#manuka

[tuatara-time]

Behold: big bug lady

If you want to get your hands on this gorgeous wētāpunga sticker, come find me at Wellington Armageddon 2026! @unconventionalvoidaxolotls and I are hosting a bug-themed stamp rally and this (as part of a collaborative sticker sheet) is one of the prizes :)

Wētā fun facts below the cut:

Only female wētā have that big ol' butt spike - it's actually an ovipositor, for laying eggs!

Wētāpunga (giant wētā) are the heaviest insects on earth, weighing up to 70 grams (gravid females, average weight is 32g for females and 7.4g for males)

Wētāpunga are found only on Te Hauturu-o-Toi (Little Barrier Island), but other species of wētā are much more widespread and can be found throughout the country. All species of wētā are endemic to Aotearoa

[crudlynaturephotos]

[bearotonin-international]

Bearotonin boost from Manuka

[little-caboose-on-big-adventures]

I had a very attentive audience for tiramisu today, Caboose had his friend Manuka over!

[gradienty]

Manuka Froly (#fca40c to #f07f79)

[dovelytea]

Manuka VRC model rant

This might be a little lengthy, but I am putting it under a read more simply due to the topics discussed here involving this VRChat model that I have noticed people seem to hate on quite a lot due to how others use it, and I'm going to showcase some models I found to showcase why it makes people the. 'Big mad.' I mainly think it's simply people don't want to curate their own experience i na social game, where it is easy to do that if you do not like something and/or someone. TW for fictional/3d models showing: blood/gore, sh, weapons/knives, suggestive clothing, and some nudity (if i don't get bopped on the wrist for it)

Manuka is a model/avatar made by 𝙎𝙏𝙐𝘿𝙄𝙊 𝙅𝙄𝙉𝙂𝙊 over on BOOTH. It is a recent popular avatar people use to kit bash or use as a base to make their own avatars out of using different assets. Whether paid for, free, or their own. It has become increasingly popular on a popular social game called 'VRChat'. I'm sure everybody has heard of the game, even if you yourself, do not play it. I have seen people hating on this specific model due to the nature and creative freedom some people take with the model. A lot of people in the Menhera and Jirai Kei communities tend to use these models to express themselves.

I know there is another model name that is used alongside the MANUKA one but I do not remember the name of it currently. I've just mainly seen hatred towards the Manuka model and people stating that it "promotes self harm" and "problematic" ideals. When it is really easy to simply block any avatar that upsets you all. You don't have to hate on anybody for expressing their selves though a 3D model, and even using said model as a way to help quell their SH tendencies. As someone who struggles IMMENSELY with self harm, I take comfort in these models, and even the ability to "cut" the model you are wearing. I think more models need this feature for those of us who struggle mentally. Like how it is better to draw depictions of self harm, instead of actively doing it to yourself. Would you rather have someone actually harm themselves, or would you rather they harm a "fictional 3D model". And yes, i am aware some people get triggered by s/h scars or anything, hell i do but only when they are REAL PHOTOS OF SH.

I dunno this is just my opinion, but I feel like it is such a non-problem. I won't even get into the whole "the models look child-like" because, holy shit shut your mouth LOL Learn to use the blocking features and 'hide avatar' features in VRChat, and even off of VRC, use the blocking feature to make your space safe for you, and learn how to cope with feeling uncomfortable and triggered by things.

Thank you for coming to my TED-talk of something that has irked me for awhile now LMAO

[drhoz]

#2285 - Leptospermum scoparium - Mānuka

AKA mānuka myrtle, New Zealand teatree, and broom tea-tree. 'scoparium' refers to the supposed resemblance to Broom. The Māori name mānuka comes from Proto-Polynesian *nukanuka or *nuka which refers to Decaspermum fructicosum which has similar small white flowers.

Leptospermum scoparium probably evolved in SE Australia, where its multiple evolved protections against bushfire and terrible soil quality would have been quite useful, but at some point in the last 20 million years they got across the Tasman to New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, where they weren't very common until humans arrived and generously applied more fire, and forest-clearing. It's now much more common in NZ than in Australia.

Its nectar is the source of Mānuka honey.

Rangipo Desert, North Island Volcanic Plateau, New Zealand

[ivyblooms]