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Bridgey's Midgey: this species of lace bug has a distinctive dome-like structure on its back, and it was discovered just 5 years ago

This species has only been documented at the Cairns Botanic Gardens in Australia, where it was discovered by a photographer/tour guide named Bridgette Gower back in 2020. The strange-looking insect is also known as "Bridgey's midgey," and it's recognized as an undescribed species of lace bug from the genus Oecharis.

The distinctive "cyst" on the insect's back is actually part of the pronotum (the plate that covers the dorsal side of its body) and it's formed by two separate structures that meet along the midline of the thorax; these two structures part whenever the insect needs to use its wings, which are folded beneath the dome.

The entire pronotum is covered in dark, lacy patterns and translucent cells that make the "cyst" seem even more exaggerated.

The adults of this species measure roughly 3mm long. Entomologists have also documented and collected the nymphs, which have flat, shiny bodies that are completely black.

Lace bugs (family Tingidae) are tiny insects that feed on plant fluids, and their common name is derived from the fact that they often have delicate and extremely intricate structures on their wings and pronotum.

Sources & More Info:

iNaturalist: Genus Oecharis

Aussie Macro Photos: Finding Bridgey's Midgey

Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology: Lace Bug Genera of the World, Part II (PDF)

University of Maine: Lace Bugs

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Blanket octopus(Tremoctopus) is a genius of pelagic cephalopods. They usually occupy surface of mid-waters in subtropical and tropical oceans. They are known for their long, transparent webs that connect the dorsal and dorsolateral arms of the adult females. The other arms are much shorter and lack webbing. Blanket octopuses are immune to the venomous Portuguese man o' war. When threatened blanket octopuses use ink like every other octopus but female octopuses have large net-like membranes that spread out and billow in the water, greatly increasing her apparent size. Blanket octopuses usually live in coral reefs, where they hunt for food, which consists of small fish. They also hide from their predators there, including larger fish and even whales. The risks these reefs face include coral bleaching and ocean acidification. Although this can be dangerous to the Blanket Octopus because it is their habitat, these creatures are nomadic meaning they can move around and find shelter elsewhere, and they also have the capability to adjust to varying temperatures within the ocean.

Fun fact: blanket octopuses are immune to venom of Portuguese man o' w

There are currently four species of blanket octopus known.

The blanket octopus' predators include larger fish and whales!

herpsandbirds

Parasa Moth (Parasa schausi complex), with ant friend, family Limacodidae, Costa Rica

photograph by Casey Owen

vintagewildlife

Newborn velvet worm crawling on its mother By: Raymond A. Mendez From: Natural History Magazine 1985

strawlessandbraless

Rhizophysa filiformis // No common name

Rhizophysidae is a family of siphonophores in the suborder Cystonectae. Look at them go 💚🩵💜

Love to sea it 🌊

daegu-based-terrorist

We lost the anti-asian racism/dog meat discourse when everyone decided to just appease white people and start throwing asians who do eat dog meat under the bus going “oh no but I’m not like those asians, i’m a good asian who subscribes to white people’s weird moral qualms with eating dog despite eating every other animal on this planet.”

daegu-based-terrorist

it’ll never stop being hilarious to me that everyone was more willing to press the “dog meat is my favourite meat” option on the “what is fake gyeong-hui lore” poll then they were to press the very obvious lie of my mother working for the south korean government

daegu-based-terrorist

It also so often ties back into anti North Korean xenophobia. I always see Japanese, Koreans in diaspora or JPN/KOR and Chinese (pretty much solely diaspora) rushing to point out how prevalent dog meat is in the DPRK compared to their countries. Like wow I’m shocked that the country with the least western influence doesn’t subscribe to their morals. Who would have thought. Yet for them it’s always proof of how depraved the DPRK is, or that the only Asians who eat dog meat are the bad evil Asians in North Korea

bigoldeels

till 2037, brood xix <3

theoldbone

Guanlong wucaii

Velociraptor mongoliensis

Asteriorinis

Art by Joanna Kobierska

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enjoying baked beans with can-opener smoothdream

bhramarii

onenicebugperday

Mustard semi-slug, Echinix ochracea, Xanthonychidae

Semi-slugs are a type of intermediate gastropod between slugs and snails - they retain a shell, but it is partially or completely hidden by the mantle.

Photographed in Mexico by alan_rockefeller

ex0skeletal-undead

Moltar, oil painting by Joey Edwards

This artist’s Instagram // Facebook // Etsy // Full Linktree

From the artist (via reddit): Back in 2005 my beloved millipede Moltar passed away and I was really sad about it. I loved him dearly. Not long after he passed I somehow was able to send an entire term (3ish months) in my college oil painting class creating this gigantic 9’x4’ painting of Moltar ascending his mortal coil.

crevicedwelling

the infamous bullet ant (Paraponera clavata) of the Neotropics here has fallen prey to a rhynchodemine flatworm, her legendarily powerful sting brandished uselessly in death. a scavenging fly takes its tax of the meal from her thorax as the sated worm moves on.