Juba's bush (Iresine diffusa)

Bloodleaf Iresine or Juba's bush (Iresine diffusa) is a species of plant in the Amaranthaceae, a shrub with erect or creeping stems and branching, red, flowers in panicles at the end of the stem, growing in moist or slightly wet places.

I. diffusa grows upright up to 2 meters high, stems have grooves, not woody, red and continuous segments. Leaves oval or elongated, blunt base, pointed tip, up to 14 cm long and up to 7 cm wide.

A bone in the center, several pinnate veins and red, flat edge, upper surface red and black, lower surface red. Flowers are small, greenish-white, panicle 40 cm long, males are more open, females are compact and 1 mm long. Seeds 0.5 mm.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Gomphrenoideae
Genus: Iresine
Species: Iresine diffusa
Form: Iresine diffusa f. herbstii

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...

Dringo flea beetle (Altica cyanea)

Dringo flea beetle ( Altica cyanea ) is a species of animal in the Chrysomelidae, winged insects, less than 1.5 cm in size, shiny elytra and the majority are blue or at least sparkling blue, live in low bushes on forest floors and agricultural land. A. cyanea has a cylindrical head and a chewing mouth. The pair of antennae are segmented and nearly equal in length to the body. The thorax has 6 legs and 2 pairs of wings. Soft folded wings and metallic blue elytra. The abdomen, which has 9-10 segments of chitin, is ring-like and is connected to soft tissues. The larvae are black, have small bumps and have no thorns. Larvae and imago feed on the same leaves. The female produces 146 eggs and is yellowish in color. The life span from egg to death is 80-84 days. The adult beetles chew the leaves causing large holes in the leaves, while the larvae cause soft, brown-colored mesh holes. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Hexapoda Class: Insecta Subclass: Pterygota Order: Coleop...

Dlium