Hummingbird hawk moths - often mistaken for small birds - are being spotted in the West Midlands.
Male-like ornamentation in female hummingbirds results from social harassment rather than sexual selection
Female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds are polymorphic—some express ornamented plumage like adult males. Falk et al. find that all juvenile females have male-like plumage, which some maintain as adults. Rather than being favored by sexual selection, male-like plumage benefits females by reducing social harassment from this and other species.
Male-like ornamentation in female hummingbirds results from social harassment rather than sexual selection
Female white-necked jacobin hummingbirds are polymorphic—some express ornamented plumage like adult males. Falk et al. find that all juvenile females have male-like plumage, which some maintain as adults. Rather than being favored by sexual selection, male-like plumage benefits females by reducing social harassment from this and other species.
Solar panels were known to attract birds, but they are now drawing in species never seen in these areas before
New research from the University of Cambridge has found that some birds species are making a triumphant return to the area around solar panels in England.
Reciprocal signaling in honeyguide-human mutualism
Honeyguide birds recognize human honey-hunters calls and help them find wild bees’ nests.
Tom Seeley: Honeybee Democracy
Glasswing Butterflies Want To Make Something Perfectly Clear | Deep Look
Ladybird on Twitter / X
We appreciate the large interest in Ladybird over the last few days!More browser engines is a good thing, and we're doing everything we can to bring you one!To manage expectations a bit, our current roadmap looks like this:2026: Alpha2027: Beta2028: General releaseAt…— Ladybird (@ladybirdbrowser) March 1, 2025
Social Insects : Ecology and Behavioural Biology
1 online resource; Here is a guide to the ecology of social insects. It is intended for general ecologists and entomologists as well as for undergraduates and those about to start research on social insects; even the experienced investigator may find the comparison between different groups of social insects illuminating. Most technical terms are translated into common language as far as can be done without loss of accuracy but scientific names are unavoidable. Readers will become familiar with the name even though they cannot visualize the animal and could reflect that only a very few of the total species have been studied so far! References too are essential and with these it should be possible to travel more deeply into the vast research literature, still increasing monthly. When I have cited an author in another author's paper, this implies that I have not read the original and the second author must take responsi bility for accuracy! Many hands and heads have helped to make this book. I thank all my colleagues past and present for their enduring though critical support, and I thank with special pleasure: E.]. M. Evesham who fashioned the diagrams;]. Free, D.J. Stradling and]. P.E.C. Darlington who supplied photographs; D.Y. Brian and R.A. Weller who were meticulous on the linguistic side; and G. Frith and R.M. Jones who collated the references. List of plates 1. Fungus combs of Acromyrmex octospinosus and Macrotermes michaelseni. 13 2. Mouthparts of larval Myrmica; 1 Introduction -- 2 Food -- 2.1 Termites as decomposers -- 2.2 Wasps and ants as predators -- 2.3 Sugars as fuel save prey -- 2.4 Seed eaters -- 2.5 Leaf eaters -- 2.6 Pollen eaters -- 3 Foraging by individuals -- 3.1 Foraging strategy -- 3.2 Worker variability -- 4 Foraging in groups -- 4.1 Communication about food -- 4.2 Group slave-raiding -- 4.3 Tunnels and tracks -- 4.4 Nomadic foraging -- 5 Cavity nests and soil mounds -- 5.1 Cavities and burrows -- 5.2 Soil mounds -- 6 Nests of fibre, silk and wax -- 6.1 Mounds of vegetation and tree nests -- 6.2 Combs of cells -- 7 Microclimate -- 7.1 Environmental regulation -- 7.2 Metabolic regulation -- 8 Defence -- 8.1 Painful and paralysing injections -- 8.2 Toxic smears and repellants -- 9 Food processing -- 9.1 Mastication, extraction and regurgitation -- 9.2 Yolk food supplements -- 9.3 Head food glands -- 10 Early population growth -- 10.1 Food distribution -- 10.2 Colony foundation -- 10.3 The growth spurt -- 11 Maturation -- 11.1 Simple models of reproduction -- 11.2 Social control over caste -- 11.3 Males in social Hymenoptera -- 11.4 Maturation in general -- 12 Reproduction -- 12.1 Caste morphogenesis -- 12.2 Copulation and dispersal -- 12.3 Production -- 12.4 Summary -- 13 Evolution of insect societies -- 13.1 Theories of individual selection -- 13.2 Models of these theories -- 13.3 Group selection -- 13.4 Conclusions -- 14 Colonies -- 14.1 The colony barrier -- 14.2 Queen number and species ecology -- 14.3 Queen interaction and queen relatedness -- 15 Comparative ecology of congeneric species -- 15.1 Ant and termite races -- 15.2 Desert ants and termites -- 15.3 Ants and termites in grassland -- 15.4 Forest ants and termites -- 15.5 Wasps and bumblebees -- 15.6 Advanced bees -- 16 Communities -- 16.1 Temperate zone communities in grass and woodland -- 16.2 Desert communities -- 16.3 Tropical rain forest -- 16.4 Conclusions -- 17 Two themes -- 17.1 Plant mutualism -- 17.2 Social organization -- References -- Author index
Wollschweber
Die Wollschweber (Bombyliidae), auch Trauerschweber, Hummelschweber oder seltener Trauerfliege, sind eine Familie der Zweiflügler (Diptera) und werden den Fliegen (Brachycera) zugeordnet. Weltweit sind etwa 6000 Arten dieser Gruppe bekannt, davon 41 in Deutschland.
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☀️ 9am and on, sunlight through walnut leaves, butterflies dancing in between. The morning is warmer than expected.
Termite
Termites are a group of eusocial insects which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their beaded (moniliform) antennae and the soft-bodied, unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "white ants"; however, they are not ants but highly derived cockroaches; they are genetically closer to some cockroach groups than these are to other cockroaches. About 2,997 extant species are currently described, 2,125 of which are members of the family Termitidae.
Crow Busters - Crow Recipes
Historically, crows, as well as other non-songbird species have been common fare. Remember "four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie"? Our revulsion seems to center around the fact that the crow and it's close relatives are scavengers and therefore unfit to eat. Well, as far as pigs and chickens are concerned, you just wouldn't believe what these supermarket critters will stick in their mouths. Seafood? You honestly don't want to know what goes into a Blue Crab before it ends up on that expensive crab cake platter. I suppose the same goes for lobsters. The list goes on.
State Of The Bird: Thunderbird Annual Report 2023-2024 - The Thunderbird Blog
Let's dive into the details with the Thunderbird Annual Report 2023-2024 to see how we've grown and what we've accomplished in the past year.
