Natural World | Edinburgh International Science Festival

Ant Colonies

Ants are usually aggressive towards members of other colonies. However, nests sometimes group together to form "supercolonies".

Honey bees' wings beat over 11,000 times every minute, but their average flying speed is only around 15 miles per hour.

"Bush viper" is the commonly used name for the atheris, which is a genus of venomous snake native to sub-Saharan Africa.

Cup corals do not form reefs. Instead they live solitary lives within their own private cups.

Fish were the first group of animals to evolve with a backbone. They are still the most diverse group of vertebrates in existence.

Flowers use their scent, colour and pattern to attract insects and ensure pollination occurs.

Scientists have found that the cells jellyfish use to glow in the dark could help spot tumours in the human body.

Penguins are able to drink salt water because they have a gland in their nasal passages called the supraorbital gland.

Moon jellyfish are carnivores but they have no brain, teeth or fins to help them hunt so they often have to settle for plankton as food.

Technically, only male peacocks can really be called “peacocks”. Females are called “peahens” and together they are called “peafowl”.