bugbrained:

Achrioptera fallax (male)

A few (very quick and dirty) scanning electron micrographs I took of one of our Enchenopa binotata specimens (female). 

hexapoda:

Two images of the abdomen of a thomisid spider. Left is regular white light, right is ultraviolet light. You can see, a very different pattern emerges under uv light. We cannot see uv light, but some other Arthropods and birds can, so we are trying to figure out what kind of signaling or camouflage this could be to the spiders’ predators and prey. (Taken with instagram)

mondonoir:

“The hand-drawn diagram of the earth’s structure in Plate IX represents one of the stages in which there is The Universal conflagration or final Dissolution of the Earth by Fire.” – Matthew D. Eddy [read the rest here]

Thomas Wright of Durham, A New Theory of the Earth Founded upon and More Fully Explaining the Universal Phenomenon of Earthquakes (Plate IX); the Magnet and Doctrine of Tides (circa. 1773)

I think the leucistic robin I saw two weeks ago is following me.

Another awesome graduation gift.

fuckyeahmoths:

Drepana falcataria (Pebble Hook-tip)

fairy-wren:

cliff swallows

thisbirdhasflown:

I was outside with my brother yesterday in the yard and he turned to me and asked, “What are those bees doing in the flowers?” At first, I was dumbfounded and wanted to say, really? I had to explain to him that they were collecting pollen and nectar, how nectar makes honey, and how they aid in cross-pollination. He proceeded to ask if one was the “queen bee” and I furthered explained that no, the queen bee never leaves the hive her entire life unless she is off to mate.

After I got done explaining this though, I realized that my brother is probably in line with the majority of people. It baffles me that so many people are ignorant about the processes of the natural world. I am also saddened by the idea of people like my family buying bottles of honey at the grocery store and not having a clue about the amazing way it was made. We are so far removed. 

Our ecological minds are no where near as in tune as they should be.

malformalady:

Lionel Crissman of Ohio, discovered the skeleton of a deer whose plume sported almost 1000 points. The region of northern Ohio is known for harboring deer to atypical plumes.