My friend and I were leaving her house in south Florida a few weeks ago when she stopped me to point out this striking moth, as she knew I would definitely want to check it out. Obviously enamored, I did some research and learned so much about this beautiful insect, called the Scarlet Bodied Wasp Moth (Cosmosoma myrodora). Apparently adult males of this species have adapted an insanely badass way of looking out for their mates. On the day when a Scarlet Bodied Wasp Moth chooses to mate, he will find a Dogfennel plant (Eupatorium capillifolium) and use his probiscus to collect pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The intrepid moth will then retain these poisonous toxins until the occasion of his coupling with another of his species. Upon copulation, the male showers the female in a cloud of the toxins, effectively forming a safety bubble to protect the pair from predatory species like the Golden Orb Web spider. Not only is the female inoculated with these defensive compounds, so too are her developing eggs! This process is essential to reducing predation, and eggs that do not receive the pyrrolizidine alkaloids are far more vulnerable. The Scarlet Bodied Wasp Moth is the only known insect to transfer a chemical defense in this way! What a cool moth!
Just thinking about people making year-end summaries of their accomplishments and also about reasons to keep yourself alive through the next year. Sorry, it’s a bit of a sappy comic.
Construction illegally started here last year without the proper paper work. And implied threats.
This wasn’t even eminent domain, because they never seized the land they just started showing up with it still privately owned.
So, I live nowhere near here, but if anyone wants to try to do something I felt I should spread the word.
This should be something supporters of private land ownership and enviornmentalists both agree on.
Destroying a butterfly sanctuary to build a militarized border fence is one of those things that would be heavy handed metaphors in fiction.
Unfortunately this is real life.
Trump is so cartoonishly evil he tells a kid there’s no Santa on Christmas Eve and now is becoming a Captain Planet villain yet there are some people out there who somehow still see no problem.
The sanctuary is taking donations to help pay their legal fees (referenced in article) if anyone can afford to donate a dollar or two.
idk if y’all americans and that know this, but in Australia instead of snow at christmas we get these lil shiny bugs everywhere and they’re attracted to the christmas lights and we call them christmas beetles
and despite being australian they don’t bite or anything they just crawl around on your hand and it’s such a good and pure feeling and yeah
