So how DO tarantulas SMELL their prey?

And other natural wonders you never knew until now

Discover facts to go wild about in our pullout on the natural world from the new children’s encyclopedia

The living world is a treasure trove of surprises: spiders that can walk on water, f i sh t hat glow i n the dark, plants that eat animals, and even trees that communicate through scents.

But there is still much left to discover. In fact, more is known about the surface of the Moon than about what lies in the deepest oceans.

And while scientists have identified 360,000 species of beetle, some think more than a million are waiting to be discovered. Found in every continent in the world, except Antarctica, they offer a perfect example of the beautiful diversity of life on earth.

Today, we will take you on a journey of discovery, helping you to see how life on our planet thrives on diversity — in other words, by having the greatest possible variety of different living things.

Why does diversity matter? even if massive changes happen to our planet, some creatures will be suited to survive and thrive. So, life will persist.

But the problem is, humans are destroying that diversity.

Take the destruction of parts of the great Amazon rainforests. The issue isn’t just that they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and produce oxygen, helping to stabilise the climate, more than half of the world’s plant and animal species also happen to live there.

Knowing as much as possible about our living world is key to helping solve such problems. So, read on and be inspired to see what you can do to help life flourish on earth.