Notices by kho (kho@shitposter.club), page 13
-
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Thursday, 28-Sep-2023 02:26:10 JST 
kho
The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is known for its color and delicious flavor. The crab's scientific name means "savory beautiful swimmer." While blue crabs do have sapphire blue claws, their bodies are usually duller in color.
Like other decapods, blue crabs have 10 legs. However, their hind legs are paddle-shaped, making blue crabs excellent swimmers. Blue crabs have blue legs and claws and olive to grayish blue bodies. The color comes mainly from the blue pigment alpha-crustacyanin and the red pigment astaxanthin. When blue crabs are cooked, heat deactivates the blue pigment and turns the crab red.
Mating and spawning occur separately. Mating occurs in brackish water during warm months between May and October. Mature males molt and mate with multiple females over their lifespan, while each female undergoes a single molt into her mature form and only mates once. As she nears the molt, a male defends her against threats and other males. Insemination occurs after the female molts, providing her with spermatophores for a year of spawning. The male continues to guard her until her shell hardens. While mature males remain in brackish water, females migrate to high salinity water to spawn. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 27-Sep-2023 03:32:09 JST
kho
This incredible arachnid most frequently goes by the appropriate and descriptive common name of the Long-Horned Orb Weaver. Macracantha is a genus of Asian orb-weaver spiders recognized as containing the species, Macracantha arcuata, although some schemes also recognise inclusion of Gasteracantha hasselti in this genus.
Macracantha is notable for the extremely long, curved spines on the abdomens of female members of the genus. The females of this genus have tough, shell-like abdomens armed with three pairs of spines. The spectacular middle (median) spines project upward and outward, curving in toward each other along their length. They are up to three times as long (20–26 mm) as the abdomen is wide (8–9 mm). -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 27-Sep-2023 03:32:09 JST
kho
The aptly named Toxic Reef Crab (also referred to as the Devil Crab), Zosimus aeneus, can be so toxic as to kill within a few hours of consumption and has been reported to be used by Pacific Islanders as a means for suicide. This crab's muscles store two of the most lethal toxins— tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin.
These gorgeous crabs are easy on the eyes but be sure to avoid them on the dinner plate. Eating a crab will kill the diner in a matter of hours.
They have evolved excellent camouflage skills, allowing them to blend seamlessly with their rocky reef environments. This adaptation helps them avoid predation by blending into their surroundings.
These crabs are primarily nocturnal, displaying heightened activity during the night. They tend to retreat to their hiding places during the day to minimize exposure to potential predators. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 27-Sep-2023 03:32:08 JST
kho
🚨 ARTHROPOD OF THE DAY 🚨
Phymata fasciata
This type of assassin bug is a very potent predator. It’s one of the few types of bugs of this genus that can take on prey a few times larger than its 1-inch body.
Bugs of these species are tan or brown. They have a body that appears wrinkly, often confused with leaves or tree bark.
This allows these bugs to remain undetected on flowers or trees where many types of insects approach them unknowingly.
Bugs of the species have a very potent bite.
They often eat powerful large insects such as wasps, hornets, and bees such as bumblebees.
However, these bugs cannot be seen as truly beneficial to any type of habitat as they also eat honeybees. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Friday, 22-Sep-2023 02:05:13 JST
kho
The rosy maple moth has a variable coloration. In most cases, it is white, yellow, or cream-colored, with some amount of pink at the outer and inner portions of the wings.
Adults emerge in the late afternoon and mate in the late evening. Females begin laying eggs at dusk the next day in groups of 10-30 on leaves of the host plant. Eggs hatch in about 2 weeks and feed gregariously when young. Older caterpillars feed alone. Fully-grown caterpillars pupate and overwinter in shallow underground chambers.
Larvae are greenish white with an orangish-brown head. There are two elongated black horns on the second thoracic segment (the second segment behind the head). A ring of tiny black spines encircles each abdominal segment; the ones on the top and sides are very short, but the ones lowest on the sides are longer. Spines on the hind end of the caterpillar are longer. Sometimes there is a pinkish-red patch on each side of the hind end (abdominal segments 7 and 8). In some stages, lengthwise stripes run down the body.
Range: Nova Scotia west through Quebec to Ontario and Minnesota; south to Dade County, Florida, the Gulf Coast, and east Texas. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Friday, 22-Sep-2023 02:05:12 JST
kho
Yellow-bellied Bee Assassin
These bugs (Apiomerus flaviventris) are known to resemble bees. They represent a species known for its enhanced polychromatism which means it exhibits multiple colors.
The lower part of its body is yellow with black stripes while its legs are red. Its head is black.
Yellow-bellied Bee Assassin bugs are known to kill bees. They spend the day on flowers where they await for bees to approach.
The bugs are also known for laying a large number of eggs embalmed in an off-putting pheromone that keeps predators away. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 02:58:42 JST
kho
Owlflies are one of the "ugly ducklings" of insects. The grotesque larvae are voracious predators in leaf litter and on trees. They sit and wait for prey to stray in between their oversize mandibles, seizing them and feeding on the body liquids within. The adults are elegant strong-flying insects which are sometimes confused with dragonflies.
Adult owlflies can be distinguished from other lacewings and similar insects by the long antennae (almost as long as the wing length) which have a large often bi-coloured club at the tip. As with most other lacewings the wing veins fork where they meet the margin of the wing.
Larvae are similar to antlion larvae, but are usually more flattened, and do not build pits to capture prey. The sides of the larval body have finger-like lateral processes on both thorax and abdomen. The mandibles have more than one large tooth on the inner margin.
Both adults and larvae are predators. Adults hawk flying insects in much the same way that dragonflies do. Larvae are sit and wait predators of many invertebrates, although they will move in response to nearby movement of potential prey to assist in prey capture. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 02:58:41 JST
kho
🚨 ARTHROPOD OF THE DAY 🚨
The Goliath birdeater is the king of spiders. Weighing up to six ounces and with a leg span of nearly a foot, this tarantula is the largest arachnid on the planet.
Goliaths don’t usually eat birds, but they are big enough to be able to—and occasionally they do. “Birdeater” came from an 18th-century engraving that showed another kind of tarantula eating a hummingbird, which gave the entire Theraphosa genus the name birdeater.
Insects make up most of the Goliath diet, but frogs and rodents are on the menu too. Goliaths prowl the Amazon in northern South America. When a Goliath pounces on a mouse, for example, its inch-long fangs act like hypodermic needles, pumping neurotoxins into the hapless prey. The spider then drags the dying animal back to its burrow and begins the digestion process. Spiders can’t ingest solid material, so they first liquefy the prey’s insides, then suck it dry.
Unlike jumping spiders, Goliath birdeaters have bad eyesight. They rely instead on modified leg hairs, sensitive to vibration, to warn them of danger. If a predator like a coati gets too close, the Goliath has an unusual weapon: harpoon-shaped hairs (called urticating hairs) tipped with stinging barbs. The spider rubs its legs together, launching a shower of miniature missiles into the air. The hairs connect with the would-be assailant’s eyes and skin, sending it scurrying. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 02:58:40 JST
kho
Ghost shrimp are appropriately named because they are totally transparent, and they are sometimes called Glass shrimp. Despite their shrimp-like appearance, they are actually more closely related to crabs. Though they are small, reaching up to three to four inches, Ghost shrimp can dig burrows that can be four feet deep. They are an important part of intertidal ecosystems, because they drive oxygen into the sand as they burrow, which helps organic matter to decompose, enriching the sediment, and ultimately providing food for more creatures.
Their transparent nature is used as a defense mechanism in the wild. It’s very difficult for most of their natural predators to spot them as they scavenge the bottom of the riverbed.
Beady little eyes can be found poking out from either side of the rostrum base. Look a little further, and you’ll see two pairs of antennae. One pair is long while the other is short.
The antennae are usually clear like the rest of the body, though you might see some light coloration on a few ghost shrimp. They act as sensory organs that help them navigate the environment and gather some crucial information about the chemical composition of the water.
Below the shrimp’s head, you’ll find six flexible segments. They’re much softer and more flexible than the tougher carapace. Look closely, and this section may look very familiar to you.
It looks like any other shrimp that you might have eaten, albeit much smaller. The first five sections are attached to the pleopods, which are limbs used for swimming. The final sixth section holds the tail. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Wednesday, 20-Sep-2023 02:58:40 JST
kho
Pyrops candelaria (Laternaria candelaria and Fulgora candelaria in older literature) is a species of planthopper often placed in the tribe Laternariini. This species has been recorded from: Guangdong, Guangxi, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Laos, Thailand and other parts of southeast Asia. It is the type of the genus Pyrops erected by Spinola in 1839.
Like all Fulgoridae, P. candelaria feeds on plant sap: including longan and lychee trees (Sapindaceae), among others. Its long, slender proboscis is used to pierce tree bark to reach the phloem.
Members of this genus are sometimes called lanternflies (although lanternflies do not emit light) because of their notable 'cephalic process'. They are often sought-out by collectors, attracted by their fore wings, yellow-orange hind wings with a black zone around the wing tips, a reddish head and cephalic process with white spots. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Monday, 18-Sep-2023 05:56:31 JST
kho
weekend life -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Saturday, 16-Sep-2023 05:09:03 JST
kho
Athropod of today!!!!!!!
Water strider legs are covered in thousands of microscopic hairs scored with tiny groves. As reported in National Geographic, “These groves trap air, increasing water resistance of the water’s striders legs and overall buoyancy of the insect.”
The water skipper’s legs are so buoyant they can support fifteen times the insect’s weight without sinking. Even in a rainstorm, or in waves, the strider stays afloat.
If a water strider’s legs go underwater, it’s very difficult for them to push to the surface.
Their legs are more buoyant than even ducks’ feathers. The strider’s legs do more than repel water; they’re also configured to allow efficient and rapid movement across the surface.
As with all insects, the water strider has three pairs of legs. The front legs are much shorter, and allow the strider to quickly grab prey on the surface. The middle legs act as paddles. The back legs are the longest and provide additional power, and also enable the strider to steer and “brake.”
The buoyancy and paddling legs allows striders to be fast. Very, very fast. The National Geographic article reports striders are capable of “speeds of a hundred body lengths per second. To match them, a 6-foot-tall person would have to swim at over 400 miles an hour.” -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Saturday, 16-Sep-2023 05:07:36 JST
kho
Crap I forgot to post this here again --- Arthropod of yesterday!!
Fen Raft Spider -
Also known as the Great Raft spider, this European species is found mostly in the United Kingdom.
According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, this species is vulnerable because there are only three populations of the Fen spider known in Suffolk, East Sussex, and near Swansea.
Great Raft spiders are among Britain’s largest, colored in brown or black with creamy or yellow bands along the abdomen. They have hairy legs to help them move along the surface of the water and can use them to catch fish and tadpoles. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Thursday, 14-Sep-2023 00:11:53 JST
kho
🚨 ARTHROPOD OF THE DAY 🚨
The Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria fera) is an aggressive and highly venomous spider. It was first discovered in Brazil hence its name. However, this genus is known to exist elsewhere in South and Central America.
The Brazilian wandering spider can grow to have a leg span of up to 4 – 5 inches. They are large hairy spindly-looking spiders who have eight eyes, two of which are large. Brazilian wandering spiders are fast-moving spiders, their legs are strong and spiny and they have distinctive red jaws which they display when angered.
The Brazilian Wandering spider is so-called because it wanders the jungle floor, rather than residing in a lair or maintaining a web. This is another reason it is considered so dangerous. In densely populated areas, the Brazilian Wandering spider will usually search for cover and dark places to hide during daytime, leading it to hide within houses, clothes, cars, boots, boxes and log piles. This usually causes accidents when people disturb them.
The Brazilian Wandering spider is also called the ‘banana spider’ as it is occasionally found within shipments of bananas. As a result, any large spider appearing in a bunch of bananas should be treated with due care. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Thursday, 14-Sep-2023 00:11:52 JST
kho
Alipes grandidieri, most commonly known as the feather-tail centipede, is a species of centipede. It is a member of the genus Alipes and the family Scolopendridae. The genus, Alipes, means "wing-leg". It was first described from Zanzibar, as Eucorybas Grandidieri [sic] by Hippolyte Lucas in 1864.
It has distinctive, elongated ultimate legs with laterally-flattened pads on the distal portions, resembling feathers. When threatened they will shake these legs and make a hissing sound. The body is 10–15 cm long.
If you are bitten by a Feather-Tail Centipede, prepare for the following consequences (we warn you, they are not deadly). Stings can be extremely painful and take a long time (1-2 days) to heal. The main symptoms that can be revealed right after the sting are a sharp and persistent pain; it can be insignificant or be a 10 on a scale of the pain of 1 to 10. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Thursday, 14-Sep-2023 00:11:52 JST
kho
Paper wasps manufacture paper for their nests from tiny fibers exfoliated from exposed, weathered wood. Paper wasps use their mandibles to compress wood fibers into thin sheets, which they use as nest and covering cells. except for the paper wasp, where the cells are not enclosed. Nests built this way are structurally resilient and relatively weather resistant. Inside the nest, the cells along the perimeter are roughly circular, while the inner cells are more hexagonal. The number of cells within a nest depends on the colony size. Nests are usually arranged with the opening facing the bottom or bottom. Paper wasp and Polyvia nests typically contain only one layer of cells.
Once a dominance hierarchy is established within a new colony, the queen bee is responsible for most of the egg laying and subordinates are responsible for caring for the offspring. Worker bees take care of the chicks and are also responsible for growing the nest. The difference between workers and females is that females are produced only in the late stages and workers emerge throughout the reproductive period. In addition, hens are inactive in the nest. Ginkgoes mate before overwintering and, if successful, become spawners for the following season.
Most of the Polistes workers remain in their natal nests and work as helpers. In all but a few species of paper wasps, the female emerges mid-season and acts as a helper until the queen is gone. Significant differences in aid are found among casters of various species of paper wasps. Within Nest, we can see that co-founders are more than 50% related. The degree of relationship between the co-founders may explain the advantage of joining the Nest as a subordinate rather than developing another Nest that is less likely to succeed. Minions provide labor to care for the dominant Founder's descendants, reducing the Founder's mortality rate by taking over the more dangerous gathering work. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Monday, 11-Sep-2023 02:57:27 JST
kho
Duff millipedes are only rarely observed in natural settings because of their minute size and coloration that blends well with their background. However, periodically duff millipedes will migrate into buildings where they may attract considerable attention. Large numbers of them may show up, sometimes abruptly. Largest invasions of duff millipedes tend to occur most often during hot, dry periods of summer. However, they may be present in homes from the middle of spring into autumn.
They feed on algae, fungi and decaying organic matter. Tree bark is the most common location for most duff millipedes (Figure 3) but they also may occur among fallen leaves and needles and even have been associated with debris within ant nests. Egg fertilization is indirect with the male spinning a small silken mat upon which sperm is deposited. Silk strands guide females which then gather the sperm into their genital opening. The females then lay eggs in the form of a sticky mass that are covered with protective hairs of the body.
Unlike most millipedes the body of duff millipedes is not hardened (calcified) and they lack chemical defenses. Instead they protect themselves by means of the hairs that protrude from the tip of the abdomen. These are hooked and can readily detach when the duff millipede is attacked by an ant, pseudoscorpion or other predator. Attempts to remove the hairs only further entangle the predator and ants may die from an encounter with the hairs of the duff millipede. The hairs are replaced at the next molt and their loss may accelerate the onset of molting. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Sunday, 10-Sep-2023 04:59:43 JST
kho
According to Atlas Obscura, gooseneck barnacles got their name centuries ago when medieval naturalists stumbled upon these claw-like sea creatures and thought they were goose eggs. They witnessed the crustaceans fall into the water and believed baby geese emerged fully formed from the dislodged barnacles.
Barnacles are classified with shrimps, crabs, isopods and amphipods in the subphylum Crustacea. They are included in the class Maxillopoda, though this class does not appear to be a monophyletic grouping.[3] They are included in the infraclass Cirripedia, the barnacles, members of which are sessile suspension feeders with two active swimming larval stages, the nauplius and the cyprid. The order Pedunculata includes barnacles attached to the substrate by stalks, the goose barnacles. The attachment is made by the cementing of the antennules of the cyprid larvae to the substrate and the elongation of that region into a stalk. Pedunculata is not itself a single monophyletic group but forms a transitional series of lineages moving towards the sessile acorn barnacles.
This seafood is among the most expensive in the world and can go for as much as $125 a pound. Toronto Life reports that in Europe, a kilogram of gooseneck barnacles could yield $500. Their price is related to a limited supply and the risk a fisherman must face to obtain this delicacy. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Saturday, 09-Sep-2023 03:36:41 JST
kho
Common scorpionflies (Panorpidae) is the largest family of scorpionflies, and it is only this family that has the upturned scorpion-like genitalia or 'tail' that gives the order its name. They are brownish yellow and black insects with mottled wings and are found among shaded vegetation and in hedgerows.
They feed on dead or dying insects (including any they might spot in a spider's web) and are also partial to ripe fruit and, when it's available, human sweat.
The adults look somewhat scary but are in fact quite harmless. Common scorpionfly larvae mostly live in soil and look like caterpillars, having eight pairs of feet and sometimes spines.
Panorpid males attract females by vibrating their wings, and may let them feed on their saliva while mating. -
Embed this notice
kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Saturday, 09-Sep-2023 03:36:41 JST
kho
🚨 ARTHROPOD OF THE DAY 🚨
The Spiny Flower Mantis-
This species of flower mantis is white with green stripes on the legs. The eyes are purple, depending on the light conditions this can vary from lilac to deep purple. As nymphs these mantids have an orange spot on the upside of the abdomen which scares away predators by mimicking an eye. As adults they have wings with a black and yellow ‘swirl’ on them, also mimicking an eye. If you threaten a spiny flower mantis, it will put its wings upwards to show the two eyes. The thinner wings that are under the top wings are bright yellow. The spiny flower mantis is very beautiful and spectacular.
This species is cannibalistic, like most species of praying mantis. It will eat anything that moves and is the correct size, also members of its own species or family members.
All GNU social JP content and data are available under the