Day: 26 February 2016

Antics

Sibo with ants 2

The other day our house was besieged by ants. Long columns of them marched around our kitchen. At first we thought somebody had left something sweet by the sink and that’s what they were attracted to, but then we realised that they were going for the water.

Mum wanted to spray them all with Doom. I thought that was a bit harsh and convinced her to leave them alone for a while to see if they disappeared as fast as they had arrived. Lucky for them, they did.

This got me wondering about ants. I googled to find out some more.

Turns out there are three kinds of ants in a colony: The queen, the female workers and males. The queen and the males have wings. The workers don’t have wings. (The workers are the ants that we usually see scurrying around the place.) The queen is the only ant that can lay eggs. The male ant’s job is to mate with future queen ants and they do not live very long afterwards. Once the queen grows to adulthood, she spends the rest of her life laying eggs!

Ant colonies also have soldier ants that protect the queen, defend the colony, gather or kill food, and attack enemy colonies in search for food and nesting space. If they defeat another ant colony, they take away eggs of the defeated ant colony. When the eggs hatch, the new ants become the “slave” ants for the colony. Some jobs of the colony include taking care of the eggs and babies, gathering food for the colony and building the anthills or mounds.

Did you know…

  • There are more than 12,000 species of ants that can be found all over the world?
  • An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight.
  • Ants do not have ears. They “hear” by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet.
  • Ants also don’t have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through those same holes.
  • When ants fight – they usually fight to the death.
  • Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies. Queen ants shed their wings when they start a new nest.
  • When searching for food, ants leave a pheromone trail so that they know where they have been.

Sjoe! Ants are actually quite amazing.

Let’s not step on ants.

Have a great week.

Sibo

Saving

Sibo saving money 2

How many people save? And for once I am not talking about saving water or electricity – I’m talking about saving money – although of course when you save electricity – you also save money too!

Somehow we never seem to have enough money to do all the things that we want to do.

So I did some sleuthing on the internet and found some ways that a person can save money.

  • Write a list before you go shopping and stick to it.
  • If you really want to buy something – wait a few days – like 30! Half the time you will decide you don’t actually need it after all.
  • Invite friends over instead of going out. Get your friends to bring plates of food too.
  • Make your own presents instead of buying them.
  • Clean out your cupboards. Don’t just toss the stuff you don’t want – have a garage sale or sell big items on-line.
  • Drink more water – not only is this better for you than drinking cool drinks, but you can refill your bottle from the tap and keep it in the fridge.
  • Stop smoking. Put the money that you would have spent on cigarettes in a jar for a month and then buy yourself a present – you’ll be shattered at just how much it is.
  • Swop books, games and DVD’s with your friends instead of buying new ones.
  • Don’t carry your credit card around with you – leave it at home for emergencies. That way you won’t be tempted to buy something that you cannot afford.
  • Pack your own sandwiches instead of grabbing something from the shop at lunch time.
  • Eat a good breakfast – this will mean that you don’t spend money on unhealthy snacks during the day.
  • Keep an “ideas notebook” in your pocket or bag – jot down any good ideas that you get and then you won’t forget them.
  • Check out free events in the newspaper.
  • Grow your own veggies – or at least some of them.
  • Carpool – not only is this great for the environment – it’s a real money saver too.
  • Join the library. It’s free and there are plenty of books to read that you can borrow instead of buying. Plus they often have interesting events as well.
  • Don’t speed. You’ll save petrol and won’t run the risk of getting speeding fines!

Let’s start saving.

Sibo