Buds make promises.
Flowers are promises fulfilled.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Pretty Plumage
She's quite plain,
Not much to meet the eye,
He's rather pretty,
For a guy!
The male House Finch
Not much to meet the eye,
He's rather pretty,
For a guy!
The male House Finch
Monday, January 5, 2009
Model and Mimic
In nature nothing beats success. Some call it survival of the fittest. When bugs developed, bumble bees grew a stinger to punish their predators. The distinctive color of the bumble bee, yellow and black, became an ample warning of the danger carried in the tail of the bee. This yellow and black beacon said: "Don't touch or you will be stung."
It turns out that there are a number of bugs that immitate these colors but don't have a sting. The color pattern of yellow and black is sufficient to scare away many predators. The hummingbird moth is one such creature. The moth mimics the colors of it's model the bumble bee. It's all bluff and bluster for when the moth is threatened it flees!
There are other examples in nature of defensive mimicry. See photograph above. In butterflies we have the red spotted purple which mimics the beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail and there is the Viceroy which mimics the queen beauty of them all, the Monarch. In these cases the model carries a toxin that repels predators. By mimicing the coloring of the model these butterflies are able to scare away predators just by looking beautiful!
Mimicry is a fascinating adaptive tactic of wildlife that supports the notion of natural selection. It is found throughout the animal kingdom.
It turns out that there are a number of bugs that immitate these colors but don't have a sting. The color pattern of yellow and black is sufficient to scare away many predators. The hummingbird moth is one such creature. The moth mimics the colors of it's model the bumble bee. It's all bluff and bluster for when the moth is threatened it flees!
There are other examples in nature of defensive mimicry. See photograph above. In butterflies we have the red spotted purple which mimics the beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail and there is the Viceroy which mimics the queen beauty of them all, the Monarch. In these cases the model carries a toxin that repels predators. By mimicing the coloring of the model these butterflies are able to scare away predators just by looking beautiful!
Mimicry is a fascinating adaptive tactic of wildlife that supports the notion of natural selection. It is found throughout the animal kingdom.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
New Years Sky
How beautiful the sky can be. This shot show the moon, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury along with a slew of stars. Love that rim of gold on the horizon.
Click on the photograph and you will be transported to my Flickr web site where you will be able to see the planets identified on the screen. You can then look at some of my other photographs if you wish. To do this first click on my icon photo at the top right at the Flickr web site and you will be at the beginning of my photostream.
Click on the photograph and you will be transported to my Flickr web site where you will be able to see the planets identified on the screen. You can then look at some of my other photographs if you wish. To do this first click on my icon photo at the top right at the Flickr web site and you will be at the beginning of my photostream.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
COMMON VETCH HOLDS UP BUTTERFLY!!
The common vetch is in the legume family. The tiny vine produces beautiful red flowers that are quite delicate. A single pea appears at the site of each flower. This is a great natural source of food for birds.
Here is another shot of the bloom:
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