Figuring Things Out: photos

Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts

Monday, June 11, 2012

Bi-colored Ant at the Banyan Tree

The Banyan Tree, Okhla Bird Park

"6 AM at the Banyan tree..."

For folks on DelhiBird this simply indicates a well known meeting-point at the Okhla Bird Park on the banks of Yamuna river.

during the hot season the river looks more like an open drain with black, frothy effluent gushing down the slats. This Sunday, there were not too many birds on the Yamuna flood plains. At the banyan though there was an interesting looking ant scurrying through its folds and crevices.

Unlike any I had seen before in Kerala, this one had multiple nodes on the thorax and abdomen, almost making it look like an dandy ant trying to pass off for a mini-millipede!

Turns out that this was the Arboreal Bi-colored Ant (Tetraponera rufonigra). It seems they sting so badly that even some spiders try to mimic them to escape predators!

Arboreal Bicolored Ant (Tetraponera rufonigra)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Delhi: The More Things Change...

South Extension - a park has been replaced by a parking-lot

Ricks at Futt-fattia's in Noida

Clunky coolers in chains..

A horse stalls at Triveni Gallery

CP aka Rajiv Chowk

A few years ago a bomb exploded in a dustbin. Since then all the dustbins have either been removed (!) or turned up-side-down. Feel free to litter...

Metro terminal at Gurgaon

Chandni Chowk

Waiting for a bus - a Q of shadows

Pavement Artists :)

Sikandar Lodhi's Tomb, Lodhi Gardens

Red Fort & Barricade

Haus Khaz and Tuglak's tombs

Monday, August 09, 2010

Cicada Summer

Its another summer of Cicadas.

On almost each and every tree are hundreds of perfectly formed, golden, empty shells clinging on to the crevices on the bark. Each with a neat slit on its back. Is is surprising enough that any creature can discard an intricate body like this as if it were pair of socks...

But today I was astounded to know that each Cicada nymph, after it emerges from its egg, remains for about 17 years underground, before it emerges on a fine summer day. It then climbs a tree, moults, mates and dies in just two weeks!

Why 17 years? What could possibly be the evolutionary advantage?

So far, even the scientists have no idea...

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REFERENCES / LINKS

Richard Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth: Amazing Cicada Life Cycle - BBC Wildlife - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjLiWy2nT7U (Great Video!)

Life Cycle - http://www.riverwoodsrpc.org/Invasive/PeriodicalCicadas.html

Judith Hunt - http://www.huntjudith.com/science_nature.html

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Some more summer pics -

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Faces

Seeing faces in strange places...

"Wait! Don't shoot!", screamed Mr.Draincover..

Beer-can Devil

Mr. Nosey Loo

Hungry Pillar

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Summer Fauna

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An attempt to identify folks that creep, crawl and fly about in Tsukuba University...

Snake-in-the-grass with a bite (or peck) that went right through the skull. Most likely to be a rat-snake (scientific name - Elaphe carinata yonaguniensis; common name - Yonaguni-Syuda).

Links:

Jap-Rep: Encyclopedia is Japanese Snakes - http://homepage3.nifty.com/japrep/snake/namihebi/elphe/text/eyonasyu.htm
Snakes of Japan - http://homepage3.nifty.com/japrep/snake/ejaphebi.htm
Wiki - Japanese Rat Snake - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Rat_Snake

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One on the fist and about a dozen inside. "Dango Mushi" is apparently the current favourite with kindergarten kids - at least until the bigger beetles make their appearance.

English common name - Woodlouse or Pillbug (because it can roll itself into a perfectly round "pill" when disturbed)
Scientific name - Amadillium vulgare

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