Surprising Friendships
Would it surprise you to know that the bully in your class can be helpful to the nicest kid? They can even become friends! If the kind person is being picked on, the bully can protect him. If the bully needs to pass math, the kind kid can help her.
Is that surprising? Look at nature. You can find some amazing friendships between living creatures too.
Most of the time butterflies and ants are enemies. Ants will eat butterflies that get hurt and cannot fly. However, in Australia there is a butterfly that has made friends with the ants. It is called the Common Imperial Blue.
Butterflies begin their lives as caterpillars. While the they are still caterpillars, ants will protect them from their enemies. The ants do this because the caterpillars secrete (make) a honey that the ants love to eat. Both insects get something good from their connection. This kind of relationship is called symbiosis.
In Africa there is a bird called the Oxpecker. This bird helps many large animals like zebras, giraffes, and buffalos. You might see them pecking the back, head, or in the ears of these large beasts. A very brave bird might even clean teeth! It may surprise you that the big animals don’t try to get rid of the birds.
The large animals do not find the little Oxpecker annoying because they are eating pests like gnats and fleas. A buffalo is happy to have the biting, bloodsucking pests gone. The bird is happy about the free lunch. They also get a great place to sunbathe!
The bird also helps the animals in another way. When the Oxpecker senses danger, it flies up and makes a loud noise. Then the large animals know there is a predator near by and they need to be very careful.
People also have a positive relationship with something surprising. Bacteria! These are tiny organisms that live inside a host plant or animal. Bacteria can cause people to be sick or have an infection. When someone has a bacterial infection the doctor gives them medicine to kill it. People are taught to clean a cut and wash their hands. Many soaps and sprays get rid of the bacteria on our bodies and in our home.
But there are bacteria living in human stomachs that are actually helpful. The stomach cannot easily digest some of the foods that come into it. Special bacteria that live in the stomach begin to break these difficult foods down. After the bacteria are done the job can easily be finished.
Our world is full of relationships like these that are unexpected and important.
If the ant did not help the butterfly, many Common Imperial Blue butterflies would not survive. If the tiny Oxpecker did not warn the large animals, many more would be killed by predators. And finally, if the usually nasty bacteria did not help people digest difficult foods, we might miss out on some important nutrition.
So next time you see a relationship that seems weird, look more closely. They are probably helping each other!
Would it surprise you to know that the bully in your class can be helpful to the nicest kid? They can even become friends! If the kind person is being picked on, the bully can protect him. If the bully needs to pass math, the kind kid can help her.
Is that surprising? Look at nature. You can find some amazing friendships between living creatures too.
Most of the time butterflies and ants are enemies. Ants will eat butterflies that get hurt and cannot fly. However, in Australia there is a butterfly that has made friends with the ants. It is called the Common Imperial Blue.
Butterflies begin their lives as caterpillars. While the they are still caterpillars, ants will protect them from their enemies. The ants do this because the caterpillars secrete (make) a honey that the ants love to eat. Both insects get something good from their connection. This kind of relationship is called symbiosis.
In Africa there is a bird called the Oxpecker. This bird helps many large animals like zebras, giraffes, and buffalos. You might see them pecking the back, head, or in the ears of these large beasts. A very brave bird might even clean teeth! It may surprise you that the big animals don’t try to get rid of the birds.
The large animals do not find the little Oxpecker annoying because they are eating pests like gnats and fleas. A buffalo is happy to have the biting, bloodsucking pests gone. The bird is happy about the free lunch. They also get a great place to sunbathe!
The bird also helps the animals in another way. When the Oxpecker senses danger, it flies up and makes a loud noise. Then the large animals know there is a predator near by and they need to be very careful.
People also have a positive relationship with something surprising. Bacteria! These are tiny organisms that live inside a host plant or animal. Bacteria can cause people to be sick or have an infection. When someone has a bacterial infection the doctor gives them medicine to kill it. People are taught to clean a cut and wash their hands. Many soaps and sprays get rid of the bacteria on our bodies and in our home.
But there are bacteria living in human stomachs that are actually helpful. The stomach cannot easily digest some of the foods that come into it. Special bacteria that live in the stomach begin to break these difficult foods down. After the bacteria are done the job can easily be finished.
Our world is full of relationships like these that are unexpected and important.
If the ant did not help the butterfly, many Common Imperial Blue butterflies would not survive. If the tiny Oxpecker did not warn the large animals, many more would be killed by predators. And finally, if the usually nasty bacteria did not help people digest difficult foods, we might miss out on some important nutrition.
So next time you see a relationship that seems weird, look more closely. They are probably helping each other!
