Lesser banded hornet (Vespa affinis)

Tawon ndas or lesser banded hornet (Vespa affinis) are medium wasps with queens up to 30mm, males 26mm and average workers 22-25mm. The head is dark red, brown and black. Segmented stomachs are dark brown except the first and second segments are yellowish orange to brown.

V. affinis has at least 10 subspecies with different color variations is V. a. alduini, V. a. alticincta, V. a. archiboldi, V. a. continentalis, V. a. hainensis, V. a. indosinensis, V. a. moluccana, V. a. nigriventris, V. a. picea and V. a. rufonigrans.

Tawon ndas forages in grassy areas, farmland, forests and deserts. They eat carbohydrates such as tree sap, nectar and fruit, while proteins such as larvae, carrion, paper wasps (Polistinae) and bees (Apidae). These insects often carry meat from new dead animals and flies that perch on the carcass.

Nests are built on trees and people's homes. Nests are generally elongated or pear in the tropics and oval with rounded tops in subtropical regions. A small sphere in the shape of a ball with a side entrance, while a larger nest extends vertically and has several entrances.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Euarthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Vespidae
Genus: Vespa
Species: V. affinis
Subspecies: V. a. alduini, V. a. alticincta, V. a. archiboldi, V. a. continentalis, V. a. hainensis, V. a. indosinensis, V. a. moluccana, V. a. nigriventris, V. a. picea and V. a. rufonigrans.

Dry Valleys on Antarctic continent is the driest place in the world

The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world, rainfall is very low, only stretches of sand and rocks without rivers and plants further strengthen the view of drought. However, it turns out that the place is not the driest place in the world. Dry Valleys in Antarctica, although the continent is covered in ice, but has one part that is completely dry. Although the average rainfall in most of the Sahara Desert is less than 20 millimeters per year, there are still drier places. Dry Valleys in Antarctica is much drier where the average rainfall is 0 millimeters per year and gets the title of the driest place in the world. The valleys have so low humidity that there is almost no ice. This is the largest ice free place on the Antarctic continent. The area is surrounded by mountains that block ice from flowing into the valley. Drought is also caused by strong katabalic gusts from mountain peaks where cold air blows down the hill due to gravity. The wind has speeds of up to 322 k...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Tripa tiger moth (Nannoarctia tripartita)

Tripa tiger moth ( Nannoarctia tripartita ) is an animal species in the Erebidae, a moth with a forewing length of 14-18 mm, predominantly black or dark brown with white and orange hues, thick fur on the dorsal surface, long legs and antennae, living in forest scrub and agricultural land. N. tripartita in females has forewings 15-18 mm long, black or dark brown with slightly oblique transverse and few spots. The hind wings are yellow with large dark discal points and three other dots. Males have forewings 14-17 mm long, black or dark brown with transverse oblique postdiscal bands and several spots. The hind wings are yellow with brown costal margins, discal confluent points, wide ridges on the crest and angular points in the tornus. The head has a thin orange pattern and a pair of long black antennae. Long legs are black. Tripa tiger moths live in forest scrub, farmland and roadsides. More stationary by sticking to the leaf surface at the top. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropod...

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