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I visited the RSPB nature reserve at Dungeness and was out and about trying to find a Bitten bird with the hope of finding some butterflies as well.
I am pleased with the way this image turned out considering that I didn't use a dedicated macro lens
The green-veined white (Pieris napi) is a butterfly of the family Pieridae.
Appearance and distribution
A circumboreal species widespread across Europe and Asia, including the Indian subcontinent, Japan, the Maghreb and North America.
It is found in meadows, hedgerows and woodland glades but not as often in gardens and parks like its close relatives the large and small whites, for which it is often mistaken. Like other "white" butterflies, the sexes differ.
The female has two spots on each forewing, the male only one. The veins on the wings of the female are usually more heavily marked. The underside hindwings are pale yellow with the veins highlighted by black scales giving a greenish tint, hence green-veined white.
Unlike the large and small whites, it rarely chooses garden cabbages to lay its eggs on, preferring wild crucifers. Males emit a sex pheromone that is perceptible to humans, Citralthe basic flavour-imparting component of lemon peel oil.
Life cycle and food plants
The eggs are laid singly on a wide range of food plants including hedge mustard (Sisybrium officinale), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), cuckooflower (Cardamine pratense), water-cress (Rorippa nastutium-aquaticum), charlock (Sinapis arvensis), large bitter-cress (Cardamine amara), wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea), and wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), and so it is rarely a pest in gardens or field crops.
The caterpillar is green and well camouflaged. When full grown it is green above with black warts, from which arise whitish and blackish hairs. There is a darker line along the back and a yellow line low down on the sides. Underneath the colour is whitish-grey.
The spiracular line is dusky but not conspicuous, and the spiracles are blackish surrounded with yellow. There is extensive overlap with other leaf-feeding larvae of large and small whites in some wild populations (e.g. in Morocco).
It is often found feeding on the same plant as the orange tip but rarely competes for food because it usually feeds on the leaves whereas the orange tip caterpillar feeds on the flowers and developing seed pods. Like other Pieris species it overwinters as a pupa.
This is green in colour, and the raised parts are yellowish and brown. This is the most frequent form, but it varies through yellowish to buff or greyish, and is sometimes without markings.
Habitat
P. napi is found in damp, grassy places with some shade, forest edges, hedgerows, meadows and wooded river valleys. The later generations widen their habitat use in the search for alternative food plants in drier, but flowery places.
Flight times
The generations vary with location, elevation and season. In northern Europe, there are two or three generations from April to early September. In warmer areas and in some good years there is a fourth generation. In southern Europe, there are three or more partially overlapping generations from March to October.
Seasonal variation
In Great Britain, April, May, and June specimens have the veins tinged with grey and rather distinct but are not so strongly marked with black as those belonging to the second flight, which occurs in late July and throughout August. This seasonal variation, as it is called, is also most clearly exhibited on the underside.
Now and then a specimen of the first brood may assume the characters properly belonging to the specimens of the second brood; and, on the other hand, a butterfly of the second brood may closely resemble one of the first brood. As a rule, however, the seasonal differences referred to are fairly constant.
By rearing this species from the egg it has been ascertained that part (sometimes the smaller) of a brood of eggs laid in June attains the butterfly stage the same year, and the other part remains in the chrysalis until the following spring, the butterflies in each set being of the form proper to the time of emergence.
Behaviour
Senses
Recent research has shown that when males mate with a female, they inject methyl salicylate along with their sperm. The smell of this compound repels other males, thus ensuring the first male's paternity of the eggs—a form of chemical mate guarding.[5]
After a female mates, she will display a mate refusal posture that releases methyl salicylate during a subsequent courtship. The release of this anti-aphrodisiac will quickly terminate the courtship. Males are very sensitive to differences in methyl salicylate levels, and will use this sense to influence their mating behaviour.
However, a virgin female displaying a very similar posture will release a different chemical that will prolong the courtship ritual. Males are sensitive to these chemical and postural differences and can discriminate between a receptive virgin female and an unreceptive mated female.
The adult male of this species has a distinctive odour that resembles lemon verbena.
This smell is associated with specialized androconial scales on male wings.
Mating system
In the usually polyandrous P. napi, females who mate multiple times have higher lifetime fecundity, lay larger eggs, and live longer compared to females who mate only once.
In most organisms, it is the female who contributes the most to the reproduction of offspring as she must invest an egg and then carry the zygote. Males, on the other hand, need only provide a sperm that is of low cost.
In P. napi, however, mating is unusually costly to males as the ejaculate matter produced contains not only sperm but accessory substances as well. These substances average 15% of male body mass and are incorporated into female soma and reproductive tissues during the mating process.
Therefore, the nuptial gift given by P. napi males qualifies both as paternal investment and mating effort. This system is unlike other types of butterflies such as Pararge aegeria, where female reproductive effort is independent of male ejaculate.
The amount of ejaculate of virgin males during mating is larger than that of non-virgin males. Females therefore must mate more frequently with non-virgin males in order to obtain the necessary amount of male-derived nutrition.
Sexual cooperation and conflict
In P. napi, the nuptial gift is an example of sexual cooperation towards a common interest of both males and females. The existence of nutrients in the ejaculate is beneficial to the females because it increases female fecundity and longevity, and eventually promotes re-mating. The existence of the anti-aphrodisiac, methyl salicylate, is effective in reducing female harassment by other males.
However, the transfer of this ejaculate can cause a conflict over re-mating due to sperm competition.
After a female mates, infertile sperm ejaculated by the male will fill the female's sperm storage organ and prevent her from mating. The amount of infertile sperm stored is correlated with the refractory period of a female after mating.
Infertile sperm makes up 90% of the sperm count, showing that males manipulate females by preventing them from mating with another male for a certain period of time.
Although polyandry benefits females of P. napi by maximizing the amount of transferred nutrients from the male, the infertile sperm storage prolongs female re-mating.
This refractory period makes it harder for females to mate, and females will continue to have difficulty as their age and mating frequency increase. Males who have recently copulated will not transfer as many nutrients to their next mate, but will spend a longer duration of time for each mating.
This increases the mating costs for females because they are spending more time copulating and receiving fewer nutrients from the ejaculate. Males take advantage of this because females do not reduce their mating costs by copulating with virgin males.
In addition, males will transfer the most methyl salicylate to their first mate to ensure its paternity. However, a female who mates with a virgin male will have the most difficulty re-mating, therefore delaying her from engaging in the preferred polyandry.
Males tailor their ejaculate in the sense that the first ejaculate is meant to prolong the refractory period of the female, and every subsequent ejaculate is meant to maximize efficiency in sperm competition.
Size difference and mating frequency
Smaller females may be able to compensate for their size by receiving male ejaculate through increased mating frequency. However, this is not the case, as larger females are more polyandrous.
Larger females are able to break down the spermatophore and reduce the refractory period to increase mating frequency
Link -
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green-veined_white#Appearance_and_d...
Spiked Shieldbugs (Picromerus bidens) and prey. Holme Fen National Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire. Wednesday 28th September 2016.
I can't help feeling a bit sorry for the male here - his partner seems more interested in feeding than copulating.
Monarch Butterflies are alive and well and living in Costa Rica.
Selva de Bananito, Limon, Costa Rica
Which always attracts such an interesting assortment of insects, including this pair of longhorn beetles...
Pan copulating with a Goat (resin, after an original found in Pompeii) - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
When ready to copulate, the need to do so for a toad is so overwhelming, that it will climb anything, moving or not. In this case it mates with a fire salamander.
Dangerous liaison 1.
The male Labyrinth spider (on the right) is making advances to the female in the hope of mating and then escaping with his life!
I'm pleased to report that it was a success.
Cornelis de Heem, Leiden 1631 - Antwerpen 1695
Prunkstillleben mit kopulierenden Spatzen / Sumptuous still life with copulating sparrows (1657)
Städel, Frankfurt
Cornelis de Heem entstammte einer bekannten und traditionsreichen Künstlerfamilie, die auf Stillleben mit opulenten Arrangements von Blumen, Früchten und Büchern spezialisiert war. Wie schon sein Vater Jan Davidsz. de Heem war auch Cornelis einer der führenden Stilllebenmaler seiner Zeit.
The silvery lutung (Trachypithecus cristatus), - also known as the Silvered leaf monkey or the Silvery langur, - is an Old World monkey. It is arboreal, living in coastal, mangrove, and riverine forests in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and Borneo, the Natuna Islands, and other nearby islands.
REPRODUCTION
Silvery lutungs breed year round, with no clear breeding season, although each female typically gives birth no more than once every 18 to 24 months. The female attracts the male by making side-to-side motions with her head, and copulation may occur several times during a bout. Unusually, females have been reported to reach menopause in the wild, and may survive up to 9 years after last giving birth.
The female gives birth to a single young after a gestation period of 181 to 200 days. The young weigh about 400 grams, measure about 20 cm and are well developed, with a strong grip for holding onto the mother. Silvery lutungs are born with orange fur, and with white hairless skin on the face, hands, and feet. The skin rapidly changes to the dark adult colour, but the fur does not reach the adult pattern for 3 to 5 months after birth. The young are cared for by females communally, and are not weaned for 18 months, even though the biological mother stops lactating after just 12 months. The young are sexually mature almost as soon as they finish weaning, and, on average, females first give birth at 35 months of age.
Silvery lutungs have lived up to 31 years in captivity.
DESCRIPTION
The silvery lutung is a medium-sized monkey with a long, non-prehensile tail. It has grey-tipped, dark brown or black fur, giving it a uniform silvery appearance. Unlike some related species, there are no paler markings on the face or body, except for a patch of whitish hair on the groin of females. A crest of fur runs along the top of the head, and the hair on the cheeks is long, often obscuring the ears. The hands and feet are hairless, with dark coloured skin, and have opposable thumbs and toes.
Females range from 46 to 51 cm in head-body length, with an average weight of 5.7 kg and a tail length of 67 to 75 cm. Males are slightly larger, from 50 to 58 cm in length, with an average weight of 6.6 kg and a tail length of 67 to 75 cm.
Like other langurs, the silvery lutung has a large three-chambered stomach to digest the cellulose found in its herbivorous diet. This allows for fermentation of food, and has some similarities with the stomach of ruminants. The intestine is unusually long, even compared to those of other langurs, and has a number of pouches along its length, which carry out further fermentation of plant matter. The teeth have grinding ridges and other modifications to allow the more efficient processing of tough leaves.
CONSERVATION
The silvery lutung is classed as ‘Near Threatened’ by the IUCN, and is listed in Appendix II of CITES. Its habitat is heavily threatened throughout its range by logging and the development of oil plantations. The species is also threatened by hunting for meat and by capture for the pet trade.
Source: Wikipedia
Found these two lovebirds mating in public! I supposed its their season now, they seemed to be everywhere!
These bugs can attract one another via hormone or sound, and the copulation process can take minutes and possibly hours.
More on Macro Photography here: pixelsdimension.com/
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: wildlifemalaysia.com/
Sheep having an intimate moment in the Lake District. Taken on the descent of Red Screes towards Ambleside.
A red-veined darter copulation wheel in the Olhão salinas. This was one of a dozen or so paired dragonflies seen that day. A week later after a storm and with cooler weather dragonflies had all but disappeared so this was their last fling.
Two Ambush bugs are copulating and simultaneously killing this bee. The female has her hypodermic beak extended and it has clearly punctured the rear leg of this bee. She is now injecting poison into the bee and quickly immobilizes him.
This is the time of year when food is scarce and normally careful pollinators spend a little too much time on each flower. Time enough for predators such as these tiny ambush bugs - to move into position and strike.
The male damselfy is flying so low his legs are underwater. Not the best shot but I like that the male tapped the water during the act of copulation.
The brute beast defecates where it stands, surrounded by its fellows, and an ape may copulate without shame in the midst of its troop. Not so human beings. Indeed shame is, we presume, a concept known only to people. It's an odd thing, when you think about it, that certain physiological functions, though they be essential to the continuance of the species or to the individual's health, go unacknowledged in polite society. To explain these things and the light they shed on the differences between humans and even their closest primate relatives, is the province of the anthropologist. Those functions associated with the voiding of the body's impurities are a particular source of potential embarrassment. I mean, nobody wants to be observed picking his nose or squatting at stool.
For this reason I have always, even in extremis, eschewed those shiny cylindrical "pay toilets" which first appeared in our streets about twenty years ago. I have heard that their doors open automatically after a certain time has elapsed to guard against the possibility of someone being locked in. That's all very well, but the implications, for any user who finds himself with a hard nut to crack, are horrifying to contemplate. Similarly, I have regarded with suspicion a type of lavatory which has appeared in recent years on our railway rolling stock. This has a curved door which is electrically operated and glides open on runners when the intending user presses a button. The entrance, when this door is fully open, is very wide, presumably for the convenience of the wheelchair-bound, and discloses the entire interior of the toilet to passengers in the vicinity. Inside there is another button that closes the door. I think a "Door Locked" sign is illuminated, but somehow one is unconvinced. This has always been my fundamental problem with electricity: its mode of operation is not visible ...in the way that you can see the action of a latch or bolt... and what I can't see I don't trust.
My suspicions were confirmed when, a couple of days ago, I was travelling on a train of the type in the photograph. The awful details may be briefly told. Leaving Mrs B with the tickets in case the ticket lady came around during my absence, I got up to use the toilet, which was of the type mentioned above. I pressed the button and, with a smooth motion (such a lovely bit of "design") the door sighed open, slowly revealing the S-shaped crouching form of a middle-aged man at his evacuations. I have a confused recollection of the figure straightening as the man rose in surprise at my intrusion, of hairy male flanks, of trousers gathered in folds above a pair of shoes, and a bearded, open-mouthed face staring back with a thunderstruck look. I think I said "Ah" before retreating, terrible-eyed, to my seat.
Poor man. I suppose he'll remember it for the rest of his life. I experienced a pang of pity and remorse for the part I had unwittingly played in his humiliation. All the same, I also experienced a guilty pang of relief that the thing hadn't happened the other way around. I hope he doesn't develop a complex. Costiveness and irregularity are such distressing conditions. I would recommend that the railway authorities desist from this design in future and I advocate a return to conventional hinged doors and bolts that lock with a reassuring snap, displaying a little "Engaged" sign outside. As things are I think I'd rather wait until I reach my destination and resort to the relative privacy of a hedge.
For more animals and stories see www.wildcreartureshongkong.org
Dragonfly copulation, which can last for hours, is an aggressive, elaborate and acrobatic affair.
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Male dragonflies make the first move to initiate sex, usually whilst in flight, getting a firm hold on the females body. He then uses a pair of clamps on his abdomen to grab her by the neck, and when flying together this is called "tandem linkage" - amazing how some biologist came up with all these sex position names for insects eh?
They then consumate their sex, forming a wheel as the female bends the end of her body up to join the end of her abdomen with the male's thorax, where he actually has his penis. This position is unique to dragonflies (and maybe some gymnasts).
As females may mate with many partners, the last sexual partner will probably be the one to fertilise her eggs....so some males decide to "hang-on" and continue to clasp the female, even if they are not mating, often continuing to do this until she lays her eggs. This will deter other males, before or after mating and it gives a nice perch for a view around, as in the picture on the left below
All this seems very strange, but something even weirder "sexual death feigning" was discovered just in May last year ago by a Swiss scientist: to avoid sex some females fake their own deaths. Female moorland hawker dragonflies freeze mid-air, crash to the ground, and lie motionless when faced with aggressive males. Not sure that would help with aggressive Hollywood moguls tho.
This is part II of a IV part series.