P-O Naturally – Test your Knowledge!

25/02/2024 0 Comments
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P-O Naturally – Test your Knowledge!

With Lesley McLaren

This winter we’re taking another quizzical look over the year’s articles – with one or two extra questions thrown in! Have you been paying attention?

Will you be the POL teacher’s pet or rather the class clown? (Answers at the bottom of the page)

Good luck!

A : MAKE YOUR CHOICE

1. What is the French name for cornflower?

  1. Le coquelicot bleu

  2. Le bleuet

  3. La fleur de maïs

  4. Le muscari à toupet

2. Which spider can change its colour?

  1. Furrow spider

  2. Lobed spider

  3. Wasp spider

  4. Crab spider

3. Where do red palm weevils originate?

  1. Asia

  2. Europe

  3. South America

  4. North Africa

4. Which flower’s roots contains a compound used as soap?

  1. Campion

  2. Pansy

  3. Mullein

  4. Geranium

5. Spider silk contains which vitamin?

  1. C

  2. A

  3. D

  4. K

6. What smell attracts palm moths and weevils to palms?

  1. Pheromones

  2. Sap

  3. Pollen

  4. Fronds

7. What is the maximum wingspan of a bearded vulture/lammergeier?

  1. 2.00m

  2. 1.50m

  3. 2.75m

  4. 0.95m

B : TRUE OR FALSE

  1. Nematodes are young toads

  2. Tassel hyacinth plants belong to the asparagus family 

  3. Adult palm moths and their caterpillars feed on palms 

  4. Ticks are arachnids 

  5. Spiders do not have antennae 

  6. Mouldy seed is not harmful to birds 

C : DON'T YOU JUST KNOW IT

  1. How many different types of spider web can you name?

  1. What’s the common name of a plant renowned since the 17th century for healing properties? 

  2. Why did wolf spiders get their name?

  1. Which warbler, present in the P-O all year, could be confused with the Blackcap?

The Warblers

Lesley McLaren is one of “The Warblers”, a group of natural history enthusiasts based in the P-O.

For more blogs and photos, or if you’d like to contact them, visit www.mediterraneanpyrenees.com

You can also follow them on Twitter @66warblers

All photos by “The Warblers”, unless otherwise stated

Favicon for Author panel copy

Answers

A : MAKE YOUR CHOICE

  1. b. Le bleuet

  2. d. Crab spiders often match the colour of flowers they hide in to ambush prey

  3. a. Asia

  4. a. Campion. The compound saponin has long been used as soap

  5. d. Vitamin K helps blood to clot. Ancient Greeks used spider silk to help heal wounds

  6. b. Sap – from cut fronds or wounds on trunks

  7. c. 2.75m

B : TRUE OR FALSE

  1. False. Nematodes are tiny worms

  2. True

  3. False. Only the caterpillars feed on the palms

  4. True. Ticks have 8 legs

  5. True

  6. False. Mouldy seed can be fatal! If you feed birds in winter, check that seed is dry and unspoiled

C : DON’T YOU JUST KNOW

  1. Orb, tangle, funnel, sheet, radial

  2. Self-heal

  3. Because of a myth that they hunted in packs, like wolves

  4. Sardinian warbler

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