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more millipede macros from that same rainforest hike, there was such an incredible variety.

Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta), family Emydidae, northern U.S.

German Yellowjacket (Vespula germanica)

Class: Insecta

Distribution: Found in sections of every continent except Antarctica; native to Europe, Northern Africa and temperate Asia, and introduced to North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Invasive outside of its native range.

Habitat: Primarily ground-nesting in Europe and Oceania, but also nests in voids in buildings in North America. Common in urban and suburban areas, as well as forests.

Diet: Polyphagous scavengers and opportunistic predators; feed on carrion, live arthropods (including spiders), fruit, honeydew, processed human food and garbage.

Description: The German yellowjacket is a destructive, invasive insect outside of its native range, known for outcompeting native wildlife in the search for food. Due to their varied diet, they are able to compete with native biota in the areas it invades, quickly accumulating large population densities in these areas. Nests are built from chewed plant fibres mixed with saliva, and are often confounded with those of the paper wasp, Polistes dominula.

These insects are known to show cognitive plasticity, taking current and past experiences into account when making decisions. They are capable of relocating previous food sources, as well as remove associations with feeders after the removal of a reward. This implies that German yellowjackets have the capacity to learn and remember, as well as recognize landmarks and people. This intelligence is probably one of the many reasons this species is so successful at invading new areas.

Gunther's Bush Frog aka Chalzodes Bubble-nest Frog (Raorchestes chalazodes), family Rhacophoridae, endemic to the Western Ghats, India

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED.