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To those who are boycotting companies that support same-sex marriage: Have fun!
Comet Moth
Argema mittrei
The Comet moth or Madagascan moon moth is an African moth, native to the rain forests of Madagascar. The male has a wingspan of twenty centimeters and a tail span of fifteen centimeters, making it one of the world’s largest silk moths. The female lays from 120-170 eggs, and after hatching the larvae feed on Eugenia and Weinmannia leaves for approximately two months before pupating. The cocoon has numerous holes to keep the pupa from drowning in the daily rains of its natural habitat. The adult moth cannot feed and only lives for 4 to 5 days. Although endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, the Comet moth is being successfully bred in captivity.
Facts | Photo © Tony’s Place
African Moon Moth
Argema mimosae
The African moon moth is a giant silk moth of the Family Saturniidae. Similar in appearance to the Giant Madagascan Moon Moth (Argema mittrei), but smaller, this moth can be found near the east coast of South Africa. An adult can measure 10-12 centimetres across its wingspan, and 12-14 centimetres from head to the tip of its elongated ‘tail-like’ second pair of wings. Its forward wings have a distinctive grey-coloured ‘furry’ leading edge, giving a very rough surface, presumably for aerodynamic reasons. Apart from the eye-like markings on its wings, the colouring and shape of the wings give the appearance of a piece of foliage, especially the ‘tail-like’ structures of the rearmost wings which resemble a dried out leaf stem - presumably for camouflage in its natural environment.
Facts | Photo © Museum of Life + Science, Durham, NC
Indian Moon Moth
Actias selene
The Indian Moon Moth is a species of Saturniid moth from Asia. This species is popular among amateur entomologists and is often reared from eggs or cocoons that are available from commercial sources. They are also known to fly mainly at night.
This moth is quite widespread, found from India to Japan and then south into Nepal, Ceylon, Borneo, and other islands in eastern Asia. Many subspecies live in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Russia, China, Java, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Borneo.
Facts | Photo © Roswitha Siedelberg
Hummingbird Hawkmoth
Macroglossum stellatarum
The hummingbird hawkmoth’s long proboscis and its hovering behavior, accompanied by an audible humming noise, make it look remarkably like a hummingbird while feeding on flowers. It is distributed throughout the northern Old World from Portugal to Japan, but is resident only in warmer climates (southern Europe, North Africa, and points east). It is a strong flier, dispersing widely and can be found virtually anywhere in the hemisphere in the summer. However it rarely survives the winter in northern latitudes.
Facts | Photo © Jane Cockman
Orchard Spider
Leucauge venusta
The orchard spider is a long-jawed orbweaver spider that occurs from southern Canada to Panama, along the East coast, reaching into the central US. The web is often oriented horizontally, with the spider hanging down in the center. It is distinctively colored, with leaf-green legs and sides (which can sometimes vary to a dark green or even orange). The underside of its thorax is spotted with yellow and black, the top is silvery with brown and black streaks. The neon yellow, orange or red spots on the rear of the abdomen are variable in size among individuals and sometimes absent.
Facts | Photos © e_monk
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Swallowtail
Papilio machaon
Swallowtails are striking butterflies and strong fast flyers. The large yellow and black wings have a protruding tail, resembling that of a swallow. With a wingspan of around 10 centimetres, they are the largest resident butterfly in the UK. Britain has its own race of swallowtails (Papilio machaon britannicus) that’s only found in the fens and marshes of the Norfolk Broads. The European race (Papilio machaon gorganus) is quite common and is found all over Europe, Asia and even North America. Swallowtails brood once, twice or even three times in a year.
Facts | Photo © Julian Dowding
Six Eyed Spookfish (Bathylychnops exilis)
This species of deep sea fish possesses a large pair of principal eyes and a second, smaller pair (known as secondary globes) positioned within the lower half of its principle eyes, each possessing its own lens and retina. The secondary globes are thought to facilitate with light detection in the pitch black world. A third set of ‘eyes’ (having no retina) are located behind the secondary globes and serve to direct light into the fish’s primary eyes.
Image 1: Hans-Joachim Wagner ; Image 2 Tammy Frank, Habor Branch Oceanographic Institution
A Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) male inflates its neck pouch to attract a mate. This is one of the photos in a new book by zoologist and wildlife photographer Mark Carwardine.
Picture: Mark Carwardine / Nature Picture Library / Rex Features (via Pictures of the day: 12 June 2012 - Telegraph)
Black Wolf
A black wolf is a melanistic color variant of the grey wolf (Canis lupus). Black specimens are recorded among red wolves (Canis rufus), but these color variants are probably extinct. Genetic research from the Stanford University School of Medicine and the University of California, Los Angeles revealed that wolves with black belts owe their distinctive coloration to a mutation which occurred through wolf-dog hybridization.
Facts | Photos © Dan Newcomb Photography
Damn, I haven’t been on here in a minute.
I just moved to South Carolina from Florida two weeks ago and I’ve been busy with work and making new friends and such.
What the hell have I missed since I’ve been gone?
![“Strawberry” Leopard DiscoveredA leopard can’t change its spots, but apparently it can change its color. African leopards normally have tawny coats with black spots. But a male leopard with a strawberry-colored coat has been spotted in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve, conservationists announced this week. Tourists in the reserve had occasionally seen the unusual animal. But it wasn’t until recently that photographer and safari guide Deon De Villiers sent a photograph to experts at Panthera, a U.S.-based wild cat-conservation group, to ask them about the leopard’s odd coloration. Panthera President Luke Hunter suspects the pale leopard has erythrism, a little-understood genetic condition that’s thought to cause either an overproduction of red pigments or an underproduction of dark pigments. “It’s really rare—I don’t know of another credible example in leopards,” said Hunter, whose group collaborates with National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative. (The Society owns National Geographic News.) Hunter added, “it’s surprising that [a photo of the leopard] didn’t come out sooner, because he’s relatively used to vehicles.”Read More Photo © Deon De Villiers](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2l6k7BnJA1qji7p5o1_500.jpg)
“Strawberry” Leopard Discovered
A leopard can’t change its spots, but apparently it can change its color. African leopards normally have tawny coats with black spots. But a male leopard with a strawberry-colored coat has been spotted in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve, conservationists announced this week.
Tourists in the reserve had occasionally seen the unusual animal. But it wasn’t until recently that photographer and safari guide Deon De Villiers sent a photograph to experts at Panthera, a U.S.-based wild cat-conservation group, to ask them about the leopard’s odd coloration.
Panthera President Luke Hunter suspects the pale leopard has erythrism, a little-understood genetic condition that’s thought to cause either an overproduction of red pigments or an underproduction of dark pigments.
“It’s really rare—I don’t know of another credible example in leopards,” said Hunter, whose group collaborates with National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative. (The Society owns National Geographic News.) Hunter added, “it’s surprising that [a photo of the leopard] didn’t come out sooner, because he’s relatively used to vehicles.”
Read More
Photo © Deon De Villiers
Emperor Penguins Counted From Space—A First
Talk about a bird’s-eye view—scientists have taken the first-ever penguin census from space. What’s more, the high-resolution satellite images reveal that there are twice as many emperor penguins in Antarctica than previously thought, a new study says. Scientists have snapped penguin pictures from space before. But the new work used a technique called pansharpening, which offers high enough resolution for the scientists to differentiate between penguin poop, ice, and the birds themselves.
Read More
I won’t be posting much this week.
I am moving tomorrow and then I’m leaving to go to Charleston, South Carolina until Thursday/Friday. I’m visiting a friend that I haven’t seen in over a year so I doubt I’ll be online much until I get back here and settled in my and my mom’s new condo. Please stick around!
