How many known beetle species are there? Test your nature knowledge

Published 1:30 am Sunday, January 29, 2017

The cold winter weather is the perfect opportunity to stay indoors and learn a little bit about the world outside. Test your nature savvy:

1. A bee sting can kill a bird. What two North American birds have adapted to making bees a regular part of their diet?

A. Flicker

B. Eastern kingbird

C. Summer tanager

D. Crow

2. Which bird is one of the latest nesters in North America?

A. American goldfinch

B. Varied thrush

C. Bewick’s wren

D. Kingfisher

3. One of these birds is a vegetarian.

A. Anna’s hummingbird

B. Robin

C. Flicker

D. American goldfinch

4. About how many known beetle species are there?

A. 10,000

B. 145,ooo

C. 400,000

D. 500,000

5. Which mountain holds the record for snowfall in a one-year span?

A. Mount Rainier

B. Mount Kilimanjaro

C. Mount Baker

D. Denali

6. What do the following words have in common?

A. Banditry

B. Trembling

C. Prayer

D. Deceit

7. What is not a native frog of Washington state?

A. Bullfrog

B. Red-legged frog

C. Cascades frog

D. Northern leopard frog

8. How any species of bats are in Washington?

A. 10

B. 15

C. 18

D. 20

9. How much of Earth’s fresh water is stored in glaciers?

A. 25%

B. 33%

C. 66%

D. 75%

10. The ruby-throated hummingbird has the highest average wing beats (55) per second but how fast can it beat its wings per second during courtship maneuvers?

A. 100

B. 125

C. 200

D. 225

11. What is the fastest creature in the ocean?

A. Sailfish

B. Swordfish

C. Mahi-mahi

D. Flying fish

12. The alpine swift’s record-setting performance for the longest continuous time in the air without touching the ground has been broken by another bird. What is that bird, and what is the record?

A. Albatross

B. Common swift

C. Frigate bird

D. Arctic tern

Answers

1. B. &C. The tanager snaps a bee in its bill, carries it to a branch, kills it by slamming it on the branch, and then rubs the bee against the branch to knock off the stinger.

2. A. The goldfinch usually waits until late June or July when they can fed on and use in their nest milkweed, thistles and similar plants.

3. D. If a goldfinch eats an insect, it’s by accident.

4. C. They come in a variety of shapes (one in a horseshoe-crab shape), sizes (up to 6 inches), aggressiveness, spots and ridges, habitats (one is found only in Arizona, one lays its eggs in bumblebee nests) and feeding habits.

5. C. Skiers at Mount Baker Ski Area were delighted by 95 feet (1,140 inches) of snow falling from July 1, 1998, to June 30, 1999.

6. Each species has a name for its flock. In this set, it’s a banditry of chickadees, a trembling of finches, a prayer of godwits, and a deceit of lapwings. For spectacular videos of murmurations on the wing, go to YouTube.

7. A. Bullfrogs were introduced during the Great Depression for hunting, food and stock for frog farms.

8. B. The most common is the little brown bat and the rarest is Townsend’s big-eared bat.

9. D. About three-quarters of the world’s fresh water is found in glaciers. Glacial melt from this state’s glaciers produces about 470 billion gallons of water.

10. C. A dive display during courtship can reach 200 beat per second.

11. A. The sailfish has been measured, when leaping, at 68 mph. The swordfish, when leaping, hits 60 mph.

12. B. Researchers tagged common swifts with miniature electronic tags. Three of the birds did not land on the ground for 10 months, although that comes with the caveat that the other birds in the research spent 99.5 percent of their time in the area.

Columnist Sharon can be reached at 360-468-3964 or at songandword@rockisland.com.