Uit 'n peperment Pericopinae. Ek aangeteken hierdie video op die perseel in die noorde van Costa Rica 'n paar jaar gelede. Toe ek by af te haal hierdie maand, dit was moeilik om te verhoed dat die merk van die gedrag. Die mot, Chetone hoek (Erebidae: Pericopina) ((gebruik te word Arctiidae)), het 'n gemeenskaplike verdedigende meganisme vir hierdie groep – hulle skei hemolymph te skrik aspirant-aanvallers. Baie van die motte dit doen, maar ek het nog nooit gesien dat dit so skouspelagtig vertoon. As jy mooi luister kan jy die sissende geluid hoor soos die vloeistof gepomp vorm die liggaam. Wat was die mees indrukwekkende is hoe sterk dit geruik peperment… sterk genoeg dat ek moes dit net 'n go. Ongelukkig, dit het nie smaak soos geadverteer. Terwyl dit was nie helse, die mees merkbare effek was 'n skielike gevoelloosheid wat vir 'n paar minute geduur. Pretty kragtige dinge, en ek kan die effek dink op 'n klein voël of soogdier kan veel minder amusant.
Dit lyk asof bioloë het 'n snaakse gewoonte van hul vakke proe. Ek het onlangs gaan sit op 'n herpetologie praat rakende gif-pyl paddas. Op 'n effense raaklyn, het jy geweet dat die kleur van hierdie beroemde aposematic paddas het nooit getoets tot onlangs? Die feit dat hulle giftige is bekend, maar niemand het ooit die tyd geneem het om te sien of hul kleure eintlik pas 'n ware aposematic model, dit is – nie regtig skrik hulle roofdiere in die natuur? Blyk nie verbasend, Ja, hulle doen. Maar dit is lekker om te eintlik quantitate data hierdie stelling lank gehou te ondersteun. Terug na smaak – 'n bekende herper toets is die padda of padda te gee 'n lek. Terwyl dit kan eintlik help om die spesies van Herp te identifiseer, dit meer waarskynlik lyk 'n amusante newe-effek van die lang ure in die veld te wees. Wat nie 'n herper Ek kan nie onthou die naam of groep hierdie aansoek te; maar 'n bekende papier het in groot dieptes van die smaak te beskryf, kragtige effek en die moontlike gevare wat verband hou met elke gelek padda spesies (dit was 'n ligitieme taksonomiese hersiening).
Die enigste voorbeeld vir nuttige proe in insekte wat ek kan dink nou is vir twee treffend soortgelyk skoenlappers- Papilio Thoas/cresphontes. Ek glo thoas het 'n soet blomme ruik wanneer jy dit vang vars (Ja, nie 'n voorsmakie… maar naby), maar ek het nog nooit gesien dat hierdie gepubliseer of dit getoets myself, sodat dit kan apokriewe wees. Dit is egter bekend dat baie skoenlappers ruik sterk van hulle waardplant: soos Phyciodes krone ruik apocynum (sterk groente reuk). Baie van die ruimte vir verdere ondersoek hier. Maar sonder twyfel 'n bioloog gebruik al vyf van sy sintuie wanneer hy kan.
Vir die laaste vier naweke ek nou al op 'n gans jaag, vir een mot, Speedy Heliolonche. Dit is 'n pragtige klein Noctuidae met pienk voorvlerke en 'n pragtige oranje-rooi agter vlerke. Dit is nie baie dikwels teëgekom en slegs langs die noorde van Kalifornië bergreekse voeding op Malacothrix floccifera– 'n GR endemiese blom. Elke reis het ek gekry skunked, tot vandag – Ek versamel twee! Soos jy kan onthou my eerste uitstappie was sowat 'n maand gelede, geen mot, maar 'n pragtige reeks van monsters en foto's van Adela motte. Die laaste paar reise het nie eens naby kom om so produktief soos die Adela een. So wat om te doen wanneer dit nie vind jou teiken? Kry 'n son brand en 'n paar morsige foto's.
Recently came across some ridiculouslyhorrible taxonomy from China (.pdf). If you scroll down a bit you can see the english translation. At first glance this looks like a standard taxonomy paper with bare-bones species descriptions. You might even think to yourself, “huh, wonder why they are describing species from only one specimen”. Not the end of the world, I’ve even done it myself. OK, to be fair, I had complete life histories and DNA to support those decisions. Hier – they have neither. En, once you take a look at the specimen illustrations, something should become shockingly apparent. What do these specimens have in common (other than the poor image quality)?
to fake a UFO encounter? I recorded this video two years ago over the desert of Arizona. To confess, it made my heart skip a beat at first. I turned around and there were three glowing lights floating silently above me. I literally thought to myself “holy s#@% I don’t believe in this crap!”. The scale is really lost in the video, but they were huge and hovering under a high cloud cover. When the video zooms in you see a small light on the ground for reference. Our brain, being so inclined, makes it appear as if these lights are linked together in a massive triangle.
I walked back to the car while keeping a careful eye out for cacti and rattlesnakes (I was photographing a mojave rattler at the time), and grabbed a pair of binoculars. With a decent magnification it was clear that these were flares. Now only could you see a flickering light on the clouds above, but long trails of smoke rising above them. As you followed the flares down they gradually winked out – only to reappear some distance away (another drop). This was then followed by a series of fighter jets flying extremely low over the desert. Basically, this is the exact same thing that caused the “lights over phoenix” flurry a few years ago.
so, I uploaded this video to Youtube and didn’t call it a UFO – just some mysterious lights. Will it be adopted as UFO proof? I sure hope so. Not only that, I hope it appears on some UFO documentary in the future. It’s not as “compelling” as other “VVV” videos, but my Canon point-and-shoot camera could only do so well.
While extra-terrestrials likely exist, there is absolutely zero compelling evidence to suggest they have visited us – and thanks to the laws of Physics, it is probable that they will never be able to visit regardless of how technologically advanced they become.
Ons moet bewaarders te wees om seker te wees, behoud van vleilande, woude, oop ruimtes en gesoen. Ons moet ons afval te verminder — plastiek asblik en die wil. Maar wat ons regtig nodig het is 'n groot, nuwe idees: new ways to distribute and store energy for electric power, new ways to conserve and distribute clean water for farming and gulping, and new ways get ourselves and our cargo around, so that we don’t change the Earth’s climates too much as we burn our fossil fuels.
I’ve been busy spreading microleps over the last few days, and here is a small selection from my summer collecting trips. Still have at least another 200 to go before catching up on my backlog. I am working on illustrating just how to spread these moths… so bly ingeskakel.
2009 was a great season. I explored tons of new land and collected at least 6 nuwe spesies. Let’s hope for twice that many in the year to come.
So wat is fout met hierdie illustrasie hieronder? Klink na 'n wonderlike vertoning by die Krohn Konservatorium in Cincinnati. Dit nuus storie het my net 'n bietjie nader laat kyk…
Ek het gekom oor 'n paar e-pos afskrifte van vrae gestuur in ons entomologie departement en ek nie kan weerstaan nie deel van hulle. Ek belowe om hierdie boodskappe is (en sal) 100% werklike en ongeredigeerde. Name is verander of verwyder die onskuldige te beskerm. Hopelik, Ek sal kom oor hierdie elke keer in 'n rukkie, and keep this as an ongoing series. Submissions of your own are encouraged!
Jammer, this first one islong – but well worth the read.
1 Maart 2006: 3:23pm.
“I am sending you pictures of a spider I possess that appears to be a Zoropsis spinimana. I need more information about this spider than is what is on the internet. Ook, I do not know if this spider is male or female. I have had the spider for 2 weke. It is still alive-but I am not sure what it eats. I have tried several things. If you are interested in this spider we can talk more-however, I get the feeling that this spider is not of real interest to your department. Please respond to me and examine the pictures. If you do not want me to email you again then, please tell me or I will assume that you did not get my email with the pictures. Both you and Dr. “X” are extremely busy and it appears that you travel a great deal. Probably with more interesting things than this spider. The pictures are below-if you cannot access them then please notify me and I will try “what ever I can do” to get these pictures to you. Thank you for any help you can give me,”
