members of this group smell
View allAll Photos Tagged Excretion
There,s a symbiotic relationship with some ant species,with Aphids,leaf,and some plant hoppers,where the ants offer protection in exchange for honeydew excretion.This red ant was waiting for his treat from this Thornbug mimic,Campylenchia latipes.Nature is so cool!
Thanks for your comments and faves,they are truly appreciated.
it cannot but strike you as peculiar that they take such pride in the mechanical appliances they use for its excretion ;-)
W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)
HPPT! Vote!!
rose, 'Milestone', little theater rose garden, raleigh, north carolina
eating vegetation on the side of the dike trail on Nov. 25, 2024. these guys are toxic, and their excretions can cause blisters. Epicauta pensylvanica have a substance called cantharidin in them, which can exude and cause burns on contact to mammals and other animals. they are reportedly "very rare" in Ontario. my first sighting! they do not cause crop damage. bingo from fieldcropnews.com/2022/06/blister-beetles/
Now that it's Autumn, there are no more wasp larvae. Those larvae provide adults sweetness through their sugary excretions. So adult wasps go hungry and thus they forage for nectar (also in lemonade glasses on your terrace). In the photo a wasp is digging deeply into a White Beeblossom, Oenothera lindheimeri.
'Lindheimeri' is for Ferdinand Lindheimer (1801-1879) who fled German for the USA after the failed Frankfurter Putsch (1833) in which liberals sought to force government reforms. Lindheimer became a voracious botanist with many friends and is styled 'the father of Texan Botany'. He was also an avid beekeeper and imported Italian Black Bees to help failing orchards along the Guadalupe River in Texas.
This time of year you may notice little masses of sticky, frothy bubbles, usually at a leaf node, on various plants in your garden. These white foam blobs are produced by the immatures, or nymphs, of spittlebugs, small insects related to aphids and other true bugs, in the order Hemiptera. Of the 54 species in North America, the meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius, is one of the most common species in the Midwest.
These small insects get their name from the globs of foamy "spit" they create along the stems of plants. They produce the frothy mixture by mixing air with fluid excretions, but not out their mouth, so it technically isn't spit. The immature bugs feed face down on the stem, and as excess sap is excreted out the anus [bug farts], it is mixed with a substance secreted by epidermal glands that enhances surface viscosity and stabilizes the foam to make it last longer. This mixture is forced out of the abdomen under pressure and as it is mixed with air, it forms bubbles. Some species can produce as many as 80 bubbles per minute. The spittlebug moves its abdomen up and down, and as the bubbles emerge, it reaches back with its legs and pulls the bubbles forward over its back. The foam serves a number of purposes, protecting the nymph from predators as well as providing insulation from temperature extremes and a high humidity environment so the tender nymph doesn't desiccate.
This Northern Fulmar shows a characteristic flight pattern as it soars with fixed wings on a strong wind. This bird was seen from the ferry between Landeyjahöfn and the island of Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). This image shows the tuberose that is used both for excretion of a saline solution (necessary since these birds drink seawater) and for olfaction in locating food.
(Lanius senator badius) B28I9070 Settat - Morocco
Like the owls, the shrikes regurgitate balls of excretion that allow them to spit the feathers, furs and nails of their preys
"THE SWEEPER"
DAWN AT THE HAJI ALI MOSQUE CAUSEWAY, MUMBAI
MUD DUST EARTH HUMAN SECRETIONS AND EXCRETIONS
THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF LIFE
ANOTHER DAY FOR BEGGING
ANOTHER DAY FOR PRAYING
ANOTHER DAY OF SCORCHING HEAT
ANOTHER DAY IN THE LIFE OF INDIA
Photography’s new conscience
Yerba Mansa has been used for centuries for poorly healing infections of the mouth, such as gum, mouth and throat sores; intestinal problems such as stomach and duodendal ulcers; urinary tract infections; and is useful for arthritis because it stimulates the excretion of uric acid and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It is anti bacterial and antifungal, so it is useful for skin infections also. The roots are gathered in the fall and winter, when the foliage has died back. Wash them well and allow to dry whole for several weeks, then slice into sections and allow it to finish drying. When totally dry (take care not to allow them to mold), grind to powder to mix with water for tea or antiseptic washes. Available in capsule form. From: www.angelfire.com/art/nativeherb/yerbamansa.html
deep in the heart of KOLKATA
there lays a CREEK along side a huge SLUM
named TALI NULA...................................
That royally REEKS of every human excretion, and yet
yes and even so.......................
locals wash, bathe, swim, shit, piss, spit, shampoo, as dying
carcasses float by.
VULTURES in abundance were here in the early 90's. I was lucky to shoot them. They are dying off all over INDIA. Such amazing creatures, metaphors for everything that goes on in this great city called
KOLKATA.
Photography’s new conscience
Leaf hopper and ant. The ants feed on the leaf hopper's excretions, they do not eat the leaf hoppers themselves, at least not while they are alive.
Canberra, Australia, November, 2014.
Nikon d5500
50mm
ISO 3200
f/2.5
Foreground: 40 x 6 seconds
Sky: 82 x 30 seconds
iOptron SkyTracker
Hoya Red Intensifier filter
This is a 122 shot panorama of the Milky Way rising over Lake Clifton and its thrombolites, about an hour south of Perth in Western Australia. Thrombolites are formed by calcium carbonate excretions from colonies of bacteria and are among the oldest lifeforms on earth. These particular ones though are 'only' a couple of thousand years old.
Also prominent in this image are the Magellanic Clouds just above the light pollution in the centre of the image and above the LMC is the pink coloured Carina Nebula, another staple of Southern Hemisphere night skies.
The moist air played havoc with my lens, fogging it up
every 15 minutes so some of the stars appear bloated because of this.
Ever seen a bee peeing? Well, now you have! I caught this by accident in Belfast’s Botanic Gardens while testing my new OM-1. When you gotta go you gotta go…
Apparently it’s very rare to get a photograph of this - some guy in Grimsby caught it years ago and he seems to be all over the Internet - so I probably should be sending this to all the newspapers!
**dear flickr friends a nasty desert bug has me down and out -damsure not in beverly hills! Ill be back among you real soon**
xo
View majamom's mapTaken in (See more photos here)Roadrunners are ground cuckoos, are any of about 15 species of birds constituting the subfamily Neomorphinae of the Cuckoo Family (Cuculidae), noted for terrestrial habits. There are 11 New World species, 3 of which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.
Other ground cuckoos include the Morococcyx erythropygus, a species widespread in Central America and 5 species of Neomorphus, found from Costa Rica to Bolivia.Three species of the very large Carpococcyx, are found in Southeast Asia and acquire a length of 24 inches.
Comparisons
The two species of Roadrunners include the Lesser Roadrunner (G. velox) a slightly smaller, buffier and less streaky bird, of Mexico and Central America, which grows to a length of 18 inches.
Description
The legendary Roadrunner is famous for its distinctive appearance, its ability to eat rattlesnakes and its preference for scooting across the American deserts, as popularized in Warner Bros. cartoons.
The Roadrunner is a large, black-and-white, mottled ground bird with a distinctive head crest. It has strong feet, a long, white-tipped tail and an oversized bill.
It ranges in length from 20 to 24 inches from the tip of its tail to the end of its beak. It is a member of the Cuckoo Family (Cuculidae), characterized by feet with 2 forward toes and 2 behind.
When the Roadrunner senses danger or is traveling downhill, it flies, revealing short, rounded wings with a white crescent. But it cannot keep its large body airborne for more than a few seconds, and so prefers walking or running (up to 17 miles per hour) usually with a clownish gait.
Vocalization
The Roadrunner makes a series of 6 to 8, low, dovelike coos dropping in pitch, as well as a clattering sound by rolling mandibles together.
Tail
The Roadrunner has a long, graduated tail carried at an upward angle.
Legs
The Roadrunner has long stout legs.
Behavior
The Roadrunner is uniquely suited to a desert environment by a number of physiological and behavioral adaptations
Its carnivorous habits offer it a large supply of very moist food
It reabsorbs water from its feces before excretion
A nasal gland eliminates excess salt, instead of using the urinary tract like most birds
It reduces its activity 50% during the heat of midday
Its extreme quickness allows it to snatch a humming bird or dragonfly from midair.
Habitat
The Roadrunner inhabits open, flat or rolling terrain with scattered cover of dry brush, chaparral or other desert scrub.
Food & Hunting
The Roadrunner feeds almost exclusively on other animals, including insects, scorpions, lizards, snakes, rodents and other birds. Up to 10 % of its winter diet may consist of plant material due to the scarcity of desert animals at that time of the year.
Because of its lightening quickness, the Roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon rattlesnakes. Using its wings like a matador's cape, it snaps up a coiled rattlesnake by the tail, cracks it like a whip and repeatedly slams its head against the ground till dead.
It then swallows its prey whole, but is often unable to swallow the entire length at one time. This does not stop the Roadrunner from its normal routine. It will continue to meander about with the snake dangling from its mouth, consuming another inch or two as the snake slowly digests.
Breeding
When spring arrives, the male Roadrunner, in addition to acquiring food for himself, offers choice morsels to a female as an inducement to mating. He usually dances around her while she begs for food, then gives her the morsel after breeding briefly.
Both parents collect the small sticks used for building a shallow, saucer-like nest, but the female actually constructs it in a bush, cactus or small tree. She then lays from 2 to 12 white eggs over a period of 3 days, which results in staggered hatching. . Incubation is from 18-20 days and is done by either parent, though preferably the male, because the nocturnally incubating males maintain normal body temperature.
The first to hatch often crowd out the late-arriving runts, which are sometimes eaten by the parents. Usually only 3 or 4 young are finally fledged from the nest after about 18 days. These remain near the adults for up to 2 more weeks before dispersing to the surrounding desert.
In the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of California where there is only one rainy season, Roadrunners nest in Spring, the only time there is abundant prey to raise a brood. In the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, they breed again in August or September after summer rains increase their food sources
An attractive group of Polypores (Polyporus sp.: resembles very much Polyporus melanopus but well could be P. various) found on a decaying beech tree trunk. All displayed signs of guttation (excretion of water on the surface). Bath Skyline walk. Bath, England
One of the most common hummingbirds at forest edges and gardens from southern Mexico to northwestern South America. Also one of the more aggressive defenders of flower patches and feeders. This is the most colorful of the 25 or so photos I’ve taken of this species and the third hummer I’ve caught relieving itself. Hummingbird excretions are nearly 100% pure water.
Finca Ecologica San Luis Monteverde, Puntarenas Costa Rica, Mar 2024. © C.S. Wood
Photo by: A. Shamandour
Website | Twitter | 500px | Deviant Art
Phyllomedusa sauvagii, commonly known as the waxy monkey tree frog, waxy monkey frog or painted-bellied tree frog is a hylid frog belonging to the subfamily of South and Central American leaf frogs, Phyllomedusinae, that inhabits the Chaco of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil.The subfamily consists of around 50 species in three well-known genera, Phyllomedusa, Agalychnis, and Pachymedusa. The vast majority of known species, including Phyllomedusa sauvagei, belong to the genus Phyllomedusa.
Phyllomedusa sauvagii has adapted to meet the demands of life in the trees. It does not need to return to the ground during the mating season; rather, it lays its eggs down the middle of a leaf before folding the leaf, sandwiching the eggs inside. Its nest is attached to a branch suspended over a stream, so the hatching tadpoles drop into the water. In common with other phyllomedusines, it has physiological and behavioural adaptations to limit water loss, including reducing water loss through the skin by lipid secretions, excretion of uric acid (uricotelism), and diurnal torpor. Lipid secretions are produced in a special type of cutaneous gland, and are spread over the surface of the skin by the legs in a complex sequence of wiping movements.
Males and females range from about 2 to 3 in (5.1 to 7.6 cm) in length, with the females usually about 25% larger than males. They move by walking rather than hopping, which is the reason for the "monkey" in their name. They are very calm, careful creatures. During the day, they bask in the sun with their legs pulled underneath them, and hunt for various insects at night.
An attractive group of Polypores (Polyporus sp.: resemble Polyporus melanopus but could well be P. various) found on a decaying beech tree trunk. Bath Skyline walk. Bath, England
Selected basic bodily functions of the asian ladybug (Harmonia axyridis) recorded during three quarters of an hour on a certain Manchurian willow. Part 1 and 2 - nutrition and excretion.
Scottsdale AZ, Feb 2020. © C.S. Wood
While shooting high speed, rapid fire shutter clicks to get wing position shots for a presentation, I caught this female relieving herself.
Hummingbird excretions are almost pure water except when arthropods make up a measurable portion of the diet; nectar is digested within minutes of consumption.
If we gulped sea water with our food, drinking no fresh water, we would die of dehydration pretty quickly. That's because we need more water by volume to excrete the salt from the same volume of sea water. But whales don't usually drink sea water. When Humpbacks take in a mouthful of fish or krill, they use their muscular tongue like a siphon to pump out the water, using baleen plates to filter the food before swallowing it. The only real source of water is produced by the biochemical breakdown of their food. They do not lose any water through perspiration (like we do through sweat glands in the skin), and they don't lose much through their breath, as they don't breathe very often. Whales also have enormous kidneys, and unlike terrestrial mammals they are composed of numerous lobes called renculi (little kidneys). There are thousands of renculi in the "reniculate" kidneys of baleen whales, creating a large filtering surface which allows the whale to produce highly concentrated urine. After the kidneys have removed the excess salt from water in the body, most of the water is absorbed into the renal cortex of the kidneys, and returned to the bloodstream.
This is a fluking Humpback Whale, commencing its deep, feeding dive. This was near Zeballos off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
good morning, herr doktor.
my boy, my new theory of psycho-ceramics has been completely substantiated!
psycho-ceramics?
cracked pots! previously thought to exist only in the brains of scientists studying salmonella excretions in joy-riding pigs! as it turns out, it's everywhere! can you believe it?
I can. it certainly is in here.
right! I mean, what was that?
nothing, herr doktor. nothing at all.
This photograph genuinely made me laugh out loud, mainly for the expression on the male's face when she presented her cloaca to him. He looks like he has never seen anything quite like that before. I was photographing the female as she fed along a small river then she looked up raised her tail and started quivering her wings. She also pushed open her cloaca. The male alighted next to her, inspected her equipment, then jumped on her back and started mating. Birds have a single urogenital opening that serves for reproduction and excretion. The name of the opening is a cloaca, which is Latin for a sewer or drain. Most birds mate by pressing their cloacal openings together, often called a cloacal kiss, where the male passes across a package of sperm. And on the subject of cloacas (or is it cloacae?), does anyone remember the wonderful book Fungus the Bogeyman by Raymond Briggs? The Bogeymen lived in a world that was opposite to ours, where darkness, damp, dirt and grime were highly valued, and one of their drinks was "Cloaca Cola".
I had always identified male Grey Wagtails by their black throats, and females by their largely pale throats. But I have spent quite a lot of time watching Grey Wagtails this spring and have noticed that this is not a hard and fast rule. Males often have pale feathers interspersed, and females often have rather dark throats. This male on the right had a throat with less black than the female.
Doi Suthep-Pui NP, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Family : Lycaenidae
Sub-Family : Miletinae
Species : Miletus mallus shania
Another uncommon species found in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and peninsular Malaysia. The shania subspecies is only found in north and northeast Thailand. It is a small-medium size butterfly with a wingspan of 37-40mm. I believe the larvae may be wholly aphytophagous, feeding on small homoptera. The adults do not visit flowers and may feed on the excretions of the same homoptera. Apart from this basic information there seems to be little known about this particular species.
All my insect pics are single, handheld shots of live insects in wild situations.
Gerade zur Weihnachtszeit findet man in vielen Türrahmen Mistelzweige. Früher noch verehrt und als heilig angesehen wird die Mistel heute eher als Schädling betrachtet.
Sie wachsen in weitverzweigten Kugeln, die einen Durchmesser von bis zu 80 Zentimetern erreichen können.
Die Beeren sind giftig. Sie enthalten die Samen, die von Vögeln gefressen werden, denen diese Toxizität offensichtlich nichts ausmacht. So gelangen die Samen durch deren Ausscheidungen auf andere Bäume, wo sie sich zu neuen Misteln entwickeln.
********
Mistletoe can be found in many door frames, especially at Christmas time. In the past, mistletoe was revered and considered sacred, but today it is more of a pest.
They grow in widely branched spheres that can reach a diameter of up to 80 centimeters.
The berries are poisonous. They contain the seeds that are eaten by birds who obviously don't mind this toxicity. In this way, the seeds pass through their excretions to other trees, where they develop into new mistletoe.
If I knew how to photoshop this would be a snowy owl.
We will all have to settle for a herring gull.
I think I'm the only one who doesn't have a snowy photo this year.
Larus argentatus
Herring Gulls prefer drinking freshwater, but they'll drink seawater when they must. Special glands located over the eyes allow them to excrete the salt that would otherwise dehydrate most animals, including us. The salty excretion can be seen dripping out of their nostrils and off the ends of their bills.
source -https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Herring_Gull/lifehistory
This is a type of ichneumon wasp (I think Ophion sp.). They are solitary wasps (no nest) that parasitize caterpillars, but like many wasps, while the larvae are meat-eaters, the adults eat sweet stuff like nectar. If you look closely, you can see small, orange flat things amid the tiny round green plant leaves. The orange things are scale insects, which drink plant juices. Some of the scale insects look like they're laying small, white "eggs," but actually those are droplets of "honeydew," a sugary excretion which is like candy to the wasp. Most people know that ants "farm" aphids, protecting them from predators and getting sweet honeydew in return. In this case, I don't think the wasps are protecting the scale insects, just getting a meal.
Roadrunners are ground cuckoos, are any of about 15 species of birds constituting the subfamily Neomorphinae of the Cuckoo Family (Cuculidae), noted for terrestrial habits. There are 11 New World species, 3 of which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.
Other ground cuckoos include the Morococcyx erythropygus, a species widespread in Central America and 5 species of Neomorphus, found from Costa Rica to Bolivia.Three species of the very large Carpococcyx, are found in Southeast Asia and acquire a length of 24 inches.
Comparisons
The two species of Roadrunners include the Lesser Roadrunner (G. velox) a slightly smaller, buffier and less streaky bird, of Mexico and Central America, which grows to a length of 18 inches.
Description
The legendary Roadrunner is famous for its distinctive appearance, its ability to eat rattlesnakes and its preference for scooting across the American deserts, as popularized in Warner Bros. cartoons.
The Roadrunner is a large, black-and-white, mottled ground bird with a distinctive head crest. It has strong feet, a long, white-tipped tail and an oversized bill.
It ranges in length from 20 to 24 inches from the tip of its tail to the end of its beak. It is a member of the Cuckoo Family (Cuculidae), characterized by feet with 2 forward toes and 2 behind.
When the Roadrunner senses danger or is traveling downhill, it flies, revealing short, rounded wings with a white crescent. But it cannot keep its large body airborne for more than a few seconds, and so prefers walking or running (up to 17 miles per hour) usually with a clownish gait.
Vocalization
The Roadrunner makes a series of 6 to 8, low, dovelike coos dropping in pitch, as well as a clattering sound by rolling mandibles together.
Tail
The Roadrunner has a long, graduated tail carried at an upward angle.
Legs
The Roadrunner has long stout legs.
Behavior
The Roadrunner is uniquely suited to a desert environment by a number of physiological and behavioral adaptations
Its carnivorous habits offer it a large supply of very moist food
It reabsorbs water from its feces before excretion
A nasal gland eliminates excess salt, instead of using the urinary tract like most birds
It reduces its activity 50% during the heat of midday
Its extreme quickness allows it to snatch a humming bird or dragonfly from midair.
Habitat
The Roadrunner inhabits open, flat or rolling terrain with scattered cover of dry brush, chaparral or other desert scrub.
Food & Hunting
The Roadrunner feeds almost exclusively on other animals, including insects, scorpions, lizards, snakes, rodents and other birds. Up to 10 % of its winter diet may consist of plant material due to the scarcity of desert animals at that time of the year.
Because of its lightening quickness, the Roadrunner is one of the few animals that preys upon rattlesnakes. Using its wings like a matador's cape, it snaps up a coiled rattlesnake by the tail, cracks it like a whip and repeatedly slams its head against the ground till dead.
It then swallows its prey whole, but is often unable to swallow the entire length at one time. This does not stop the Roadrunner from its normal routine. It will continue to meander about with the snake dangling from its mouth, consuming another inch or two as the snake slowly digests.
Breeding
When spring arrives, the male Roadrunner, in addition to acquiring food for himself, offers choice morsels to a female as an inducement to mating. He usually dances around her while she begs for food, then gives her the morsel after breeding briefly.
Both parents collect the small sticks used for building a shallow, saucer-like nest, but the female actually constructs it in a bush, cactus or small tree. She then lays from 2 to 12 white eggs over a period of 3 days, which results in staggered hatching. . Incubation is from 18-20 days and is done by either parent, though preferably the male, because the nocturnally incubating males maintain normal body temperature.
The first to hatch often crowd out the late-arriving runts, which are sometimes eaten by the parents. Usually only 3 or 4 young are finally fledged from the nest after about 18 days. These remain near the adults for up to 2 more weeks before dispersing to the surrounding desert.
In the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of California where there is only one rainy season, Roadrunners nest in Spring, the only time there is abundant prey to raise a brood. In the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, they breed again in August or September after summer rains increase their food sources
Perth, WA
The ants that surround them come for their excretion of 'honey-dew', which is the excess sugar that the leafhopper doesn't need.
The ant and the aphids have a relationship. The ant gives protection to the aphids and the aphids give the ant a sweet excretion called honeydew.
Green ants nest at the creek in Queensland.
The green-head ant, also known as the green ant or metallic pony ant, is a species of ant that is endemic to Australia. It was described by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858 as a member of the genus Rhytidoponera in the subfamily Ectatomminae. These ants measure between 5 to 7 mm.
NEST DESCRIPTION
Green tree ants are arboreal -– they live in trees, rarely coming to the ground. They build their nest by pulling leaves together and gluing them with excretions. Colonies can be extremely large, covering many trees and containing several hundred thousand workers.
BITE SYMPTOMS
Green tree ants don’t have a sting, but they can bite and also have the ability to spray formic acid, which can hurt if it gets into the bite.
BITE TREATMENT
Wash any bite and use a cold pack to relieve any pain.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxus_baccata
Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia.[1] It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may now be known as English yew, or European yew.
Taxonomy and naming
The word yew is from Proto-Germanic *īwa-, possibly originally a loanword from Gaulish *ivos, compare Irish ēo, Welsh ywen, French if (see Eihwaz for a discussion). Baccata is Latin for bearing red berries. The word yew as it was originally used seems to refer to the color brown.[2] The yew (μίλος) was known to Theophrastus, who noted its preference for mountain coolness and shade, its evergreen character and its slow growth.[3]
Most romance languages, with the notable exception of French, kept a version of the Latin word taxus (Italian tasso, Corsican tassu, Occitan teis, Catalan teix, Gasconic tech, Spanish tejo, Portuguese teixo, Galician teixo and Romanian tisă) from the same root as toxic. In Slavic languages, the same root is preserved: Russian tiss (тис), Slovakian tis, Slovenian tisa, Bosnian tisa (тиса). In Albanian it is named tis.
The common yew was one of the many species first described by Linnaeus. It is one of around 30 other conifer species in seven genera in the family Taxaceae, which is placed in the order Pinales.
Description
It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10–20 metres (33–66 ft) (exceptionally up to 28 metres (92 ft)) tall, with a trunk up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) (exceptionally 4 metres (13 ft)) diameter. The bark is thin, scaly brown, coming off in small flakes aligned with the stem. The leaves are flat, dark green, 1–4 centimetres (0.39–1.57 in) long and 2–3 millimetres (0.079–0.118 in) broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem, except on erect leading shoots where the spiral arrangement is more obvious. The leaves are poisonous.[1][4]
The seed cones are modified, each cone containing a single seed, which is 4–7 millimetres (0.16–0.28 in) long, and partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril. The aril is 8–15 millimetres (0.31–0.59 in) long and wide and open at the end. The arils mature 6 to 9 months after pollination, and with the seed contained, are eaten by thrushes, waxwings and other birds, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their droppings. Maturation of the arils is spread over 2 to 3 months, increasing the chances of successful seed dispersal. The seeds themselves are poisonous and bitter, but are opened and eaten by some bird species including hawfinches,[5] greenfinches and great tits.[6] The aril is not poisonous, but is gelatinous and very sweet tasting. The male cones are globose, 3–6 millimetres (0.12–0.24 in) diameter, and shed their pollen in early spring. The yew is mostly dioecious, but occasional individuals can be variably monoecious, or change sex with time.[1][4][7]
Longevity
Taxus baccata can reach 400 to 600 years of age. Some specimens live longer but the age of yews is often overestimated.[8] Ten yews in Britain are believed to predate the 10th century.[9] The potential age of yews is impossible to determine accurately and is subject to much dispute. There is rarely any wood as old as the entire tree, while the boughs themselves often become hollow with age, making ring counts impossible. There are claims as high as 5,000–9,500 years,[10] but other evidence based on growth rates and archaeological work of surrounding structures suggests the oldest trees (such as the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, Scotland) are more likely to be in the range of 2,000 years.[11][12] Even with this lower estimate, Taxus baccata is one of the longest-living plants in Europe. One characteristic contributing to its longevity is that it is able to split under the weight of advanced growth without succumbing to disease in the fracture, as do most other trees. Another is its ability to give rise to new epicormic and basal shoots from cut surfaces and low on its trunk, even at an old age.
Significant trees
The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, Scotland, has the largest recorded trunk girth in Britain and experts estimate it to be 2,000 to 3,000 years old, although it may be a remnant of a post-Roman Christian site and around 1,500 years old.[13] The Llangernyw Yew in Clwyd, Wales, can be found at an early saint site and is about 1,500 years old.[14] Other well known yews include the Ankerwycke Yew, the Balderschwang Yew, the Caesarsboom, the Florencecourt Yew, and the Borrowdale Fraternal Four, of which poet William Wordsworth wrote. The Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve in West Sussex has one of Europe's largest yew woodlands.
The oldest specimen in Spain is located in Bermiego, Asturias. It is known as Teixu l'Iglesia in the Asturian language. It stands 15 m (49 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of 6.82 m (22.4 ft) and a crown diameter of 15 m. It was declared a Natural Monument on April 27, 1995 by the Asturian Government and is protected by the Plan of Natural Resources.[15]
A unique forest formed by Taxus baccata and European box (Buxus sempervirens) lies within the city of Sochi, in the Western Caucasus.
Allergenic potential
Yews in this genus are primarily separate-sexed, and males are extremely allergenic, with an OPALS allergy scale rating of 10 out of 10. Completely female yews have an OPALS rating of 1, and are considered "allergy-fighting".[16] Male yews bloom and release abundant amounts of pollen in the spring; completely female yews only trap pollen while producing none.[16]
Toxicity
All parts of a yew plant are toxic to humans with the exception of the yew berries (however, their seeds are toxic); additionally, male and monoecious yews in this genus release cytotoxic pollen, which can cause headaches, lethargy, aching joints, itching, and skin rashes; it is also a trigger for asthma.[17][16] These pollen granules are extremely small, and can easily pass through window screens.[16]
The foliage itself remains toxic even when wilted, and toxicity increases in potency when dried.[18] Ingestion and subsequent excretion by birds whose beaks and digestive systems do not break down the seed's coating are the primary means of yew dispersal.[19] The major toxin within the yew is the alkaloid taxine.[20] Horses have a relatively low tolerance to taxine, with a lethal dose of 200–400 mg/kg body weight; cattle, pigs, and other livestock are only slightly less vulnerable.[21] Several studies[22] have found taxine LD50 values under 20 mg/kg in mice and rats.
Symptoms of yew poisoning include an accelerated heart rate, muscle tremors, convulsions, collapse, difficulty breathing, circulation impairment and eventually cardiac arrest. However, there may be no symptoms, and if poisoning remains undetected death may occur within hours.[23] Fatal poisoning in humans is very rare, usually occurring after consuming yew foliage. The leaves are more toxic than the seed.[20]
Uses and traditions
One of the world's oldest surviving wooden artifacts is a Clactonian yew[24] spear head, found in 1911 at Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, UK. It is estimated to be about 450,000 years old.[25]
In the ancient Celtic world, the yew tree (*eburos) had extraordinary importance; a passage by Caesar narrates that Catuvolcus, chief of the Eburones poisoned himself with yew rather than submit to Rome (Gallic Wars 6: 31). Similarly, Florus notes that when the Cantabrians were under siege by the legate Gaius Furnius in 22 BC, most of them took their lives either by the sword, by fire, or by a poison extracted ex arboribus taxeis, that is, from the yew tree (2: 33, 50–51). In a similar way, Orosius notes that when the Astures were besieged at Mons Medullius, they preferred to die by their own swords or by the yew tree poison rather than surrender (6, 21, 1).
Religion
The yew is often found in churchyards in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and northern areas of Spain. In France, the oldest yew trees are almost all located in church yards of Normandy and a chapel was very often laid out in the hollow trunk. Some examples can be found in La Haye-de-Routot or La Lande-Patry. It is said that up to 40 people could stand inside one of the La-Haye-de-Routot yew trees and the Le Ménil-Ciboult yew is probably the largest one (13 m diameter[26]). Indeed, some of these trees are exceptionally large (over 5 m diameter) and may be over 2,000 years old. Sometimes monks planted yews in the middle of their cloister, as at Muckross Abbey (Ireland) or abbaye de Jumièges (France). Some ancient yew trees are located at St Mary the Virgin Church, Overton-on-Dee in Wales.
In Asturian tradition and culture the yew tree has had a real link with the land, the people, the ancestors and the ancient religion. It was tradition on All Saints Day to bring a branch of a yew tree to the tombs of those who had died recently so they will find the guide in their return to the Land of Shadows. The yew tree has been found near chapels, churches and cemeteries since ancient times[citation needed] as a symbol of the transcendence of death, and is usually found in the main squares of the villages where people celebrated the open councils that served as a way of general assembly to rule the village affairs.
It has been suggested that the Sacred Tree at the Temple at Uppsala was an ancient yew tree.[27][28] The Christian church commonly found it expedient to take over existing pre-Christian sacred sites for churches. It has also been suggested that yews were planted at religious sites as their long life was suggestive of eternity, or because being toxic they were seen as trees of death.[29] Another suggested explanation is that yews were planted to discourage farmers and drovers from letting animals wander onto the burial grounds, the poisonous foliage being the disincentive. A further possible reason is that fronds and branches of yew were often used as a substitute for palms on Palm Sunday.[29][30][31]
In traditional Germanic paganism, Yggdrasill was often seen as a giant ash tree.[citation needed] Many scholars now agree that in the past an error has been made in the interpretation of the ancient writings, and that the tree is most likely a European yew (Taxus baccata). This mistake would find its origin in an alternative word for the yew tree in the Old Norse, namely needle ash (barraskr). In addition, ancient sources, including the Eddas, speak about a vetgrønster vida which means "evergreen tree". An ash sheds its leaves in the winter, while yew trees retain their needles.
Conifers were in the past often seen as sacred, because they never lose their green. In addition, the tree of life was not only an object from the stories, but also believers often gathered around an existing tree. The yew releases gaseous toxins (taxine) on hot days. Taxine is in some instances capable of causing hallucinations. This has some similarities with the story that Odin had a revelation (the wisdom of the runes) after having been hanging from the tree for nine days.[citation needed]
Medicines
In 1021, Avicenna introduced the medicinal use of T. baccata for phytotherapy in The Canon of Medicine. He named this herbal drug "Zarnab" and used it as a cardiac remedy. This was the first known use of a calcium channel blocker drug, which were not in wide use in the Western world until the 1960s.[32]
Certain compounds found in the bark of yew trees were discovered by Wall and Wani in 1967 to have efficacy as anti-cancer agents. The precursors of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (taxol) can be synthesized easily from the extracts of the leaves of European yew,[33] which is a more renewable source than the bark of the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia). This ended a point of conflict in the early 1990s; many environmentalists, including Al Gore, had opposed the harvesting of yew for paclitaxel cancer treatments. Docetaxel can then be obtained by semi-synthetic conversion from the precursors.
In the Central Himalayas, the plant is used as a treatment for breast and ovarian cancer.[34]
Woodworking and longbows
Wood from the yew is classified as a closed-pore softwood, similar to cedar and pine. Easy to work, yew is among the hardest of the softwoods; yet it possesses a remarkable elasticity, making it ideal for products that require springiness, such as bows.[35]
Yew is also associated with Wales and England because of the longbow, an early weapon of war developed in northern Europe, and as the English longbow the basis for a medieval tactical system. The oldest surviving yew longbow was found at Rotten Bottom in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It has been given a calibrated radiocarbon date of 4040 BC to 3640 BC and is on display in the National Museum of Scotland. Yew is the wood of choice for longbow making; the heartwood is always on the inside of the bow with the sapwood on the outside. This makes most efficient use of their properties as heartwood is best in compression whilst sapwood is superior in tension. However, much yew is knotty and twisted, and therefore unsuitable for bowmaking; most trunks do not give good staves and even in a good trunk much wood has to be discarded.
The trade of yew wood to England for longbows was so robust that it depleted the stocks of good-quality, mature yew over a vast area. The first documented import of yew bowstaves to England was in 1294. In 1350 there was a serious shortage, and Henry IV of England ordered his royal bowyer to enter private land and cut yew and other woods. In 1423 the Polish king commanded protection of yews in order to cut exports, facing nearly complete destruction of local yew stock.[36] In 1470 compulsory archery practice was renewed, and hazel, ash, and laburnum were specifically allowed for practice bows. Supplies still proved insufficient, until by the Statute of Westminster in 1472, every ship coming to an English port had to bring four bowstaves for every tun.[37] Richard III of England increased this to ten for every tun. This stimulated a vast network of extraction and supply, which formed part of royal monopolies in southern Germany and Austria. In 1483, the price of bowstaves rose from two to eight pounds per hundred, and in 1510 the Venetians would only sell a hundred for sixteen pounds. In 1507 the Holy Roman Emperor asked the Duke of Bavaria to stop cutting yew, but the trade was profitable, and in 1532 the royal monopoly was granted for the usual quantity "if there are that many." In 1562, the Bavarian government sent a long plea to the Holy Roman Emperor asking him to stop the cutting of yew, and outlining the damage done to the forests by its selective extraction, which broke the canopy and allowed wind to destroy neighbouring trees. In 1568, despite a request from Saxony, no royal monopoly was granted because there was no yew to cut, and the next year Bavaria and Austria similarly failed to produce enough yew to justify a royal monopoly. Forestry records in this area in the 17th century do not mention yew, and it seems that no mature trees were to be had. The English tried to obtain supplies from the Baltic, but at this period bows were being replaced by guns in any case.[38]
Horticulture
Today European yew is widely used in landscaping and ornamental horticulture. Due to its dense, dark green, mature foliage, and its tolerance of even very severe pruning, it is used especially for formal hedges and topiary. Its relatively slow growth rate means that in such situations it needs to be clipped only once per year (in late summer).
Well over 200 cultivars of T. baccata have been named. The most popular of these are the Irish yew (T. baccata 'Fastigiata'), a fastigiate cultivar of the European yew selected from two trees found growing in Ireland, and the several cultivars with yellow leaves, collectively known as "golden yew".[4][7] In some locations, e.g. when hemmed in by buildings or other trees, an Irish yew can reach 20 feet in height without exceeding 2 feet in diameter at its thickest point, although with age many Irish yews assume a fat cigar shape rather than being truly columnar.
The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
T. baccata
'Fastigiata'
'Fastigiata Aureomarginata'
'Repandens'
'Repens Aurea'
'Semperaurea'
'Standishii'
European yew will tolerate growing in a wide range of soils and situations, including shallow chalk soils and shade,[46] although in deep shade its foliage may be less dense. However it cannot tolerate waterlogging, and in poorly-draining situations is liable to succumb to the root-rotting pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi.
In Europe, Taxus baccata grows naturally north to Molde in southern Norway, but it is used in gardens further north. It is also popular as a bonsai in many parts of Europe and makes a handsome small to large sized bonsai.[47]
Musical instruments
The late Robert Lundberg, a noted luthier who performed extensive research on historical lute-making methodology, states in his 2002 book Historical Lute Construction that yew was historically a prized wood for lute construction. European legislation establishing use limits and requirements for yew limited supplies available to luthiers, but it was apparently as prized among medieval, renaissance, and baroque lute builders as Brazilian rosewood is among contemporary guitar-makers for its quality of sound and beauty.
Conservation
Clippings from ancient specimens in the UK, including the Fortingall Yew, were taken to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh to form a mile-long hedge. The purpose of this "Yew Conservation Hedge Project" is to maintain the DNA of Taxus baccata. The species is threatened by felling, partly due to rising demand from pharmaceutical companies, and disease.[48]
More action from light hunting excretions along banks of river Bug last summer.
This ever changing world of restless, fast flowing river, always at work in shaping its way to the sea, forever there to surprise you, here to welcomes you to appraise its efforts.
Ants tending to aphids for more honey-dew in a basil plant in my garden.
Aphids are small insects(around 2mm) living on plant sap and they excrete excess sugar as honey dew. Ants love these excretions and they always protect these tiny creatures to get more sugar. They protect the aphids from their predators like ladybugs and even carry them to their colony.
Ants get their food and in return the aphids get protected from their enemies !!! What a wonderful arrangement by these tiny creatures !!! Live and let live !!! And when are we going to learn
from them ?
ஓட்டுடன்பற் றின்றி உலகைத் துறந்தசெல்வப்
பட்டினத்தார் பத்ரகிரி பண்புணர்வ தெந்நாளோ !!!
தாயுமானவடிகள் எந்நாள்கண்ணி
This is a type of ichneumon wasp (I think Ophion sp.). They are solitary wasps (no nest) that parasitize caterpillars, but like many wasps, while the larvae are meat-eaters, the adults eat sweet stuff like nectar. If you look closely, you can see small, orange flat things amid the tiny round green plant leaves. The orange things are scale insects, which drink plant juices. Some of the scale insects look like they're laying small, white "eggs," but actually those are droplets of "honeydew," a sugary excretion which is like candy to the wasp. Most people know that ants "farm" aphids, protecting them from predators and getting sweet honeydew in return. In this case, I don't think the wasps are protecting the scale insects, just getting a meal.
“Cloaca Professional” by Wim Delvoye is a machine for simulating the digestive process from ingestion to excretion. And yes, this machine does produce shit. It looks beautiful in a technological sort of way. Reflect on that as you will.
Whilst it is generally well-known that most caterpillars are "herbivorous" and generally feed on leaves, buds and flowers of plants, the Miletinae butterfly caterpillars are carnivorous and feed on aphids, scale insects and mealy bugs. Collectively, the Miletinae butterflies are known as Harvesters and the Miletus genus as the Brownies.
These prey species, as sap suckers, produce a by-product of ingesting large volumes of plant fluids as a liquid excretion called honeydew. Ants and other insects "farm" these plant pests and collect honeydew for their own food. In return for their food, ants will protect the aphids, scales and mealy bugs that provide their colony with a food source.
Miletinae butterfly adults have been observed to also feed off the secretions of the aphids, mealy bugs and coccids. The butterflies do this brazenly, without any fear of being attacked, in the presence of the protective ants that are also 'milking' the aphids or mealy bugs of their honeydew. Besides feeding off the honeydew, the Miletinae also lay their eggs where the aphids and mealy bugs are present, and the caterpillars of these species feed on the aphids and mealy bug community.
It is interesting to note that the ants neither extract honeydew from, nor tend to the caterpillars in this case. They go about their business of tending to the aphids or mealy bugs, but leave the caterpillars alone - despite the caterpillars devouring their "herd"! Why then, don't the normally ferocious ants attack and kill the predatory caterpillars?
Researchers have postulated that the caterpillars (and even adult butterflies) have some kind of chemo-mimicry that render themselves 'invisible' to the ants. In other words, as far as the ants are concerned, the Miletinae adults and caterpillars are perceived as just another ant in the colony.
Therefore, although the caterpillars and adult butterflies of the Miletinae derive 'protection' from the ants, they give nothing back in return. On top of that, the adult butterflies partake of the honeydew that are secreted by the aphids and mealy bugs, and their caterpillars feed on the ants' source of food.
(adapted from Mergers, Partnerships & Betrayals - Butterflies of Singapore.)
Pu'er, Yunnan, China
see comments for additional image (another individual)…..
A Blue Footed Booby on North Seymour Island.
Blue Footed Booby
The natural breeding habitat of the Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii) is tropical and subtropical islands off the Pacific Ocean, most famously, the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. The name “booby” comes from the Spanish term bobo, which means "Stupid" or "Fool"/"Clown". This is because the Blue-footed Booby is clumsy on the land. Like other seabirds, they can be very tame. The Blue-footed Booby is on average 81 cm (32”) long and weighs 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb), with the females slightly larger than the males. It has long pointed wings and a wedge shaped tail. They have strong, thick necks. The booby's eyes are placed on either side of their bill and oriented towards the front. They have excellent binocular vision. The Blue-footed Booby's eyes are yellow. The male has more yellow on its iris than the female does. The Blue-footed Booby has permanently closed nostrils specialized for diving. They breathe through the corners of their mouths. Their feet range from a pale turquoise to a deep aquamarine. Males and younger birds have lighter feet than females do. Blue-footed Boobies are distributed among the continental coasts of the eastern Pacific Ocean to the Galapagos Islands and California. The Blue-footed Booby is strictly a marine bird. Their only need for land is to breed, which they do along rocky coasts. The courtship of the Blue-footed Booby consists of the male flaunting his blue feet and dancing to impress the female. During the dance, the male will spread his wings and stamp his feet on the ground. The Blue-footed Booby is a monogamous animal although they do have the potential to be bigamous. They reunite at their breeding grounds. The breeding cycle of the booby is every 8 to 9 months. When mating, the female parades and the male points his head and tail high to the sky and his wings are back to show off to the female. The male blue-footed booby also makes a high-piping whistle noise. Males do a dance to attract the females. The dance includes the males lifting their blue feet high and throwing their heads up. The blue-footed booby is not a seasonally reproducing species. They are opportunistic in their breeding. The female Blue-footed Booby lays two or three eggs. Both male and female take turns incubating the eggs, while the non-sitting bird keeps a watch. Since the Blue-footed Booby does not have a brooding patch (a patch of bare skin on the underbelly) it uses its feet to keep the eggs warm. The chicks cannot control their body temperature up until about one month old. Eggs are laid about 5 days apart. Blue-foots are one of only two species of booby that raise more than one chick. This may be because of the males specialized diving in shallow waters. They must be fed frequently, so the adults constantly hunt for fish. The chicks feed off the regurgitated fish in the adult's mouth. If the parent Blue-footed Booby does not have enough food for all of the chicks, it will only feed the biggest chick, ensuring that at least one will survive. Boobies may use and defend two or three nesting sites until they develop a preference a few weeks before the eggs are laid. Usually 2 to 3 eggs are laid and 1 to 2 chicks are hatched. The incubation period is 41–45 days. They nest on bare black lava in a small dip in the ground. The female will turn to face the sun throughout the day so the nest is surrounded by excretion. These nests are done in large colonies. The male and female share quite a bit of their responsibilities. The male will provide food for the young in the first part of their life because of his specialized diving and the female will take over when the demand is higher. The Blue-footed Booby's diet consists entirely of fish. Blue-footed Boobies are specialized fish eaters feeding on school fish like sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and flying fish. They also feed on squid and offal. It dives into the ocean, sometimes from a great height, and swims underwater in pursuit of its prey. It hunts singly, in pairs or in larger flocks. They travel in parties of 12 or so to areas of water with large schools of small fish. When the lead bird sees a fish shoal in the water, it will signal the rest of the group and they will all dive together to catch the fish. Surprisingly, individuals do not eat with the hunting group, preferring to eat on their own, usually in the early morning or late afternoon. When they spot a school they will all dive in unison. They will point their bodies down like a torpedo and dive into the water. Plunge diving can be done from heights of 33-100ft and even up to 330 ft (100 m). These birds hit the water around 60 mph (97 km/h) and can go to depths of 82 ft (25 m) below the water surface. The prey is usually eaten while the bird is still under water. Males and females fish differently which could contribute to the reasons that blue foots, unlike other boobies raise more than one young. The male is smaller and the tail is larger for its body which enables the male to fish in shallow areas instead of just deep waters. The tail can flatten out easier enabling him to change direction in the shallow water. The female is larger and can carry more food. The food is then regurgitated to the young. The males feed the young for the first part of the incubation period. This is done because the males can bring back food quicker than the female. When the demand for more food takes over the female provides the food to the young. Blue-foots will make raucous or polysyllabic grunts or shouts and thin whistle noise. The males of the species have been known to throw up their head and whistle at a female flying by. Their ritual displays are also a form of communication.
North Seymour Island.
Separated by a thin strait north of Isla Baltra and Isla Santa Cruz, Isla Seymour is often referred to as North Seymour Island, while Isla Baltra is often called the South Seymour Island. Having similar flora and vegetation such as the Prickly Pear Cacti and salt bushes, Isla Seymour is very similar to Isla Baltra because they have both been created from a geological uplift. Quite a small island in terms of land mass, Isla Seymour is definitely worth visiting. To explore the island, follow a circular trail roughly 2 km long leading inland and along the rocky coast that will take you through some of the biggest sea bird breeding colonies in the entire Galapagos. Here you will find birds nesting, mating and rearing their chicks all year round. Blue-footed Boobies and Frigate birds are the main attractions here. Since most of the wildlife and birds in the Galapagos Islands are quite fearless, it is possible for visitors to get an up close view of the nests of many of the birds here, including the lovely Swallow-tailed Gulls and bright Yellow Warblers.
Galapagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (official name: Archipiélago de Colón; other Spanish names: Islas de Colón or Islas Galápagos) are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, some 900 km west of Ecuador. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site: wildlife is its most notable feature. Because of the only very recent arrival of man the majority of the wildlife has no fear of humans and will allow visitors to walk right up them, often having to step over Iguanas or Sea Lions.The Galápagos islands and its surrounding waters are part of a province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve. The principal language on the islands is Spanish. The islands have a population of around 40,000, which is a 40-fold expansion in 50 years. The islands are geologically young and famed for their vast number of endemic species, which were studied by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. His observations and collections contributed to the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.
Not quite as cute or neat as when they're eating and have groomed themselves for a half hour or so - and evidently that coat is thick enough to hold quite a bit of water. I watched this guy making pass after pass from a mud pile to his new nest and pack it in until it was to his liking. Then he and the female brought up four kits. You'd think that muskrats and otters would compete for food, but believe me, otters are predators (even taking down a cormorant that wasn't paying attention, a picture I'm not going to post) while muskrats are vegetarians and like running water. The other muskrat shot is the same guy, but relatively dried and in his element eating new spring shoots of whatever water water plants he could find.
Muskrats are not rats at all. They are rodents akin to beavers and do as much good to the environment as beavers. In fact, once the den is laid, the muskrat "lodge" looks almost idential to a beaver lodge, just smaller. They have flat tails and will use them as a warning. The "musk" part is that they use a musky excretion to mark territories, and believe me, you wouldn't want to live near them...though the shot I posted yesterday was taken at maybe 20 feet an he didn't seem to mind at all.
Haven't seen them in a few years, but they were year-round residents. Excellent swimmers, which was probably the only reason that the otters didn't seem to scare them off. And they ALWAYS nested across the pond (about 1/2 mile) and underwater, more like beaver than any other animal I know.
May 22, 2010 #115
Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to Europe, North America and Asia and two species, T. officinale and T. erythrospermum, are found as weeds worldwide.The common name Dandelion is given to members of the genus and like other members of the Asteraceae family, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret. Many Taraxacum species produce seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.
A number of species of Taraxacum are regarded as seed dispersed weeds or ruderals, especially the Common dandelion (T. officinale), which has been introduced over much of the temperate world as a lawn weed. After pollination and flowering is finished, the dandelion flower dries out for a day or two and then the seed-bearing parachutes expand and lift out of the dried flower head. The dried part of the flower drops off and the parachute ball opens into a full sphere. The parachute drops off when the seed strikes an obstacle. Often dandelions are observed growing in crevices near a wall; when the blowing fruits hit the wall, the feathery pappi comes off, dropping the dandelion seeds to the base of the wall or into a crevice. After the seed is released, the parachutes lose their feathered structure and take on a fuzzy, cotton-like appearance, often called "dandelion snow."
The species of Taraxacum are tap-rooted biennial or perennial herbaceous plants, native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere of the Old World.
The leaves are 5–25 cm long or longer, simple and basal, entire or lobed, forming a rosette above the central taproot. The flower heads are yellow to orange colored, and are open in the daytime but closed at night. The heads are borne singly on a hollow stem (scape) which rises 4–75 cm above the leaves and exudes a milky sap (latex) when broken. A rosette may produce several flowering stems at a time. The flower heads are 2–5 cm in diameter and consists entirely of ray florets. The flower heads mature into a spherical "clocks" (also known as a "wishie" containing many single-seeded fruits called achenes. Each achene is attached to a pappus of fine hairs, which enable wind-aided dispersal over long distances. The flower head is surrounded by bracts (sometimes mistakenly called sepals) in two series. The inner bracts are erect until the seeds mature, then flex downward to allow the seeds to disperse; the outer bracts are always reflexed downward. Some species drop the "parachute" from the achenes; the hair-like parachutes are called pappus, and they are modified sepals. Between the pappus and the achene, there is a stalk called a beak, which elongates as the fruit matures. The beak breaks off from the achene quite easily, separating the seed from the parachute.
Dandelion leaves are believed to have a diuretic effect as they increase salt and water excretion from the kidneys.
The genus is taxonomically complex, with some botanists dividing the group into numerous macrospecies, and many more microspecies: approximately 235 apomictic and polyploid microspecies have been recorded in Great Britain and Ireland. Some botanists take a much narrower view and only accept a total of about 60 species.
Orthosiphon aristatus Cat's Whiskers
Orthosiphon aristatus, commonly known as cat's whiskers or Java tea, is a plant species in the family Lamiaceae (also known Labiatae). The plant is a medicinal herb found mainly throughout southern China, the Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia, and tropical Queensland, Australia.[1][2][3][4] As a medical herb, it is used for increasing excretion of urine, lowering uric acid, protecting kidney, reducing oxidative stress, reducing inflammation, protecting liver, protecting stomach, lowering blood pressure, ameliorating diabetes, ameliorating hyperlipidemia, fighting microorganisms and fighting anorexia.[5][6] It is known as kumis kucing in Indonesia and misai kucing in Malaysia, both of which translate to cat's whiskers.
Orthosiphon aristatus is used in landscaping to attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to its nectar.[7]
Varieties[1]
Orthosiphon aristatus var. aristatus - most of species range
Orthosiphon aristatus var. velteri Suddee & A.J.Paton - Vietnam
This is a Stock Dove taking a drink from the water's edge. But have you noticed that pigeons and doves drink differently from (most) other birds? When you see songbirds drinking at your bird bath they take a beakful of water then tilt their head back to let gravity do the rest. But pigeons and doves are different as they can swallow while their heads are down without the need to tilt their heads back. They suck the water straight into their crop, which is a thin walled storage organ at the back of their throat used to store food or water before digestion. But birds don't need water as much as we do because they have a very different excretory system. We need water to rid our bodies of the water-soluble waste product urea, which is excreted in urine. But birds excrete water-insoluble uric acid which appears as tiny white crystals in an emulsion. Which is the white bit in a bird dropping. The black part is the faeces. If we drink sea water we dehydrate because the body uses more water to get rid of the salt than is present in the sea water. But birds can safely drink salty water without dehydrating, because they don't need water to excrete the insoluble uric acid.
So only a small amount of water is lost through excretion in birds, but they do lose water through the lungs and skin (though they don't sweat). So birds will need to take in water to make up these losses. Many birds take all the water they need with their food, such as those that eat fruit, nectar, meat, and worms. But birds that eat dry seeds, such as finches and pigeons, need to take in more water.
And onto the bird; Stock Doves seem to be a much overlooked bird, probably because of their resemblance to the much commoner Feral Pigeons and Woodpigeons. The word stock can mean a tree-trunk and the Stock Dove was called this because of its habit of nesting in holes in tree trunks, which distinguishes it from the other two species. However, if there are no big trees with holes they will find a hole somewhere else and sometimes even use rabbit burrows. There are about 320,000 pairs of Stock Doves nest in Britain compared to 5.2 million pairs of Woodpigeon.
Shield bugs (Palomena prasina) appear in May, having hibernated as imagos, (the last stage in it's metamorphosis) during the winter. They fatten for a month and then mate in June, (hence the term 'Glorious June), The female lays her eggs in hexagonal batches of 25 to 30, and a single female will lay three to four batches. After the eggs hatch, they enter a larval stage and remain together in sibling communities, it's always nice when families stay together don't you think. This is made possible by the excretion of an aggregation pheromone.
I remember when our kids were young, at a local country show, being the responsible parents we are, we 'misplaced' a child! A few peaceful minutes passed before the errant youngster was rounded up; an aggregation pheromone would have come in handy then!
The green shield bug displays different colouration during each nymphal stage, light brown, black or green-black, and in the final stage, the imago, is bright green with short wings. Usually the imago stage is reached in September and Palomena will soon be putting her summer wardrobe away in preparation for hibernation in November.
So there you have it for today and not a rock or a lighthouse in sight.
The track for today, as Palomena might say 'It's my Life'
Check out those hairstyles! Nicky Clarke gets everywhere, one day masquerading as DT, the next, he's the frontman for Talk Talk!
Shield bug (pentatomidae) & Ants (Camponotus sp) - Gallito de Las Rocas Concession, Peru
I came across this scene on a bamboo stalk deep in the jungle. The ants had surrounded the juvenile shieldbug and were standing around it, although there were no signs of aggression. I'm not sure but I suspect this is a case of a mutualistic interaction, specifically trophobiosis, the pentatomid is providing the ants with food in exchange for protection/tolerance. The food provided will take the form of sugary excretions - "honeydew"- the shieldbug will excrete and the ants will consume. The ants will allow the pentatomid to live in close proximity to them and even potentially repel other insects which may be dangerous to the pentatomid. Trophobiosis has been recorded between a wide variety of ants and other organisms, with aphids being a textbook example. However, records of ant-pentatomid/stinkbug trophobiosis are rare and I could only find 3 recorded species of stinkbug known to engage in such. While this was the most apparent example, I did notice this species of pentatomid hanging out in very close proximity to ants on other bamboo stalks as well including within the ant nests found when peeling a bit of bamboo sheath back. Looks like there is atleast a facultative association between the two.