View allAll Photos Tagged cannibalism
Stopped above Donner Lake today for this view of the west end of the lake. I can never cross Donner Pass without thinking a little about the tragedy that resulted in it's current name.
A small excerpt from Wikipedia,
"In early November 1846 the Donner Party found the route blocked by snow and was forced to spend the winter on the east side of the mountains. Of the 81 emigrants, only 45 survived to reach California; some of them resorting to cannibalism to survive."
Donner Pass today:
Donner Pass - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Pass
The story of the Donner Party:
Donner Party - Wikipedia
I have posted several pictures on my photostream for those interested in this apparently rare event, where two Peregrines fought to the death.
The two juvenile falcons appeared to have started fighting over a gull. It seems they soon forgot about the gull and one falcon killed the other, then swam with it to shore and proceeded to eat it right in front of us.
The name Ana Kai Tangata has led to various speculations due to the different translations. On one hand, Ana, means “cave”; Tangata, means “man”; and Kai, means “to eat” in modern Rapa Nui. For which, the cave is referred to as “the cave of the cannibals” or of the “man-eaters”. However, there is no archaeological proof or any oral traditions that confirm that the Rapa Nui practiced cannibalism.
a bit of history:
I found this wonderful life size statue of Rae lying in peaceful repose next to a rifle and a book, inside the great St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
John Rae, a Scottish physician, explored the Canadian wilderness in the 1800's. He was the first European to survive an arctic winter by living in the manner of the native Inuit. He is also known for discovering the tragic fate of the Franklin Expedition that had disappeared some years previous trying to find a North passage. Rae did not get the immediate recognition he deserved as his report proved very unpopular. No one at that time wanted to believe that an Englishman would resort to cannibalism to survive.
Rae was employed by the "Governor and Adventurers of England Trading out of Hudson Bay." He eventually returned to Great Britain and is buried in his native home of Kirkwall in the Orkneys.
The Mrs. had noticed a Praying Mantis laying eggs on one of the trees in our yard several months back. This morning she came in and says, “grab your camera, you need to see this.” I go outside and grabbed a shot of little Mantises tumbling out of their egg case… called an "ootheca" (pronounced oh-uh–THEE-kuh).
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Here’s more than you’ll ever want to know about Praying Mantises:
From extreme camouflage to sexual cannibalism, these pious-looking carnivores are as exquisite as they are fearsome.
Named for their prominent front legs that fold together in a gesture suggesting devotion, the praying mantis comes off as serene and soulful. They are not as docile as they appear. In fact, praying mantises are ambush predators with lightning-fast moves and many other extreme skills.
Mantises are fascinating creatures that have mastered their place in the natural world. About 2,000 known mantis species exist around the globe, exhibiting a wide and awe-inspiring array of adaptations to their environments.
Praying mantises possess stereo vision, and thanks to the placement of their eyes, they also have a wide field of vision. Each of their eyes has a concentrated area of photoreceptor cells that lets them focus and track with acuity.
Mantises are the only insects capable of turning their heads from side to side. Being able to turn its head without moving the rest of its body is a key advantage for a mantis when hunting, allowing for minimal movement as it sneaks up on prey.
Praying mantises wait to ambush or patiently stalk their prey, but once they’re ready to strike, they do so with lightning speed, attacking with those big front legs so quickly it’s hard to see with the naked eye. In addition, they have spikes on their legs to skewer and pin the victims into place.
Praying mantises are carnivores with a taste for live food. They can provide some helpful pest control to gardeners, as they eat potentially destructive insects like beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers. However, they aren't picky eaters — they're also known to prey on helpful insects like native bees and butterflies, so their overall effect on pest control is difficult to predict.
Mantises don’t stop at eating insects. They also target other arthropods like spiders, and sometimes even small vertebrate animals. Some mantises are known to prey on hummingbirds, for example, as well as warblers, sunbirds, honeyeaters, flycatchers, vireos, and European robins, in addition to frogs and lizards.
Male praying mantises do not always survive the mating season. Between 13 and 28 percent of mating encounters end with sexual cannibalism, in which the female praying mantis bites off the head of the male and eats him. In a 2016 study, researchers found that females that cannibalized their male partner produced significantly more eggs than those that did not, suggesting that their cannibalistic behavior may increase the chance of reproductive success.
(Nikon Z, 105 mm Macro Lens, 1/1000 @ f/9.0, ISO 560, edited to taste)
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 430 genera in 15 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis.
The closest relatives of mantises are the termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects (Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), or other insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies (Mantispidae). Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn, then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation.
Mantises were considered to have supernatural powers by early civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Assyria. A cultural trope popular in cartoons imagines the female mantis as a femme fatale. Mantises are among the insects most commonly kept as pets.
Los Angeles. California.
The name Ana Kai Tangata has led to various speculations due to the different translations. On one hand, Ana, means “cave”; Tangata, means “man”; and Kai, means “to eat” in modern Rapa Nui. For which, the cave is referred to as “the cave of the cannibals” or of the “man-eaters”. However, there is no archaeological proof or any oral traditions that confirm that the Rapa Nui practiced cannibalism.
On the other hand, the word Kai in ancient Rapanui may have meant “to gather”, “to count” or “to teach”, so you could actually say that this cave was a place used for meetings or providing some form of education. In fact, apparently at some point in history, this cave was a shipyard and port, so some researchers say it could have been used “to teach” how to make canoes.
"don't be afraid should things happen to change
'cause change can be a beautiful thing
should things fall apart
be patient like a rainbow
life is loving and letting go..."
~Brett Dennen "Don't Forget"
Patience is a virtue.
... and on to other things! My fun fact for today ... people at work are so kind to share these things with me (oh, I'm so thankful.... lol!) Owls eat the heads off of pheasants and leave the rest of the bird. This is disturbing on so many levels... first of all...owls are birds, pheasants are birds... so isn't this... kind of... cannibalism? (ewww) Owls eat brains.... kind of like zombies. Wouldn't there be a lot more tasty meat on the rest of the bird... than the head?!! (Brains must be really good) Leaving the rest of the bird is kind of wasteful, don't you think? So, that became a discussion today... and then someone tried to explain something else to me and I had to admit to them... "I'm sorry, I'm not listening.... I just can't get past the owls eating the pheasant's heads... and then I had to google it. (the rest of my work just had to wait) It's true. I guess it's not really a "fun fact", is it?... especially not for the pheasants.
But...on a lighter note... it was warm today... and the sun was out... and the sky was blue!! No grey! YEY!!
A cherry blossom is a flower of many trees of genus Prunus. The most well-known species is the Japanese cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is commonly called sakura. They are widely distributed, especially in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere including Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Mainland China, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Thailand and West Siberia. Along with the chrysanthemum, the cherry blossom is considered the national flower of Japan. Japan has a wide variety of cherry blossoms (sakura); well over 200 cultivars can be found there. All varieties of cherry blossom trees produce small, unpalatable fruit or edible cherries. Edible cherries generally come from cultivars of the related species Prunus avium and Prunus cerasus.
Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae (mantids). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They have triangular heads with bulging eyes supported on flexible necks. Their elongated bodies may or may not have wings, but all Mantodea have forelegs that are greatly enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey; their upright posture, while remaining stationary with forearms folded, has led to the common name praying mantis. The closest relatives of mantises are termites and cockroaches (Blattodea), which are all within the superorder Dictyoptera. Mantises are sometimes confused with stick insects (Phasmatodea), other elongated insects such as grasshoppers (Orthoptera), or other unrelated insects with raptorial forelegs such as mantisflies (Mantispidae). Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn, then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation. Mantises were considered to have supernatural powers by early civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Assyria. A cultural trope popular in cartoons imagines the female mantis as a femme fatale. Mantises are among the insects most commonly kept as pets. 66370
Leptophis ahaetulla, commonly known as the lora or parrot snake, is a species of medium-sized slender snake of the family Colubridae. The species is native to Central America and northern South America. It feeds on small birds and their eggs, lizards, frogs and their eggs, and insects such as grasshoppers. It is also known to show cannibalism and feed on other snakes which is a rare behaviour.
Costa Rica, Tenorio Volcano National Park
Please don't use my images without my permission. All images © Aivar Mikko.
BROKEN ARROWS - Bjorn Scythe - Blood V1 - MAN CAVE EVENT - 17 OCTOBER
.: CORAZON:. - Tattoo JACK - MAN CAVE EVENT - 17 OCTOBER
[MAGNIFICENT] for EON - Bento VIKING Stache & Beard - MAN CAVE EVENT - 17 OCTOBER
L'Emporio&PL:: - *Gavin*:: kilt with pants
AG. Boss Eyes Pack - MAN CAVE EVENT - 17 OCTOBER
RichB. Alen Set Piercing - MAN CAVE EVENT - 17 OCTOBER
Millo Copperfield - Halloween Skull hand - MAN CAVE EVENT - 17 OCTOBER
UNHOLY - THE SYCOPHANT - LEGACY EVENT
This week I had some internet problems so I enjoyed myself with photography and photoshop!!
Sta settimana ho avuto qualche problemino di connessione... per cui mi sono divertita a far foto e rielaborarle!!!!
From nomadsfraserisland.com/blog/fraser-island-s-maheno-shipwr...
"'Maheno' is the Maori (native New Zealand language) word for 'island'
The ocean liner was built in Scotland in 1904 and was the world's first ever triple screw steamer (we don't know what that means either)!
It was first used as a hospital ship in World War I and then later purchased by a Sydney company to travel between Australia and New Zealand.
The Maheno was then sold to a Japanese company whom planned to melt the ship into scrap metal and resell. The ship began its journey back to Osaka Japan in 1935 by tow, linked to another boat by chain.
On this voyage the ship found itself in the middle of a seasonal cyclone off Fraser Island's coastline and lost its link to the other ship, which soon disappeared. It then washed upon the shores of 75 Mile Beach – luckily there was only a small crew onboard.
Tales of the survivors soon began to hit headlines. There were stories of the Japanese crew members being too afraid to step off the boat for fear of cannibalism of the natives (only rumours of course)!
Other stories tell of the 8 crew members who camped up on the shores of Fraser Island for 3 days before being spotted by a plane.
Crew members attempted to fix and refloat the boat but after proving unsuccessful, the ship was left abandoned.
The Maheno shipwreck soon became a sacred for the native aboriginals, where the men would gather to play the didgeridoo and the women would venture to the site to give birth.
Today, it is a popular tourist attraction that sits upon Fraser Island’s 75 Mile Beach and in simple terms – well worth the visit!"
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From Wikipédia:
SS Maheno was an ocean liner belonging to the Union Company of New Zealand that operated in the Tasman Sea, crossing between New Zealand and Australia, from 1905 until 1935.
She was also used as a ship by the New Zealand Naval Forces during World War I; as His Majesty's New Zealand Hospital Ship No. 1. She was washed ashore on Fraser Island by a cyclone in 1935 where the disintegrating wreck remains as a popular tourist attraction."
75 Mile Beach, Queensland
I captured this behaviour last year but it was so far away, I had to crop my image a lot. I was looking for another opportunity this summer.
I first saw this guy further away in the pond (image already posted). I waited for it to come closer but it just disappeared after waiting quite a long time. I decided to walk around and when I came back I could hear it at a very closed range. It was in the middle of the reeds right by the shore and fortunately managed to have a very small window. So I waited for it to sing again. That was another hour and a half until it jumped to catch this baby frog. This image was cropped on the right inside because of the reeds as it moved almost in front of it. I waited another hour or so for it to sing again so I could capture the vibration at a closer range (image to come).
We never did get any Monarch caterpillars on our backyard swamp milkweed last summer ,but the Milkweed Bugs were kind of cool to watch. This was an interesting observation of misbehavior in the insect world, though-- not just cannibalism, but presumably fratricide as well, since I think it is safe to assume that the bugs all came from the same batch of eggs. The natural world can definitely be disturbing at times...
Edit: It has been brought to my attention that these jumping spiders are most likely mating. I’m not sure if this is right or not. Either way, whether this was a mating or an act of cannibalism, it was still the first time I’ve ever seen this. Both of these Jumpers were very small and they were deep inside my Milkweed plant. It was very hard to get the camera close enough and the lighting was absolutely terrible but I'm still glad that I managed to capture this encounter in a photo. Photographed in Maryland.
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, 1860s
The work is a highly expressive depiction of Ugolino della Gherardesca from Canto XXXIII of Dante's Inferno. In the story, the Pisan count Ugolino is sentenced to die in a tower prison with his children and grandchildren. Carpeaux shows Ugolino at the moment where he considers cannibalism.
Sexual cannibalism is common among most predatory species of mantises in captivity. It has sometimes been observed in natural populations, where about a quarter of male-female encounters result in the male being eaten by the female.[59][60][61] Around 90% of the predatory species of mantises exhibit sexual cannibalism.[62] Adult males typically outnumber females at first, but their numbers may be fairly equivalent later in the adult stage,[5] possibly because females selectively eat the smaller males.[63] In Tenodera sinensis, 83% of males escape cannibalism after an encounter with a female, but since multiple matings occur, the probability of a male's being eaten increases cumulatively.[60]
Checking the respective Flickr groups as well as some of your – my dear readers' – Photostreams, I came upon some very impressive wide angle close-up work. My love for this particular discipline rekindled, I simply couldn't sit still any longer. But what to shoot?
Mantis religiosa in the Ruhr region are sadly still a few years of climate change away. We have no colourful geckos, hand sized spiders or tropical katydids...
But wait, we've got palearctic katydids! :D
The Great Green Bush-Cricket is quite common and might not seem very fancy a subject to people in Central Europe. "It's not even endangered", they might mewl. But on closer inspection I find it quite interesting. Did you, for example, know that these cute little "Heupferdchen" (literally: hay horsies) are primarily predators of other insects and don't shy away from some opportunistic cannibalism either? Well, I didn't.
So after listening to some audiofiles of their stridulation and arriving in probable habitat I was able to locate and photograph four male individuals in a few hours. The shot above features the last and most cooperative of the bunch.
Industriebrache in Essen.
Elaborando el censo de odonatos avistados en los diferentes puntos de agua que he/hemos visitado este año en la Comunidad, me he encontrado con una carpeta de fotos aún por editar hechas en un paraje denominado el Hondo de Elche (Alicante).
La sorpresa ha sido grata por que no recordaba esta fotografía, la de una hembra de Ischnura elegans devorando a un macho de su misma especie cual “Mantis religiosa” se tratara.
Retomando un debate que ya originara Ricardo hace un tiempo, se plantea un dilema ¿canibalismo o depredación? Ahí lo dejo.
Drawing up the census of odonates sighted in the different water points that I / we have visited this year in the Community, I have found a folder of photos still to be edited made in a place called El Hondo de Elche (Alicante).
The surprise was pleasant because she did not remember this photograph, that of a female Ischnura elegans devouring a male of the same species, which "Praying Mantis" was involved.
Returning to a debate that Ricardo originated some time ago, a dilemma arises: cannibalism or predation? I leave it there.
A crab spider sitting on my basil plant doing what, I know not :-)
I'm guessing this is the Yellow flower crab spider.
Scientific name: Thomisus onistus.
Family: Thomisidae.
And I suspect this isn't love.
Taken in Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa.
European praying mantises reproduce only once in their lifetime, and all adults die before winter, while the offspring overwinter in the embryonic stage in the egg.[
The European praying mantis practices sexual cannibalism, meaning that in the wild (in up to 30 percent of cases) the male is eaten by the female during or after mating.
************************************************
" Gottesanbeterin - Blickkontakt "
Europäische Gottesanbeterinnen pflanzen sich nur einmal im Leben fort, und alle erwachsenen Tiere sterben vor dem Winter, während der Nachwuchs im Embryonalstadium im Ei überwintert.[
Die europäische Gottesanbeterin praktiziert sexuellen Kannibalismus, d. h. das Männchen wird in freier Wildbahn (in bis zu 30 Prozent der Fälle) während oder nach der Paarung vom Weibchen aufgefressen.
(Mantis religiosa)
The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy shorelines (hence the name sand tiger shark) and submerged reefs to a depth of around 191 m (627 ft).
They dwell in the waters of Japan, Australia, South Africa, and the east coasts of North and South America. The sand tiger shark also inhabited the Mediterranean, however it was last seen there in 2003 and is presumed extinct in the region. Despite its common names, it is not closely related to either the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) or the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum).
Despite its fearsome appearance and strong swimming ability, it is a relatively placid and slow-moving shark with no confirmed human fatalities. This species has a sharp, pointy head, and a bulky body. The sand tiger's length can reach 3.2 m (10.5 ft) but is normally 2.2–2.5 m in length. They are grey with reddish-brown spots on their backs. Shivers (groups) have been observed to hunt large schools of fish. Their diet consists of bony fish, crustaceans, squid, skates and other sharks.
Unlike other sharks, the sand tiger can gulp air from the surface, allowing it to be suspended in the water column with minimal effort. During pregnancy, the most developed embryo will feed on its siblings, a reproductive strategy known as intrauterine cannibalism i.e. "embryophagy" or, more colorfully, adelphophagy—literally "eating one's brother". The sand tiger is categorized as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It is the most widely kept large shark in public aquariums owing to its tolerance for captivity.
© Harshith JV
Read more about this on main post: www.flickr.com/photos/harshithjv/49879361922/
Publication of this observation: www.peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA_217.1.pdf
Common names: Brettus Jumping Spider
Scientific name: Brettus cingulatus
Gender: Female
Place: Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Date: August 5, 2018
File name: IMG_3976.enhanced.upload.JPG
Publication of this observation: www.peckhamia.com/peckhamia/PECKHAMIA_217.1.pdf
I went to the pumpkin exhibition on Thursday again because my sister and I wanted to have lunch there. They offer all kinds of specialties with pumkins, I had a simple pumpkin burger and a pumpkin ice cream. When I walked back to my car I noticed this orange guy and had to take a quick photo. He seemed to have lunch too, although that would probably be cannibalism. :)
Mantises are mostly ambush predators, but a few ground-dwelling species are found actively pursuing their prey. They normally live for about a year. In cooler climates, the adults lay eggs in autumn, then die. The eggs are protected by their hard capsules and hatch in the spring. Females sometimes practice sexual cannibalism, eating their mates after copulation. Mantises were considered to have supernatural powers by early civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, and Assyria. A cultural trope popular in cartoons imagines the female mantis as a femme fatale. Mantises are among the insects most commonly kept as pets. (Wikipedia)
Photographed in our garden at Negombo, Sri Lanka.
This was my very First sight of such insect.
Not a brilliant shot, but wanted to share with you guys!
Gongylus gongylodes, also known as the wandering violin mantis, Ornate mantis or Indian rose mantis, is an insect of the order Mantodea. This is one of the more bizarre looking mantises. Characterized by extremely slender limbs with large appendages. It is not a particularly aggressive species and often kept as a pet by hobbyists. It feeds primarily on flying insects. Its native range is in southern India and Sri Lanka. It can reach sizes of up to 11 cm. The males of the species are capable of flight. This species are a communal species in that they live and breed in large groups without unnecessary cannibalism.
(Wikipedia)
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DLF8852
The sand tiger shark (Carcharias taurus), gray nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabits the continental shelf, from sandy shorelines (hence the name sand tiger shark) and submerged reefs to a depth of around 191 m (627 ft).
They dwell in the waters of Japan, Australia, South Africa, and the east coasts of North and South America. The sand tiger shark also inhabited the Mediterranean, however it was last seen there in 2003 and is presumed extinct in the region. Despite its common names, it is not closely related to either the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) or the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum).
Despite its fearsome appearance and strong swimming ability, it is a relatively placid and slow-moving shark with no confirmed human fatalities. This species has a sharp, pointy head, and a bulky body. The sand tiger's length can reach 3.2 m (10.5 ft) but is normally 2.2–2.5 m in length. They are grey with reddish-brown spots on their backs. Shivers (groups) have been observed to hunt large schools of fish. Their diet consists of bony fish, crustaceans, squid, skates and other sharks.
Unlike other sharks, the sand tiger can gulp air from the surface, allowing it to be suspended in the water column with minimal effort. During pregnancy, the most developed embryo will feed on its siblings, a reproductive strategy known as intrauterine cannibalism i.e. "embryophagy" or, more colorfully, adelphophagy—literally "eating one's brother". The sand tiger is categorized as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. It is the most widely kept large shark in public aquariums owing to its tolerance for captivity.
It's actually not just the dragonflies that pique my interest in the summer. Lots of small stuff goes on. Here's a late summer rendezvous that went by the book. This one is on our popular railing of the gate house at work. I was actually walking outside to check the level in the hummingbird feeder when I spotted these two Praying Mantises getting it on on the railing. She moved around a bit, but they stayed connected. I read up a little on mating mantises. Evidently there's a dance I missed because they were already hooked up. That can last for several hours, and it did. They were still at it here 2-1/2 hours after I first spotted them. For those concerned about the potential cannibalism, rest assured it didn't happen. So, hopefully, she'll lay her eggs in a protective sac, it/they will overwinter, and we'll have a new crop of mantis nymphs next spring. What a delight.
La Ceja, Colombia; Central Andes; 2.300 meters above sea level.
Argiope argentata
(Silver Argiope / Araña Plateada de Jardín)
Argiope argentata, commonly known as the silver argiope due to the silvery color of its cephalothorax, is a member of the orb-weaver spider family Araneidae.
This species resides in arid and warm environments in South America, Central America, Southern California, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and the Caribbean. Argiope argentata are commonly seen and photographed by hikers in Southern California and the Andes Mountains.
Like other species of Argiope, its venom is not harmful to humans; however, it can be employed to immobilize its prey. A. argentata engages in sexual cannibalism either mid- or post-copulation.
Argiope argentata are relatively harmless to human beings. If thoroughly and intentionally provoked, these spiders might bite out of self defense. Their venom is not toxic to humans and rarely causes any sort of adverse reactions. In fact, the bites of Argiope argentata are relatively comparable to a bee sting - with only minor redness and occasional swelling resulting. Despite being relatively harmless to humans, the bites of A. argentata can prove deadly to smaller animals such as insects and rodents. They are effective ways for the spiders to kill their prey once they have been immobilized.
Nikon D7000
105.0 mm f/2.8
ƒ/5.6
105.0 mm
1/40s
1600 ISO
2012-08-07 15.55.46-4
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Ommatius coeraebus
Family: Asilidae
Order: Diptera
There are 17 known species of the genus Ommatius, the plume tops, in Australia. Although a couple have some similarities, only coeraebus is recorded in south NSW.
Note the "beard" of setae around the face, neck and rostrum. It is believed that these setae provide some protection from damage by their prey.
They are active predators, mainly of flying insects, and they appear to be unselective in prey species. Their prey does include members of their own species, often with a female predating a smaller male that attempted to mate. Their long legs can be used to capture other insects in flight.
The image is a focus stack of five photos taken in ambient light using a Sony 100-400 lens on a Sony A7R4.
DSC00253 focus 3_DSC00273 focus 4-3
Ommatius coeraebus
Family: Asilidae
Order: Diptera
There are 17 known species of the genus Ommatius, the plume tops, in Australia. Although a couple have some similarities, only coeraebus is recorded in south NSW.
Note the "beard" of setae around the face, neck and rostrum. It is believed that these setae provide some protection from damage by their prey.
They are active predators, mainly of flying insects, and they appear to be unselective in prey species. Their prey does include members of their own species, often with a female predating a smaller male that attempted to mate. Their long legs can be used to capture other insects in flight.
In this case, the prey is small Crane Fly. The prey has been pierced with the rostrum, allowing the Robber Fly to inject it with a cocktail of proteolytic enzymes and neurotoxins. The liquified contents of the fly will then be sucked up through the rostrum.
The cocktail of toxins include molecules that have not been found elsewhere, indicating that Asilidae toxins emerged from a unique evolutionary pathway
(Drukewitz et al, 2018).
The two insects have been recorded in separate iNaturalist observations:
inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/263037364
inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/263037071
I photographed the same species 20 kilometres away predating on a small Thynnid wasp:
www.flickr.com/photos/philipnsw/54406966134/in/dateposted/
References:
Drukewitz SH, Fuhrmann N, Undheim EAB, Blanke A, Giribaldi J, Mary R, Laconde G, Dutertre S, von Reumont BM. A Dipteran's Novel Sucker Punch: Evolution of Arthropod Atypical Venom with a Neurotoxic Component in Robber Flies (Asilidae, Diptera). Toxins (Basel). 2018 Jan 5;10(1):29. doi: 10.3390/toxins10010029. PMID: 29303983; PMCID: PMC5793116.
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This was about as close to a dragonfly photobomb as I've ever gotten. I kept it for a couple of reasons. First, they were close enough together to show the relative sizes of the two red odonates seen regularly here. The Flame Skimmer is the larger bomber while the perched Cardinal Meadowhawk is the bombee.
Second, I've said before that dragonflies are cannibalistic because they are yet in almost twenty years, I've never seen a dragonfly kill another - even a damselfly - let alone eat one. I have a hunch that those who point cannibalism out in every odonata discussion are probably referring to the larval stages of both when both dragons and damsels will eat anything that move. Though their sight is just as good in larval stages as adults, they are all about hunting as larva.
Third, what this Flame Skimmer was attempting to do was not attack the Cardinal Meadowhawk, but harass it so that it would leave its territory. Though their "territories" overlap, both knows the capabilities of the other, and the Cardinal will take off at some point and leave the Skimmer to its amorous pursuits. The Skimmer is not the largest of dragons, and the Cardinal is not the smallest, but both are toward the large/small ends of the spectrum.
European mantis (Mantis religiosa)
The phenomenon that conspecifics are attacked and eaten after, during, and even before copulation is called 'sexual cannibalism'.
Recording date 01: 19.08.2023, 00:11 hrs
Recording date 02: 19.08.2023, 00:23 hrs
Willy Wonka:
Do you like my meadow? Try some of my grass! Please have a blade, please do, it's so delectable and so darn good looking!
Charlie Bucket:
You can eat the grass?
Willy Wonka:
Of course you can! Everything in this room is eatable, even *I'm* eatable! But that is called "cannibalism," my dear children, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies.
Donner Lake from Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevadas in Northern California in winter, a venerable winter wonderland, beautifully ‘painted’ with snow on the tall pines. The tale of the Donner Party for whom the lake and pass are named is not a tale of a wonderland rather it is more akin to a gruesome & tragic nightmare. It is recognized as the worst disaster of overland migration to California. The doomed Donner Party started their migration west from Illinois in May instead of April 1846, used a shortcut that wasn’t, and when they arrived at the Sierra Nevadas in November a unfortunate & horrendous early season blizzard covered the Sierra’s with two feet of snow. The snow and ice made it impassable this the majority of the Donner party hunkered down in dilapidated tents & cabins, the 15 stronger ones set out on foot to try seek rescue the effort that became known as the ‘Forlorn Hope’. There was little or no food as starvation set in. Cannibalism eventually became the route for survival for about half of the survivors. In the case of the ‘Forlorn Hope’ group survival included cannibalism and murder.
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The constellation of Virgo (The Virgin) is especially rich in galaxies, due in part to the presence of a massive and gravitationally-bound collection of more than 1300 galaxies called the Virgo Cluster. One particular member of this cosmic community, NGC 4388, is captured in this image, as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3.
Located some 60 million light-years away, NGC 4388 is experiencing some of the less desirable effects that come with belonging to such a massive galaxy cluster. It is undergoing a transformation and has taken on a somewhat confused identity.
While the galaxy’s outskirts appear smooth and featureless, a classic feature of an elliptical galaxy, its center displays remarkable dust lanes constrained within two symmetric spiral arms, which emerge from the galaxy’s glowing core — one of the obvious features of a spiral galaxy. Within the arms, speckles of bright blue mark the locations of young stars, indicating that NGC 4388 has hosted recent bursts of star formation.
Despite the mixed messages, NGC 4388 is classified as a spiral galaxy. Its unusual combination of features are thought to have been caused by interactions between NGC 4388 and other galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. Gravitational interactions — from glancing blows to head-on collisions, tidal influencing, mergers, and galactic cannibalism — can be devastating to galaxies. While some may be lucky enough to simply suffer a distorted spiral arm or newly-triggered wave of star formation, others see their structure and contents completely and irrevocably altered.
Image credits: ESA/NASA