious insect of all: the Praying Mantis.

"The way I hold my front legs up and together makes it look as though I'm praying - hence my name. But I've got a confession to make: I’m not really praying at all. I wouldn't even call myself religious."

A secret revealed. You heard it first here at the CCC! Let’s move into the Moth Division. Hi you two. Tell us a bit about your names.

"I’m called a Snout Moth because of the short 'snout' on the front of my head. But it's not a real snout, so I'm in no way related to the pig or anything."

"I’m a Skipper Moth. My name doesn't come from what I look like, but from what I do. I dart about when I fly, and it looks as though I'm skipping."

And here's a talented arthropod for you.

"Nice to see you, pal!”

Tell us about your name, Grasshopper.

“Grasshoppers like myself have large wings and we do fly. We also jump - not hop! So the name should really be Grassjumper, if it were to be truly accurate."

Another misnomer discovered. Now for the insect world's brightest star - the Firefly.

"A Firefly like myself isn't really on fire. Nor do I do anything like breathe fire. But what I do have are luminous organs on my abdomen that make flashes of cold green light.”

Thanks for the glowing report, Firefly! Okay, let’s talk about wasps. Speak to me, big fella!

"Well, my name is self-explanatory."

That's a funny name for a wasp!

"No, no. What I mean is, I'm called a Mammoth Wasp, and that's because I’m mammoth! The biggest among us can grow up to 5.5 centimetres. And that's mammoth for a wasp!"

What about you, Velvet Ant?

“Yes, I might be a wasp, but I’m called a Velvet Ant. Now, for starters, no part of me is made of velvet - though females like myself have soft, velvety hairs. And I'm also not an ant - but though we females do look like a little like ants due to our winglessness. i guess that's how we ended up with the second part of our name."

Well, well, well! If it isn’t my many-legged friend, the Centipede. How many legs do you really have?

"The name 'centipede' implies that we have 100 feet - or legs. But the fact is most centipedes have about seventy. Some have as few as 30 legs, and others have hundreds of legs!"

That clears that up...I think. In which case, do you, Millipede, truly have a thousand legs?

"Despite our name, no known millipede has a thousand legs. The most any of us have is about 750 legs - which makes us the creature with the most legs in the world!"

Wow! Time to visit the spiders. Let’s start with the daddy of all spiders: Daddy Longlegs.

"We're actually not big spiders, as such: the longest among us only grows up to 14 millimetres. Most of that length is leg, hence our fitting name. Having said that, the 'daddy' part of the name does not really suit the females among us."

How about you, little buddy?

"I'm a Dwarf Spider. As the name suggests I’m a very small arachnid. You'll never find one of us that grows more than a centimetre long."

I'd better be careful where I step, in that case. How about you two?

"My name is Crab Spider.”

“And I’m Spitting Spider.”

“I don’t look like a crab, but I often use a crab-like sideways movement to walk around."

"I'm called a Spitting Spider because I squirt two zig-zag streams of sticky, glue-like substance to stick my prey down."

I see...well you're looking a little hungry right now, so I think it might be time for me to go.

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

SAY NO TO PUPPY MILLS! SAY NO TO ANIMALS IN PETSHOPS! SAY NO TO BREEDERS!

At Say No it's estimated that 130,000 dogs and 60,000 cats are killed every year in Australia because there are not enough homes for them all. And the global numbers amount to millions upon millions every single year.

Puppy mills are a major contributor to the terrible problem of overpopulation. Puppy mills are essentially 'dog factories' where dogs are forced to churn out litter after litter, with no thought for the welfare of the dogs and all thought for profit. The dogs live in appallingly dirty, cramped conditions all their lives, and when they no longer serve their purpose they're killed, dumped or sold for cruel and painful medical testing.

Petshops fit into the picture because puppy mills are generally where petshops get their animals from. Furthermore, having animals in shop windows encourages impulse purchases, and adding an animal to your family should be a conscious, careful decision - NOT one to be made while shoe shopping.

Breeders contribute enormously to the tragic statistics above too. And it doesn't matter whether they're professional breeders or backyard breeders, and whether they breed for profit or not, because while there are homeless animals sitting on death row in shelters, any and all animal breeding is utterly irresponsible.

For all these reasons, adopting from a rescue organisation is a far better (and more compassionate) choice than getting an animal from a puppy mill, petshop or breeder. (And remember that desexing is an integral part of being a responsible animal guardian so, if you haven't already, be part of the solution and desex your dog, cat or any other animal in your family.)

If I haven't convinced you, visit your local shelter or go to Death Row Pets to see the homeless animals and let their innocent faces convince you that adopting is the way to go!

"To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being."
- Mahatma Gandhi

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