Apiary Love vol. 1: GREEN SWEAT BEES (Agapostemon spp.)

For my really quite insane friend KYTE.


Agapostemon sp.

As is probably obvious from the name, some Green Sweat Bees of the genus Agapostemon are known to lap sweat from the skin of surprised and annoyed humans. This is not necessarily their favorite ingestible, but human sweat can be an excellent source of salts and other minerals. The entire family Halictidae, in which the GSBs are placed are referred to as Sweat Bees. Like most bee species, Sweat Bees subsist primarily on flower nectar and pollen.


Agapostemon sp.

Bees of this genus are found through out the Americas, and can be metallic green or blue, often with striped abdomens. They mate and raise their young individually , but live in large group nests in the ground with a common entrance gallery. There may be 2 - 25 individual nests with in the colony. Just to be clear though, they do not maintain a colonial social structure (with a queen and workers, as do Honey Bees).


A. splendens


A. splendens


A. splendens up close and interested in your point of view


A. obliquus


A. sericeus


A. sericeus all in your business


A. virescens mating in the common entrance of a group burrow


A. virescens with a heavy pollen load on its hind legs


A. virescens cleaning its antennae after feeding

Current Moth Obsession - Post 3 The family SATURNIIDAE

Luna moth (Actias luna)

Our friends, the Luna Moths are members of the family Saturniidae, which includes the world's largest moths. Saturniids are usually large moths with large feathery antennae that live for only short periods once they reach the adult stage (most of them lack mouths).

To find out more about this family, check out this WIKI article.


Small Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia)


Io moth (Automeris io)


Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis)


Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda)


Rosy Maple Moth relaxing after a night at the club


Citheronia splendens


Citheronia up close and curious about your new IPOD

Current Moth Obsession - Post 2 The Face of the Luna Moth (Actias luna)

This gorgeous and large moth (up to 4 1/2 in.) is fairly well known by people interested in nature in North America, but we seldom take the time to really look at their little faces. As with most of the Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies), most of us tend to gaze at the wings and not look much further. Here's a gallery of Luna Moths, taking a closer look beneath the wings. You will notice a complete lack of a mouth, as Lunas only live for about a week once they metamorphose into adults and therefore don't ever feed... concentrating on reproduction.


This Luna disapproves of your choice of St. Augustine grass. It really isn't enviro-friendly, and the concept of lawns is so gauche.


Moths rely on their extremely sensitive antennae for chemo-reception (smell). Males have larger and more expansive antennae, as exemplified in this photo.


Chemoreception needs to be acute, as moths attract each other (often over great distances) using pheromones released into the air.


As with most moths, Lunas are more active at night, as the large eyes attest. They may still be seen during the day, however.


"Dude, I'm not pointing at you, its just what they do!"


A freshly emerged (from its cocoon) Luna Moth pumps fluid into its wings from its body, so that they may expand to full size and be used for flight. The whole process may take 2-4 hrs.


2 Lunas discuss the newly emerging linguistic trends in social networking sites.


"Dude, this chick totally smells like pachuli (sp?) and cheetos!"


Love is in the air, in the whisper of the wind. Love is in the airrrrrr... or perhaps just the biological imperative to pass on one's genetic code. Who's to say?


Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Current Moth Obsession - Post 1 Moth Blog

North American Moths



* Really, come on, how many moth blogs are there? She does an exceptional job of covering a vastly under-appreciated group of animals.

The You Might Have to Think about it Enviro Art of JOSH KEYES

Visit Josh's site HERE.

Random Mammal Photo - A CONGREGATION OF BADGERS

My friend Nicholas sent me this pic of a Badger party in someone's backyard. The European Badger (Meles meles) is found across most of Europe. Unlike the American Badger (Taxidea taxus), which is an aggressive carnivore, the European Badger is a much more docile and omnivorous (eating plants and animals) creature.

Anuran Spotlight: MEULLER'S TERMITE FROG (Dermatonotus meulleri)

Meuller's Termite Frog is found in a variety of habitats where water is readily available for at least part of the year in areas of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia.


Like most of the other species in the family Microhylidae (the Narrowmouths), Termite frogs have small mouths on pointy snouts that serve them well in their diet of Termites and Ants.


Another distinctive characteristic of this family is the nuchal fold (neck fold) behind the head. For other members of this family, see Tomato Frogs and Malayan Painted Toads in earlier frog posts.


This is a common frog throughout its range, but is usually seen during rains when they come out in great numbers to breed in temporary and permanent bodies of water.


A frog in the hand beats 2 in the... never mind. This shows us the relative size of a large female. (Do we remember that usually female frogs are larger than males?)


This is a fossorial (burrowing) species, that would rather stay in an listen to some jazz and drink Chiraz than go out and carry on at the club with you.


"I'm not being judgmental. I just don't like Lady Gaga, that's all... what look on my face?"


An under view of the Meuller's. It's okay, they ain't shy.


A close up view of the hind foot of the Termite Frog shows the strong toes for digging. The extended digit of many Microhylids often wiggle when they hunt; possibly to distract or attract their insect prey.


As with many frogs and toads that spend the majority of time buried, Meuller's is an explosive breeder. This means that the entire population in a given area will breed en masse all at the same time, flooding the area with their offspring. This strategy for breeding ensures some safety in numbers for the tadpoles and toadlets.


One of my favorite frogs (the species not this individual) hides among the leaves of a forest floor with an unknown species of the family Ranidae (the True Frogs) after a rain.

5 Small Cat Species I Bet You Ain't Never Heard of Before Neither

(I'm too distracted to write anything more today. Enjoy the cats.)

1. Pampas Cat (Leopardus pajeros)

Found in the Pampas region of Chile and Argentina.








2. Iriomote Cat (Mayailurus iriomotensis)

Very rare, found only on the small Japanese island of Iriomote.








3. Jaguarundi (Herpailurus yaguaroundi)

Found from SW U.S. to central South America.















4. Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus)

Found throughout SE Asia.








5. Pallas's Cat (Otocolobus manul)

Found in the steppes, grasslands, region of Central Asia.

"Molecular Evidence Supports Key Tenet Of Darwin's Evolution Theory"

(from http://www.SCIENCEDAILY.com)

"As a model system, the research focused on one specific molecular machine, the TIM complex, which transports proteins into mitochondria. Mitochondria are a compartment of human cells that serve as the energy-producing 'powerhouses'. At a very early stage in evolution, mitochondria were derived from bacteria that lived within the first eukaryotic cells.

'Our cells literally are chimeras of a "host" cell and these intracellular bacteria. Yet bacteria don't have TIM complexes – to understand where the TIM complex came from we simply applied scientific reasoning and looked at a modern-day bacterium akin to the organism that gave rise to mitochondria.' Professor Lithgow said.

The group looked at the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus and found bacterial proteins related to the components of the mitochondrial TIM complex. They then showed that these bacterial proteins are not found as part of protein transport machines.

'François Jacob described evolution as a tinkerer, cobbling together proteins of one function to yield more complex machines capable of new functions.' Professor Lithgow said..."

(Read entire article)
............................................................................................................................

Michael Behe (Biochemist)
The most scientifically credible proponent of Design over Evolution



To find out more about what has been one of the stronger arguments against Darwinian evolution; that being that the molecular structures within cells (especially protein "machines") are too complex and specific to be a product of evolution... click here to read about the earnest but flawed work of Dr. Michael Behe. I think his idea of an "irreducible complexity" of cell structures overlooked the probabilities discussed in the above article...


(click on this image, it's really cool in detail)

...not to mention that the following fields and developments within and across various fields of science point to Darwinian evolution as an accurate description of the state of life on Earth:

1. Geologic Stratigraphy
2. Plate Techtonics
3. Comparative Embryology of Vertebrates
4. We can actually see it at work with some species, like fruit flies.
5. We have done it with selective breeding of domestic animals.
6. The Fossil Record (which goes along with our understanding of rock layers, Stratigraphy)
7. Comparative Anatomy and Physiology
8. Geographical Distribution of animals
9. We also have made recent advances in fields like the evolution of the Terrestrial Atmosphere through time, Paleoclimatology, and Microbial Fossils.

* I was a bit lazy here, and just linked to Wiki articles, but we can spend more time on these 9 items later. :)

Websites of Interest: ARCTIC OCEAN DIVERSITY

"Arctic Ocean Biodiversity: An international program examining the diversity of marine life in the Arctic, from the sea ice to the deep seafloor.

http://www.arcodiv.org/index.html

"Arctic Ocean Biodiversity (PDF) is a Census of Marine Life project aimed at coordinating research efforts examining the diversity in each of the major three realms: sea ice, water column and sea floor, including fish, mammals & birds. This program will consolidate what is known and fill remaining gaps in our knowledge: it is lead for the Arctic Ocean diversity cluster within the International Polar Year.

The Arctic Ocean is unique. It is the most extreme ocean in regard to the seasonality of light and its year-round existing ice cover. Arctic seas hold a multitude of unique life forms highly adapted in their life history, ecology and physiology to the extreme and seasonal conditions of this environment. Knowledge of what lives in the Arctic Ocean is limited due to the logistical challenges imposed by its multiyear ice and inhospitable climate.

The Arctic Ocean is the region where the impacts of climate change are strongest expressed. On-going climate warming and reduction in sea ice makes the effort to identify the diversity of its life an urgent issue. Species level information is essential to discussions on climate change or human impact. These effects can only be detected through long-term monitoring of key species, communities and processes. The availability of solid baseline data is crucial."

Antarctic Rotifer (Philodina gregaria)


Marbled Eelpout (Lycodes raridens)


Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas)