How to Floresce

Mike Raiford has still more gems to share with us...

Why do scorpions floresce under UV light? No one knows. But we know how they floresce, though you'll slap your forehead when I tell you because it's so obvious. It's because of the Beta carboline and 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin that emerges in the hardening cuticle of their exoskeletons of course.




















Newly molted scorpions don't floresce, so the florescing compounds have to be either secreted by the scorpions or else somehow develop as part of the tanning process. We just don't know. Of course, I imagine scorpions are asking each other why the rest of us don't floresce. We must look so boring to them, what with our visible light band affinity.

Thanks for the photo, Mike.

A Green Spider?

Cindy needs some help in identifying this spider. They've been emerging from her bathtub drain for a few weeks now, and she suspects that they are young wolf spiders. She lives in Alberta, Canada. Any takers? I'm inclined to think she's right, since I think I see the characteristic two prominent eyes on the top of its head. Regardless, it looks to be recyclable (# 5). A green spider then.

Pink Malice

Albino alligators are rare in the wild. In fact, they've only been spotted in Louisiana, and an adult one has never been seen in the wild (the lack of pigment makes them easy prey for both predators and the sun). But there are about 50 albino alligators in captivity. Here's one them.

Mike Raiford took this photo at a zoo. Notice the albinism. Notice the evil in the eye. No, Mr. Alligator, the pink iris does nothing to mitigate the malice lurking in those depths.

Thanks for the photos, Mike.

Grateful Terrestrials

David has sent us a link to a Washington Post picture gallery of creatures recently surveyed in the Deep Sea. I bring you a few of them, just in case you weren't already grateful for being a terrestrial, sentient biped who doesn't have to share your personal space with these creatures. These photos are of a copepod, a cute dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis discoveryi), a new dumbo (Grimpoteuthis sp.), and a Neocyema (erythrosoma). Guess which two of them are known to feast on human souls.

Thanks for the link, David.

A New Friend

This is Nana's new friend. He's a rhinoceros beetle named Thorne's Party. The beetle spends most of his time buried in his cage. When he's out and on Nana's arm, he likes to try to burrow into her. She describes that as disconcerting. I describe that as a living nightmare. Still, I'd love to have one for a pet, and I'm jealous of Nana.






















The rhinoceros beetle's primary importance to humans is its classification as a pest. The adult beetle isn't much of a problem (unless they manage to burrow into your skin). It's the wee ones, the larvae, that cause so much trouble. The massive maggots grubs like to dine on rotten wood, nectar, and tree sap, and are capable of taking down full grown palm and coconut trees.

So, enjoy your pet, Nana. Think not of what it once was (a huge, wriggling maggot grub), and don't worry about it burrowing into your flesh. Just enjoy its current iteration as a creature who likes to cling to you. Much like my toddling son.

Monkey See Monkey Doo

I've always thought that monkeys don't get enough attention for the creative hair doos (don'ts?) Take these shots, for instance (gelada, ebony leaf monkey, hamadryas baboon, cotton-top tamarin, and lion-tailed macaque). What LA hair dresser wouldn't be proud of these creations?

Photo source: Jean Yves et Francis




























Photo source: Ian Thomas





















Photo source: Marika Bell




















Photo source: Eduardo Tavares




























Photo source: Allard Schager

Spider Awards

What's cuter than a jumping spider? Why, a juvenile jumping spider.

Tracy sent this link to me, knowing full well that my daughters would ooh-and-ahh at it's cuteness. And she was correct. Wired Magazine has done a spread of photos for their spider awards, and this juvenile Phidippus audax took took the award for the world's cutest spider. Just look at it, dusted up with pollen. Can you picture it frolicking among the wild flowers?

Photo source: Opo Terser (of course) via Wired





















But just in case you're feeling too cuddly towards our arachnid friends, let me leave you with this image of a Goliath Bird-eating Tarantula (the world's largest spider, who has evidently mugged someone and stolen their cash and trusty ruler). A friend of mine was walking through the jungle outside a village near Curitiba, Brazil, when one of these ran into his leg. He actually felt the collision. And like a true arachnophobe, he ran for his life...and was pursued for more than a dozen yards...

Thanks for the link, Tracy!

Photo source: snakecollector via Wired

Lizzy the Bald Emu

Michaela had raised her emu Lizzy from the moment she hatched. So when Lizzy began going bald at the tender age of one, it was a real mystery.

Lizzy lived in the same enclosure with a couple of kangaroos, and everything seemed to be normal, save for the loss of Lizzy's feathers. The poor bird was getting sunburnt during the day and cold at night. On top of that, the replacement feathers were growing back like painful in-grown hairs. (As an aside, look at that pathetic wing and see why these birds are flightless).






















But then one day, Michaela saw her sweet and harmless kangaroo Leah pluck a feather from Lizzy's body and eat it. It was then that Michaela realized that despite all of the feathers lost, not a single one was on the ground. They were probably all in Leah the Kangaroo's belly. The feather stealing must have been happening at night.


















But this tale of loss and woe ends well. Michaela separated the emu from the kangaroos, and she has since grown back all of her feathers. She now has free access to Michaela's 10,000 acre property.

Let this be a word to the wise: if your emu ever starts going bald, look to your kangaroos first.

Thanks for the photos, Michaela. I'm glad Lizzy is in full plumage once again.