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cycloplasm · 4 years

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Futh people species i have so far; that i’d like to share because i might mention them, before i make a post detailing their specificities, culture etc. So this is just a guide of what kind of people live in Futh 🤷‍♂️. Notes: * are for non definitive species names. ~ is for things i have NO info about and just know that they exist.

Cyclops

Cyclops are exactly what they sound like- one eyed beings, with one mouth. They come in various skin colors (never human-like ones though!), and they rarely have a nose; their sense of smell is quite weak and not especially necessary to them. They come in various shapes and sizes, that are like humans’; but there are taller, feral versions, that are more like related species- like apes to humans. Cyclops are the most widespread species on Futh, and can be found anywhere except underground, since their sight, despite being quite good, is useless in the dark. They’re so widespread that they don’t live among other cyclops and don’t really have a culture of their own; instead, they adopt whatever culture they’re born in. It tend to not be seen as rude to have a cyclops in a culture, but there are exceptions.

Multiclops*

They’re exactly the same as cyclops, but with several eyes. They can have from 2 (note that they can never be plaved like a human’s) to 12 eyes. There can be individuals with more, but they rarely survive.

Unnamed polygon/geometric head people*

I talked about them here. Short version if you don’t want to read it; they’re people with geometric heads, who can have various amount of eyes and mouths; the only impossible ones are like cyclops (1 eye 1 mouth), multiclops (several eyes 1 mouth) and human. They don’t have lungs and feed on magic; and they’re native to the Mystic Islands in the purple ocean; a place where magic is abundant and who has a good amount of places where magic is used to build/create things to make Futh people’s lives better.

Harpies

They’re exactly what they sound like; bird people. The only differences from the harpies you’re familiar with are: no boobs (they’re BIRDS), their body tend to be covered in feathers, except for the face; unless they have beaks, in which case their face has feathers too. Their subspecies/colors/shapes are based on real life birds. If they’re beakless, they have sharp teeth; but some beaked ones have teeth as well, but it’s relatively rare. They can be found everywhere except underground or underwater; other than that, they can found even in harsh environnements such as volcanic or polar areas. Harpies tend to keep to themselves in colonies that regroups only one subspecies; but some do leave their nest to be among other Futh people.

Mantis harpies

Explained them here! Short version: they’re feathered, wingless creatures that have scythes for hands and a proboscis. They’re extremely fragile, so much so that they have a bit of exoskeleton protecting their skulls, and they have the power to go into the Dream world. The latter is exactly what it sounds like; a place where all dreams take place, and who’s a shared subconscious for all of Futh people.

Merpeople

Explained their subspecies here. Besides that, merpeople are very much alike our world’s legends. They can sing, but not all can lure people with it- whether or not the singing does have an effect is entirely based on magic, and... Talent. While the term ‘merpeople’ tends to be a general term used by land people for all species that live underwater, the correct and polite thing to say would be to refer marine mammals, reptiles and other species as their subspecies name; and say ‘merpeople’ for people that are essantially fish.

Unnamed rock people*

I REALLY want to develop this one l, because, i love minerals, guys. And by ‘rock people’ and minerals, keep in mind that i don’t just mean gemstones! Nope; Futh’s rock people can be made of any minerals; including gems, but not just- if anything ones made of gems are a minority. Futh’s rock people aren’t born immediately made of rocks- in fact, they’re not really MADE of rocks. They’re actually just one eye or a pair of eyes, that use magnetism and minerals to form a body! They can use any minerals they wish, but they have to use only one type of mineral (otherwise the magnetism doesn’t work), and the type of mineral they use to make their body will essentially define what they’ll do in life. Examples: ones made of chalk have to be artists; ones made of gold have to be guards; ones made of dirt or dust have to be cleaners; and other things that I need to develop, but that can give you some idea. I say they ‘HAVE’ to be this or that; they CAN actually do other things, but that’s not ok by their society’s standards, who are VERY strict on many things. Those who don’t follow the rules will be banned from their communities- which is harsher than it sounds, given how Futh’s rock people live far away and separated from all other communities, and they have their own, unique language. In fact, it’s VERY hard for them to vocalize anything else than their own language, given how they don’t have vocal cords, and their language is actually chattering of minerals rubbing together.

Unnamed giant plant people*~

I don’t have much on this species, given how they were created from a dream i had last week! But here’s what i have;... They’re very much like what they sound like- giant plant people; going from 15m (50ft) to 40m (131ft); but note that their bodies are more like regular plants rather than trees, they don’t have bark. They have a humanoid shape (give or take a few extra limbs on certain individuals), and their fingers are actually roots. So to feed, they just need to put their hands into the ground. They have mouths, but no teeth; mouths are only for vocalization purposes. They can be based on pretty much any plant that isn’t a tree!

Centipede ladies/scolopendress

There’s going to be regular centipede people, but this is a special subspecies; since they only come into biologically female individuals. They all have centipede bodies and segments, and just like centipedes, they can come in various lenghts. If anything, for them, the longer they are, the more attractive. They rarely cone in other colors other than shades of brown, but they exist, although rarer. They also have either, 4, 6 or 8 eyes, or even none at all. Scolopendresses tend to live only in humid areas (swamps, jungles, and sometimes caves), and only among themselves, in small communities of maximum 30 individuals. They’re not outgoing, rarely leaving their villages- but if a lost person is asking for help, they might do so. But the chances are slim, because while they’re very kind and helpful towards one another, they shelter themselves from any other culture and places other than their own. Some scoloprendresses do choose to leave and discover the world; but when they do so, they must have a goodbye celebration before going, since they won’t be allowed to come back. When they do leave, scolopendresses tend to choose activities that can make them have contact with other cultures and people; such as nurses, innkeepers, and other such things.

Bee people*

They’re what they sound like; and just like bees, they live in hives... Except those hives tend to be at least the size of a village, or even small cities. There’s a picture of their habitation here. They come in 4 types when they’re adults- workers, who go outside the hive to collect nectar; drones, who are essentially guards; caretakers, who.. well, take care of the larvae and nymphs; and kings- with only one of the latter per hive. While they’re all physically and biologically genderless (no genitalia), they ALL refer to themselves as males. If they wish to be different, they’re allowed to, but have to leave the hive; it’s not because they’re sexist or anything, their culture is simply based on uniformity. So much so that there’s no sense of individuality (they rarely have names), relationships beyond collegue ones are forbidden, and no one is better or worse than anyone else; except for the king of the hive. Their hives can be found in most areas, except ones with extreme temperatures and, of course, underwater. Some live in caves, but it’s rare. Their colors can be anything besides pure white or black (unless there’s albinism or melanism, and they always have dark stripes. The stripes and colors are unique to each hive.

Mosquito people

Mosquito people are what they sound like, and the antithesis of the bee people (Whether that was on purpose or not has been lost over the centuries). Indeed, as bee people’s society is based on uniformity and strictness, mosquito people’s way of life is ‘do whatever you want, just don’t hurt other people’. They apply this behavior to *everything* they do, and as a result, there’s not much structure to their social hierachy. In fact, they lack structure in everything- even their communities’ buildings tend to be incredibly bent, and painted over by spontaneous artists- and all of them are ok with this. Things being forbidden and that are harmless is very unorthodox to them. They live exclusively in humid and dark areas, such as swamps, jungles, and sometimes near rivers. As mosquitoes, they have a proboscis; there can be upturned ones, ones pointing downwards, bent ones, zig-zaggy ones.. Unlike Mantis harpies there’s more variety, lol. Like real life mosquitoes, males have different antennae than females; and the latter have the ability to pierce skin and get blood while males can only get nectar.

Reptiloids~

Oh yes, they are named like that. I don’t have much info on them besides the fact that: they can be based on various reptiles or amphibians, no matter what they’re based on they’ll have gills, they’re bipedal and have ears used for echolocation, because their vision is pretty bad. The bigger the ears, the worse their sight is. Some subspecies have wings like prehistoric flying reptiles.

Snake people*~

They’re not part of the Reptiloid genus, because they don’t actually have much in common besides scales and sometimes horns. Their face tend to be more human like with slits for nostrils, and they have arms (either 2, 4,6 or 8). Unlike any other species on Futh (besides Cedra’s creations), Snake people have a whacking 30% chances of being conjoined twins- not only that, but the individuals actually survive more often than not. The conjoined twins were even more likely to occur centuries ago, before Snake people were part of other Futh species’ societies; conjoined twins were considered a blessing and those individuals were viewed as important, no matter who their parents were- rich or poor, the twins would be treated with respect or even worshipped. They still are respected, but not as much as before- they don’t get animals sacrified in front of them anymore. Most don’t complain about that being part of the past...

Slime skeletons

Slime skeletons are made of somewhat transparent, yet colored slime, and bones. The latter are actually what produce the slime and make them have a shape. Their shape tend to somewhat unique to each individual, given they don’t all have the same types and amount of bones, and amount of slime (by type of bones, i mean that they can have fish, reptile, bird or mammal bones; they’re born with those bones, they don’t steal them don’t worry). So their shape can be canine, humanoid, bird-like.. depends on what bones they have, and how they wish arrange their structure. The only thing that is common to all Slime skeletons is that their cranium is always outside the slime, and they can have a maximum of 2 slime colors. Their colors can be anything but white- black ones do exist, but they’re pretty rare. Also, if a part of their ooze is separated, nothing will happen- it’ll just regrow with time; however, if a bone is separated from the others, it will stop producing slime, and become useless to the Slime skeleton who lost it. But as a result, especially if the lost bone formed a limb, they’ll have to wait for the bone to regrow to gain the limb back. That process takes a few months.

Slime people*~

People made of slime. Is your mind blown?? ... Yeah no i don’t have much about them, besides the fact that they’re like Slime skeletons, but without the bones lol.

Cephalopeople*

People based on real-life cephalopods- octopi, cuttlefish, and squids. And just like those, their size can vary greatly- going from 1m (3,37ft) to 5 meters (16ft); but their culture forbids couple to have more than a meter of size difference. Also, the cuttlefish ones can change their colors to hypnotise prey/small animals, and as for the rest, the deeper underwater they live, the darker their colors are; while shallow water ones are pretty vibrant. And their pupils always have a W or - shape; and their sight is based on temperature. Strangely enough, deep sea types can have parts of exoskeleton, that are bioluminescent. They can live in any ocean, but not freshwater; and no matter where the ocean they live in, their number of limbs is 8. However, unlike real life cephalopods, they lack beaks, and have a mouth with a radula instead.

Shelled mollusc people*~

Shelled mollusc people are very different from cephalopeople, since they tend to have 2 limbs (arms), with some having tails OR have non functional ‘legs’ that are used like fins. They have beaks, that are softer than they look, and their shell is always on the top of their head; and like real life molluscs, they can slide their bodies into their shell... Even if the body tends to be much bigger than the shell- they actually fold themselves to fit inside; they don’t have bones, and their organs are pretty flexible, so it doesn’t bother them. They also have feelers on their forehead- that act as olfactory organs. They have to be careful with them though, because they don’t regrow if cut.

Nudibranch people*~

They’re pretty much like the species described above, except they don’t have beaks or shells, and never have legs/fins- they always have a slug body instead. Their feelers are MUCH bigger as well, and look like bunny ears; they’re used for hearing. As slugs, they’re not fast in the slightest, but pointing that out is pretty rude in their opinion. Which can be a problem, since nudibranch people tend to have extraordinary patience, and are often hired in services like restaurants. Their service is the best, but slowest one can ever have.

Jellyfish people*~

I JUST KNOW THAT THEY EXIST i have nothing abt them ::)

Bug people*~

they exist

Spider people*~

they exist As well (i am a very amateur)

Mammals*~

*shackles self to not hate on mammals* not all types of mammals are on Futh because mammals are ovERRATED- *gags self* mfffggh, mffggggffmffgg mmfgggfghh. By that i mean that so far only seals, canines, felines, bunnies and bats (those being called vampires) are Confirmed for Futh.

Vampires

They’re talked about here. Short version; they’re pretty much anthro bats, with two types- regular, who are, again, anthro bats; and furless, who have bare hands, face, and feet, and arms AND wings. Both types feed on blood and have a nocturnal lifestyle. They don’t die if touched by sunlight, but their already bad vision is dimished even more, and religious artefacts/other vampire killing methods don’t work on them, in the sense that putting a stake will kill them as much as doing it to anyone or anything else would.

Funguys*~

Mushroom people. The name might not be definitive, but i would be lying if it wouldn’t be funny to keep this one. Idk how they’d look like but they exist. They live in humid places and/or ones with a good amount of vegetation. are They’re based on real life mushrooms; but not matter what they’re based on, the Funguys are able to create a special kind of spore that, upon inhalation, causes hallucinations. This is mostly used for self-defense, but Funguys aren’t immune to these spore unless they’re their own; so some nefarious individuals might use them and resell them as drugs. Centuries ago, Funguys actually would see the hallucinations as a good thing and ones experiencing them were considered as blessed. But as they and other species studied the spores, they discovered the science behind it, and how being in a hallucinogenic state can be dangerous in the wilderness, so Funguys now refrain to use their spores unless necessary.

Phoenix-like people*~

One of them is actually pictured in this post, on the third picture. Their lower body/the ‘tail’ is actually a cloud of ash, that stay attached to them their whole life. Because those ashes are- or rather, were their burn body. When those creatures get born, they have legs with a bird-like structure; but as they get older, their body starts to burn itself, starting by the feet. Young adults can be recognized because the burning reached their waist- but the burning never stops, until it has consumed the whole body. Though as you can guess, when it reaches beyond the forehead, the individual passes away. No matter how burnt their body is, they always have a concave head with fire coming out of it. This species is physically pretty fragile, so this fire and their magic are their only good defenses.

Masked people*~

All i know about these is that they have heads that look like masks because one of my least favorite tropes of all type is when a masked character look really good with their mask, but not so much without it. Especially if the mask has a cool monster design but turns out it’s a boring human underneath.

Sentient nightmares

Talked about here. Short version; they’re what they sound like. The way they look depend on what nightmare they were born with- examples: nightmares born from fear of spiders will look like spiders; nightmares made about the monster in the closet will make only one individual, but their form will depend on the person who see them; nightmares made about a certain person will make a creature that look like them, with their scary features exaggerated. Sentient nightmares are either feral and attack whoever they come across, or they work in nightmare factories (explained in the link above).

Sentient dreams

They’re pretty much the same as sentient nightmares, but they don’t have factories dedicated to them. Instead, they live as permanent residents of the Dream World. If they ever were to get out of it, they would only live for a few seconds, so none is interested about the real world.

Troglodytes

The term ‘troglodyte’ refers to any types of people who live in Futh’s underground, as you can guess. But while some troglodytes are simply people of any species, who have a community in a cave, most of them live very deep underground and are essentially feral. Not only that, but while some are part of a species that is found on Futh surface (notably; reptiloids, who completely lost their eyes with evolution, some vampires, funguys, certain bug and spider people), others can’t have any species attributed to them. Examples would be spiders with their legs naking membranous wings, bugs covered in flesh instead of an exoskeleton, some types of scorpion-looking things with transparent bodies, and much more. As i said, those types of troglodytes tend be feral and live in a solitary lifestyle; there are however, some stories of individuals who journeyed through the caves, and reached the surface. No matter what their species are, they’ll definitely be sensible to sunlight; but survival IS possible for them. Most keep their feral lifestyle on the surface, but there were individuals who were educated and taught how to speak. The latter tend to be documented and become famous; though the most famous of them all isn’t an example in the slightest, since he’s a cult leader... (he’s an actual character that i’d like to show soon ;O)

Cedra’s creations

I talked about them here and in this tag. They’re lifeforms made of dead matter by Cedra, Futh’s god of death. Since the latter was never meant to CREATE anything and has no idea how living things function, his creations are always misshapen and lack a considerable amount of organs. They come in three generations; the first were the first tries at creating life, so they’re the most misshapen; the second generation, called incubi and succubi, still are malformed and lacking most organs, but have the ability to reproduce ong themselves and Futh people; the third and last generation are the children of the incubi and succubi- which can include hybrids made with Futh species. Given how they were made by the god of death, Cedra’s creations’ first instinct is to destroy and kill anything they come across; so to protect life on Futh, Cedra ordered all his creations to go in Futh’s mantle, and he sealed them and himself there. Cedra’s creations have nefarious powers tend to come in various categories, more commonly named armies; there’s Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, Pride, Greed, War, Pestilence, Famine, Death and Chaos.

Angels

I talked about them here. Short version; The angels were made by Quibris, Futh’s god of life, out of anger against the lifeforms they created who forgot them over the milleniums. They’re creatures more akin to sentient weapons rather than lifeforms; they’re made of biominerals/biometal (like the real life bloodworm’s metal teeth), whose duty is to destroy things that have a negative effect on their surroundings. They’re very primitive, don’t have emotions, are rarely able to talk, and don’t really have a will of their own. They’re all contained in Quibris’ tower and cannot leave.

Emotionals

Even by Futh standards, these creatures are unusual; they’re essentially strong emotions who took physical form thanks to magic. They tend to have a bipedal bunny appearance. There’s both positive and negative emotionals, and each behave according to what emotion created them- ones created by sadness only can feel sadness and has the power to make others feel sad, for example, and so on for other emotions. They’re not exactly common, so some people look for positive emotionals to experience good things, while negative ones are avoided; either way, they tend to be seen more like animals rather than people, so it happens that positive emotionals are caught and trapped to serve as easy ways to get happy with no effort, and negative ones are killed on sight.

That’s it for now. Notes: 1) there might going to be more people species to Futh, even if i have to admit that i already have a lot. 2) some other species in Futh do talk but aren’t part of ‘people’; because they have a solitary lifestyle, don’t have a society, and, besides the ability to talk, they’re pretty much feral. Examples of these would be spirits- i’m still deciding on where those come from, but they’d have the ability to talk, have very basic emotions, and, more often than not, be annoying. 3) most of these species are closed, because i need time to develop them, but also because honestly, while i’m not opposed to the idea of people doing characters based on my stuff (if anything i’d find it flattering), i’d actually rather have people do their OWN creatures?? Especially considering that mine tend to have real-life insp so there’s essentially no point?? I’d just really rather have people do their own world and have their own unique spin on the initial idea honestly, and don’t have limitations that aren’t set by themselves. The only open species i have is Fruitbugs, because they can be pretty specific. If you want to make a Fruitbug just ask/say so and i’ll post what little rules there are!

#thats a post i made!#Futh #futh species #if anything isn’t clear or you have questions go ahead #and if you want a picture to illustrate how a certain species look just ask and #i’ll provide a doodle lol

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zumainthyfuture · 5 years

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You might think the world's biggest bee would be easy to find. But that's not the case: Until recently, the last time anyone had reported seeing a Wallace's giant bee living in the wild was in 1981. That changed in January, when the rare bee was spotted on an island of Indonesia.

The Wallace's giant bee — Megachile pluto — towers over European honeybees. The female's size has been recorded as at least an inch and a half long, with a tongue that's nearly an inch long. Add to that a pair of gigantic mandibles, and it's a bee like no other.

"It was absolutely breathtaking to see this 'flying bulldog' of an insect that we weren't sure existed anymore — to have real proof right there in front of us in the wild," said natural history photographer Clay Bolt, who was part of a small team that sought out the Wallace's giant bee.

The team found a female bee living in a termite nest on the side of a tree — the large bee's preferred habitat. Female Wallace's giant bees use resin and wood to create tunnels and cells in existing nests, carving out their own living space away from the termites.

"To actually see how beautiful and big the species is in life, to hear the sound of its giant wings thrumming as it flew past my head, was just incredible," Bolt said.

About that sound: Touting its discovery, the team posted b-roll (!) video of the Wallace's giant bee flying around in a small enclosure, its wings sounding like a deep drone compared with the high-pitched buzz of honeybees.

The Wallace's giant bee is photographed by Clay Bolt outside its home inside a termite's nest in the North Moluccas islands of Indonesia. Simon Robson

It's not unusual for the Wallace's giant bee to go long periods without being seen by humans. It has been observed only a handful of times since it was discovered in the 1850s by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. When the bee was last rediscovered, in 1981, it had been presumed extinct.

"I've been saying it's thought to be extinct," said professor Dave Goulson, who heads a bee lab at the University of Sussex. "I was happy to hear that's not the case."

The breakthrough find came on the final day of a five-day trip to Indonesia's North Moluccas islands. Bolt's visit to Indonesia came as part of Global Wildlife Conservation's Search for Lost Species program. Others on the trip included Princeton University entomologist Eli Wyman; Simon Robson, a biology professor at the University of Sydney in Australia; and Glen Chilton, a professor at Saint Mary's University in Canada.

The Brobdingnagian bee isn't remarkable only for its size; it also sports unusually large mandibles, which are often compared to a stag beetle's.

The Wallace's giant bee's mouthparts also include a large labrum; in the early 1980s, entomologist Adam Catton Messer described watching a female Wallace's giant bee using its mandibles to scrape resin from a tree and using its labrum and mandibles to roll the resin into a large ball — which it then carried as it flew back to its nest.

"Messer's rediscovery gave us some insight, but we still know next to nothing about this extraordinary insect," Wyman said, echoing the reaction of other experts after the bee was spotted anew.

In theory, Goulson said, the large mandibles are similar to mason bees, which use them to help form the balls of mud that shape their nests. But those apian relatives are nowhere near as imposing as the Wallace's giant bee, he added.

Entomologist Jason Gibbs, who studies bees at the University of Manitoba, says the Megachilidae family of bees use a variety of materials to build nests, from leaves and flower petals to resins and mud.

"There is an introduced species in eastern North America, Megachile sculpturalis, which is closely related and quite a large and dramatic bee to see," Gibbs said. "Megachile pluto is like that species dialed up to eleven."

In the early 1980s, Messer found several Wallace's giant bees living in mountainous terrain of three islands in the North Moluccas, near the equator.

That remote location is a main reason the Wallace's giant bee has been seen so infrequently, said Goulson, who has written several books about bees. And now, he added, that sheer remoteness might help protect it from anyone seeking to get into the bee-poaching business and sell a rare specimen.

Bolt and Wyman say they want their discovery to draw attention to the bee — and to the need to protect it. The world's largest bee faces potential risks that range from insect collectors to the loss of its habitat from palm oil operations and other activity.

Gibbs agrees with the idea that bringing more attention to Wallace's giant bee might help protect it. He also says there was a flurry of interest last year, when a single specimen fetched a price of more than $9,000 on eBay.

"Despite an abundance of potential nesting sites, the bee appears to be rare," Messer wrote of his rediscovery in the 1980s. "Local informants had never seen the bee prior to its rediscovery, although a specific folk epithet, o ofungu ma koana, 'king bee,' is based on it."

As has been the case with other historical perceptions about bees, the king bee turned out to be a queen: The females are far larger than the males, which measure less than one inch in length.

#Bee #Bees #NPR #Largest Bee #Indonesia #North Moluccas islands #Bugs #Insects #HoneyBee #HoneyBees

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josephkitchen0 · 6 years

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Who is the Queen Honey Bee and Who is in the Hive with Her?

The honey bee hive is a busy place where every bee has a job. The hive consists of the queen honey bee, the drones, and the workers. Part of learning how to raise bees is learning what role every bee fills.

You may be wondering, “Do all bees make honey?” The answer is no or not as their primary work. The honey bee hive is organized in a specific way to maximize the work that honeybees do. Other bee species organize their hives or nests based on the work they do.

Queen Honey Bee

While all bees in a hive work together to make the hive healthy, the queen honey bee is the most important bee in the hive for several reasons.

First of all, there is only one queen at a time. If the queen is old and the workers think she’ll stop doing a good job, or if the hive is preparing to swarm, they’ll create some queen cells in the comb and try to raise a new queen. They’ll raise as many as they can, anywhere from two to 20, over a three day period. The first one to emerge will be the new queen. This is also what happens if the queen bee dies.

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Sometimes the old queen will find out and destroy the new queen cells before the workers can raise a new queen. If the workers are successful at rearing a new queen, the new queen will look for any other queen cells and chew through the side of the cell and sting the developing pupa to death. If two new queens emerge at the same time, they will scrap it out until one is dead. If the old queen hasn’t swarmed, she and the new queen will scrap it out to the death. The point is, there is only one queen per hive and she’s important.

Even though there are thousands of female bees in a hive, only the queen lays eggs. That is her role. As a brand new queen she’ll go on a mating flight and mate with six to 20 male bees (drones) from other hives over several days. She stores the sperm and will use it to fertilize the 2,000 eggs she lays each day. Day after day she lays eggs in the brood comb that the workers provide. That’s it. That’s her job.

The Drones

The drones are the male bees. They are the product of unfertilized eggs so they only have DNA from the queen. The workers will create drone cells in the brood comb, usually around the perimeter of the frame, and the queen will fill them with unfertilized eggs. The drone cells are larger than worker cells and are capped with a dome of wax instead of flat. This gives the drone more room to grow as they are bigger than worker bees.

The one job of the drones is to go on a mating flight and mate with a queen honey bee from another hive. A drone will not mate with the queen from his own hive; his role is to ensure the queen’s genetics get outside of the hive and into other hives.

Once a drone mates with a queen honey bee, he dies.

Since drones do not produce honey or wax, forage or help with any of the hive work, they are expendable. The workers will keep them alive as long they can but if the hive is struggling, they will start uncapping and removing the oldest larva to downsize their population. They will either eat the larva or carry them out of the hive and let them die. If they continue to struggle, they’ll remove younger and younger drone larva.

At the end of the season as the bees are preparing for winter, the queen will stop laying drone eggs and the workers will kick all the drones left out of the hive. Outside the hive they will die from starvation or from exposure.

The Workers

In addition to the queen honey bee and the few hundred drones, a honey bee hive will also have several thousand female worker bees. The worker bees forage for pollen and nectar, make beeswax and build comb, guard the hive, take care of the larva, clean the hive and remove the dead, fan the hive when it’s too hot and provide heat when it’s too cold and take care of the queen and drones.

The worker bee starts out as a fertilized egg and has traits from both the queen honey bee and one of the drones she mated with. As a larva, she is fed the same food as the queen is fed but after three days the rations are cut and her reproductive and some glandular organs do not develop. She is not able to lay eggs, does not mate and is smaller than the queen honey bee.

After pupating she immerges as an adult worker bee and spends the first few days eating and growing. After that she begins working in the nursery taking care of larvae, cleaning the brood comb and tidying up after the queen. As she continues to mature, the gland on her head that produces royal jelly develops and she’ll feed the royal jelly to the larvae and the queen.

After a few days in the nursery, she’ll begin exploring the hive and eventually become a house bee. The house bee takes the loads from the foragers and packs the pollen, nectar, and water into empty cells. The house bees also clean up debris, remove dead bees, build comb and ventilate the hive.

After a few weeks, the worker bee’s flight muscles and stinging mechanism have matured and she’ll begin taking flights around the hive to guard the hive. Guards will be at every entrance and will check each bee trying to come into the hive. This check is scent based as each hive has its own distinct scent. If a bee from another hive tries to come in, she is turned away.

The guards will defend the hive from other insects such as yellow jackets, wax moths, roaches or any other insect that wants to steal the honey or wax.

They will also defend the hive against animals such as skunks, bears, raccoons and even beekeepers. They will start with a warning by flying at the intruder’s face without stinging. If that doesn’t work the guards will begin stinging which eventually kills the bee but releases a pheromone that alerts the other guard bees. More guards will come to harass and sting the intruder until the intruder leaves. If more guards are needed, foragers who are in the hive, house workers or resting guards will temporarily become guards and get in on the attack.

When the worker bee is mature and ventures out of the hive on a daily basis she becomes a forager. There are several kinds of foragers. Some are scouts and their job is to find nectar and pollen sources. They will collect some nectar or pollen and head back to the hive to share the location. Some foragers will only collect nectar and some will only collect pollen but others will collect both nectar and pollen. Some foragers will collect water and some will collect tree resin for propolis.

The forager has the most dangerous job on a honey bee farm. They are the ones who go the farthest from the hive and are alone. A lone bee can fall prey to spiders, preying mantis and other bee eating insects. They can also be caught in sudden showers or high winds and have trouble making it back to the hive.

There is so much to learn about queen honey bees, drones, and worker bees. What is most fascinating to you about how they work together?

Bee Type Importance Gender How Many in the Hive? Role in the Hive Queen Honey Bee Most Important Female 1 Even though there are thousands of female bees in a hive, only the queen lays eggs. That is her role. As a brand new queen she’ll go on a mating flight and mate with six to 20 male bees (drones) from other hives over several days. She stores the sperm and will use it to fertilize the 2,000 eggs she lays each day. Day after day she lays eggs in the brood comb that the workers provide. Workers Critical Female Thousands The worker bees forage for pollen and nectar, make beeswax and build comb, guard the hive, take care of the larva, clean the hive and remove the dead, fan the hive when it’s too hot and provide heat when it’s too cold and take care of the queen and drones. Drones Expendable Male Zero to Thousands (depending on hive health) The one job of the drones is to go on a mating flight and mate with a queen honey bee from another hive. A drone will not mate with the queen from his own hive; his role is to ensure the queen’s genetics get outside of the hive and into other hives. Once a drone mates with a queen honey bee, he dies. At the end of the season as the bees are preparing for winter, the queen will stop laying drone eggs and the workers will kick all the drones left out of the hive. Outside the hive they will die from starvation or from exposure.

Who is the Queen Honey Bee and Who is in the Hive with Her? was originally posted by All About Chickens

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humanegardener · 6 years

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As a human in the modern world, I’m experiencing a bit of habitat envy. I crave more chances to sleep longer, pick my own fruit, and curl up with loved ones under a tree. If the universe determined our fates based on personalities and preferences, I’d likely be assigned to sloth-hood: slow-moving, plant-eating, tree-dwelling. The bumblebee lifestyle would be a good fit, too, allowing me to visit flowers all day and cozy up with family at night.

But I’m not complaining. This year has yielded extraordinary opportunities to spread the word about the importance of caring for wild plants and animals in our backyards. If it’s meant less time in my own garden, I don’t regret it. And I’ve learned to live vicariously through the creatures taking shelter there. Even brief strolls through our little oasis have brought countless insights into their often hidden world. Follow along as I recap 11 unforgettable moments in our 2017 humane garden.

1. The Eclipse Wasp

When her iridescent blue wings close, she is twilight. When they open, she’s as brilliant as the sun. How fitting, then, that I first discovered this otherworldly wasp in my garden just as the solar eclipse was starting on the afternoon of August 21. The sight of such a brilliant animal just feet from the ground was even more spectacular than anything I could have spied in the sky. Known scientifically as Trogus pennator, she appeared to have no common name, so I dubbed her the eclipse wasp. Harmless to us, she has an unusual nesting site: the caterpillars of swallowtail butterflies. She injects a single egg into each caterpillar she finds; when the egg hatches, the wasp larva feeds on and eventually kills her host. To those who find this gutting of butterfly babies distasteful, I suggest remembering that birds devour caterpillars, too, and we don’t hold their predatory ways against them.

2. The Devoted and Drenched Dad

A summer downpour didn’t stop this papa cardinal, spotted one day through a screen door to our deck, from feeding his hungry family. Wondering about the identity of the unlucky soul about to end up in a baby bird’s belly, I checked my copy of Caterpillars of Eastern North America and discovered his name: Abbott’s sphinx moth caterpillar. Though I’d never seen one before, I guessed that we had plenty, as this species’ host plants—grape and Virginia creeper—proliferate in our gardens. Most chicks need an abundance of caterpillars in their diets, so these volunteer vines provide a plethora of baby food to young bird families.

3. The Superman Ant on a Mission

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Taking a quick break from writing to refresh the birdbaths one day, I happened upon a familiar-looking butterfly skating oddly across our patio. Closer inspection revealed an ant carrying the wing of a silver-spotted skipper. How that butterfly met her demise, I’m not sure, but the scavenging ants made sure she did not die in vain.

4. The Hitchhikers

At first glance, this might look like the opossum of the insect world, a devoted mama carrying young ones on her back. That’s what my husband, Will, and I assumed when we came upon this scene under our ash tree last spring. But the diminutive hitchhikers are no mini-mes. They’re a completely different species. Called fire-colored beetles, they are attracted to cantharidin, a caustic chemical exuded by the larger blister beetle to deter predators. The tiny passengers may lick, chew or nip to extract the coveted potion, which some beetle species pass along to females while mating to confer protection to their offspring, according to the book Beetles of Eastern North America.

5. The Special Delivery

Whenever Will says, “Nancy, come here and look at something, and come quietly,” I know I’m in for a treat. This time it was a special delivery in the patio garden right outside our basement door. All our outdoor plans ceased that late spring week; we barely set foot into the backyard for fear of disturbing this newborn fawn. Except to stand, stretch and turn around, she didn’t move much either. We knew her mother must be close by, calling her baby to nurse but otherwise keeping her distance to avoid attracting predators. We saw no signs of distress—no crying, no flies, no indication of discomfort or confusion. Still, I couldn’t help but worry. Just as I started to wonder aloud if we should be concerned about her well-being, we woke up one morning to find our baby had left as quietly as she’d arrived. She was strong enough now to join her mother, who would find new spots to hide her precious cargo each day and plenty of food for her family in our deer-friendly garden.

6. The Buzz That Fell on Half-Deaf Ears

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Being half-deaf all my life, I’ve missed a lot. Punchlines elude me amid roaring laughter, and having them repeated to me is of no use when I’ve already missed half the joke. But maybe this forced tuning-out of human noise has given me more sensitivity to nature’s music, including the dramatic soundtrack of bumblebee buzz pollination. Turn up the volume on the video, and between the lower drone of wing flapping, you’ll hear it, too: the distinctive high pitch of the bee’s flight muscles vibrating at a rapid clip to shake the pollen out of the anthers of this wild senna. It’s an amazing trick that some flowers—including those of tomatoes, blueberries and other human food crops—require for pollination. Only some bees can perform it, though, and the honeybee, a domesticated animal originally introduced from Europe, isn’t among them. We’d be awfully hungry without our buzz-pollinating wild friends—yet another reason to skip the hives in favor of nurturing habitat for the native bees already in our midst.

7. The Bird Who Thought Our Yard Was a Forest

When this scarlet tanager joined our happy hour one evening in the height of summer, I knew it was a rare event. Little did I know how rare until I posted the photo and received responses from avid birders saying they had yet to spot one on their treks through the woods. Described by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as “frustratingly hard to find” because of their preference for high canopies of “large, undisturbed tracts of forest,” scarlet tanagers seem unlikely candidates for suburban backyard stopovers. This one kept us company for at least 20 minutes while feasting on the ripening fruit of staghorn sumac trees.

8. The Ant Hill That Wasn’t an Ant Hill

I’d read about it, written about it, and seen it from a distance in the past. But until this summer, I’d never actually gotten close enough to photograph a ground-nesting bee emerging from her hole, gathering pollen, and returning to her nest repeatedly. That seems strange in retrospect, since these soil dwellers are everywhere, comprising about 70 percent of our 4,000 or so native bee species in North America. They’re generally small and solitary, so it takes patience and a zoom lens to stake out such minifauna. One helpful clue to their whereabouts is the presence of mounds that look like anthills. Though they work alone, many bees create these nests near each other; I found mine along the edge of a mowed path that runs through our meadow down to the compost pile.

9. The Frog Who Thought He Was in a Jungle

As their name implies, tree frogs like to hang out high in the canopy. And sure enough, their vocalizations led my binocular-aided eyes to one atop a sassafras tree this summer. But sometimes the diminutive frogs descend to much lower altitudes during breeding season, seeming to take a particular liking to our potted rubber trees. In mid-May, just hours after I’d moved a few from their winter home in the basement to their summer spot on the patio, this little guy made himself right at home atop one of the sturdy leaves. Thin-skinned amphibians are especially vulnerable to the onslaught of chemicals and power equipment in a typical home landscape, so I feel especially protective of each one I find.

10. The Hamburglar Bun Gourmand

Our birdbaths serve many purposes: quenching animals’ thirst, helping birds clean their feathers, and—apparently—giving crow connoisseurs a place to prepare their meals. This hamburger bun of unknown origins got a thorough soaking last March before the bird took off with the dripping mass gripped firmly in his beak. Was he cleaning off the human refuse before deigning to eat it himself? Was he softening it up to make it more palatable? Theories abound, but this is a common behavior among our highly intelligent feathered friends. I’m just happy I got to see it, even if through a fuzzy window screen.

11. The Plant That Inspired Our Neighbor to Go Wild

How many species can one plant support? At some point we stopped counting, but our neighbor walked by when we were still trying. “What is this plant called?” she asked. “Can you give me some seeds?” I was surprised by the sudden interest. She’d never wanted tall plants but didn’t seem to care that this boneset towered above her. She’d never wanted prolific spreaders but could clearly see this self-starter had sprouted from a crack in our driveway. What sold my friend on Eupatorium serotinum? It certainly wasn’t me. Nothing I can say comes close to the sales pitch made by the bees, butterflies, mating wasps, bee flies, and moths crowding every bloom each summer. The moment confirmed my belief that wildlife of all kinds are the best ambassadors for the native plants that sustain them. We just need to have the courage to let them shine in our gardens for all the world to see.

Featured images, top: Tachinid flies also use caterpillars as a nesting site; when eggs hatch, the fly larvae feed on the caterpillars. Despite all this predation on baby butterflies and moths, we have dozens of winged beauties making it to adulthood in our garden, including the mourning cloak who emerged from winter dormancy in early March. (All photos by Nancy Lawson and Will Heinz)

Top 2017 Discoveries in Our Humane Garden As a human in the modern world, I'm experiencing a bit of habitat envy. I crave more chances to sleep longer, pick my own fruit, and curl up with loved ones under a tree.

#native plants #wildlife gardening

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mcmbags16-blog · 6 years

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Tips on how to Dispose of Hornets

You will discover about 20 different species of hornets, nearly all of which originate from the tropical regions of Asia. There is also a european hornet, which prefers much more temperate places. The european selection was accidentally introduced to North The united states which is now observed through the entire japanese states. Hornets are literally a variety of wasp. They belong towards the genus Vespa, which happens to be a member of the subfamily Vespinae. To be aware of if you are working which has a hornet, you are going to need to examine out the vertex. That is the portion of its head that's at the rear of the eyes. A hornet includes a bigger vertex than other vespines. A hornet or wasp isn't really as "hairy" for a bee, and typically is a little more substantial. It's in fact rather tricky to tell what insect you are dealing with except if you obtain rather shut, and many people prefer to remain again. The good information is hornets are likely to assault other insects rather then hanging out exactly where people can operate into them. Contrary to yellowjackets who hang around all around trash bins and playground tools, hornets construct their nests in shrubs, trees, and below eaves which means you are more unlikely to accidentally disturb them. Hornets, specifically the european species, have a very poor status. Quite a few people think that they are really imply and perilous, but this really is actually not genuine. Hornet stings are not anymore unsafe than wasp stings. Also, they are really frequently significantly less intense than wasps. The one time they turn out to be intense is when they are provoked or their nest is at risk. Hornet Nests Hornets NestSo how will you identify a hornet's nest to create absolutely sure you stay distant? Nests are an integral part with the lifestyle cycle. The queen, who is a fertilized woman, starts the nest within the spring. She finds a great site that's sheltered, like a tree trunk or simply a bush. She is going to establish the very first mobile on the nest outside of chewed bark. Cells are constructed in layers that are termed combs. The ysl shoulder bag queen lays an egg into every single mobile. In a few week the egg hatches. Afterwards, the larva will spin a silk layer on top of the mobile, closing it off. The larva will then endure metamorphosis and change into an grownup hornet. When she is an grownup, she'll take in as a result of the silk cap. All these initial hornets is going to be females. They can then consider more michael kors factory outlet than each of the queen's obligations, for instance making the nest and discovering food. The queen, nevertheless, could be the only one who will lay eggs. New combs are built by this primary era, as well as an outside envelope which happens to be designed close to the mobile layers. Inevitably the whole nest gets protected. A finished nest is big, grey and appears being produced from paper although it is definitely chewed bark and saliva. At the time the nest is completed, the queen will likely deliver drones, which might be male hornets. Their only position will be to go on mating flights in mid-autumn. After they mate, they die. By late autumn, most of the personnel and queens have also died. It is only the fertilized queen who can stay by means of the winter. The way to Destroy the Hornets and Preserve the Nest A lot of individuals gather hornet's nests and in some cases display them within their home. The most beneficial time and energy to collect a nest for show is in late autumn or wintertime since the hornets that utilized to live there have now all died. The nests in many cases are wrecked promptly by nature, therefore if you need just one, it is advisable to acquire it as early as feasible. A method to eliminate a nest without having destroying it truly is to slide a large plastic bag all-around it as gently as you can. You will want to get it done fast and you also ought to try out not to disturb the nest in any way. The ideal time to make this happen is in the midst of the night time when it's the coldest for the reason that the hornets will be minimum lively. As soon as you may have obtained the nest in the bag, tie it shut. If it is hooked up to some tree branch, you are going to need to tie it previously mentioned the tree department, michael kors backpacks after which cut the department off. After you've secured the nest inside of a closed bag, spot the bag during the freezer. Many of the hornets will die from the cold. It is possible to then take pleasure in the nest with no concern of currently being stung. http://www.mcmbackpackoutletmall.com

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josephkitchen0 · 6 years

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Who is the Queen Honey Bee and Who is in the Hive with Her?

Queen Honey Bee

While all bees in a hive work together to make the hive healthy, the queen honey bee is the most important bee in the hive for several reasons.

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The Drones

Once a drone mates with a queen honey bee, he dies.

The Workers

The guards will defend the hive from other insects such as yellow jackets, wax moths, roaches or any other insect that wants to steal the honey or wax.

There is so much to learn about queen honey bees, drones, and worker bees. What is most fascinating to you about how they work together?

Who is the Queen Honey Bee and Who is in the Hive with Her? was originally posted by All About Chickens

0 notes