Bush Bean
The bush bean is a flowering plant that is made of many structures, each important to
survival. The root system absorbs water and stabilizes, or holds, the plant in the soil. The stem
carries water and nutrients to the leaves that make the food which allows the plant to grow.
The flower of the bush bean grows the fruit which contains seeds. The seeds of the bush bean
are dicots which store food for the plant beneath the seed coat. Inside the seed is the embryo,
or the baby plant.
The bush bean can be found in many areas across the southern United States. In order to
thrive, the bush bean needs sun, oxygen, space, water, and most importantly damp, dark soil. It
can also be grown without soil using hydroponics.
The life cycle of the bush bean needs between fifty and sixty days to go from
germination to seed dissemination. Once a seed germinates, it will become a sprout which in turn
will become a seedling. When the seedling has all it needs it will thrive and become a flowering
plant. Within seven days a fruit may form from the flower. If the cycle is to continue, the
seeds in the fruit must be disseminated or spread on soil where germination can begin again.
In the six kingdoms of living things the bush bean is a member of Kingdom Plantae and
the phylum of flowering plants known as Magnoliophyta. The phylum of flowering plants is
further divided into classes, the bush bean has a dicotyledon seed which makes it a member of
Class Magnoliosida. The bush bean shares some characteristics of peas, peanuts, and alfalfa.
The bush bean is one of the most common plants found in home gardens, which makes it
not only interesting but an easy to grow plant.
Brown Garden Snail
Kingdom Animalia is the largest of the six kingdoms of living things with more than one
million different species of animals. One of those species is the brown garden snail, or Helix
Aspersa. The brown garden snail has characteristics such as no backbone and a soft body
covered with a shell which makes it a member of phylum Mollusca. This phylum is further
broken down into classes, because snails have only one shell and move on a “belly foot” they
belong to class Gastropoda which means, stomach foot.
The brown garden snail, like all land snails, has many structures important to its survival.
The land snail has lungs that allow it to breathe air. There are two pairs of tentacles attached
to the head that can regenerate if they are damaged or lost. The smaller tentacles are used for
smelling and feeling while the larger tentacles have eyespots on the end that are sensitive to
light. The radula or tongue of the snail is covered with denticles or hundreds of tiny tooth like
structures. Since the snail has no teeth or jaw in its mouth, the denticle covered radula allows
the snail to grind or scrape off leaves and flowers to eat. Snails have a hard, often spiral
shaped shell that grows over time and provides them with protection from predators such as
birds, frogs, and snakes.
As a gastropod, or belly foot, the land snail moves by using muscles in underneath its
body to create a rippling movement that pushes it forward. In addition, the snail foot has a
special gland that makes slimy mucus to create a track that both helps the snail move and also
protects the body. The brown garden snail is the slowest of all snails, moving only twenty-three
inches, less than two feet, in one hour! This slow movement happens mostly at night because
land snails are nocturnal animals.
Both land and water snails are found all over the world. The land snail can be found in
damp places such as under rocks and logs. If the environment becomes too dry the snail will
estivate, or seal itself into its shell with a thick layer of slime. To survive the winter, the land
snail will hibernate and use fat stored in its body for nourishment. In their habitat, land snails
need space, food, and oxygen in order to survive.
Snails are unique animals because they are both male and female though two snails must
work together to produce fertilized eggs. Land snails start their life in a nest of up to eightyfive eggs. After two to four weeks in the nest the eggs will hatch. Once hatched, the snail will
begin to search for food, often eating what is left of its egg and other eggs that have not yet
hatched. As the snail’s body grows its shell grows too. This allows the snail to have enough room
if it needs to hide from predators. The land snail usually lives for five to ten years though some
have been known to live for as many as fifteen years.
Worldwide there are more than eighty thousand different species or types of snails.
They can be as small as less than one inch to more than thirty inches. The largest of all snail
species is the Giant African Snail that can weigh as much as two pounds and measure thirty
inches. Many but not all species of snails are edible, Helix Aspersa or the brown garden snail is
commonly prepared as food and served using the French word for snail, escargot. Every year on
May 24th people across the United States celebrate National Escargot Day by eating a plate full
of the delicacy.
Rusty Crayfish
Kingdom Animalia is the largest of the six kingdoms of living things with more than one
million different species of animals. One of those species is the rusty crayfish, or Orconectes
Rusticus. The rusty crayfish has characteristics of phylum Arthropoda such as, no backbone,
many jointed legs and an exoskeleton. This phylum is further broken down into subphylums, the
crayfish due to its segmented body that is bilaterally symmetrical, pairs of sensory antennae,
and one pair of mandibles is one of the 30,500 known species of subphylum Crustacea.
The crayfish has a hard exoskeleton that covers its cephalothorax and abdomen for
protection. As the crayfish grows, it molts or loses its old shell as it grows a new one. Often the
crayfish will eat the old shell for nutrients. There are eight walking legs attached to the
cephalothorax along with two large pincers or claws called chelipeds. If one of the legs or claws
is lost, the crayfish can regenerate or regrow a new one in its place. Crayfish can walk in any
direction, forward, backward or sideways, but they move very slowly. If they are startled, they
will use their tail to move backwards and find a place to hide or raise their claws to show their
territory has been disturbed.
The natural habitat of the rusty crayfish is under rocks and logs in the streams, ponds,
and lakes of Ohio and Tennessee. However, the rusty crayfish can be found in many parts of the
United States where there is cool, fresh water and is particularly invasive around the great
lakes in the northern United States. Crayfish are opportunistic feeders; they will eat whatever
they can find nearby, such as snails, fish eggs, algae, worms, and water plants. Predators of the
crayfish include fish, herons, snakes, and people.
Crayfish start their life as one of 10-800 eggs attached to the abdomen of a female.
Once hatched from the egg, the tiny crayfish will stay with its mother for one to two weeks
before being left on its own. After only four months the crayfish will have molted enough to be
the size of an adult though most crayfish will molt between six and ten times during the first
year of life. A typical crayfish will live for three to eight years.
There are about 540 different species of crayfish around the world known by many
different names, crawfish, crawdads, and freshwater lobsters. Crayfish are closely related to
lobsters, shrimp, and crabs. Crayfish can be as small as two inches or as long as six inches.
Rusty crayfish are considered to be invasive to non-native habitats often eating native crayfish,
fish eggs, and plants making it difficult for other native creatures to survive.