Cool Camouflage

Camouflage comes from French word camouflager which means to "blind or veil". Some insects and animals use camouflage as an effective way to protect themselves from natural enemies. Birds, bats, moles, frogs and other animals consider some insects to be a very tasty treat. Insects protect themselves in many ways, one of these ways is by disguising themselves so that they blend into their surroundings. Some caterpillars and walkingstick insects are camouflaged to look like twigs. Some insects are patterned to look like background where they live, they may look like bark of a tree, leaves of a plant, some even look like soil!

Hawaii Volcanoes

The Island of Hawaii is made up of five volcanoes. Each began to grow beneath sea and eventually joined to form a single island. The volcanoes grew from a hotspot beneath sea. The chain of volcanoes were created as Pacific Plate moved northwestward over hotspot. Kohala was first to emerge from sea followed by Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, Kilauea, and Loihi. Activity has ceased at Kohala and now most activity has been occurring at Kilauea and Loihi.

Loihi is still beneath sea level about 20 miles off southeast flank of island. A scientific team has installed underwater cable to Loihi. On October 12, 1997, cable was laid and scientists discovered that Loihi was in full eruption. The communication cable provides a direct connection to Loihi. In past, instrument experiments had to be dropped off at seamount and later physically picked up by a submersible research vessel to recover data.