Amazing Nature

[PeteC]

Hello there! Don't I look grand?

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At the Tropical Insect Sanctuary, you can get up close and personal with some cute cannibals and other captivating creatures

https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/2074 ... rn-killers (More photos at link)

'That's a peacock mantis," said Wissarut Sukhaket as he saw me observing a dull-looking little fellow in a nursery box at the Tropical Insect Sanctuary in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district. "Want to know why it got such a name?"

Without waiting for my reply, Wissarut, a research experimental assistant at the facility, carefully brought the mantis out of the container and placed it in his palm. The predatory insect stood upright raising its large, sharp-spiked forelegs and fanning out its four wings, revealing the eyespots like those on a peacock's tail. The mantis itself explained to me in the most explicit way.

Wissarut was guiding me through the insect sanctuary, a part of Lamtakhong Research Station, which is under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation's Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR). He noted that other than the peacock mantis, at this time of year visitors also can see flower mantises, including the pinkish orchid mantis.

"In March, the luna moth and Malayan moon moth will emerge from their cocoons. Meanwhile, the beautiful mantises will still be around until April," he said, adding that other kinds of creatures such as leaf and stick insects can be seen all year round.

"But please note that this is not a zoo," Wissarut pointed out, adding that he hoped visitors to the sanctuary learn a few things about insects and their diversity, as well as how we humans can co-exist with them.

The major purpose of the facility, he elaborated, is for research. Wissarut and his colleagues at TISTR have been working on several projects that aim to seek eco-friendly solutions for farmers. Among them are studies on biopesticides, plants' chemical self-defense, organic cricket farming and yields and quality improvement of arabica coffee cherries with the help of stingless bees.

There was so much to learn at the Tropical Insect Sanctuary and the Lamtakhong Research Station as a whole, the recent trip to Pak Chong was an eye-opening one for me.

TRAVEL INFO

The Tropical Insect Sanctuary is part of Lamtakhong Research Station which is situated on Highway 2 near its well-known namesake reservoir, about 18km from Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong railway station. Its neighbour on the opposite side of the road is the Military Dog Battalion which is easier to notice.

The Tropical Insect Sanctuary is open daily, except for Mondays and Fridays. For more information, visit its Facebook page.

[HHTel]

Very interesting. The camouflage of some is indistinguishable from the natural leaf etc and others are works of art.

However, I'm not sure they'd let me in with my can of Baygon!!

[PeteC]

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Mount Etna puts on its latest spectacular show

https://apnews.com/article/mount-etna-v ... 0b9cf7e903

Nine amazing photos at link, and the current story about the latest ongoing eruption.

[Lost]

This bad boy was in the news recently. A 'Great Potoo'. I'd never seen one before. Looks like it's come straight from the depths of hell. At about 40 seconds it begins to get angry. Would scare the shit out of me if I bumped into that unaware of its existence!

[Dannie Boy]

From a distance it looks more like a lizard!!

[pharvey]

^ Was watching on the news earlier today - one bizzare looking bugger to say the least! Looks more suited to sea than land....

From a distance it looks more like a lizard!!

I was thinking more something Aquaman or Jason & The Argonauts would be scrapping with!!

[PeteC]

Birds evolved from prehistoric lizards. This one isn't very far along the chart it seems.

[pharvey]

Birds evolved from prehistoric lizards. This one isn't very far along the chart it seems.

Honestly trying to think of birds with short/zero beaks.....

[dtaai-maai]

Honestly trying to think of birds with short/zero beaks.....

And how is the LHG today...?

[pharvey]

Honestly trying to think of birds with short/zero beaks.....

And how is the LHG today...?

The rugby's on - she's left the house. Neighbours shuttered windows and I'm told to at least keep my boxers and Welsh bobble hat on whilst running (well limping) down the street celebrating.....

I shall of course pass on your best, hoping you meet up in the future........

[pharvey]

A "Reindeer Cyclone" as seen by a drone - quite incredible

https://www.designboom.com/design/reind ... 4-01-2021/

[pharvey]

Well, unlike Thailand and Asia, the UK is not known for it's exotic spiders, snakes, etc.((although great wildlife), but the LHG spotted this little critter in the garden this evening. Apparently not "uncommon", but I've certainly never seen any Arachnids in the UK with such bright colouring - excuse my photo's (mobile phone and dusk).
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Having searched the Internet, this is what it seems to be: -
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https://www.alamy.com/yellow-crab-spide ... d0%26pl%3d

[dtaai-maai]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-57770547

Neptune seems to have made an appearance on the East Sussex coast during a storm.

The sighting of the "face" of the Roman god of water was captured by BBC photographer Jeff Overs in Newhaven on Tuesday.

He took the picture as waves crashed over the harbour wall during the storm.

The sighting seems to be an example of pareidolia - when an image is seen in an otherwise random or ambiguous visual pattern.

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[Nereus]

Five weird things about platypuses and echidnas

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/202 ... /100662846

When it comes to Australian animals, platypuses and echidnas have to take the cake for being the weirdest.

These two mammals are so unique they form their own little group, called the monotremes.

When a British scientist first saw the skin and bill of a platypus, he thought it was a fake.

Both mammals lay eggs
Another thing that really confounded scientists was the fact that both echidnas and platypuses lay eggs.

Both have pretty bizarre sex lives
An echidna penis has four heads and is about 7 centimetres long, which is very long for such a small animal.

A platypus penis has just two heads but is covered in visible spines that could be a way of holding on to their mate when they're in the water, Dr Fenelon says.

[Lost]

I save loads of stuff from science and nature twitter on my page to return to every now and then. I often end up revisiting these fellas when I'm on there. Beautiful!