mindfulmenagerie

[mindfulmenagerie]

Reblogging this because especially now, Monarchs need your help. Researchers had guessed that the species's numbers were falling but as of 2021, they learned that instead of a steady slope it was a drop. Monarchs are endangered.

“The patient: this 3-day-old little boy was born with torn upper and lower wings. Let’s see how we can help!”

Today the Department of Awesomely Good Deeds salutes costume designer and master embroiderer Romy McCloskey who used her fine skills with delicate materials to help a monarch butterfly she’d raised and who’d emerged from his cocoon with damaged right wings.

“The operating room and supplies: towel, wire hanger, contact cement, toothpick, cotton swab, scissors, tweezers, talc powder, extra butterfly wing”

“Securing the butterfly and cutting the damaged parts away. Don’t worry it doesn’t hurt them. It’s like cutting hair or trimming fingernails”

“Ta-da! With a little patience and a steady hand, I fit the new wings to my little guy”

“The black lines do not match completely and it is missing the black dot (male marking) on the lower right wing, but with luck, he will fly”

“FLIGHT DAY! After a day of rest and filling his belly with homemade nectar, it is time to see if he will fly”

“With a quick lap around the yard and a little rest on a bush, he was off! A successful surgery and outcome! Bye, little buddy! Good luck”

[via Bored Panda]

#monarch butterfly #zoology #biology #conservation #insects #cool bugs #science

[mindfulmenagerie]

The Google Cultural Institute documents the world’s art and other cultural treasures. At the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Google workers took a series of photos of these skulls (and over 200 others), and stitched the photos together so that you can view them at any angle.

EDIT: They moved the gallery to this link.

#useful #for reference

[mindfulmenagerie]

Diabolical Ironclad Beetle

Our world is a bugworld. With a little more than 90% of Earth's animals being insects there's no use denying that they run the world.

Insects have been evolving and changing long before the first campfire was started, and they have developed a fascinating array of weapons and defenses; from the power of flight to being able to envenom enemies.

Now imagine a bug with invincibility. You read that correctly.

The Nosoderma diabolicum, far better known as the "Diabolical Ironclad Beetle", is a small, flightless beetle that has been deemed "uncrushable"

Literally nicknamed "the uncrushable beetle" this bug that only reaches up to 2 centimeters long can withstand up to 149 to 150 Newtons! To anyone who didn't really pay attention in science class and doesn't fully know what this means (I sure as hell don't know what a Newton is) the Ironclad Beetle can survive being under something that weighs 39,000 times more than it does.

It can survive being RUN OVER BY A CAR.

It has one of the strongest armor in the animal kingdom, and this fact became very well known to insect collector's when they discovered that when trying to pin the beetles on a board for display, their pins would bend.

So where do these guys live? Sorry fellow Americans who already don't like bugs, but the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle can be found at home on the Western coast of the USA.

But don't worry your pretty heads. While you can't crush them by stepping on them like you can with any other bug, these guys truly do not want to be in your house.

They are happy woodland creatures who eat fungi, and just don't want to be bothered.

But how is the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle so strong?

This was actually discovered just a few days ago by engineers no less at the University of California.

As I had mentioned before, the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle is flightless. This is because they don't have wings. Most beetles like ladybugs and june bugs have a structure in their exoskeleton called a "elytra". This is the two pieces of chitin that protects the wings when not in flight.

But our friend the Diabolical Ironclad Beetle doesn't have wings to protect. Instead, their elytra is part of their exoskeleton. It acts as an extra layer of armor and is placed evenly along the body for extra support.

When looking at the beetle's exoskeleton, you can actually see layer-like formations.

But that's not all. See that in the middle?

That jigsaw like pattern? That's the second key of what makes them so tough!

Their joints are practically stuck together.

But what's so important about this creepy, unstoppable bug?

Well, these guys could help us.

How?

Well I am so glad I asked! Scientists are fascinated with the beetle's ability to withstand so much force, and they hope that they can apply the same characteristics in machines and buildings making them more stable and stronger or even helping car crashes be less, I dunno, deadly?

SO!

Remember, you never know how important an animal might be. Learn to respect bugs if you can't learn to love em.

They may just save your life one day.

Respect this amazing animal for it's majesty and power!

#Diabolical Ironclad Beetle #insect #Entomology #Engineering #science #animal science #long post #Animal fact #educational

[mindfulmenagerie]

If an insect wore a mask would he wear it like this or like this? (get it? get it? bc  insects breath through holes in their sides called spiracles)

Anyway I just got hired as an EMT specializing in covid testing so this seemed relevant

#insect #grasshopper #my art

[mindfulmenagerie]

Female spiders in pop culture: so savage and mindless they’ll just eat their own males, and if they’re sentient they’re probably still sadistic, ruthless femdom she-demons. Reality: it’s actually much more common for female spiders to simply chase a male away than cannibalize one, but both behaviors are logical survival strategies. Parasitic wasps, assassin bugs and enemy spiders may all come after a female in her own web, some have evolved to imitate male courtship behavior and there are even parasites that use male spiders for transportation, such as the larvae of mantisflies. Since she is practically blind and also just a little animal, all she can do to protect herself is bank on the majority of males being dangerous and may still be making a fatal error the one time she lets her guard down completely. It’s a scary world to be a spider!!!

[mindfulmenagerie]

Why were animals so giant in prehistoric times?

animals tend to evolve towards gigantism over long periods of time, so at any given point in earth’s history when tetrapods had shown up and the climate had been stable for a while, you absolutely find giant animals.

and remember, animals were actually still pretty giant until fairly recently on the geologic scale, a mere ten thousand years ago!

the reason there are very few giant animals around now is that we’re actually living in a post-apocolyptic world. 

SOMETHING happened ten thousand years ago to wipe almost all of the ice-age megafauna off the planet, and we’re still not sure what. (and no, it wasn’t us.) but the first animals to fall in a mass extinction events are always the giants, because they require so much food! and it takes them tens of millions of years to show up again after a mass die-off. but give it another twenty million years or so, and giant animals will appear once again!

until then, please take a moment to appreciate whales.

[mindfulmenagerie]

[mindfulmenagerie]

An animated chart of 42 North American butterflies | Tabletop Whale 

#butterflies #nature #biology #field guide

[mindfulmenagerie]

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

The monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. It may be the most familiar North American butterfly, and is considered an iconic pollinator species. Its wings feature an easily recognizable black, orange, and white pattern, with a wingspan of 8.9–10.2 cm. The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the northern and central United States and southern Canada to Florida and Mexico. During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north.The monarch butterfly undergoes four stages of complete metamorphosis. Eggs, larvae, pupa and adult. Although larvae eat only milkweed, adult monarchs feed on the nectar of many plants. Monarchs obtain moisture and minerals from damp soil and wet gravel, a behavior known as mud-puddling.

photo credits: Kenneth Dwain Harrelson, Yannkemper, Derek Ramsey, Steve Corey

#Monarch butterfly #Danaus plexippus #butterfly #zoology #biology #biodiversity #science #wildlife #nature #animals #cool critters

[mindfulmenagerie]

Bro they are just vibing

[mindfulmenagerie]

Adelies are my favorite!

Melanistic Adelie penguin

[mindfulmenagerie]

#Conservation #Zoology #Bird #Mammal #Monkey #Primate #Zoo #ProZoo #Costa Rican Parrot #Arabian Oryx #Blackfooted Ferret #Golden Lion Tamarin #California Condor #Animals #Biology #Breeding #Introduction programs #Release #Wild #Wildlife

[mindfulmenagerie]

Hey! Love your blog :)- Do you perhaps have any cursed facts about octopus around?

octopuses turn white when they’re afraid, so if you see a pale octopus in a video you can be sure it’s not having a good time!

[mindfulmenagerie]

“Am I a cat?”

[mindfulmenagerie]

Highfive the tree.

me✋irl

[mindfulmenagerie]

I don't know how to ask on my separate account. Anyway, here's my question. What's the deal with RSPO? I saw it after DairyIsntScary reblogged a post. I thought palm oil was highly destructive (in terms of getting it) to the environment. I tried doing my own digging and was stumped. Is it something that should be supported?

Cant’ speak on how credible and reliable RSPO is as an organisation but their basic stances are trying to change the way palm oil is harvested and produced so it is sustainable.

Just because the way palm oil is produced currently is bad for the environment and not sustainable doesn’t mean there isn’t a sustainable way to produce it. It is a more complex issue than just “palm oil bad and we need to stop all production of it!” because that is realistically never going to work, we’re not in kindergarten anymore! These issues require a balance between environmental and social issues. 

[mindfulmenagerie]

The California Condor is a large bird that falls under critically endangered on the IUCN.

A scavenger, it feeds on dead animals, especially of larger mammals like horses, seals, and bears.

These majestic birds have unfortunately fallen in numbers due to loss of habitat and poaching, but one of the larger factors was the use of lead bullets.

Lead bullets are cheap, but can break into small pieces when entering an animal's hide. Animals that die from these bullets become essentially a poisoned buffet. Condors unknowingly eat lead bullets and the results are heartbreaking. The lead poisoning effects the bird's stomach, rendering it useless. The Condors will eat, but never feel full, until they perish due to starvation.

These amazing creatures are vital to the ecosystem, and thanks to the help from zoos and conservatists we are seeing their numbers raise.

Zoos like the Los Angeles Zoo, and the San Diego Park helped by breeding these endangered species, and releasing them. Now, six condors have been spotted in wild around May.

"But how can I help these fantastic birds more?"

You can:

-Educate yourself more about the species.

-Help support zoos and conservation, which help other endangered species with breeding/reintroduction programs.

-Help get rid of the use of lead bullets, vote and change the world!

-Don't throw coins off the Grand Canyon. This one is silly, but Condors have tried eating and choking on coins.

And finally, respect them for their majesty and grace.

#Zoology #California Condor #Bird #New World vulture #Vulture #Scavenger #Zoo #ProZoo #News Article #Biology #Education #Birdy #Animals #Animal Science #Conservation #Endangered Species