Robert James, author
BIG FRIEND, LITTLE FRIEND: a book about symbiosis
by Robert James and Susan Sussman
Currently Not Available - Please check your local library.



Big Friend: Large Blue Butterfly
Little Friend: Red Ant

The large blue butterfly lays its eggs on thyme plants in Europe and Asia. After an egg hatches, the new caterpillar eats the thyme leaves and grows quickly. It outgrows its skin (molts) three times. After the third molt, the caterpillar falls to the ground and wanders around as if it were confused or lost.
Red ants live in the same area. When a red ant sees a caterpillar wandering around on the ground, it returns to the nest and brings other ants....


LIES (PEOPLE BELIEVE) ABOUT ANIMALS
by Robert James and Susan Sussman


LIE: The porcupine can shoot its quills.
TRUTH: The porcupine cannot shoot its quills any more than you can shoot your hair.
For many years people thought porcupines could stand still and shoot quills out of their skin like bullets out of a gun. What else could explain the quills found stuck in the bark of a tree or in some poor dog's nose? We now know the only time quills "fly" is when the porcupine swishes its tail and a few quills drop out...

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