Theme
7:00am June 17, 2015
By dierk schaefer (Flickr: [1]) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons[Image description:  Five butterflies, four of them much larger than the fifth, eating an orange and other fruit at a butterfly exhibit in Germany.]Please don’t remove the image description, it is intended to let visually impaired people and other screenreader users know what is happening in the photo.

By dierk schaefer (Flickr: [1]) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

[Image description:  Five butterflies, four of them much larger than the fifth, eating an orange and other fruit at a butterfly exhibit in Germany.]

Please don’t remove the image description, it is intended to let visually impaired people and other screenreader users know what is happening in the photo.

6:52am June 17, 2015
“Nacimiento de una Dryas iulia, Mariposario de Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife, España, 2012-12-13, DD 03” by Diego Delso. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons[Image description:  Photograph of a dryas iulia butterfly ecloding – emerging from its chrysalis.  It is upside-down and its pinkish-red wings look like pieces of cloth.]Please don’t delete the image description, it’s there for visually impaired people and other screenreader users.More about this type of butterfly, from Wikipedia:Dryas iulia (often incorrectly spelled julia),[1] commonly called the Julia Butterfly, Julia Heliconian, The Flame, or Flambeau, is a species of brush-footed butterfly. The sole representative of its genus Dryas, it is native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida, and in summer can sometimes be found as far north as eastern Nebraska. Over 15 subspecies have been described.Its wingspan ranges from 82 to 92 mm, and it is colored orange (brighter in male specimens) with black markings; this species is somewhat unpalatable to birds and belongs to the “orange” Batesian Mimicry mimic complex.[2]This butterfly is a fast flier and frequents clearings, paths, and margins of forests and woodlands. It feeds on the nectar of flowers, such as lantanas (Lantana) and Shepherd’s-needle (Scandix pecten-veneris), and the tears of caiman, the eye of which the butterfly irritates to produce tears.[3] Its caterpillar feeds on leaves of passion vines including Passiflora affinis and Yellow Passionflower (P. lutea) in Texas.The species is popular in butterfly houses because it is long-lived and active throughout the day.

“Nacimiento de una Dryas iulia, Mariposario de Icod de los Vinos, Tenerife, España, 2012-12-13, DD 03” by Diego Delso. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

[Image description:  Photograph of a dryas iulia butterfly ecloding – emerging from its chrysalis.  It is upside-down and its pinkish-red wings look like pieces of cloth.]

Please don’t delete the image description, it’s there for visually impaired people and other screenreader users.

More about this type of butterfly, from Wikipedia:

Dryas iulia (often incorrectly spelled julia),[1] commonly called the Julia Butterfly, Julia Heliconian, The Flame, or Flambeau, is a species of brush-footed butterfly. The sole representative of its genus Dryas, it is native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida, and in summer can sometimes be found as far north as eastern Nebraska. Over 15 subspecies have been described.

Its wingspan ranges from 82 to 92 mm, and it is colored orange (brighter in male specimens) with black markings; this species is somewhat unpalatable to birds and belongs to the “orange” Batesian Mimicry mimic complex.[2]

This butterfly is a fast flier and frequents clearings, paths, and margins of forests and woodlands. It feeds on the nectar of flowers, such as lantanas (Lantana) and Shepherd’s-needle (Scandix pecten-veneris), and the tears of caiman, the eye of which the butterfly irritates to produce tears.[3] Its caterpillar feeds on leaves of passion vines including Passiflora affinis and Yellow Passionflower (P. lutea) in Texas.

The species is popular in butterfly houses because it is long-lived and active throughout the day.

7:18pm April 20, 2015
shadowpeoplearejerks: lucymiddletonrogers: archiving-a-life: neonclues: h e lp me I can’t remember exactly where I heard about “telling the bees” but it has stuck in my head forever. This is adorable.  I heard of it somewhere too, but can’t remember where at all.

shadowpeoplearejerks:

lucymiddletonrogers:

archiving-a-life:

neonclues:

h e lp me

I can’t remember exactly where I heard about “telling the bees” but it has stuck in my head forever.

This is adorable. 

I heard of it somewhere too, but can’t remember where at all.

9:36pm July 17, 2014
feliscorvus: buggirl: Beneficial Bug of the Day:  The Earwig (Order Dermaptera) Sometimes call “Pincher Bugs” these little uglies are harmless to us and even beneficial to a balanced garden.  Their favorite food is dead matter, they eat dead plants and create nutritious mulch for the rest of the garden.  If you have a well balanced garden, they will rarely eat healthy plants.  Some species are even predatory, eating snail eggs and aphids!  Bonus!  The name Earwig came from the belief that these insects would burrow into peoples’ brains through their ears..  that is so silly and very not true!  Earwigs are also very good moms!  They are one of the few insects that care for their young.  They guard the nest and feed the babies until they can fend for themselves.  Ask before you smush! Mama earwig with a nest!

feliscorvus:

buggirl:

Beneficial Bug of the Day:  The Earwig (Order Dermaptera)

Sometimes call “Pincher Bugs” these little uglies are harmless to us and even beneficial to a balanced garden.  Their favorite food is dead matter, they eat dead plants and create nutritious mulch for the rest of the garden.  If you have a well balanced garden, they will rarely eat healthy plants.  Some species are even predatory, eating snail eggs and aphids!  Bonus! 

The name Earwig came from the belief that these insects would burrow into peoples’ brains through their ears..  that is so silly and very not true! 

Earwigs are also very good moms!  They are one of the few insects that care for their young.  They guard the nest and feed the babies until they can fend for themselves. 

Ask before you smush!

Mama earwig with a nest!