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Article: It's an insect's world; return of the birds
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- May 31, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1995 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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After a winter of dormancy, June is the month when the insects and
invertebrates once again rule the earth.
A June bug big as a thumbnail crunches into a screen door. A
mosquito burrows into the forearm of an unsuspecting lawn mower.
Fireflies scratch the darkness near a lilac bush while clouds of
newly hatched blackflies congregate over a streambed. A brown spider
spins it web in a corner of the garage. Earthworms once again go
about their subterranean business, though they slither to the surface
after a rainfall to escape drowning.
Though it's hard to imagine, invertebrates -- mostly insects and
spiders but other softbodied organisms as well -- account for 90 to
95 percent of our animal ...