Designs of Nature Vocabulary - Spring Units
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Tracks and Traces
tracks: the footmarks left behind by an animal.
straddle: the width of an animal's trail; the distance between the outside edges of opposing feet.
stride: the distance between the prints of a walking animal or between sets of tracks in a running animal.
galloping: a method of moving in which the animal pushes off with its hind legs and then swings its back legs around so that they land in front of and a little outside the prints made by the front feet.
walking: a method of moving in which the animal alternates right and left feet, placing the hind feet in or near the prints made by the front feet.
trotting: a method of moving similar to walking, but a little faster, producing the same pattern of tracks.
bounding: a method of moving in which a long, slender-bodied animal (for example, a weasel) pushes off with its hind feet and leaps forward so that the two back feet land in the prints just vacated by the front feet.
waddling: a method of moving in which the stocky, short-legged animal (for example, a porcupine) shifts its weight from side to side, placing a large hind foot by the side of a smaller front foot on the other side.
scat: the feces of an animal.
browse: tender shoots, twigs, and bark of shrubs and trees eaten by animals such as deer and rabbits; the act of consuming this kind of food.

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Winter Weeds
weeds: wildflowers, often those growing where humans do not want them to grow.
seed: the fertilized, ripened ovule of a plant capable of germinating to produce a new plant.
seed dispersal: any mechanism for carrying and spreading seeds away from the parent plant.

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Bird Nests
incubate: to keep eggs warm until they hatch.
nestling: a young bird that has not abandoned the nest.
cavity nest: a nest in the hole of a tree or post or in the ground. platform nest: a flat nest structure that may or may not have a distinct depression to hold the eggs.
cup nest: a hemispherical nest structure with a deep depression to hold the eggs; typical "bird nest".
pensile: a cup nest suspended from the fork of a branch.
pendulous: an elongated sac-like nest suspended from the branch of a tree, such as that made by the northern oriole.

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Camouflage
camouflage: coloration, pattern, shape, or behavior designed to hide an animal from its enemies or its prey.
protective coloration: camouflage specifically employing coloration to hide an animal from its enemies.
matching color: a form of camouflage in which an animal's color resembles the color of the background against which it is most often seen.
disruptive coloration: a form of camouflage in which dark and light bands, patterns, or patches of color serve to disrupt the outline of an animal, as in the stripes of a zebra or the spots of a fawn.
countershading: a form of protective coloration in which the animal is two-toned, often light-colored underneath and darker on its back.
masking: a form of camouflage in which animals disguise themselves by attaching material from their surroundings - such as twigs, petals, or leaf pieces - to their bodies or cases.
mimicry: a form of camouflage in which a prey animal resembles a dangerous, unpalatable, or poisonous animal.
warning coloration: colors, such as the black and yellow of bees or the orange of efts, that warn other animals that this prey is dangerous or unpalatable.

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Honeybees
honeybees: a social, honey-producing insect of the order Hymenoptera.
nectar: a sweet liquid secreted by plants that is the chief raw material of honey.
pollen: fine, yellowish powdery grains that contain the male germ cells of a plant; an important food source of honeybees.
queen bee: the only fertile female honeybee in the hive, the queen lays all the hive's eggs.
worker bee: infertile female honeybees responsible for nearly all the work of the hive - feeding larvae and drones, building and repairing wax cells, collecting and storing food, guarding the hive, etc.
drone: the male honeybees; their only function is to mate with the queen; they cannot even feed themselves.
antennae: a jointed appendage of the honeybee used as a sensory receptor and containing the senses of touch and smell.
compound eyes: an eye composed of many individual facets, each capable of sight.
mandibles: the mouth appendages of an insect.
tongue: specialized in honeybees to collect nectar and pass it along to the honey stomach.
wings: modified on a honeybee to lock together with fine hooks, allowing the bee to fly long distances.
stinger: a straight, barbed appendage connected to a gland that secretes stinging fluid.
wax glands: glands on the underside of a bee's abdomen that produce wax.
legs: the worker bee's legs are modified with pollen combs and brushes, pollen baskets, and appendages for cleaning the antennae.
hexagon: a six-sided geometric figure characteristic of honeycomb cells.
beehive: the structure where a community of honeybees lives; the collection of bees itself.
cells: an individual compartment in a honey comb, used for storing honey or pollen or for raising young.
orientation: knowing or being able to communicate a sense of direction; in honeybees, this communication is accomplished by a complicated movement pattern known as a "dance".

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