Green weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina)

Rangrang or Asian weaver ant or green weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) is a species of insects in Formicidae, arboreal, rather large ants that are known to have high ability in forming webbing for nests, brown-red-green, social insects and forming colonies in very high populations.

O. smaragdina creates territorial, fierce temperament and attacks anything that approaches the area. Many tree owners in Southeast Asia use them to preserve fruit. The larvae are known as Kroto which are favored by birds being a secondary trading commodity for additional income by farmers.

Ant Weaver has two species that are still alive is the Asian weaver ant (O. smaragdina) which is widespread in tropical Asia and Australia, African weaver ant (O. longinoda) inhabits the tropics in Africa, while the other species in this genus are fossils.

They are the dominant ants in the open forest and make leaf nests which are held together with larval silk. Ants have been important in research on the integration of control, communication, territoriality, colonizing life and controlling agricultural pests.

Weaver ant is a true social insect, has a social structure and the life of the colony is very dependent on the tree. The queen are females, measuring 20-25 mm, green or brown in color and has the duty to spawn babies. The male is in charge of marrying the queen and dying.

The worker are females, measuring 56 mm, orange and greenish, in charge of caring for young ants. Warriors are females, measuring 810 mm, generally orange in color, having strong long legs, long antennae, large jaws, guarding nests, searching and gathering food for all colonies and building nests.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Genus: Oecophylla
Species: O. smaragdina

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 ...

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...

Dlium