Names And Faces
© Despina Rosales, 2007
First published in The School Magazine
(Blast Off, April 2007, Vol. 92, No. 3).
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.