Silicon Forest
If the type is too small, Ctrl+ is your friend
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| Antheraea Polyphemus |
It's a polyphemus moth. Probably Antheraea Polyphemus. They're related to silkworms (I don't know if you can make silk from the cocoons, though, and I don't know that they're destructive in the way Lymantra dispar is (the common name on that contains what some now regard as a slur to the Roma people, so, I don't know if we have a new common name* or not but I can remember it as Lymantra). Of course Lymantra is an invasive in the US and Polyphemus is native here.
(*oh hey yes, you can call it the "spongy moth" which makes me laugh so maybe I use that with my classes now)
These creatures don't live long; they don't have functional mouthparts (unlike some moths and butterflies that eat nectar); they only live about a week and they exist to mate, lay eggs, and die. Which looking at that with a human bias, that seems kind of sad, but then again: will moths ever write symphonies or novels or draw maps?
The other thing that always weirds me out if I think much about it is the metamorphosis process: lepidopterans dissolve into a puddle of goo, leaving behind "imaginal disks" that direct reorganization of what's left into the adult.
There's a short essay here (Scientific American) that talks about it, and here are some photos from a natural historian who raises silkmoths and had one that "oopsied" and somehow metamorphosed without a cocoon (so apparently the "puddle of goo" was an overstatement)
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| Château Royal de Collioure |
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| Château Royal de Collioure |
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| Château Royal de Collioure looking south |
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| Château Royal de Collioure looking west |
Infants living in a house with dogs at three months of age are 90% less likely to develop food
hi there✊
Nothing makes sense
Le bœuf est vieilli pendant six semaines sur place - The beef is aged for six weeks on site
What Are The Top 5 Countries With The Most Airports?
Definition of bipolar💀😳
Aviation Engineering at Its Sharpest
When You Wake Up Late, & The Rest Of The Day Goes Wrong!😫 - Small boat vs big waves
Traveling with a kid on a motorcycle feels like moving houses
Gelock Miracle - rescue car from collapsed house
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| Streptocarpus also known as Cape primrose |
Byron has been messing with flowers and he brought a couple of his plants to lunch the other day. He won an award at a flower show in Seattle earlier this month, admittedly in the novice category. Another endeavor of which I am almost totally ignorant. More photos here.
Diesel Pile Hammer 💥
How to fix a weed-whacker - soak the string in water
My virtual girlfriend - Sarah Lezitow
Who Smells More? Ozzy Man Quickies - Seals
Why birds don't crash (and what humans can learn from them)
Driveshaft alignment
Smooth skills
This Machine Saves Us Thousands - cutting threads in holes in plate steel
Bro took it as a challenge - spill proof bowl
Holy moly!! Cheerleader Park Ye-eun, as dazzling as the sunshine
