A rant about leaf blowers. Just stop with them. Gas ones spew CO2 and particulates at an alarming rate, they’re the definition of noise pollution, and they disturb insect habitat under your hedges. But they’re also just not that good at getting leaves together. Here’s the thing that no blower guy will tell you, but every SE Asian grandma knows: the best way to get leaves off your hard surfaces is this tool right here. 1/3 #gardening#GardeningMastodon#insects#biodiversity#Autumn#FallColors
There aren't enough swear words to express how angry this makes me!!
"Industrial Farming Has Killed Billions of Birds"
🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬
Worldwide, 49% of all wild bird species are in steep decline.
BirdLife International’s authoritative report, State of the World’s Birds 2022, estimates that there are now nearly three billion fewer wild birds in Canada and the U.S. than a few decades ago, and about 600 million fewer in the European Union.
The single biggest cause of bird declines is chemical-intensive farming. Some birds are killed by pesticides or herbicides, but the most important impacts are loss of food, especially insects and other invertebrates that most bird species depend on, and the spread of fertilizer-intensive monocultures that eliminate shelter and nesting areas. Insect-eating populations declined more than any others.
In short, the collapse of farmland bird populations is closely related to the Insect Apocalypse in the Anthropocene. The mass slaughter of insects is killing masses of birds.
In case anyone’s not too sure.. this is what a 'spring lawn' is supposed to look like.
Breakdown:
• No irritating lawn-mower lines.
• A multitude of flowers.
• Lawn-mower rests, unperturbed in garden shed.
• No Louis X1V - 'rules over nature'.
• No walking up and down for hours, making a really annoying, loud noise and irritating the neighbours.
I've a fun, short piece out from the @TexasObserver magazine, about a crew of volunteers that have been going out every week, for about 15 years, to count all the crawling, flying critters they can find.
Another stinging caterpillar, a saddleback caterpillar (Acharia stimulea), showing off its fine green livery while waiting for a fairy knight (in spine-proof armor) to ride it into battle.
I've been waiting for some time to get this particular photo. But this morning- success!
This is one of our more common native bees, the ligated furrow bee Halictus ligatus. Although I have photos of this species already, I didn't have any that clearly showed the diagnostic backwards-pointing tooth on the back of the head. But here it is, in stark silhouette, and I'm quite pleased.
Howdy! New to this whole Mastodon thing (I'm not even sure what instance I should be on) but eager. Name's Bug — I'm a queer master's student in an entomology lab, passionate about scientific outreach.
When I’m not staring at insects, I spend my time creating zines, comics, other art, and playing D&D. I want to learn how to make video games. Let’s connect if you think little critters are cool!
Ant-mimicking Treehopper (Cyphonia clavata) From the side, this looks just like an ant. From above, it looks like an alien. I could have spent all day with this thing. Definitely one of the highlights of my trip.
I was looking through my photos from my run yesterday and looked closer at this photo of a NZ large hoverfly. It has a #pseudoscorpion hitching a ride on its foot!
The Common Naturalist has an article diving into the biology of pseudoscorpions and their habit of hitching a ride on other insects. Evidence from fossil amber shows that they've been doing this for at least 44 million years.
This beekeeper forgot to insert the frames in the hive in which the bees collect the honey. The hardworking insects then built their own architecture from the honeycomb so that the air can flow freely and maintain a stable temperature #bees#beehive#insects#nature
Went out to feed the birds this a.m. & saw something "mounted" to a back porch support beam. Closer inspection revealed it was a very large #moth. My ID app suggests Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) with an average wingspan of 6". It was just chilling during the a.m. storms. I hoped it would open up but it just stayed motionless. It was quite dark so the pics aren't the best. Antennae are very cool!
(05/02/24)
Primrose pollen is bound by sticky viscin threads that make collection difficult for non-specialist pollinators. Here, a honey bee struggles but persists with a load. Texas.