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GRUESOME!!
Although termites are not related to ants, they have a similar way of life. Sometimes they are even called white ants. Their huge nests are made from sand mixed with their own droppings!


Holy fire


Holy fire
Gardeners in Europe and the US may have a secret weapon in the fight against disease in their gardens. An ornamental bush, Summer Cypress, which is also known as the ‘burning bush’ due to its deep red colour, may provide a cheap and effective way to fight ‘filariasis’, a disfiguring parasitic disease that affects 15 million people in Africa alone. The bush may also be a weapon against mosquitoes who spread the West Nile virus, which attacks the central nervous system and can kill. Researchers have found that the bush contains a substance which, when converted into a pheromone - a hormone which only mosquitoes can detect, can be used to lure mosquitoes to their deaths in artificial traps.
2 OCTOBER 1999, P. 23
New Scientist
2 OCTOBER 1999, P. 23

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