Nature
grrlscientist | November 2, 2006
White Peacock, Anartia jatrophae,
Valley Nature Center, Weslaco, Texas,
23 October 2004.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: butterfly, white peacock butterfly, insect, Lepidoptera, zoology
grrlscientist | November 1, 2006
Blue Metalmark, Rivina humilis,
Laguna Atascosa NWR, Texas. Oct. 2004.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: butterfly, blue metalmark butterfly, insect, Lepidoptera, zoology
grrlscientist | October 31, 2006
Mystery Caterpillar on Gaura,
Nelson Farms Preserve, Katy Prairie Conservancy, Texas.
NABA Butterfly Count, 4 September 2006.
Image: Biosparite.
I thought this image was appropriate for the day, given this caterpillar's sporty Hallowe'en stripes.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: butterfly, caterpillar, Lepidoptera, insect, zoology
grrlscientist | October 30, 2006
Backlit photo of Saturn taken by the Cassini probe.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: Astronomy, backlit Saturn, Cassini
grrlscientist | October 29, 2006
Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus,
Nelson Farms Preserve, Katy Prairie Butterfly Count,
4 September 2006.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: butterfly, fiery skipper butterfly, insect, lepidoptery, zoology
grrlscientist | October 27, 2006
A common garter snake, Thnmonphis sirtalis,
with a hitchhiking ladybug, Hippodamia convergens,
on its nose. This photo was taken in northeastern North Dakota.
Image: Justawriter.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: snake, common garter snake, ladybug, insect, reptilia, zoology
grrlscientist | October 26, 2006
Ladybug species, Neoharmonia venusta,
which was photographed near "the willows,"
a hot birding area at Anahuac NWR, Texas.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: ladybug, insect, Coleptera, zoology
grrlscientist | October 25, 2006
Green Tree Frog, Hyla cinerea.
Nelson Farms Preserve, Katy Prairie Conservancy, Texas.
NABA Butterfly Count, 4 September 2006.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me, along with information about the image and how you'd like it to be credited.
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tags: green tree frog, frog, Amphibia, zoology
grrlscientist | October 24, 2006
This is a pictorial tutorial on distinguishing
the Cloudless Sulphur, Phoebis sennae (individual on left),
from the Sleepy Orange butterfly, Eurema nicippe (group on right).
This photo was taken just north of US 290 on the east side of Roberts Road at a vacant lot posted "For Sale" for commercial development. Puddling is a social activity of butterfly species. The butterflies are fortifying themselves with dissolved salts from the soil.
Image: Biosparite.
If you have a high-resolution digitized nature image that you'd like to share with your fellow readers, feel free to email it to me,…
grrlscientist | October 19, 2006A friend emailed this link and even though I have only begun to poke around on it, but already I find it fascinating. Darwin OnLine is a searchable webbed database that contains more than 50,000 text pages and 40,000 images of publications and handwritten manuscripts. It also has the most comprehensive Darwin bibliography ever published and the largest manuscript catalogue ever assembled. More than 150 ancillary texts are also included, ranging from secondary reference works to contemporary reviews, obituaries, published descriptions of Darwin's Beagle specimens and important related works…
grrlscientist | October 18, 2006Failing to fight global warming now will cost trillions of dollars by the end of the century even without counting biodiversity loss or unpredictable events like the Gulf Stream shutting down, a study recently showed. But acting now will avoid some of the massive damage and cost relatively little, said the study commissioned by Friends of the Earth and the Global Development and Environment Institute of Tufts University in the United States.
Most scientists now agree average temperatures will rise by between two and six degrees Celsius by the end of the century, driven by so-called…
grrlscientist | October 6, 2006
We had a truly impressive lightning storm the other night here in NYC. So impressive that the nurses here at the hospital were all commenting about it. As a result, I was inspired to link to this Schoolhouse Rock primer about the weather.
Welcome everyone,
It's the weather show!
Bring your bathing suits,
Don't forget your boots and coats.
Folks, we guarantee the show that we perform
Is never dull, if there's a lull,
It's just the calm before the storm.
Watch it change from icy cold to toasty warm,
And rearrange from sunny days to crazy storms.
The curtain's rising, we're so glad to have…
grrlscientist | August 1, 2006I just received this emergency email from the American Bird Conservancy.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is poised to make a decision on whether to ban the bird-killing pesticide, carbofuran. This is the most deadly pesticide to birds currently being used in the United States. It is more toxic than DDT. A single drop is enough to kill a bird.
The ABC just learned that because of pressure from the manufacturer, FMC corporation, the EPA may make act like a bunch of governmental whores by making the wrong decision to elect to keep this pesticide on the market. We have 24 hours…
grrlscientist | July 28, 2006
By the river Fnjoska, in Fnjoskardalur, Northern Iceland.
When I was a kid, I always wanted to go to Iceland. I've never managed that (nor have I traveled anywhere outside of North America, except to Japan, twice), but after looking at this amazing photo collection, I can already feel my wanderlust gripping me once again.
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. If you were to write a thousand words (or even just one haiku) about this picture, what would you write?
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tags: nature, Iceland, photography
grrlscientist | July 19, 2006A bookseller in Seattle who was a friend of mine often told me that his customers really wanted a durable and reasonably-priced field guide that focused on Washington State birds and was targeted specifically to beginning, visiting and relocating birders. Finally, after years of breathless waiting, that book, Birds of Washington State, by Brian Bell and Gregory Kennedy was recently published (Auburn, WA: Lone Pine, 2006).
In short, Birds of Washington State is the most user-friendly bird field guide I've seen. It has a sturdy softcover that allows the user to quickly and easily flip through…
grrlscientist | June 7, 2006In April 2006, to celebrate naturalist Sir David Attenborough's 80th birthday, the public were asked to vote on their favorite of his television moments. This clip of the superb lyrebird, Menura novaehollandiae, from his ten-part series, The Life of Birds, was voted number one.
(video below the fold because there is no "start" button; it begins downloading as soon as the page pops up) [3:34]
There are two species of lyrebirds that are endemic to Australia. They are ground-dwelling birds that are most notable for their extraordinary ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from…
grrlscientist | May 30, 2006This is an interesting story from my favorite part of the world: why did this lake at the top of a once-dormant volcano suddenly turn red? Is this the result of a chemical reaction? (That's my guess).
Volcanologists were puzzled today about why a lake atop a rumbling volcano on the South Pacific island of Ambae has changed color from blue to bright red.
Mount Manaro, one of four volcanos currently active in the island nation of Vanuatu, has been showing signs of erupting for only the second time in 122 years.
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tags: vanuatu, volcano, red lake, South Pacific Islands
grrlscientist | May 11, 2006Today is Endangered Species Day! Thanks to the US Senate, which unanimously passed a resolution on April 6th, today has been designated as national "Endangered Species Day." [animation: Arlington Central School District]
"Endangered Species Day" is an opportunity for schools, libraries, museums, zoos, botanical gardens, agencies, businesses, community groups and conservation organizations to educate the public about the importance of protecting endangered species and to highlight the everyday actions that individuals and groups can take to help protect our nation's wildlife, fish and plants.…
grrlscientist | April 21, 2006
The Nature Conservancy has set up a webpage where you can make a difference on Earth Day 2006 by sharing a message of hope for the planet. When you share your Earth Day message, you'll become part of the Conservancy's free online community, the Great Places Network. Also, your message may be highlighted on The Nature Conservancy's website to inspire others to make a difference!
Plus, you can download The Nature Conservancy's new nature image screensaver filled with nature photos.
Disclaimers: I do not receive anything for mentioning this here except satisfaction from sharing this…
grrlscientist | April 18, 2006tags: Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding, Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen, book review, art, books
Several weeks ago, a good friend of mine who is an aviculturist, businessman and art collector, emailed to tell me about a book he had just purchased. Usually reserved, his praise was so effusive that I contacted the publisher immediately to obtain a review copy. A week later, the carefully bubble-wrapped and packed book arrived in the mail; Rigor Vitae: Life Unyielding: The Art of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen (2006, Eagle Mountain Publishing, Eagle Mountain, Utah. Click image for larger view in its…