Humans see color through three types of cones for red, green and blue, but some people have two or even four. Many animals see differently. Bees and birds can see ultraviolet light, which helps them find food or mates. Reindeer use UV vision to find lichen and track predators. Butterflies may have the widest color range. Dogs and cats have only two cones. UV vision gives many animals a unique view of the world that humans can’t see.

Located on their back legs, some bees, such as honeybees, have pollen baskets, formally known as corbiculae, that act like pockets for them to store any pollen that has been collected. With the ability to hold up to 1 million grains of pollen, bees can visit more than 100 flowers on a trip before having to return to their hive. To help the pollen stay in place, bees will mix the pollen with nectar to make it sticky.

Though mayapples, also known as the American mandrake, grow dispersed from one another in the spring and stand at about 1 foot tall, they all sprout from one underground rhizome stem, making them one giant plant grown from one seed. It takes five years for a mayapple to grow a rhizome stem and to start growing a big colony. They get their name from its white flower and the poisonous apple it produces. Every part of the mayapple plant is poisonous and will make you extremely s

Ever wonder how fish survive winter in frozen lakes? Since they’re cold-blooded, their body temperature matches the chilly water. As ice forms, warmer water sinks to the bottom, and fish rest there, barely moving. They don’t hibernate but enter a low-energy state, needing little food or oxygen. When spring comes and the water warms, they become active again.

All animals poop, and their droppings can reveal clues about their diet and lifestyle. Coyote scat may contain fur or bones and is used to mark their territory. Rabbits eat their droppings for extra nutrition. Deer poop is similar to rabbit droppings, only larger. Bat droppings, called guano, resemble rice grains. Goose poop is tube-shaped and is often green or white. Horses can produce up to 50 pounds of manure daily. Bird poop is mostly white uric acid, which doesn’t wash a