Rivers of Gold

A few images from my weekend mothing trip down to Shell Creek, San Luis Obispo County. Early spring along the central coast is stunning, and the back roads were packed with flower watchers. There were dozens of cars occupied by families out for a weekend drive, many had packed lunches and sat to watch the . . . → Loe edasi: Rivers of Gold

Too much free-time?

Than fold yourself an insect.

These pieces of art are the creation of Robert J. Lang. Chances are if you’ve seen some insane origami than they were his creation. Jah, those are actually made from one single piece of uncut paper. He provides the crease pattern for most of his designs, but actually folding . . . → Loe edasi: Too much free-time?

And now you know the rest of the story

For those who saw the FOX interview with MSU entomologist Dr. Cognato (Korras, for those who didn’t, here it is), you will be interested to hear his side of the story.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7f52y4Nq4E&feature=player_embedded]

Take the time to register (vabandust, it’s annoying but I couldn’t find it anywhere else) and read a response to the interview by . . . → Loe edasi: And now you know the rest of the story

Aquamoth part 2

I came across the full-text PDF of the amphibious moth article and extracted the tree showing the radiation of this species group and probable evolution of the amphibious traits. Interesting to note the case shape, and each moth is endemic to its own volcano in the Hawaiian archipelago.

This is a Bayesian analysis of . . . → Loe edasi: Aquamoth part 2

In the name of the

UR6FVJ2S3B8H

Nothing wrong with established religion

You can read all about his story from the NY Times. I think the scariest thing about this whole abuse scandal (scandalsssss) is that the church actually believes that this is the work of satannot the twisted minds of individual humans. Jah, “the Devil is at work . . . → Loe edasi: In the name of the

Vastus eelmise nädala ajakirjanduse geeniusele

For all those who abstained from voting (I want to assume some readers must have known the identity of our mystery caterpillar, but were too lazy to comment), here is the answer (after the break).

. . . → Loe edasi: Vastus eelmise nädala ajakirjanduse geeniusele

Aquamoth!

Another amazing animal from Hawaiia completely amphibious caterpillar (published in the March 22 PNAS). While there are a few aquatic Lepidoptera, all of them have gills that keep them restricted to the water (mind you, we are talking only about the larval stage). If their stream dries up, so does the caterpillar. . . . → Loe edasi: Aquamoth!

California kevad

Kevad on jõudnud Põhja-Californiasse ja koid on tiival. Tegin nädalavahetusel kiire reisi üles Sierra jalamile ja matkasin Ameerika jõe kohal asuvatel järskudel nõlvadel üles. Above is pictured Xanthothrix ranunculi f. albipuncta (Noctuidae: Stiriinae). It happens to be sitting on a beautiful california . . . → Loe edasi: California kevad

Genius pressi, v.III

Yet another installment of my favorite series, the genius of the press. This article comes from ABC news, who can identify this caterpillar? It is decidedly NOT a gypsy moth.

Fellow entomology blogger Myrmecos had a similar story last week.

Peaga ära!

(foto krediit)

The monarchs have started their spring migration north and you might even see one soon (pole põnev, kui elate FL-is või HI-s, kus on aastaringsed elanikud, või CA-s, kus on eraldi talvitumiskohad). Teated nende talvisest asukohast Mehhikos on aga kurvad; with possibly the lowest . . . → Loe edasi: Peaga ära!