Walang batik (Valanga nigricornis insularis)

Walang batik or batik valanga (Valanga nigricornis insularis) is a grasshopper subspecies in Acrididae, living arborial in bushes and trees in open habitats, very large sexual dimorphism with 45-55 mm long males and 15-75 mm females, pale green nymphs with markings dark sign.

V. nigricornis insularis live in large groups to colonize the area, adult females are yellowish brown, yellowish or green with bluish-black markings and the hind wings will look rose red when flying.

Males have black fake wings, black-brown heads, black eyes, black antennae, chest and abdomen yellow with black features, reddish-brown legs with black features, brown underside, brown upper legs and black underside.

Walang batik has one generation every year with four eggs laid on moist soil in the clearing of the forest. The eggs will remain inactive throughout the dry season and take 6-8 months to hatch before the rainy season.

The hatching eggs produce nymphs for 6-7 instar stages before becoming adults which are usually in January-February. Nymphs and adults are diurnal and like to bask in the sun to eat leaves.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Caelifera
Infraorder: Acrididea
Superfamily: Acridoidea
Family: Acrididae
Subfamily: Cyrtacanthacridinae
Tribe: Cyrtacanthacridini
Genus: Valanga
Species: Valanga nigricornis
Subspecies: Valanga nigricornis ssp. insularis

Temulawak (Curcuma zanthorrhiza)

Temulawak or Java ginger or Javanese ginger or Javanese turmeric or Curcuma xanthorrhiza ( Curcuma zanthorrhiza ) is a plant species in Zingiberaceae, grows well in loose soil in tropical forests in the lowlands to an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level and tubers are used for medicinal herbs and drinks. C. zanthorrhiza has pseudo stems up to 2 m tall. The stem is a midrib of upright, overlapping leaves, green or dark brown in color. Rhizomes are perfectly formed, large, branched and reddish brown, dark yellow or dark green. Each bud forms 2-9 leaves with a circular shape extending to lancet, green or light purple to dark brown, leaves 31-84 cm long and 10-18 cm wide, stems 43-80 cm long and each strand is connected with a midrib. Flowers are dark yellow, uniquely shaped and clustered with lateral inflorescences. The stems and scales are in the form of lines, 9-23cm long and 4-6cm wide, having protectors with comparable crowns. Petals are white, hairy and 8-13mm long. The...

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 ...

Mung bean (Vigna radiata)

Kacang hijau or mung bean ( Vigna radiata ) is a plant species in Fabaceae, shrubs, growing vines on the ground or climbing on supports, seeds are used as food sources with high vegetable protein and sprouts are eaten as vegetables. V. radiata has a cylindrical stem, grows in vines, is branched, is dark red or green in color and has white hair. The leaves have long stalks with one at the end and two on the opposite side. The leaves have a heart or oval shape, white hair, blunt base, pointed tip, flat margin, top side has a green color with light or white ornaments in a triangular shape. A main vein in the middle with several smaller pinnate veins. Flowers have long stalks, semicircular with the center having a bent shape towards the front and bright yellow. The fruit is pod-shaped, slightly curved and white-haired. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Phaseoleae Subtribe: Ph...

Dlium