Seppuku is a Japanese ritual where a samurai kills himself by cutting into his belly. After one had done so, a second person would cut off his head. It was thought that seppuku was an honorable way to die. Sometimes, it is called hara-kiri, which is translated from Japanese as "belly-cutting".
Seppuku was a key part of bushido, the honor code of the samurai warriors. It was used by warriors so that they would not fall into enemy hands and be shamed. It was possible also that a samurai received an order from his master to commit seppuku.
Because seppuku was an honorable act, a warrior who was caught by the enemy was sometimes given the choice between seppuku and being executed. If he chose seppuku, he could protect his honor. Samurai women had to ask for permission to commit seppuku.
This act could be performed either with a ritual, or quietly on the battlefield while other warriors fight the enemy.
The main weapon used was the samurai's knife called tantō or the short sword, called wakizashi. A samurai who wants to commit seppuku would take the weapon, open his kimono and stab the blade into his belly. He would make a deep cut from Right to left. An assistant of the warrior committing seppuku (called "kaishakunin") would immediately cut off his head.
Sow bug
A sow bug or woodlouse is a small land arthropod (jointed-legged animal). They are often confused with centipedes, millipedes or insects, but are actually crustaceans. They have fourteen legs and breathe through gills. Because of the gills, woodlice need water in the air around them. They mostly eat dead plants, and are considered helpful, because they act as "garbage collectors." Some species can roll up into a ball when in danger. In such position, their hard shell faces out, protecting the softer parts of the body.
Sow bugs do not look like shrimps or crabs, although they are closely related.
Lady beetle
Lady beetles are the Coccinellidae, a family of beetles. All species are protected by noxious fluids based on cyanide, and most have warning colouration, such as red with black spots or black stripes.
They are often called ladybugs or ladybirds, but biologists prefer the term 'coccinellid' or 'lady beetle'.
Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species. Most species are insectivorous, feeding mainly on
the "true bugs", the Hemiptera. These are insects which feed on plants, such as aphids (greenfly) or scale insects. Ladybeetle larvae are also voracious (greedy) eaters of greenfly.
"Harmonia axyridis" (or harlequin ladybug) was introduced into North America from Asia in 1988 to control aphids. It is now the most common species there, out-competing many of the native species. It has since spread to much of western Europe, reaching the UK in 2004.
Coccinellids are often brightly coloured to warn potential predators. This phenomenon is called aposematism. It works because predators learn by experience to associate certain prey phenotypes (appearance) with a bad taste or being poisonous.
Mechanical stimulation (such as a predator attack) causes "reflex bleeding" in both larval and adult ladybird beetles. A toxin is put through the joints of the exoskeleton, deterring feeding. This method works well: birds and cats seldom try twice.
Most people know lady beetles as small, round, red beetles with black spots on their backs. In Europe, the most common lady beetle is seven-spotted "Coccinella septempunctata".
Not all lady beetles are red, and not all red lady beetles have spots. Some lady beetles are very small, black and hairy. Lady beetles vary in color as red, orange, pink, or yellow with black spots. They can also be black with red spots. Some are missing spots altogether. There are even a few kinds of ladybeetles with metallic blue iridescence, and some have checkerboard markings or stripes.
The (usually) black front part ("pronotum") of the ladybeetle is the thorax and the head.
Most coccinellids as adults. In "Harmonia axyridis", eggs hatch in 3–4 days from clutches numbering from a few to several dozen. Depending on the supply of aphids, the larvae pass through four instars over 10–14 days, after which pupation occurs. After several days, the adults become reproductively active and are able to reproduce again, though not late in the season. On average, the lifespan on the lady beetle is 1-2 years.
It only takes about four weeks for the ladybeetle to transform from a tiny egg to an adult. Some females can lay up to 1,000 eggs in one summer. The ladybeetle may lay her eggs near an aphid colony, or on plants where the larvae will have a ready supply of food when they hatch.
Almost all lady beetles are insectivores: they eat other insects. Many of these insects have soft bodies, such as aphids. Even the larvae eat other insects. Aphids are a huge problem for farmers and gardeners, and therefore a ladybug is a great help to the farmer. Some species of ant herd aphids like sheep, and will attack a ladybeetle that tries to eat one of their aphids.
Lady beetles can typically be found on plant foliage located in areas the get direct sunlight. They play important roles in keeping the diversity around gardens and forest under control through pest control.
Jessica Sickler created a research program called "The Lost Ladybug Project" to get families and children outside and looking at wildlife. The team are able to keep track of what species of lady beetles are located in what regions. Families are invited to join.
Lou Pearlman
Louis Jay Pearlman (June 19, 1954 - August 19, 2016) was an American record producer and fraudster. He was born in Flushing, Queens, New York City. He used to live in Orlando, Florida.
In 2008, Pearlman was convicted and sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. He died of a stroke in prison in Texarkana, Texas.
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were colonies in British North America in what is now the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. They were founded for different reasons. Some people thought that they would make a lot of money in new goods in America that could not be found in Europe, such as tobacco. Others left to find freedom of religion or just to make a new start. Some wanted to be in charge and to change things that they did not like back at England.
The first colony was Virginia, which was started in 1607 at Jamestown. The last colony of the thirteen to be started was Georgia in 1732.
The Thirteen Colonies (listed from north to south):
The colonies are often divided into three groups. The northern group was called New England and included New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
There were four Middle Colonies: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
The South had five colonies: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.
New England had small farms and focused on fishing, forestry (trees and lumber), shipping, and small industry to make money.
The South had large plantation farms that grew tobacco and later cotton. Plantations were farmed first by indentured servants, who would work for a period of years in return for their passage to America and land. They were later replaced by slaves.
The Middle Colonies had medium-sized farms. They also had people from many different cultures with many different beliefs.
All three regions were tied to the "Atlantic economy". Colonists built merchant vessels, and merchants traded slaves, agricultural goods, gold, fish, lumber, and manufactured goods between America, the West Indies, Europe and Africa.
After the French and Indian War, Great Britain made new taxes and other laws that angered some people in the colonies. That led to a war between Great Britain and its former colonies: the American Revolutionary War.
The colonies said why they wanted to become independent of Great Britain on July 4, 1776 at the Declaration of Independence and became known as the United States of America.
Jamestown
Jamestown may refer to:
Stillbirth