Just animal and bug stuff. Pls feel free to share that sorta content with me! I'm on iNat, too https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&user_id=beesnstuff&verifiable=any
Common Green Lacewings: these tiny insects build loosely-woven cocoons that measure just 3-6mm (about 1/8 to 1/4 inch) in diameter
Each lacewing spends about 5 days maturing inside its cacoon, and then it cuts an opening in the top and emerges as a fully-developed adult.
Above: a common green lacewing emerging from its cocoon
Green lacewing larvae (genus Chrysopidae) are also known as "aphid lions," because they're voracious predators that often feed on aphids. They've also been known to prey upon caterpillars, leafhoppers, planthoppers, thrips, spiders, mites, and insect eggs, which is why they're widely used to help eradicate pests in agricultural contexts.
Once the lacewing nears the end of its larval stage, it builds a small cacoon out of silk and then tucks itself inside, allowing the pupal phase to begin. Its tiny green body is often partially visible through the thin, loosely-woven walls of the cacoon.
Above: a lacewing developing within its cocoon
These breathtaking photos of a lacewing climbing out of its cacoon were taken by a Danish photographer named Frederik Leck Fischer.
Above: the lacewing preparing to emerge
When the insect initially emerges, its wings and antennae are still compactly folded down against its body, and the wings have a dark, shriveled appearance that makes them almost unrecognizable.
Above: the fully-developed lacewing waiting for its wings to expand
The wings then gradually expand until they have reached their full size, which usually takes about an hour or two.
Above: the same lacewing just a few hours later
Fischer's photographs provide a stunning account of the entire process.
Above: close-up of a common green lacewing
This is a rewritten version of a post that I originally published three years ago.
Sources & More Info:
iNaturalist: Common Green Lacewing
University of California: Family Chrysopidae
Texas A&M: The Green Lacewing
Washington State University: Lacewings
Tennessee State University: Insect Predators: Green Lacewings (PDF)
Dragonfly Nymphs: these insects have retractable mouthparts that allow them to capture their prey in the blink of an eye
Dragonfly nymphs have a bizarre anatomical feature -- their lower jaw is equipped with an arm-like apparatus that can swiftly expand and retract, allowing the nymph to grab and devour its prey.
This apparatus is known as a prehensile labial mask. It consists of two long structures that pivot around a multiaxial joint, a pair of labial palps, and movable claws that are used for gripping and chewing. When the labial mask is not in use, it simply folds up beneath the nymph's head.
According to this article:
In their biotopes, dragonfly and damselfly larvae are important predators that catch their prey with a biomechanically unique and highly efficient catching apparatus known as the prehensile labial mask, which is formed by the modified labium.
By means of this prehensile mask, the larvae can capture fast-moving organisms up to their own size. The movable hooks, pointed lobes at the end of the prehensile mask, grab or often pierce the prey to hold it tight.
Dragonfly nymphs live in ponds, lakes, and other freshwater ecosystems, where they prey on other invertebrates, tadpoles, newts, and even small fish.
The nymph lies in wait, using its remarkable eyesight and sensitive mechanoreceptors to detect potential prey; once a victim is in range, it engages the labial mask, which can fully extend in just 15 milliseconds. The claws at the end of the labium then draw the victim toward the serrated mandibles of the nymph's mouth.
For decades, researchers believed that the movements of the labial mask were powered by hydraulics, but studies now suggest that the structure moves more like a synchronized system of catapults:
The jet propulsion of the dragonfly larvae’s mouthparts functions much more like a controllable catapult system: an internal elastic structure in the dragonfly’s head that is held by a muscle like a spring under tension. This is where the muscle’s energy is stored. The two segments of the labial mask are interconnected and are locked and triggered by a shared mechanism.
Sources & More Info:
Zoological Society of London: The Toolkit of a Hunter: Functional Morphology of Larval Mouthparts in a Dragonfly
Journal of Experimental Zoology: A Switchable Joint in the Head of Dragonfly Larvae
Discover Wildlife: How Do Dragonfly Larvae Hunt?
Science Robotics: Hunting with Catapults: the Predatory Strike of the Dragonfly Larva
Indian Institute of Technology: Prey Capturing and Feeding Apparatus of Dragonfly Nymphs
Kiel University: Bio-Inspired Robotics: Learning from Dragonflies
If you are not already, you really should be watching the 2026 Kakapo Cam that's been set up by Aotearoa NZ's Department of Conservation (DOC) in Rakiura's nest. Yesterday was particularly eventful, as Theo (one of the DOC folks) retrieved one of the two chicks in Rakiura's nest with the stated intention to relocate it to the nest of another Kakapo in the area -- that mother's chick was needing veterinary intervention and they didn't want her to abandon the nest if she returned to find her baby gone. So they moved this baby to her nest as a strategy to keep her mothering efforts in motion while DOC works with the chick needing additional attention.
FYI, the link above goes to the livestream, but you can do a search of their YT channel itself (not the main YT search) to find segments of video with additional info -- plug "Kakapo Cam" into the search field.
Today's wasp of the day is the thistledown velvet ant (Dasymutilla gloriosa)!
Credits: photo 1, photo 2
Also known as the glorious velvet ant, this tiny ambling squeaker has confused scientists with her fashion choices. At first it was believed that she was mimicking the fruits of the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), which are also common around her stomping grounds. Turns out that she's been wearing white millions years before the plant arrived on its landmass. Now it is believed that her white fuzz simply helps her keep cool— which isn't as exciting of an answer but still an interesting look into how organisms adapt to living in the desert.
A rodent from the state of Bahia, Brazil. The painted tree-rat is found in the Atlantic forest. It also occurs in cocoa plantations where some native trees remain. As far as known, it is nocturnal.
In the future, children will think our ways are strange. "Why do old people always grow so much milkweed in their gardens?" they'll say. "Why do old people always write down when the first bees and butterflies show up? Why do old people hate lawn grass so much? Why do old people like to sit outside and watch bees?"
We will try to explain to them that when we were young, most people's yards were almost entirely short grass with barely any flowers at all, and it was so commonplace to spray poisons to kill insects and weeds that it was feared monarch butterflies and American bumblebees would soon go extinct. We will show them pictures of sidewalks, shops, and houses surrounded by empty grass without any flowers or vegetables and they will stare at them like we stared at pictures of grimy children working in coal mines
We will be feeding our grandchildren strawberries and raspberries we grew in our gardens, dragging them along to the farmers' markets for tomatoes and eggs and goats milk and pickles and pecans and salsa and sunflower seed butter and jars of honey, as they complain and drag their feet because Gramma always stands around talking to people for like an HOUR
and we will say "When I was YOUR age, fruits and vegetables came from a supermarket and they were bred to get shipped 1000 miles in a truck and sit on shelves for weeks, and they tasted so sour and watery it was like eating paper compared to these ones. It wasn't even legal in some places to grow your own food"
and they will roll their eyes like yeah yeah just because everything was miserable in the 20s doesn't mean I have to have a smile on my face standing in the hot sun while you listen to that one guy talk about his bees FOREVER
But they will go, because there might be baby goats.
Since I made this post, dozens and dozens of people have left tags telling me that it was the first thing today that made them want to continue living, that it was the first thing that made them consider that they might be okay years in the future, that they might grow old, that it was the first and only post of its kind they'd ever seen—the first post that boldly predicts a future where we make it.
And many other people have been just spitting, foaming at the mouth fucking FURIOUS. How dare I have the audacity to imagine a future where things get better?
Don't I know how BAD things are? Am I not aware of the TERROR and DEVASTATION of climate change and fascism and biodiversity loss? How dare someone be so bold, so callous, as to imagine something other than misery and suicide. How dare someone suggest it will get better. How dare a person propose that there is a future where we will be okay, in the face of so much terror. Hasn't she seen the abyss opening its jaws before us?
the idea that there is hope for the future is the only way we have this kind of future.
there were kids who stayed inside because of the black plague and went on to help cure it.
there were women who sat at home and cleaned the house and dreamt up a world where they could vote and have jobs.
there were kids in the mines who thought up a life outside of it.
there were children who hid in annexes and wrote a diary where they prayed for a future without a terrible man in control
there were slaves who wanted freedom so badly and had hope that it would get better
there were gay people who hid in the corners of clubs and fought back for a future where they could walk down the street together
do you know what all of that has in common? they had hope that things would get better and they made that change. they looked at the world in its cruel ways and fought back.
so now, there are kids and teenagers and young adults and new adults who dream of a world so beautiful and the only amazon their grandchildren know is the rainforest
and it is in everything we do that we find this hope. wishing on dandelions, counting the stars, making our own clothes out of crochet or knit or sewing it, watching the sunset, going to the farmer’s market, feeding the birds, planting seeds.
step by step, we dream up, like our ancestors before us, a beautiful world
The slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds can trap microplastics better than the slightly-toxic synthetic polymer in use.
"The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.
Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater.
With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.
In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for okra and fenugreek extracts and tested results in a variety of types of water.
To extract the sticky plant polymers, the team soaked sliced okra pods and blended fenugreek seeds in separate containers of water overnight. Then, researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them into powders.
Analyses published in the American Chemical Society journal showed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:
One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.
Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.
A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.
The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.
Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source.
Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%).
The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.
Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.
“Utilizing these plant-based extracts in water treatment will remove microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances to the treated water,” said Srinivasan in a media release, “thus reducing long-term health risks to the population.”
She had previously studied the use of food-grade plant extracts as non-toxic flocculants to remove textile-based pollutants from wastewater and thought, ‘Why not try microplastics?’"
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