21–30 of 32 posts
Nature never ceases to amaze me. If you want to see some of the weirdest, most fantastically odd things Evolution has produced (for example, dancing spiders with multi-colored 'capes' that pop up), I highly recommend this blog: http://wtfevolution.tumblr.com
Well, there goes the rest of my evening. ;)
Another interesting cocoon, linked to from the comments: http://blog.perunature.com/2013/06/the-incredible-urodid-mot... Instead of hiding, the caterpillar builds an open-air net-like structure which hangs by a thread from the bottom of a leaf. The video hypothesizes that the structure both protects the pupa from ants and allows rain to flow through it (both of which seem like critical features in the Amazonian rainf…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure if you have much of a chance of finding the answer if you know nothing about the subject - unless someone else already blogged about it somewhere. I'm sure that many of the people that are confused about it in the comments actually do have a background in biology, and they're having a tough time.
There's another possibility. Because of where this was discovered, it's more than possible that it's a new species. There are plenty of undiscovered species in the tropics, especially in the insecta class.
it looks like a little hut/house surrounded by a tall fence. What a fantastic thing!
I'm guessing that it evolved the fence to prevent crawling predators from feasting on the cocoon while the bug is pupating. That said, its a really interesting example. The next time the guy is out in the jungle and sees one the thing to do is to take it home, put it in a jar, and wait to see what pops out. I learned about mosquito eggs that way, as a youth I thought they were tadpole eggs, put them in my jar and wai…
Nature never ceases to amaze me. If you want to see some of the weirdest, most fantastically odd things Evolution has produced (for example, dancing spiders with multi-colored 'capes' that pop up), I highly recommend this blog: http://wtfevolution.tumblr.com
Another interesting cocoon, linked to from the comments: http://blog.perunature.com/2013/06/the-incredible-urodid-mot... Instead of hiding, the caterpillar builds an open-air net-like structure which hangs by a thread from the bottom of a leaf. The video hypothesizes that the structure both protects the pupa from ants and allows rain to flow through it (both of which seem like critical features in the Amazonian rainf…
Alternative, admittedly uninformed hypothesis: the structure makes it lighter, which means the chord suspending it can be thinner, which makes it harder for ants to crawl down it.
Nature never ceases to amaze me. If you want to see some of the weirdest, most fantastically odd things Evolution has produced (for example, dancing spiders with multi-colored 'capes' that pop up), I highly recommend this blog: http://wtfevolution.tumblr.com
After all, he's got the quick movements with the stops in between, and he wears some pretty colorful locking outfit. Since I can't find any evidence for Campbell inheriting this behavior from the spider or the other way round, I say it co-evolved.
It looks remarkably like the top of a water droplet hitting a pool of water in slow motion.