We have all been told about how important insects are to the environment, and I am sure that you can think of a few good reasons as to why human life would end if it were not for our insect friends. Insects pollinate small plants and crops; they help rid the world of waste by feeding on it, especially animal waste. But did you also know that the United States would be in even larger debt if it were not for bugs? Yes, that is correct, insects save the United States government fifty seven billion dollars per year.

Spiders serve as a great example of a creature that possesses all of the right traits needed to thrive in large numbers. Spiders are, simply put, everywhere. There is probably a spider relaxing with one of your old pop-tart crumbs a few inches away from your big toe right at this very moment. The shear number of spiders within the room you are sitting in is so numerous you may start to give serious consideration to their ability to take over the world. To put it one way, there are an estimated one million spiders inhabiting each acre

Can Snails Carry Disease? Snails may not be the cuddliest creatures in the world, but at least they are not as ugly as slugs, and they are harmless to humans, right? According to researchers at the University of California--Berkeley, snails can not only transmit dangerous parasites to humans, but snails are actually far more mobile than you probably assumed. In fact, researchers determined that freshwater snails can travel as far as thirty miles, which raises questions about the potential devastation freshwater snails could cause to human populations. Parasitic snails can spread the parasitic disease

I have heard of eating bugs, in this day in age, who has not caught wind of the new bug-eating fad? Maybe even some of your friends have taken the dive into cricket munching. However, there is one particular arachnid-containing beverage

Bats are unpleasant creatures, but there are many people that find these creatures fascinating nonetheless. However, if you are one of those people who cannot learn to appreciate the existence of bats, then ask yourself if you drink and/or enjoy the popular Mexican beverage known as Tequila. If you do enjoy tequila then you owe the lesser-long nosed bat, or just simply the "tequila bat", a gesture of gratitude. Tequila is a Mexican alcoholic beverage that is made from the agave plant, which co-evolved with tequila bats

If you have a tempting garden to protect, you may be familiar with voles

Many people are under the impression that the brown recluse spider has a violin shape on its abdomen. It is further believed that all BR's including males and females, have this mark in common. Actually, this method of identification is completely worthless since many spiders sport similar markings.

Most people probably assume that spiders have amazing eyes that have adapted to see anything during the jungle nights. Actually, with the exception of a few spiders, most spiders stumble around like fools in the dark just as we humans do. And like humans, spiders need tools to help them navigate through the dark. The jungle dwelling whip spider uses its legs as its primary tool for successfully navigating itself home during the black of night. However, the whip spider does not just use its legs for the obvious task of crawling, it also uses its legs to smell

We have all heard of the dreaded illness known as Lyme disease. This disease is spread to humans via the blacklegged tick. The Centers for Disease Control Estimates that three hundred thousand people per year become infected with Lyme disease. There is exists another type of Lyme spreading tick, but luckily, this second tick, Ixodes affinis