Feral Gifter

Strange Bugs of Thailand

John Moore has a collection of over 3,000 photographs of Thai insects, taken mostly in their natural habitats in forest of Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Does anyone know what is this strange bug with a face on its back?

Link

Stinkhorn Fungus

From the website:

A member of the stinkhorn family of fungi, Aseroe
rubra is commonly known as the starfish fungus or sea anemone fungus
(for obvious reasons, I hope). Tim Geho of MushroomExpert.com writes
that it is not only widespread throughout the south Pacific, it is also
the most common stinkhorn in Hawaii. …

Some interesting factoids are also available on this summary
from a radio or television show in Australia with Tim Entwistle of the
Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Two of my favourite tidbits are: 1) it
was the first fungus ever collected in Australia by Western explorers;
and 2) its name literally means “disgusting red”.

Link

Dolphins saved my daughter

IOL: ‘Dolphins saved my daughter’

When little Prenessa Naicker was pronounced sick with bronchial pneumonia at the age of four, she was given little chance of survival.

The youngest child of Aarthie and Alvin Naicker, formerly of Merebank, Durban, Prenessa pulled through against all the odds, but suffered crippling trauma due to her illness.

And, starting this Sunday at 6.30pm on SABC3, Prenessa’s remarkable story about an encounter with dolphins will be told in a documentary called, The Healing Power Of Nature.

Hector’s Dolphin of New Zealand

LiveScience.com

Explanation:   Here
is one of the smallest are rarest of all cetaceans … the Hector’s dolphin of New Zealand. 

Hector’s dolphins grow to
less than 1.4 m (4.8 feet) long, and are found only in the waters around New
Zealand.  Their low, rounded, notched dorsal fin is
characteristic.

residents should keep eye out for baby rattlers

Becareful when gifting!

SignOnSanDiego.com

Despite what you might see in movies like the
just-released “Snakes on a Plane,” most meetings between humans and
snakes end peacefully with each going their separate ways. But
sometimes, when the rattler doesn’t have time to retreat or feels it is
being attacked, it strikes.

Red Diamond Rattlesnake

Western Rattlesnake

Speckled Rattlesnake

Sidewinder Rattlesnake

Red Giant Swallows Brown Dwarf, But Soesn’t Digest It

New Scientist SPACE - Breaking News - Red giant swallows brown dwarf, but doesn’t digest it:

A failed star that was swallowed by its bloated, dying companion survived the ordeal unscathed, a new study reports. But it is not in the clear yet: in another billion years or so its dead companion will begin consuming it.

Online bug identification service

Boing Boing: Online bug identification service:

Kelli says: "People send in pictures of creepy, beautiful — and sometimes dead — bugs, and these two identify them. It’s also a great database of bug pictures. I’d been looking for a site like this for a long time, because I’m forever finding weird bugs." (Shown here: a potato bug. "Potato Bugs are not aggressive, but they will bite if handled.") Link

Worms Wrote “Hi” on Woman’s Tomato

Phyllis Smith is waging a war with worms in her tomato garden. She’s clearly losing the battle, as she recently found a “hi” message from the worms on one of her tomatoes:

Insect Macro Photography

Anyone know what this is?  Looks like a kind of praying mantis to me.

A very neat collection of macro photography of insects (and frogs)
Link - via Cynical-C.

Lali, San Diego Zoo’s Baby Rhino

“Lali,” an 8-week-old female Indian rhinoceros calf, makes her public debut at the Wild Animal Park alongside her mother, Gari. Lali, which means darling girl in Hindi, is the 50th born at the Wild Animal Park since two of this endangered species arrived in 1972.