persephone

This entry is going to be mostly about insects. If you don't know already, I am quite fond of them. First I will introduce you to one of my favorite photographers.

Igor Siwanowicz

Someday I would like to take photos like that. For the time being though, I am stuck with a decent camera and a magnifying attachment for my lens. So I can take photos like this.

Invertebrates are consistently interesting to me. They are so strange and unique. So different from eachother and other animals. Recently a new species of slug was discovered on Wales. This slug is different from normal slugs in that it is carnivorous, blind and nocturnal. Here is a description.

"The nocturnal predator is armed with blade-like teeth for slicing through animal flesh and can measure up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) long when stalking its prey, They engulf the worms piece by piece, One end of the worm will still be alive while the other is being gradually ratcheted into the slug by the teeth."

Or how about the worm that is native to the Pacific Northwest that spits and smells of lilies? That would be the Giant Palouse Earthworm.

"The worm is believed to grow up to 1 m (3 ft) in length. Modern specimens, however, have only been observed up to about half that length. The worm is albino in appearance, and when handled it gives off a scent similar to that of the lily flower. It is reported to be able to spit in self-defense."

And then there is the aphid, which most people are familiar with. But there may be some things you don't know about them. This was taken from several sources and then edited by me to make it easier to understand.

"Aphids are known for having unusual reproductive adaptations. In some species, reproduction is fairly simple. In other aphid species, reproduction can be very complicated with both sexual and asexual forms, creation of eggs or live nymphs and even be associated with switches between woody and herbaceous host plant types at different times of the year.

Many aphids undergo cyclical parthenogenesis (this means birth without fertilization from a male). In the spring and summer, only females are present in the population. The overwintering eggs that hatch in the spring result in females. Reproduction is typically parthenogenetic and viviparous (this means live birth, no eggs). This results in eggs that are genetically identical to their mother. The embryos develop within the mothers' ovarioles, which then give live birth to first instar nymphs (viviparous). Aphids typically live from 20-40 days and thus undergo multiple parthenogenetic, viviparous generations each summer."

Then it gets really weird.

"Ova within a viviparously (live birth) reproducing female start to develop immediately after ovulation, this occurs long before birth. This means that an embryo can exist inside another larger and more mature embryo. In fact a newly born Summer aphid can contain within herself not only the developing embryos of her daughters but also those of her grand-daughters which are developing within her daughters. Parthenogenesis combined with this 'telescoping of generations' give aphids an exceedingly rapid turn-over of generations meaning they can build up immense populations very quickly."

So essentially, some female aphids are born pregnant. They can also grow wings at will if they need to move to another host plant.

Okay, I hope I haven't bored you too much. To satiate the short attention spanned, here is a cool video of the velvet worm. I know it's in Spanish, but it's the best video I can find.





I hope to see the rainforest someday. Well, I have seen it, from an airplane, but I want to be in it. Hopefully I will be meeting Sally in Costa Rica next year.

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I still have no job, but that's okay for now. I am not quite broke yet. Plus, I get to see Erica and Venice more often and that is a good thing.



Chau.