Everything Not Porn

This is my stuff. My photography, my art, my personality, what makes me laugh. It's a break from my other blog, which is not safe for work. Not even close.

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Dragonfly on a dock piling, Michigan

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I have never been drunk in my life, not even once. This tells me I did the right thing.

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Orange flowers, I don't know what they are, sorry.

[carl-mann-54]

Lovely orchids, Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit

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Cactus spines, Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit

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So ethereal, so beautiful.

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starry night glacier point by (Stan Yoshinobu)

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Vanadinite

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Leaf beetle by ColinHuttonPhoto

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ABC Bird of the Week:  The Whooping Crane

The Whooping Crane is named for its call, which can be heard over great distances thanks to the bird’s extra-long trachea, which coils around its breastbone twice like a French horn. Like other cranes, the Whooper is noisy; the word “crane” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “cran,” which means “to cry out.”

The tallest flying bird in North America, Whooping Cranes measure up to five feet tall with a seven- to eight-foot wingspan. The species also has another distinction: It is the rarest crane in the world. Several decades ago, it almost disappeared forever due to habitat loss and hunting.

Still extremely rare, Whooping Cranes are on the WatchList and protected as an endangered species. Sadly, up to one-quarter of all Whoopers are shot and killed. (Participate in our action alert to bring the shooters to justice.) Whooping Cranes are monogamous and mate for life. Pairs perform an elaborate dance display during courtship, with leaps, wing flaps, head tosses, and flinging of light objects such as feathers and grass…

(read more: American Bird Conservancy)

photo: Brian Small

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snail

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bombyx mori

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Malay red harlequin butterfly | ©Paul Bertner   (Maliau basin, Borneo)

Paralaxita damajanti (Riodinidae) has a striking appearance, but unlike other butterflies that occupy sunlit areas and use brilliant colors to attract the attention of potential mates, to advertise their unpalatability, or to confuse, startle or warn avian predators, the Malay red harlequin is very difficult to locate, and it is normally seen only as a silhouette in the shadowy undergrowth, and where it’s flight is so quick and erratic that it is almost impossible to see where it has settled.

The explanation for the striking appearance could be connected to the fact that insects can see well beyond the visible spectrum, into the ultra-violet. In semi darkness the butterfly is almost invisible to mammalian, reptilian or avian eyes, but the distinctive pattern and contrasting colours may reflect a strong ultra-violet trademark that could be essential to enable potential mates to locate each other.

This species occurs in dense rainforest in peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. The early stages appear to be unknown. 

[Source]

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Red bird-of-paradise male | ©ci.singapore2     (Papua -Irian Jaya-, Indonesia)

Taking its name from the elongated train of glossy red feathers in the tail, the male Red bird-of-paradise, Paradisaea rubra (Paradisaeidae), is both beautiful and unusual in appearance. 

P. rubra is endemic to the West Papuan Islands off the north-west coast of mainland Papua, inhabiting the islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Gemien and Saonek.

In the past, this beautiful bird was hunted for its skin (complete with the feathers). It is likely that hunting for skins continues locally, and that some individuals are taken for the cage-bird trade. Currently the species is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, and is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

[Source]

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Water Flea - Ceriodaphnia

Ceriodaphnia is a little fresh water crustacean (less than 1 mm), living in freshwater lakes, ponds, and marshes in most of the world [1].

Ceriodaphnia feed by filtering water with their thoracic appendages and eat any phytoplankton that drift by their carapace opening.

Besides being one of the most efficient bacteria consumers of all the zooplankton species [2], Ceriodaphnia has been suggested to be a good ecotoxicity test organism (bio-indicator) for assessing acute aluminum oxide nanoparticle toxicity in fresh water environment, due to higher sensitivity and shorter growth span [3].

Animalia - Arthropoda - Crustacea - Branchiopoda - Cladocera - Daphnidae - Ceriodaphnia

Photo credit: ©Rogelio Moreno G. | Ceriodaphnia lateral view (top) and ventral view (bottom)

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Chrysiptera arnazae | ©ci.singapore2

The Arnaz’s damselfish or Yellowtail demoiselle, Chrysiptera arnazae (Perciformes - Pomacentridae), is a marine, reef-associated damselfish, wich occurs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans [source].