FINE Things No 37

Some moths have aquatic caterpillars. And some of these caterpillars are parasitized by wasps that dive underwater to find them. (link)

European starlings in North America went from less than 100 birds released in Central Park to almost 200 million in 150 years. How was that possible? (link)

Is climate change a ticking time-bomb for great tits? Birds that depend upon an abundance of particular food sources at specific times of the year may not be able to adapt fast enough to climate change. (link)

 

FINE Things No 36

FINE Things No. 35

Rosemary suggested: A video about Ants! (link)

Linda suggests: 9 Rules for the Woke Birdwatcher, by J. Drew Lanham. (link)

The adaptations that enable Owls to rule the night. (link)

Petunia's Waxy Cuticle Regulates the Plant's Sweet Smell. The thicker the flower petals' cuticle, the more fragrance compounds the plant releases, according to a recent study. (link)

Invertebrate Density Influences Plant Flowering Times, Abundance
An experimental study explores how plant communities may be affected by future declines in invertebrate populations. (link)

The Birds and the Bees and the Bearded Dragons-Evolution of a Sex-Determination System (link)

When fungi infect wood they often produce colorful substances. The result is called "spalting" and spalted wood is very attractive; it is used by many fine woodworkers to produce strikingly beautiful furniture and turned wood bowls. The Mushroom Club of Georgia recently recorded a Zoom lecture by an expert on spalting wood fungi. (link)

Research catches up with the world's fastest growing plant. (link)

Watching genes turn on. (link)

 

Where do genes come from? (link)

The world's most dangerous fart. (link)

Why do we pass gas? (link)

 

FINE Things No. 34

1) Quote of the week:
"Honey bees are livestock like chickens and goats, and just as you wouldn't keep chickens to protect songbirds, keeping honey bees does nothing to protect our wild pollinators." (Source)

2) A buyer's guide to suet and bird puddings. (link)

Last Camp at Woodland Caribou

by Tim Homan

        Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, Ontario.  Mid-August, 2018, last two nights of our canoe trip along the Bloodvein River, which for most of its mileage through the park is totally unrecognizable as a stream with a flowing current.  Here the Bloodvein is largely a chain of lakes with numerous islands and long improbably shaped peninsulas dividing the lakes up into arms and bays and coves that stretch out in all directions.

FINE Things No. 33

From Rosemary Woodel:To study a rare butterfly, this scientist had to get vertical. (link)

Need some magic in your life? Here's the answer: Eric Chien, based in Beijing and raised in the US, has won an International Federation of Magic Societies' world championship title. (link)

Back by poopular demand: How do wombats poop cubes? Scientists get to the bottom of the mystery (link)

Breathing Life Into the Corpse Flower. In botanic gardens, the lineage of a famously smelly plant is threatened. Can a new collaborative program save it? (link)
 

You should be excited that scientists are releasing 750 million genetically modified mosquitoes this year. Texas and the Florida Keys will see the release of GM insects in a plan to reduce disease transmission, (link)

Emily & Linda recommend Drew Lanham in "On Being": "I worship every bird that I see." (link)

Most of you have heard of Potassium, but what is it? And where does it come from? What is it used for? Derek Miller, of Veritasium, has the answers and more. (link)

From Rosemary Woodel: I made this movie about a wildflower walk in Inisheer, one of the Aran Islands.  I had given my i.d. book of Irish wildflowers to Linda so I did the naming using two websites.  Might be wrong on some of them. It's 11 min long.   I posted it for Karen Hunter's birthday. (link)

FINE Things No. 32

From Linda: Stickiness is a weapon some plants use to fend off hungry insects. (link)

How plants influence the honeybee caste system: workers and queens. (link)

It could be controversial, so I hesitated to post this link. "Plantwatch: weeds - appreciating the wild things on our streets. Lockdown may have given us more respect for the wild plants, and the work they do, in our urban areas." (link)

"Absolutely Barking"; Nearly everything you need to know about bark. (link)

If you've ever been hiking in the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains or the Sierra Nevadas you may have heard a high-pitched whistle. The sound was produced by a Pika, a fluffy ball of fur about the size of a hamster, but related to a rabbit. Pikas are adapting to climate change remarkably well, contrary to many predictions. (link)

Catherine Chastain submitted this one: Ice pancakes swirl on river. (link)

Both Linda and I recommend this: Milkweed Pollination: A Series of Fortunate Events. (link)

 Jan Coyne recommended this one: Beetle parents manipulate information broadcast from bacteria in a rotting corpse. (link)

These Mites Rain Down To Save Your Strawberries | Deep Look (link)

These Face Mites Really Grow on You | Deep Look (link)

It’s not nature, except in the sense that it exploits the laws of physics. I think you’ll enjoy it.  (link)

The Contradictory Plant Known as Beefsteak Plant, Shiso, and Perilla Mint, Perilla frutescens. (link)

Emily recommended the next two:

We’ve waited for years on this news from down under and the nerds of Georgia Tech shaped the solution. Warning! Pun alert! “Box seat: scientists solve the mystery of why wombats have cube-shaped poo. Unique physiology allows the Australian marsupial to produce square-shaped feces that may aid communication.” (link)

Moths to monkeys: 503 new species identified by UK scientists. (link)

Coastal job: sand artist. Must see sand sculptures. (link)

A new study finds global ice loss is now in line with the worst-case 
scenarios of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change, with ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica melting the fastest. (link)

At least 14 new North Atlantic Right whale calves have been seen
 off south-eastern US this season. (link)

The Ocean's Mysterious Vitamin Deficiency. 
A puzzling lack of thiamine is disrupting some marine ecosystems. (link)