Under The Hedge

I know that I'm not going to put my earrings away properly every time because a) more steps b) I often come home and just need them OFF c) I have a lot of earrings but some pairs that I wear very regularly, so I have a little open box on the table to drop earrings in. Every now and then I go through and pick out the special ones to return to their case but my favourite strawberry earrings and my little charm hoops basically just live loose under my mirror as I alternate between them ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have almost managed to train myself to put some specific items that are rarely used back every time because I keep having to play "if you were one of the four measuring tapes in this flat, where would you live" and that just drives me up the wall. So now there's a measuring tape in the box on my coffee table with the lip balm and the pencils and the scissors (because I usually need a measuring tape when I'm crocheting on the sofa) and a foldable yardstick under my TV (because it's immediately visible there if I'm walking around looking for it). The kitchen scissors are none of my business, though, they go where they want.

And yeah my tape-measure lives in my backpack, along with a lot of my daily use stuff because 1: I'm probably going to want this shit other places, 2: it's easy to remember to put that one back because "the tape measure lives in the backpack" and 3: I like being the person people turn to and say "yeah he's probably got a tape-measure on him at all times" (which probably helps a lot with number 2).

Legit I once walked into my old PhD office and someone needed to measure for gown rental and they didn't have a tape measure, so the group strategy was "wait till [I'm] in" on the assumption that I probably had one. I in fact had two, steel and dressmakers 🤣

TWENTY MINUTES BABEY CAN WE HEAR IT FOR TWENTY MINUTES!!

Our fucked up dolphins

Our fucked up porcupines

Our fucked up snakes

This

Also the further you move toward the poles the more pronounced the difference between the length of day and night is. Worst part of a far-north (or south) heatwave is it doesn’t get dark long enough for meaningful cooling.

I mean, it makes sense! Humans are a predatory species, much less commonly prey. Juvenile play behaviours in most animals like that generally emulates adult conflicts and hunting behaviours, because that's kinda what we think it evolved for? Idk I'm also not making concrete evopsych statements because I don't know that shit but I'mma keep musing myself.

So, like, you could argue that some of the most basic childhood play types can be viewed as falling into the basic categories of "exploring some dramatic adult scenario", "coordination practice for your body" and, amusingly, "predator-prey interaction".

Actually, the whole hiding aspect is interesting because adult humans are rarely prey for much, but juveniles? There's a lot of predatory animals out there that would rather bite rocks than try and hunt adult humans but will go for children if they can.

UK work guidance has a minimum safe temperature for employees at work, but not a maximum one.

SIGN BOTH!!!

36.4 degrees. That's just outside the range of human core body temperature. Other parts of the kitchen were consistently around 31.5, and it was the same behind the bar.

And the outdoor temperature was "only" 28 degrees outside today! It's forecasted to be 35 degrees tomorrow.

Oh so that's the update, it's going to be even hotter 🙃

It can almost certainly tell different species apart based on the shape of those air bladders. And it can tell if a fish has something weird inside it, like a metal hook. In Hawaii, false killer whales often pluck tuna off fishing lines, and “they’ll know where the hook is inside that fish,” Aude Pacini, who studies these animals, tells me. “They can ‘see’ things that you and I would never consider unless we had an X-ray machine or an MRI scanner.”

This penetrating perception is so unusual that scientists have barely begun to consider its implications. The beaked whales, for example, are odontocetes that look dolphin-esque on the outside—but on the inside, their skulls bear a strange assortment of crests, ridges, and bumps, many of which are only found in males.

Pavel Gol’din has suggested that these structures might be the equivalent of deer antlers—showy ornaments that are used to attract mates. Such ornaments would normally protrude from the body in a visible and conspicuous way, but that’s unnecessary for animals that are living medical scanners.’

I'm not sure if I ever shared this story before here, but in Curacao, when I was allowed to assist in a guest interaction programme, there was suddenly consternation in the pool behind us. A guest had entered the water and the dolphins were going crazy, paying no heed to the trainers anymore. The lead trainer that was with me gave the dolphins to me to watch over while she went to help. When she came back she told me what had happened. The guest that had caused so much uproar had left the water again and was asked if he had done anything to upset the dolphins. He hadn't, and he couldn't imagine what was wrong... until he mentioned he had a pacemaker. The younger dolphins in the pool had never seen someone with a pacemaker before and apparently it rocked their world.

Each lacewing spends about 5 days maturing inside its cacoon, and then it cuts an opening in the top and emerges as a fully-developed adult.

Above: a common green lacewing emerging from its cocoon

Green lacewing larvae (genus Chrysopidae) are also known as "aphid lions," because they're voracious predators that often feed on aphids. They've also been known to prey upon caterpillars, leafhoppers, planthoppers, thrips, spiders, mites, and insect eggs, which is why they're widely used to help eradicate pests in agricultural contexts.

Once the lacewing nears the end of its larval stage, it builds a small cacoon out of silk and then tucks itself inside, allowing the pupal phase to begin. Its tiny green body is often partially visible through the thin, loosely-woven walls of the cacoon.

Above: a lacewing developing within its cocoon

These breathtaking photos of a lacewing climbing out of its cacoon were taken by a Danish photographer named Frederik Leck Fischer.

Above: the lacewing preparing to emerge

When the insect initially emerges, its wings and antennae are still compactly folded down against its body, and the wings have a dark, shriveled appearance that makes them almost unrecognizable.

Above: the fully-developed lacewing waiting for its wings to expand

The wings then gradually expand until they have reached their full size, which usually takes about an hour or two.

Above: the same lacewing just a few hours later

Fischer's photographs provide a stunning account of the entire process.

Above: close-up of a common green lacewing

This is a rewritten version of a post that I originally published three years ago.

Sources & More Info:

iNaturalist: Common Green Lacewing

University of California: Family Chrysopidae

Texas A&M: The Green Lacewing

Washington State University: Lacewings

Tennessee State University: Insect Predators: Green Lacewings (PDF)

Dorsal view by the same photographer:

And from the side: