@curiocritters@ecoevo.social
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curiocritters

@curiocritters@ecoevo.social

Naturalist. Wildlife Biologist. I discovered the #SortingHatSpider. Exploring India's wildlife one species at a time. #NaturalHistory #UrbanWildlife #CityForest

https://time.com/4598911/sorting-hat-spider-harry-potter-jk-rowling/

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curiocritters, to Mumbai
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A Common Jezebel (Delias eucharis) stops for a moment's respite from the day's blistering heat, as Mumbai's late winter gives way to a blazing summer.🌡️

Butterflies are especially important pollinators in urban areas, since, unlike bees, they aren't particularly sensitive to altered ecosystems, and happily go about their business of pollinating every second morsel of food we consume.

📸 JAN 29 2024. ,

curiocritters, to random
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Deceptively cartoonish, this Painted Grasshopper (Poekilocerus pictus) nymph, seen resting here atop it's favorite foodplant, the tropical milkweed (Calotropis procera), can jet-squirt predators with a cocktail of liquid toxins, upto a feet away, if threatened.

(1/2).

curiocritters,
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Tropical milkweeds, related to the American milkweeds on which the famed Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on, contain Calotropin - a toxic, heart arresting steroid, which is stored by the insects which feed on them, as a chemical defense insurance against their enemies.

📸 29 AUG 2023 (11:53 hrs.) at Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary, near , .

(2/2).

SomeGadgetGuy, to tv
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Wow. RIP Matthew Perry.
https://deadline.com/2023/10/matthew-perry-dead-chandler-bing-friends-actor-1235586174/

curiocritters,
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@SomeGadgetGuy

Jesus Christ!

No!!!

curiocritters, to random
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Paraleptomenes miniatus miniatus.

A smol potter which constructs tiny, tubular nests in, and around our cement and concrete domiciles.

Move over .

is where it's at!

image/jpeg

curiocritters, to spiders
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For - this stunning 'ground' sac (cf. Gnaphosidae Genus indet sp. indet) found on the trunk of a toddy palm, at , (13th. AUG 2023 17:21 hrs.)

The Mumbai region is home to several many of which still remain undiscovered, and are likely new to .

curiocritters, to wildlife
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Bombycinae Genus indet. sp indet.

This small wild Silk Moth photographed in a Mumbai urban park is so nondescript that it can only be identified to sub-family.

And this is why the smaller majority - the invertebrates, matter!

Because there's so much more to wildlife than megafauna, and so many places where one may discover it. (1/4)

#moths #mothsmatter #mothstodon #wildlife #urbanwildlife #ecology

curiocritters,
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Overwhelmingly large numbers of are little studied - either unknown, or overlooked.

And yet these organisms which quietly going about the business of playing invaluable ecological roles in the ecosystems they inhabit, not only enable these ecosystems to thrive, but also improve our own quality of life. Moreso in the cement souled concrete orgies of our 'metropolitan' cities, and townships.

Even in such places as crowded public parks and gardens, thronging with visitors.

curiocritters,
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Species which may forever be lost to development, as our wild places are increasingly developed at an alarming pace.

Species which we might not have ever seen, or see again, and yet are intrinsic to our own survival, including pollinators like butterflies, and moths.

This is why all matters, and why we need to document, and if possible, conserve it, wherever it may occur. Be it a forest. An overgrown parking lot. A public park. Or perhaps even our own backyards

curiocritters,
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So that should these lifeforms, some of which we can not even identify beyond the very basics of what modern taxonomy makes allowances for (yet), ever go extinct, we will at have least known they existed. And having known, look. And look again.

Until we find them tucked away in a hidden glade somewhere. Or perhaps in the parking lot of our own apartment complex, amongsr that unsightly cluster of 'weeds' we pass by daily.

is .

.

choyer, to nature en-gb

Come and join Elsica.Social, your cosy fedi-home with a thematic focus on , , , , & , nature , and . If you know Latin names of random , get up at 3am to walk into remote valleys to take , spend all day in your , like reading books or watching the latest about the of Patagonia, you will feel at home here! Please share! elsica.social/

Photo: Evening in Richmond Park, London, UK, 2017. A path through ferns leads to a meadow, mystically covered in fog.

curiocritters,
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@choyer I get a 404 not found error.

curiocritters,
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@choyer Works now!

Was probably the hashtag in your earlier post.

You are making me want to change instances.

curiocritters,
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@choyer Would changing instances make me lose my current network?

curiocritters,
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@choyer

You have me convinced! I think I will join. 🙂

curiocritters,
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@choyer Still not working.

curiocritters,
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@choyer I think I can just visit your instance from time to time, and you can keep checking out my awesome posts on urban biodiversity, particularly feral flora, integrating with, and benefitting native wildlife in urban ecosystems!

Oh, and lotsa butterflies. Sometimes spiders.

Natural History, in general.

curiocritters,
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@choyer Oh. Excellent!

curiocritters, to wildlife
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Today on (and yes, 'urban' wildlife is wildlife too) which share our homes with us, are actually beneficial, but which we are blissfully oblivious about, we meet the painted meal (Pyralis pictalis) - finger-tip for size comparision in pic. no. 2.

These tiny moths (15-34 mm.) complete their entire life-cycle inside of our homes, with their caterpillars feeding on the eggs of - that's right! Free pest control!

(1/2)

image/jpeg

curiocritters, to wildlife
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Today, on cool critters which share our planet, but which we seldom notice, let's meet the Pagoda ant (Crematogaster sp.).

These tree-dwelling ants are amongst those bugs which have pioneered the making of cardboard (much like the 'paper' wasps which build papery nests from chewed-up plant fiber).

video/mp4

curiocritters,
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Found in forests, woodland, and scrub jungles, but also in the parks and gardens of urban Mumbai, their large pagoda style nests are not only hard to miss, but also earn them the 'pagoda' moniker.

curiocritters,
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Fun fact - the nests, which are constructed from chewed up bark, and leaves, mixed with mud, are waterproof.

That's right. Bugs invented paper, cardboard and waterproofing way before us.

curiocritters, to wildlife
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Today on 'why weeds matter', we meet the Red Euphorbia (Euphorbia hirta).

Native to America, this innocuous little herb of seasonally dry habitats is commonly encountered as a garden weed, or growing by the side of a road, where it is seldom given a second look.

But look closer here, and you will see a gaggle of native (Hemipteran) bugs feeding on the super tiny flowers.

(1/2)

image/jpeg

curiocritters, to india
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The Crepuscular (Nephele hespera), is well-named - olive-green, with two stark white speckles on the wings, this particular individual was nearly invisible in a little strip of scrub-jungle adjoining beach, in state, Western .

Large, beautiful with powerful flights, Hawkmoths are important to us - , they make for us even as they feed off a variety of wild and cultivated .

📸 2 APR 2023 (23:49 hrs.)

curiocritters, to Flowers
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Why 'weeds' matter - a story in two parts.

Meet Grona triflora -the three-flower beggarweed (a name that does this little plant no favours, btw!).

A mat forming herb of seasonally dry habitats, the tiny pink flowers can sometimes be seen blooming in the open spaces, and along roads.

But why are we talking about it? (1/2).

curiocritters,
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Here's why - see this tiny butterfly laying eggs on it? That's a native butterfly - Zizina otis, also known as the 'Lesser Grass Blue'.

A diminutive butterfly which flies low among grasses, and settles frequently to feed on low growing flowers.

like this little butterfly are responsible for every second morsel of food that you eat.

And that's why this unremarkable looking weed, bearing tiny pink flowers, growing at the side of a road matters. To the butterfly. And you.

video/mp4

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