tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20036162949038897412024-02-20T08:48:38.085+08:00Kaz's CreaturesLoving butterflies, slugs and all things creepy crawlyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-15835152820244158462014-11-13T20:44:00.001+08:002017-09-13T21:12:17.180+08:00Facing the Music<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>The article below, an old post of mine, was originally posted on a collaborative Curtin University website with the overarching theme of "Facing the Music". I recently discovered the site has been closed, so I have reposted my article here:</em></span></span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Pitch:</span></em><br />
<strong><span style="color: orange; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Facing the Music: Surviving Extinction</span></strong><br />
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<dt><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Photo: Rod Morris/www.rodmorris.co.nz</span></dt>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In 1918, Lord Howe Island Phasmid<em> (Dryococelus australis)</em>, a giant “tree lobster” faced the music and lost. When black rats were introduced to Lord Howe Island in 1918, following a shipwreck, the entire local population was wiped out. By 1960 it was presumed extinct. Thanks to some curious scientists this ugly six legged insect was rediscovered in 2001 on a rocky outcrop in the middle of the Tasman Sea. A breeding program resulted. Today however, the insect is facing the music yet again with the inhabitants of the now populated Lord Howe Island needing to be convinced to assist with the survival program and reintroduce the creature back to its original habitat, their own backyards.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Humans are having a major impact reducing survival rates of many species: through the destruction of habitat; introduction of invasive species; pollution; and in the case of some of our most misunderstood and feared creepy-crawlies, purposefully trying to eradicate them.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">References:</span></strong><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Britton, Dave, (2009), Phantom Phasmids, <em>Australian Museum</em>, </span><a data-mce-href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Entomology-Collection-Phantom-Phasmids" href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Entomology-Collection-Phantom-Phasmids" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://australianmuseum.net.au/Entomology-Collection-Phantom-Phasmids</span></a></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Krulwich, Robert, (2012) Six-Legged Giant Finds Secret Hideaway, Hides For 80 Years, <em>Krulwich Wonders</em>, </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years" href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/six-legged-giant-finds-secret-hideaway-hides-for-80-years</span></a></li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Teaser - Everything is connected" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7090/6885481766_490ee57664_z.jpg" height="150" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7090/6885481766_490ee57664_z.jpg" width="400" /></span><br />
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Biodiversity is the variety of ALL things living, from the largest animals and plants to the smallest micro-organisms. It includes all the cute, cuddly, highly publicised animals AND the ugly, frightening creatures.</span></span></span><br />
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<div data-mce-style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; line-height: 1.6em; font-size: 0.8em;" style="font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<a data-mce-href="http://storify.com/KazCreatures/ugly-insects" href="http://storify.com/KazCreatures/ugly-insects" title="Mole-cricket-side-view"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Mole-cricket-side-view by Kaz Creatures" data-mce-src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/6892635564_d31afb6f74.jpg" height="182" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/6892635564_d31afb6f74.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <span data-mce-style="margin: 0;" style="margin: 0px;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/6892635564/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/6892635564/">Mole-cricket-side-view</a>, a photo by <a data-mce-href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/">Kaz Creatures</a> on Flickr.</span></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><strong>There are three major categories of biodiversity:</strong></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="color: navy; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #0000ff;" style="color: blue;">Genetic Biodiversity</span> – the variations within a species, and between each individual within a species. We are all unique.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #008080;" style="color: teal;">Species Biodiversity</span> – there are a variety of species inhabiting each area. Maintaining the relationship between each and every species is important to ensure the survival of each species.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #008000;" style="color: green;">Ecosystem Biodiversity</span> – the variety of species interacting to create unique environments or ecological systems: freshwater, marine, forest, grassland, tundra and desert.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Australia is listed as one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world with south Western Australia one of 34 internationally recognised hotspots. </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/hotspots/index.html" href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/hotspots/index.html" title="environment gov biodiversity hotspots"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Biodiversity hotspots</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> are areas with the largest variety of species in one area. Of concern, nevertheless, is that scientists have only formally described approximately 25% of Australian species - mostly those that are “large and charismatic, or of quantifiable economic importance, public interest or taxonomic interest” (DEWHA (Department of the Environment, 2009). Simultaneously, a number of species have been declared extinct or at risk of extinction. The concern is that species are becoming extinct without us ever knowing they existed or the vital roles they play. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><strong>"Biodiversity is so vast and so complicated, that biologists still haven't documented most species on our planet"</strong></span> </span><br />
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<a data-mce-href="http://conservingbiodiversity.yolasite.com/benefits-of-biodiversity.php" href="http://conservingbiodiversity.yolasite.com/benefits-of-biodiversity.php"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(Parks, 2012)</span></a></div>
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<strong><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: medium;">CALL TO ACTION: FACE THE MUSIC</span></strong><br />
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Be aware of the </span></span><a data-mce-href="http://www.ala.org.au/" href="http://www.ala.org.au/"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">species</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> living around you.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Learn their names.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Are they native to your area? Are you sure?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Discover how each species interacts with another?</span></span></span> </div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;" style="color: #ff6600;"><strong><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <span style="color: orange; font-size: small;">I encourage you to pay attention to the huge assortment</span></span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;" style="color: #ff6600;"><strong><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange;"> of organisms that surround you. Be fascinated.</span> </span></span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms";"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/z_rbUosICp4" style="height: 195px; width: 418px;" width="560"></iframe></span><br />
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: orange;"><strong>Biodiversity is essential</strong></span> both in its own right and for the survival of the human species. It contributes to healthy soil, waterways and clean air, all which directly and indirectly benefit us. Due to interactions between species, one small change may have a major impact on other species.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #800000;" style="color: maroon;"><strong><span style="color: orange;">The world's economy</span></strong> </span>relies on biodiversity to produce food, water and to break down pollutants. </span></span><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A range of species, <a data-mce-href="http://www.eko.uj.edu.pl/laskowski/ET_S800/Materialy/Ants_Folgarait_1998.pdf" href="http://www.eko.uj.edu.pl/laskowski/ET_S800/Materialy/Ants_Folgarait_1998.pdf">ants for example</a>, help maintain soil fertility, recycling nutrients, pollinating plants, and aiding water filtration, which in turn, aids crop production. Other major pollinators of plants include bees and flies, of which Australia has 1500-2000 <a data-mce-href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bees-Suborder-Apocrita" href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bees-Suborder-Apocrita">native bee species </a>and 30,000 <a data-mce-href="http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Environment/Biodiversity/Common-Nuisance-Flies.aspx" href="http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Environment/Biodiversity/Common-Nuisance-Flies.aspx">species of flies.</a> That’s a lot of insects that are working behind the scenes assisting with our food production!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>"There is no factory or technology producing </strong></span><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong><span style="color: orange;">so much of value at so little cost".</span></strong> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.acfonline.org.au/be-informed/land-forests/biodiversity-fund" href="http://www.acfonline.org.au/be-informed/land-forests/biodiversity-fund"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(Australian Conservation Foundation, 2012)</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><strong>Strong biodiversity </strong></span><a data-mce-href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article12009%E2%80%9310?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2009%9610&num=&view=" href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article12009%E2%80%9310?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2009%9610&num=&view="><span style="color: orange; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><strong>aids the economy</strong></span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">: Australian National Parks with their many </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.environment.gov.au/archive/biodiversity/publications/series/paper2/index.html" href="http://www.environment.gov.au/archive/biodiversity/publications/series/paper2/index.html"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">endemic species </span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">attract 40% of all international visitors. These nature seeking travellers visit Australia for twice as long as other tourists and contribute to 80% of international tourist dollars. Australia’s recreational fishing industry is estimated to be worth over $2.9 billion per year. Of concern, however is that damage to our biodiversity also damages our economy. Tourists stop visiting, salinity and erosion issues increase, as do costs associated with pollution and climate control.</span><br />
<span data-mce-style="font-size: 10px;" style="font-size: 10px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf" href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">SOURCE: ("National Biodiversity Strategy Review Task Group," 2009)</span></a></span></span><br />
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/6887359672/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/6887359672/" title="Examples of economic uses of invertebrates"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Examples of economic uses of invertebrates by Kaz Creatures" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7184/6887359672_9f1a38b1d3.jpg" height="336" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7184/6887359672_9f1a38b1d3.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span> </div>
<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;" style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: orange;">Strong biodiversity keeps us healthy:</span> </span></strong><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Not only does biodiversity assist with the health of our crops, water and air, it provides other resources that sustain humans, like medicines, timber, fuels and </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/004/V1430E/V1430E04.htm" href="http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/004/V1430E/V1430E04.htm"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">genetic materials</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">. </span></span></span><span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Although many people would love to see spiders, snakes and other creatures become extinct; they may play a significant role in our future survival. Scientists are constantly researching to find further benefits from the wildlife around us. Australian researchers are currently investigating </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=21771" href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=21771"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">cone snail’s venom </span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">as a treatment for chronic pain; </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=23252" href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=23252"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">bees’ brains </span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">to expand knowledge into brain disorders like schizophrenia and autism; and using </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=24212" href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=24212"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">snake venom</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"> to prepare blood samples in patients taking anti-clotting medications.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/7033452821/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/7033452821/" title="Use of Insects by Australian Aborigines"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Use of Insects by Australian Aborigines by Kaz Creatures" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/7033452821_cbdbdf6dcd.jpg" height="216" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7044/7033452821_cbdbdf6dcd.jpg" width="400" /></span></a><br />
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<img alt="https://lulyyang.com/view-collections/museum" border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBWmaVEM-Et3fdqAlSBtPGQ3-1nad0dQfjTe6npxfjI0pGNFyFOMzIFBAPRZJF3RoD16FNp4BGoIJJgWkKuPJGygNyUrBij1myneapWsn9qoMqHSLudhUzZP2i1wcLJ-uUzT0liExeV0/s400/Luly+Yang+Monarch+Butterfly+dress.jpg" title="" width="400" /><span id="goog_399519656"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_399519657"></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><em>I love this dress designed by <a href="https://lulyyang.com/view-collections/museum">Luly Yang</a>, inspired by the Monarch butterfly</em></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: orange;"><strong>The variety of species has long been a source of inspiration</strong> </span>for artists, musicians and technicians. Insects and birds inspire flight and wind resistant technologies. Homes are decorated with nature inspired artworks and constructed from a variety of natural materials. With the diverse range of species on Earth, <span style="color: orange;">we are only limited by our imaginations.</span></span> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiKGEO3YssWXecUJMQ_q2TmO6wfFXWpuvA1k3fqOgLHuyB8BJZmg6bl_BzdjDMhvadNUjX1DFsLQEOU0YiQG2koi3-TW8iAsUAL1TLBxYBAI6rWwa2tRGKCX7MD0JwWCD4qIF_-DvYDY/s1600/Pinterest+Kazs+Creatures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="463" data-original-width="1024" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiKGEO3YssWXecUJMQ_q2TmO6wfFXWpuvA1k3fqOgLHuyB8BJZmg6bl_BzdjDMhvadNUjX1DFsLQEOU0YiQG2koi3-TW8iAsUAL1TLBxYBAI6rWwa2tRGKCX7MD0JwWCD4qIF_-DvYDY/s400/Pinterest+Kazs+Creatures.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a data-mce-href="http://pinterest.com/kazscreatures/kazs-creatures/" href="http://pinterest.com/kazscreatures/kazs-creatures/"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://pinterest.com/kazscreatures/kazs-creatures/</span></a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><strong><span style="color: #cfe2f3; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">CALL TO ACTION: FACE THE MUSIC</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">How many species can you name, that directly or indirectly, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">contribute to the production of food you eat?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do you make use of </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.dec.wa.gov.au/component/option,com_hotproperty/Itemid,1584/" href="http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">National Parks</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">, local parks or </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">your own backyard as part of your recreational space?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Will you be reliant in the future on scientists </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">finding a cure to the illnesses you may suffer?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Are you inspired by nature? Have you considered </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">drawing, photography or creating a piece of music based on nature? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: orange;"><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">Remember that the greater the biodiversity, </span></span></strong><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">the more amazing things we will be able to achieve </span></span></strong><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">now and in the future.</span></span></strong></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Humans are the biggest threat to biodiversity, mostly due to ignorance. The landscape is constantly being changed and destroyed with logging, clearing, mining, poor fire management, urbanisation, introduction of foreign species, landscape fragmentation, and the list goes on. Ecosystems are dynamic in both space and time with changes in one environment potentially having an impact on the other side of the planet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">“The ecological rule of thumb is that when <br />90 per cent of a habitat is cleared, 50 per cent of its species will be driven to extinction”</span> </strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(</span><a data-mce-href="#_ENREF_8" href="http://www.splicedtogether.net/002/wp-admin/post.php?post=99&action=edit#_ENREF_8" title="McGhee, 2009 #1517"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">McGhee, 2009</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Learn about the species native to the areas you occupy. Observe them in their natural environments and attempt to identify the species. Assistance can be sourced from any number of books, databases or conservation organisations. The more information we know about where and how different species live, the more we can appreciate their uniqueness (like the sound of the motorbike frog, </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.splicedtogether.net/002/facing-the-music/karen_taylor-surviving-extinction/litoria_moorei-2" href="http://www.splicedtogether.net/002/facing-the-music/karen_taylor-surviving-extinction/litoria_moorei-2" rel="attachment wp-att-2844"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">litoria_moorei</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">) and desire to protect them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To protect biodiversity use products that are environmentally friendly, create nature areas that encourage the survival of local species and </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.ala.org.au/" href="http://www.ala.org.au/"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">contribute to databases </span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">recording species your an area. By recording information, we can gauge how threatened a species is, prove its worthiness for protective intervention and make positive changes before it becomes extinct.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cfe2f3;"><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;">CALL TO ACTION:</span></strong> <span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><strong>FACE THE MUSIC – SURVIVE EXTINCTION</strong></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Pay attention to the diverse range of species around you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Share and record your knowledge about species in your area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Are you doing everything you can to protect biodiversity </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">and prevent species from becoming extinct?</span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;"><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Small changes, made by many people will have </span></span></strong><strong><span data-mce-style="color: #ff6600;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">a big impact, both negative and positive. </span><span data-mce-style="font-size: 18px;"></span></span></strong></span><br />
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/7033628771/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/7033628771/" title="Label 5 - Who am I?"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07vhiL-l0E4riaC__41CzwBp7dXK2CduNwG5WC10RC0_fRgFLizZ8wesVJ0lrH28kUtY4K16dDjvqkEcnNRVjW7ZPDJsQjdIApscm8tf9WzlKch9rCHQofwD_BW5XRyof_nVp9SqzcEU/s1600/labels5+-+Who+am+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg07vhiL-l0E4riaC__41CzwBp7dXK2CduNwG5WC10RC0_fRgFLizZ8wesVJ0lrH28kUtY4K16dDjvqkEcnNRVjW7ZPDJsQjdIApscm8tf9WzlKch9rCHQofwD_BW5XRyof_nVp9SqzcEU/s400/labels5+-+Who+am+I.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br /></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-size: 14px;"><span data-mce-style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am passionate about the amazing and diverse creatures on this wonderful planet, from beautiful butterflies to slimy slugs. I aim to make a positive contribution to biodiversity by sharing my passion, encouraging others to take the time to notice these remarkable creatures and appreciate how they contribute to our world.</span></span></span></div>
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<strong><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">[TAGS: biodiversity, environment, extinct, survival, Australia]</span></strong></div>
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<strong><span style="color: orange; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">References:</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Adams, B. (2010). Chronic pain and immune research take top awards. The University of Queensland, Australia, UQ News Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=21771" href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=21771"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=21771</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Australian Conservation Foundation. (2012). Biodiversity Fund Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.acfonline.org.au/be-informed/land-forests/biodiversity-fund" href="http://www.acfonline.org.au/be-informed/land-forests/biodiversity-fund"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.acfonline.org.au/be-informed/land-forests/biodiversity-fund</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Cullen, D. (2011). Bees yield clues to unlocking brain disorders. The University of Queensland, Australia, UQ News Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=23252" href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=23252"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=23252</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">CuriousExpeditions. (2010). Entomologia show labels (Photo used as base for artwork). Retrieved 18 March, 2012, from Flickr Photostream: </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpeditions/4416901013/sizes/o/in/photostream/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpeditions/4416901013/sizes/o/in/photostream/"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/curiousexpeditions/4416901013/sizes/o/in/photostream/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">DEWHA (Department of the Environment, W., Heritage and the Arts). (2009). Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010–2020: Consultation draft. National Biodiversity Strategy Review Task Group Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf" href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Grube, K. (2011). Research to stop cancer in its tracks. The University of Queensland, Australia, UQ News Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=24212" href="http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=24212"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=24212</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Harris, P. (1996). Oil found in tunnels under Fremantle Prison cleaned up. Ministerial Media Statements: Government of Western Australia Portfolio: Environment. Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/ArchivedStatements/Pages/CourtCoalitionGovernmentSearch.aspx?ItemId=143714&amp;minister=Foss&amp;admin=Court&amp;page=8" href="http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/ArchivedStatements/Pages/CourtCoalitionGovernmentSearch.aspx?ItemId=143714&amp;minister=Foss&amp;admin=Court&amp;page=8"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/ArchivedStatements/Pages/CourtCoalitionGovernmentSearch.aspx?ItemId=143714&amp;minister=Foss&amp;admin=Court&amp;page=8</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">McGhee, K. (2009). The Good Fight: Part I. Australian Geographic Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/the-good-fight-part-i.htm" href="http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/the-good-fight-part-i.htm"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/the-good-fight-part-i.htm</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> National Biodiversity Strategy Review Task Group. (2009). Australia’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010–2020, Consultation Draft, Australian Government, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Canberra, ACT., Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf" href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/strategy/pubs/biodiversity-conservation-strategy2010-2020.pdf</span></a></div>
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</div>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Parks, A. (2012). Conserving Biodiversity: Benefits of Biodiversity. Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://conservingbiodiversity.yolasite.com/benefits-of-biodiversity.php" href="http://conservingbiodiversity.yolasite.com/benefits-of-biodiversity.php"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://conservingbiodiversity.yolasite.com/benefits-of-biodiversity.php</span></a></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Roberts, D. (2012). Litoria moorei. [Audio]. Frogs Australia Network: Australian Frog Databases: Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.frogsaustralia.net.au/frogs/display.cfm?frog_id=166" href="http://www.frogsaustralia.net.au/frogs/display.cfm?frog_id=166"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.frogsaustralia.net.au/frogs/display.cfm?frog_id=166</span></a></div>
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<li><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Steffen, W., Burbidge, A., Hughes, L., Kitching, R., Lindenmayer, D., Musgrave, W., . . . Werner, P. (2009). Australia's Biodiversity and Climate Change: a strategic assessment of the vulnerability of Australia's biodiversity to climate change. A report to the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council commissioned by the Australian Government. CSIRO Publishing Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.climatechange.gov.au/publications/biodiversity/~/media/publications/biodiversity/biodiversity-vulnerability-assessment-lowres.ashx" href="http://www.climatechange.gov.au/publications/biodiversity/~/media/publications/biodiversity/biodiversity-vulnerability-assessment-lowres.ashx"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.climatechange.gov.au/publications/biodiversity/~/media/publications/biodiversity/biodiversity-vulnerability-assessment-lowres.ashx</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Use of Insects by Australian Aborigines. (2011). Insects.org: Studying earth's most diverse organisms Retrieved from </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html" href="http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">http://www.insects.org/ced1/aust_abor.html</span></a></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">__________________________________________________________________________</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> This work is licensed under a </span><a data-mce-href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/" rel="license"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Australia License</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-80099919337532072472011-09-25T15:17:00.003+08:002011-09-25T15:21:59.958+08:00Sharing butterflies<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8QIc9wQva7Xih70cMVTdIXxqUcjfVYtl7F4zDhovQDK3zNG_g8zawDvhpJogpYf_nh673wHrON7fHb8t8Ja_KlkxvBEQWbQQYt8TC8KfzKavrl8Jjhd9HrjzzvC6MGKKia-h5mmHRCA/s1600/Western-grass-dart-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8QIc9wQva7Xih70cMVTdIXxqUcjfVYtl7F4zDhovQDK3zNG_g8zawDvhpJogpYf_nh673wHrON7fHb8t8Ja_KlkxvBEQWbQQYt8TC8KfzKavrl8Jjhd9HrjzzvC6MGKKia-h5mmHRCA/s320/Western-grass-dart-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
Do you notice all the insects around you? If it wasn’t for my family bringing the creatures they notice to my attention I’d miss out on some wonderful experiences.<br />
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This week my husband pointed out a tiny butterfly of the Hesperiidae family, resting for the evening on our garage door. With brown/black wings folded back the butterfly was fairly non- descript. It wasn’t until I disturbed it that it opened out its wings to show the beautiful, black and orange banding, delicate feathering on the front area of its wings and body, and tiger stripes on its antennae. Being late in the afternoon the butterfly didn’t make any attempt to fly away and I returned it to the garage door soon after photographing it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8DqLDIrX40gynbBJC-raDZeHEoVKbAl24K9sQeo140p292EaBZE8q_p3KiJuHvs5LmZZcAEtijoD_Q_XK_H4MY30Nnzfh71KNn7UM97jrnsZAmqHuyAKPHCB3BFqWl10BtgQ9HIKVv8/s1600/Western-grass-dart-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_8DqLDIrX40gynbBJC-raDZeHEoVKbAl24K9sQeo140p292EaBZE8q_p3KiJuHvs5LmZZcAEtijoD_Q_XK_H4MY30Nnzfh71KNn7UM97jrnsZAmqHuyAKPHCB3BFqWl10BtgQ9HIKVv8/s320/Western-grass-dart-2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
I think I’ve correctly identified the butterfly as a <strong>Western Grass-dart</strong> (<em>Taractrocera papyria agraulia</em>), one of the few Grass-darts listed as relatively common in the Perth area. They have a wing span of only 2cm and slight colour variations between the male and female butterflies which are often seen on the ground as the caterpillar feeds on various native and introduced grasses.<br />
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I am glad my family shares their finds with me. We live in an amazing world, with some beautiful creatures. Have you seen a similar species of butterfly living near you? Do you share the experience with friends and family?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbWhWA3gRggiG5hNqR7jUa2Ccal_DhA9IQL49p81iMbzUFwdfqlRpy4AxUPQn5L6oJ2KA0koz6X41RrKkaPxKxwd8UURNGjNdnddi7ZlHNoEuLzJqvBvaIawYQT9z0MvMLejC9zrRZ9M/s1600/Western-grass-dart-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGbWhWA3gRggiG5hNqR7jUa2Ccal_DhA9IQL49p81iMbzUFwdfqlRpy4AxUPQn5L6oJ2KA0koz6X41RrKkaPxKxwd8UURNGjNdnddi7ZlHNoEuLzJqvBvaIawYQT9z0MvMLejC9zrRZ9M/s320/Western-grass-dart-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpiMFOWW5UmTQOpUm55BciahR_acg3L4-oVJltTGmk5_I14Gf9KxiOOsxS2xHoiphWMmn7QEaC2oFREcUkF-95K27l4S5b81m9i3JlUfnzURZyQuqA669D5-DpSL5uHG88fxi1kp7OVM/s1600/Western-grass-dart-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihpiMFOWW5UmTQOpUm55BciahR_acg3L4-oVJltTGmk5_I14Gf9KxiOOsxS2xHoiphWMmn7QEaC2oFREcUkF-95K27l4S5b81m9i3JlUfnzURZyQuqA669D5-DpSL5uHG88fxi1kp7OVM/s320/Western-grass-dart-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-91015843072970940322011-09-13T21:02:00.001+08:002011-09-15T11:14:31.407+08:00Activity for childrenInsects are such fascinating creatures to draw and a great exercise to improve observation skills. Encourage your children to draw one of the creatures in your garden, or perhaps try it yourself.<br />
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I thought I'd attempt drawing the mole cricket I photographed and wrote about earlier in the week. Not the most expert drawing, but I didn't think it was too bad for a first attempt. What do you think?<br />
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Younger children might like to have a go at colouring it in.<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5R9RFj6iJEMMmRhZmQ4MjItNmY5Yy00NzZhLWIyYTktYjQ0NGRhYmJkNDMw&hl=en_US"><img alt="Mole-cricket print and colour in" height="207" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6184/6143852980_f2c561872e.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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<div>Activity for children: <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5R9RFj6iJEMMmRhZmQ4MjItNmY5Yy00NzZhLWIyYTktYjQ0NGRhYmJkNDMw&hl=en_US">Print and colour-in the mole crickets</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-48928873458414855672011-09-10T21:46:00.006+08:002011-09-15T11:45:49.715+08:00Digging up Mole Crickets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NdVNFUEwpu_MmCmr5IbhXF8fsfSPsPa_2lmI_m25pkQNKQco-hNxYxm6b8yj5xQ54otoQZPEex1L9xE46LuKrpDyNGrE7zamLQW2RcLQTlOtXwYdmbVuVj3Vx-fmgzRiR1QGg4qdseQ/s1600/Mole-cricket-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NdVNFUEwpu_MmCmr5IbhXF8fsfSPsPa_2lmI_m25pkQNKQco-hNxYxm6b8yj5xQ54otoQZPEex1L9xE46LuKrpDyNGrE7zamLQW2RcLQTlOtXwYdmbVuVj3Vx-fmgzRiR1QGg4qdseQ/s400/Mole-cricket-005.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NdVNFUEwpu_MmCmr5IbhXF8fsfSPsPa_2lmI_m25pkQNKQco-hNxYxm6b8yj5xQ54otoQZPEex1L9xE46LuKrpDyNGrE7zamLQW2RcLQTlOtXwYdmbVuVj3Vx-fmgzRiR1QGg4qdseQ/s1600/Mole-cricket-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NdVNFUEwpu_MmCmr5IbhXF8fsfSPsPa_2lmI_m25pkQNKQco-hNxYxm6b8yj5xQ54otoQZPEex1L9xE46LuKrpDyNGrE7zamLQW2RcLQTlOtXwYdmbVuVj3Vx-fmgzRiR1QGg4qdseQ/s1600/Mole-cricket-005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Today my son found a mole cricket while digging over the compost heap. Wanting to show me, he carried it in his hand, only to discover they have very strong burrowing forelegs, and are not very good at distinguishing ‘hand’ from ‘sand’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say, he dropped it a few times before bringing it to me on a blue spade. Surprisingly these insect can fly despite looking so bulky, and spending much of their time burrowing underground.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCcgLpPWhdAKfGbD4jNdW3STx5TyJG4FCiDvCR_HWmlaQlzGTbrfKl1j5r4F0TFQfljVHtW9o-Jra6tivMx83CS4IdqwSDc9jOCpkHAkBgWe5pJEbIWipHFONr3sks2oHBcjd1dZffhc/s1600/Mole-cricket-side-view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCcgLpPWhdAKfGbD4jNdW3STx5TyJG4FCiDvCR_HWmlaQlzGTbrfKl1j5r4F0TFQfljVHtW9o-Jra6tivMx83CS4IdqwSDc9jOCpkHAkBgWe5pJEbIWipHFONr3sks2oHBcjd1dZffhc/s320/Mole-cricket-side-view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRR6fEEIKEunTlDwEzrO_-aBy3Yr2xqjarkMvQp-VQ3REIpOuKej-5-0NLZYT3XemZ582xZxp3SvyOXoXbLCTPnOrqohbfyRqa6TSU7Cy41HgQmrfYIjV7ror62S3cl_NDZy5_FS6HWk/s1600/Mole-cricket-top-view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRR6fEEIKEunTlDwEzrO_-aBy3Yr2xqjarkMvQp-VQ3REIpOuKej-5-0NLZYT3XemZ582xZxp3SvyOXoXbLCTPnOrqohbfyRqa6TSU7Cy41HgQmrfYIjV7ror62S3cl_NDZy5_FS6HWk/s320/Mole-cricket-top-view.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As usual, we then followed up with some online research, leading to discovering newspaper articles from 1913 and 1927 and a lovely old book by</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> entomologist Walter Wilson Froggatt (1858-1937).</span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/57810612?searchTerm=molecricket&searchLimits=#pstart4354833">SundayTimes (Perth, WA), Sunday 7 September 1913, page 25</a></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Qn2kC0eCjL0Nqk1rAJynEpAxxoO7x0iu9qnrF-vEMTKvuoUgLt-Y8QbIAlS2dKqQgOcjnXDGh9vqVDBboxl1G6q8uqVndRCzfYrxTsQMizVRf1hK15ANSuadPIwmW0_rgSugm_wN45g/s1600/article57810612-3-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Qn2kC0eCjL0Nqk1rAJynEpAxxoO7x0iu9qnrF-vEMTKvuoUgLt-Y8QbIAlS2dKqQgOcjnXDGh9vqVDBboxl1G6q8uqVndRCzfYrxTsQMizVRf1hK15ANSuadPIwmW0_rgSugm_wN45g/s1600/article57810612-3-001.jpg" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Qn2kC0eCjL0Nqk1rAJynEpAxxoO7x0iu9qnrF-vEMTKvuoUgLt-Y8QbIAlS2dKqQgOcjnXDGh9vqVDBboxl1G6q8uqVndRCzfYrxTsQMizVRf1hK15ANSuadPIwmW0_rgSugm_wN45g/s1600/article57810612-3-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1538236236">Western Mail (Perth, WA)</a></span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1538236236"> </a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/38002896?searchTerm=molecricket&searchLimits=#pstart3516862">Thursday31 March 1927 p 7</a> </i></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">MOLE CRICKET</span></em></span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></em></div><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Scotty," Bridgetown, writes:-I am sending you an insect enclosed in a small bottle with methylated spirits hoping you will find space in your columns to tell me what it is. It digs into the ground making a small burrow wherein it emits a, very loud shrill whistling sort of noise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one was dug up about a foot below the surface in a clear paddock by the house, but there are several in different places all over the paddock.</span></em></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></em></div><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><em>The insect proved to be a mole cricket regarding which two correspondents wrote on March 3 complaining of the damage done by these insects on tennis lawns by their raising little mounds of soil round their burrows. As it lives underground and usually comes out at night, it is not familiar to many people although fairly common. Regarding this insect Mr W Froggatt in his book on Australian insects says:-"The mole cricket (Gryllotalpa coarctata) is found all over the interior, forming under- ground tunnels in the sand along the edges of watercourses; it was collected in the Horn Expedition in Central Australia, and is also found about Sydney, It is of the usual dull brown tint with hooded thorax and spade-shaped forelegs.'' These little creatures are vegetable feeders and live on the roots of grass and other plants, It gets its name from the fact that it burrows like a mole and is provided with strong front claws for the purpose.</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/82061#page/95/mode/1up"><em>Australian insects. By Walter W. Froggatt., Sydney,W. Brooks[1907]</em></a></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"></span><br />
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</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7r57nUW6Y-VJZdqeFAntt21g9ZWoznzVQIupF44IXuRXeVAa51QLhw17p6R1vAQQT0RBvlwX5W6oIdO3VUyyWaVET_QUPlsByyBct1cKgFMprT5fZMueC_N-hppJNJCe4j3I2pe4359g/s1600/Bookplate+text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7r57nUW6Y-VJZdqeFAntt21g9ZWoznzVQIupF44IXuRXeVAa51QLhw17p6R1vAQQT0RBvlwX5W6oIdO3VUyyWaVET_QUPlsByyBct1cKgFMprT5fZMueC_N-hppJNJCe4j3I2pe4359g/s320/Bookplate+text.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUJlh3EXH4jzq9p5_Dg0ZxihDh2APhwK8tISnJp-QFVRU4JMwoHa9hkzufWTIOKpQicLWro_JkAyRAM1R2rkKV8rcYDIoVvhf_ihB0ZYumznthyvPPp15mb5ypg1PRM5-qLZs3vRci78/s1600/Bookplate+crickets+%2526+mole+crickets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUJlh3EXH4jzq9p5_Dg0ZxihDh2APhwK8tISnJp-QFVRU4JMwoHa9hkzufWTIOKpQicLWro_JkAyRAM1R2rkKV8rcYDIoVvhf_ihB0ZYumznthyvPPp15mb5ypg1PRM5-qLZs3vRci78/s400/Bookplate+crickets+%2526+mole+crickets.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"> Further reading: </span><a href="http://wamuseum.com.au/collections/natscience/invertebrates/documents/Molecrickets.pdf"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">Western Australian Museum fact sheet</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #b45f06;">Addendum: 15 September 2011:<o:p></o:p></span></span></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">I've had some wonderful feedback from Dr Terry Houston, </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Senior Curator (Entomology), Dept. of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, who was kind enough to read my article and he tells me <em>"the Sunday Times article could confuse readers because Cylindracheta kochii is a sandgroper, not a mole cricket, and wouldn't push up mounds of soil. However, at the time the article was written, sandgropers and mole crickets were classified into one family. The mounds of soil referred to might have been produced by a mole cricket but could also have been the work of a native bee."</em></span></span><br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-14366275120444087122011-09-08T10:57:00.000+08:002011-09-08T11:01:50.573+08:00Adventure at Perenjori - Wildflowers & LizardsIt's amazing what can be achieved in just one weekend. My husband and I had been told this was one of the best wildflower seasons ever. So we decided to travel over 720km just to take in the breathtaking sight of wildflowers (and hopefully a fascinating creature or two) in the <a href="http://www.perenjori.wa.gov.au/">Perenjori</a> region.
We were not disappointed on either account. We walked for kilometres surrounded by carpets of pink, white and yellow everlastings. Granite outcrops sheltered a variety of orchids, lizards and other creatures including cockroaches that sprayed a foul smelling deterrent designed to protect them from predators. Waterholes were filled with the fattest tadpoles and fat, lazy frogs sheltering under rocks from the perfect blue-sky days.
I was so busy enjoying my weekend I managed to capture only a small portion on camera. Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7PdT-1B2iQA" width="420"></iframe>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Video Music: Strobelites (Escapism) by The Womb can be found at <a href="http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/819443">http://www.jamendo.com/en/track/819443</a></span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-73580044543824330002011-08-26T20:30:00.002+08:002011-09-01T11:44:25.096+08:00From a chomped up garden to craftsmanship inspired by insects<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Caterpillars are chomping away on my greenery, stripping my birds nest fern and the salad rocket down to a few tattered stalks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I picked the black/brown furry caterpillars off what remained of my garden they curled into tight balls, refusing to unfurl so I could photograph them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How frustrating!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave up waiting for them to be accommodating and tried to get ‘that great macro shot’ anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(And, considering my equipment, an old </span><a href="http://www.dpreview.com/products/canon/compacts/canon_a70"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: inherit;">Canon Powershot<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A70</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> – without any special lenses – and a torch to counteract the sun setting, I thought I managed a reasonably photo anyway).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWDbXe4wThOzKJ86Sr0bsS77ooz4S0s6x67QSZDTITFT6NuuDVvZmjzr-Bf50Xn7e5mhXo84RGK9hliR1FslhvNYsyOx3xCAx6Wj3qfJEoyYi-7fhNDY_PifU01_X4mUuOt9wP9Lb8YA/s1600/Caterpillar-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWDbXe4wThOzKJ86Sr0bsS77ooz4S0s6x67QSZDTITFT6NuuDVvZmjzr-Bf50Xn7e5mhXo84RGK9hliR1FslhvNYsyOx3xCAx6Wj3qfJEoyYi-7fhNDY_PifU01_X4mUuOt9wP9Lb8YA/s320/Caterpillar-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1b-oGYKHkPQaiPSuJZIxvv_MPssfC0Q0M7nbOzuKOo8ni3VTWuuMrrxuHAxdRT91XY9vgxD_tTSHRnJJ969RyQqcnMVcIQTwBtB_jvQ5EnfBOonCYHCU-D_SAkwbBDgbggnFPtwGfN8/s320/Caterpillar-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am annoyed the caterpillars have been so destructive of my plants, but I am reminded of a quote from </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Prince-Antoine-Saint-Exup%C3%A9ry/dp/0156012197"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Little Prince</i> by <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>"Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies. It seems that they are very beautiful." <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Page 34)</span></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DOAPIQzsC8j4CopMDgp_OUGrRHFNONFvsdUOOJAh3YNKN6ZiSh-3_08QwlLhT3xQ1sPkGhPCZ_NnyHTaQueWS1kWEzZ11fgmIpsrG2ZMIv5_1eo3GLuQcXaDNxyYz7yfEScXRx_gZ5U/s320/The-Little-Prince.jpg" width="193" /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many years ago, I created the above illustration that went with the quote, to remind myself not to get frustrated at creatures (and events) such as my ‘curled-up-garden-destroying caterpillars’, but instead look for the optimistic ‘butterfly’ approach. So, I decided to spend my evening exploring how creatures might have inspired artists and crafts-people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Below is what I found:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLW0TfzNgtdTzDEOMmWYiSDvHlh2KureuDvGHodJY13kFa5oa902xRVNb8oHQbmqtHN5oshfJY8DFyXz4Px5MIz7XqNYwPWLmq4D9B_RQ8xm4FCY9fTESORJ_5GKWixLpl03UIqp5ECTk/s1600/Caterpillar+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLW0TfzNgtdTzDEOMmWYiSDvHlh2KureuDvGHodJY13kFa5oa902xRVNb8oHQbmqtHN5oshfJY8DFyXz4Px5MIz7XqNYwPWLmq4D9B_RQ8xm4FCY9fTESORJ_5GKWixLpl03UIqp5ECTk/s320/Caterpillar+table.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am not sure </span></span><a href="http://www.michaelbeitz.com/index.php?page=4"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Michael Beitz</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">’s</span></span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> undulating <span style="mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">dining table was inspired by insects, but it reminds me of a caterpillar or inchworm, and eating a meal at the table would be just as frustrating as photographing my uncooperative, furry little friends.</span></span></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxmfMmZ6Z9dygVpT6LsHgeawb69POEhJ59dxf2bgGpK_HN-Doq3sNRmDSCx9Xc-ktldhiHa3BMDh8R91LHbSeT50u9mVbU48U7L0Tl63VFC2aW1LiDfGi_6YcGwaXorTbG-Y5lS4S92c/s1600/flyingkatydid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxmfMmZ6Z9dygVpT6LsHgeawb69POEhJ59dxf2bgGpK_HN-Doq3sNRmDSCx9Xc-ktldhiHa3BMDh8R91LHbSeT50u9mVbU48U7L0Tl63VFC2aW1LiDfGi_6YcGwaXorTbG-Y5lS4S92c/s320/flyingkatydid.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Flying Katydid </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">designed by Brian Chan, September 2006 - used with permission</span></span></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJ3i68a-r9_zi7LKyqYdjvoAqtFlMqSs9o7V0o6aky4hvw6Va9cP187LPbqCcvIkBcr_QfXFgyeKlX4IUKn-8jCtJMrTd5hpMALa9eIpS4ui0iHX9j9-3BClKJcmAgBBduzgNehVH2qE/s1600/lizard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJJ3i68a-r9_zi7LKyqYdjvoAqtFlMqSs9o7V0o6aky4hvw6Va9cP187LPbqCcvIkBcr_QfXFgyeKlX4IUKn-8jCtJMrTd5hpMALa9eIpS4ui0iHX9j9-3BClKJcmAgBBduzgNehVH2qE/s320/lizard.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Lizard 2</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;"> designed by Brian Chan, November 2007 - used with permission</span></span></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQQWGHqTySX1_TNmVQx5dIKYOuZ2WalT4PTPmU0OtSGKGgAP6H5zQcAshkDmhhyphenhyphenndOpJ1HoPMB66z0Qnphq99lz__e4VINBv1MTbdQVeOhgP11WlaCSwiV9vW-i7vlQvVjRlK6m5TY50/s1600/goliathus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDQQWGHqTySX1_TNmVQx5dIKYOuZ2WalT4PTPmU0OtSGKGgAP6H5zQcAshkDmhhyphenhyphenndOpJ1HoPMB66z0Qnphq99lz__e4VINBv1MTbdQVeOhgP11WlaCSwiV9vW-i7vlQvVjRlK6m5TY50/s320/goliathus.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Goliath beetle (Goliathus goliathus) </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">designed by Brian Chan, August 2006 - used with permission</span></span></span></em></div><a href="http://web.mit.edu/chosetec/www/origami/"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: inherit;">Brian Chan</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">’s beautiful origami - it is extraordinary that such he achieves such detail with just one uncut sheet of paper.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvdkf6Qm9HGkErsTv62AaL5CL0AdJFvZxX7C-EmkW2IzQToHCPLTHq-OnfEm72aEVSLOlTi9650MCKet4kRXGmttfZzdNBvXCSFhmCavb717wcPvzIYdjnxJyFLNHD3QQhwfBtoRv11w/s1600/ALMERIA-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAvdkf6Qm9HGkErsTv62AaL5CL0AdJFvZxX7C-EmkW2IzQToHCPLTHq-OnfEm72aEVSLOlTi9650MCKet4kRXGmttfZzdNBvXCSFhmCavb717wcPvzIYdjnxJyFLNHD3QQhwfBtoRv11w/s320/ALMERIA-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;"><em>ALMERIA-2 by Michel Halliard - used with permission</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrct36LvNGOOmN5X1IDaO8-YcsSo1SkpkGd5itgcInoCTaQbXBv7vZYsdEAhoAWfNDgP_wCHVfV_xiM0pmFJdnZTJSokxROHaX2Vw5Ob2kf1TXFRWaodcFQiWeEcT_SvGSEg7eRJFWe-w/s1600/SIGMUND-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrct36LvNGOOmN5X1IDaO8-YcsSo1SkpkGd5itgcInoCTaQbXBv7vZYsdEAhoAWfNDgP_wCHVfV_xiM0pmFJdnZTJSokxROHaX2Vw5Ob2kf1TXFRWaodcFQiWeEcT_SvGSEg7eRJFWe-w/s320/SIGMUND-4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-small;">SIGMUND-4 by Michel Halliard - used with permission</span></em><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.michel-haillard.com/gb/index.htm"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: inherit;">Michel Halliard's</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> unique ‘beetle-like’ chairs are amazing and despite my having major issues with the materials he has used to create his pieces I find I can still admire his designs and craftsmanship. I just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">desperately </i>wish he had used fake instead of exotic wildlife to create his pieces.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNeeYFaC5dTwRe6mzH3q1OrICbYfbLdra1kNy0R6xr_jxtuhA4eKoEhl5Q_u5fpvcfL3lhGLGpLUk4JD5iDcAuBa3kEW2DNkCFxwwD_zkd7_4fcbe3xgMqeOgy4_5WmY7VX9eTCHF8WQ/s1600/homo-faber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNeeYFaC5dTwRe6mzH3q1OrICbYfbLdra1kNy0R6xr_jxtuhA4eKoEhl5Q_u5fpvcfL3lhGLGpLUk4JD5iDcAuBa3kEW2DNkCFxwwD_zkd7_4fcbe3xgMqeOgy4_5WmY7VX9eTCHF8WQ/s320/homo-faber.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Homo Faber by Sarah Garzoni, 2006</span></em></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I also came across the </span></span><a href="http://endless-swarm.com/?p=386"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: inherit;">‘The Endless Swarm’</span></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> blog, which is full of creative works including Sarah Garzoni’s<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"> <span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Swiss army knife’. Although my interpretation of the piece is different to the </span></span></span><a href="http://www.sarahgarzoni.com/projects/homo-faber/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: inherit;">artist’s original intention</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">, it appears to me to capture both the fear/danger factor many people have of insects, while also representing the usefulness of insects.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", "sans-serif";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, at the end of the evening, I have forgiven my garden chomping caterpillars, been inspired by some amazing artisans and I am looking forward to “being acquainted with butterflies”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDitn7eRd-guBZKLq6vIz9AZtyUBQ3e2XILzSknvxbcBcuedpvk4ySJUMCTgZVwP-_vp3BV-gil-uqaeC46IP7wSpJ6lniMUIwcWKImg3zFCGuMZRl6APvs5armgQnQQbA8AkEk5r9DXo/s1600/butterflywater-3-copyrighted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDitn7eRd-guBZKLq6vIz9AZtyUBQ3e2XILzSknvxbcBcuedpvk4ySJUMCTgZVwP-_vp3BV-gil-uqaeC46IP7wSpJ6lniMUIwcWKImg3zFCGuMZRl6APvs5armgQnQQbA8AkEk5r9DXo/s320/butterflywater-3-copyrighted.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-32669119560279759052011-08-18T14:17:00.011+08:002018-11-18T11:14:00.173+08:00New Species Discovered<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: orange;"><strong>Not all reported news is bad news...</strong></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">With so many news reports, placing a focus on negative events such as horrific accidents, riots and acts of war it is easy to get despondent and miss the good news stories. However, wondrous events are happening around us all the time. </span>National Science Week,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> this week, gives us a great excuse to focus on the discovery of new species.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><em>River shark and blue goanna among 1000 new species discovered in New Guinea</em></span></strong><br />
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<em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Monitor lizard (Varanus macraei), Papua New Guinea. Found on the tiny islands off the Vogelkop (Bird’s Head) Peninsula of Papua in Indonesia and capable of reaching a metre in length. </span></em><span class="source" style="font-size: xx-small;" title="Source"><em>WWF/Lutz Obelgonner. <a href="http://theconversation.edu.au/river-shark-and-blue-goanna-among-1000-new-species-discovered-in-new-guinea-2028" target="_blank">Read the full article at "The Conversation".</a></em></span></div>
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Internationally there have been news reports of fanged frogs being discovered in Sulawesi, lizards of the genus 'Cnemaspis' in South-East Asia, two species of spider in Melghat Reserve, India, and a multitude of other creatures, including a lurid blue monitor lizard, in New Guinea. Closer to home a burrowing frog that survives in the arid Pilbara landscape (Uperoleia saxatilis) was reported last month and West Australian Museum scientists have discovered a new species of solitary 'megamouth' bee in the Jandakot Regional Park (Perth). In fact, according to the Australian Museum website, there have been 46 newly described species in Australia so far during 2011.</div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: orange;"><strong>What does all this mean?</strong></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Great news!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It means that there is still an extraordinary quantity of wildlife right under our noses, which is new, stimulating and worth </span></span>exploring. As Museum CEO, Alec Coles explains: <br />
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<em>“This is another example of the extraordinary wildlife in Western Australia and indeed Perth, which has long been recognised as one of the world’s most biodiverse cities”</em></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Having learnt about the existence of the megamouth bee I was inspired to contact Dr Terry Houston, </span>Senior Curator (Entomology) at the Western Australian Museum and have since been informed there are “several species of insect awaiting naming” - including mole crickets and “a tiny parasitic wasp … associated with a tiny colonial native bee” - living right HERE in my city. Because of this, we each need to learn as much as possible about the creatures in our own part of the world and do what we can to keep as much of our environment in its native state as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMrZG-14jGIhwi4-2LgskqWdbX_2VNH98nDJQh4FYy5uNZDTW9n51O91ovOc5nfkOFyzg9bEX4ftAYfQu2rckeWtYTDoyJhT6GnT_Fr81980Vwb-xvFPFLvdhmIn8QQaEyqyFzClye6U/s1600/Megamouth%252520bee%252520male%252520whole%252520scaled%255B1%255D-200x200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMrZG-14jGIhwi4-2LgskqWdbX_2VNH98nDJQh4FYy5uNZDTW9n51O91ovOc5nfkOFyzg9bEX4ftAYfQu2rckeWtYTDoyJhT6GnT_Fr81980Vwb-xvFPFLvdhmIn8QQaEyqyFzClye6U/s1600/Megamouth%252520bee%252520male%252520whole%252520scaled%255B1%255D-200x200.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Megamouth Bee - Photo: Terry Houston, Copyright </em></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Western Australian Museum</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">All these new discoveries are very exciting news for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I go hiking in my local area I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the megamouth bee, and hope to experience other new creatures.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: orange;">Turn your focus to the Good News Stories and see how wonderful life is on this remarkable planet. Have you come across an amazing creature in your own part of the world? Let me know.</span></div>
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<strong>Link to downloadable activities for children:</strong> </div>
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<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5R9RFj6iJEMNTIzZmI2NDItYTFiZS00M2RiLWI3MzItY2NlZDc3NTQ1MGNh&hl=en">Colour the Goanna</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B5R9RFj6iJEMMGZmOGUzMDktODVkMC00ZTA3LWE0Y2MtOThhOGQxZjQ5ZGFl&hl=en">Label the Megamouth Bee</a> </li>
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<strong>Links to further reading:</strong> </div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/186747/20110727/new-toad-species-discovered-pillbara-toadlet.htm">Australian Mini Toad Species Found (Uperoleia saxatilis). International Business Times</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bugwise/">Australian Museum: Bugwise. (2010).</a> </li>
<li> <a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/New-species-in-2011">Australian Museum: New Species in 2011</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2011/08/12/science-fanged-frogs-evans.html">Fanged frogs - CBC New 12 August, 2011</a></li>
<li><a href="http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/8667682/scientists-find-new-bee-in-perth/">Megamouth Bee: Scientists find new bee in Perth, The West Australian</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.scienceweek.gov.au/Pages/index.aspx">National Science Week. (2011). Australian Government</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/14/cnemaspis-psychedelic-vietnam-gecko">New to Nature No 50: Cnemaspis psychedelica. The Observer Sunday 14 August 2011</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-30/pune/29833067_1_spiders-gn-vankhede-new-species">Spiders discovered in Melghat reserve. Times of India</a> </li>
<li> <a href="http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/about/latest-news/new-bee-species-discovered-forrestdale">WA Museum:</a><a href="http://www.museum.wa.gov.au/about/latest-news/new-bee-species-discovered-forrestdale">New bee species discovered in Forrestdale</a></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>Footnote: I wish to acknowledge Dr Terry Houston, Senior Curator (Entomology), Western Australian Museum for his support with this entry.</em></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em><strong>Post last updated: 22 September 2011</strong></em></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-62392031153469865622011-08-13T16:18:00.009+08:002011-09-10T12:44:15.079+08:00Six things you (and your child) can learn from “loving butterflies, slugs and all things creepy crawly”<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/1980167411/" target="_blank" title="I think I need a leg wax by aussiegall, on Flickr"><img alt="I think I need a leg wax" height="300" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2323/1980167411_74010912a5.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em><span property="dc:identifier dct:identifier" style="display: inline;">Photo by Aussiegall, Flickr - CC BY 2.0 </span></em></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em></em></span><strong><span style="color: orange;">1. Notice the little things</span></strong><br />
How often do we stop and appreciate the small things in life; the little steps; the little accomplishments and the finer details. Taking the time to observe creepy crawlies teaches us to be more observant and appreciate how each creature fits into this amazing world. <br />
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<strong><span style="color: orange;">2. Appreciate differences</span></strong><br />
Look at the diverse range of sizes, shapes, colours and habitats of creepy crawlies, even within the one species. It would be so boring if <a href="http://australianbutterfliesphotographed.com/" target="_blank">butterflies</a> or <a href="http://lifeunseen.com/index9.php" target="_blank">beetles</a> were all the same. That they are different makes them exceptional. Perhaps if we learn to be accepting of the differences in the critter world, we will apply this knowledge to each other.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnscope/2544113333/" target="_blank" title="Beetles by robynejay, on Flickr"><img alt="Beetles" height="300" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3081/2544113333_31594ed5aa.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>Photo by Robynejay, Flickr - CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 </em></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: orange;">3. Be inspired</span></strong><br />
Find artistic inspiration in the colours, patterns and textures of creepy crawlies and their homes. Let them inspire your <a href="http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/223070/list/Insects-for-Your-Interiors" target="_blank">decorating</a>, writing, doodles or provide a focus for your photography. Check out artists like <a href="http://www.janedavenport.com.au/" target="_blank">Jane Davenport</a>, famous for her ladybird photos and <a href="http://www.butterflyalphabet.com/" target="_blank">Kjell Sandved</a> who spent 24 years finding the alphabet in the patterns of butterfly wings. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/janedavenport/3945497469/" target="_blank" title="Walking on Clouds - Jane Davenport by Jane Davenport {ARTomologist}, on Flickr"><img alt="Walking on Clouds - Jane Davenport" height="200" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3532/3945497469_1cdbc51f3b.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>Photo</em>: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/janedavenport/3945497469/"><em><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Walking on Clouds" by Jane Davenport</span></em></a> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>used with permission </em><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">©<em> </em></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: orange;">4. Discover patience and inner peace</span></strong><br />
Take 10 minutes out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life, be still and just observe. Watch a <a href="http://youtu.be/gV6k81gdLS0" target="_blank">butterfly flitter</a> from flower to flower. Breathe. Take in the world around you. It’s an amazing place and you will feel so much better for it.</span></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: orange;">5. Spend time Bonding</span></strong><br />
Creepy crawlies are the perfect way to bond with your child. Take them on bug explorations. Photograph (or draw) your shared experience and use the photos to engage in further research, conversation and preserve precious memories. </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/salimfadhley/108379814/" target="_blank" title="The gift of a Frog by salimfadhley, on Flickr"><img alt="The gift of a Frog" height="200" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/42/108379814_2a1d8da7fd.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>Photo by Salimfadhley, Flickr - CC BY-SA 2.0</em></span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: orange;">6. Face your fears</span></strong><br />
What are you afraid of? You are so much bigger than any butterfly, slug or creepy crawly. Yes, some can bite, sting and are </span><a href="http://www.spiders.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">poisonous.</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> But, <em>most are harmless</em> and it is important not to pass on unfounded fears to your children. Take the time to identify the more common creatures around you and teach your children which ones require expert handling, and which ones are touchable. Many internet sites can assist with species identification, as can your local school or </span><a href="http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bugwise/"><span style="font-size: small;">museum</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">.<br />
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<em>Slime can be fun … really!</em><br />
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</span><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Come on the journey with me. </strong><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: orange;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/bOFxF" title="Subscribe to my feed"><strong><span><span style="font-size: small;">Follow my blog. </span></span></strong></a></span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"> </span></div></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: orange;">Together we will discover more of what we can learn from “loving butterflies, slugs and all things creepy crawly”</span></strong></span> </span></div><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/swamibu/5499578671/" target="_blank" title="Butterfly whisperer by Swamibu, on Flickr"><img alt="Butterfly whisperer" height="169" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5217/5499578671_758d80026c.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>Photo by Swamibu, Flickr - <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em>CC BY-NC 2.0</em></span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em> </em></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><em></em></span></em></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-21215225246237813912011-08-07T11:30:00.009+08:002011-09-01T11:40:36.119+08:00Why Creepy Crawlies? (Narrating Personal Interest)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nzG-7QTtddwsoPbKRZm4dfEsNT8vkNlBvJ0g7cLXtWy3Zs0AzuxnTviWBNBcdynOftj_nKdIBTRDMmRq89HS88Zm3ZegQC0Y4CbZlMaHGJBR4EColrA92Oy7wB8ttzWljmOHRDvC7sE/s1600/Seaching+for+tadpoles+-+photo+by+Debbie+Rudd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nzG-7QTtddwsoPbKRZm4dfEsNT8vkNlBvJ0g7cLXtWy3Zs0AzuxnTviWBNBcdynOftj_nKdIBTRDMmRq89HS88Zm3ZegQC0Y4CbZlMaHGJBR4EColrA92Oy7wB8ttzWljmOHRDvC7sE/s320/Seaching+for+tadpoles+-+photo+by+Debbie+Rudd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Debbie Rudd - </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">CC BY NC ND</span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;">, used with permission</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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<strong><em><span style="color: orange;">“Hold out your hands….be still….I’m going to show you something incredibly special…”</span></em></strong><br />
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Why am I interested in butterflies, slugs and all things creepy crawly? It’s because it reminds me of the special times I spent bonding with my father as a child. I was (and still am) my father’s princess and I adore, admire and respect him. <br />
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Skipping and dancing I followed my father everywhere, his little shadow. As he worked in the garden in the evenings, often by the light of my dancing torch, or as we walked through bushland on the weekends, he would pop insects, lizards and all manner of creatures into my hands to observe. We carefully over-turned rocks, waded through creeks and peered into trees and bushes. <br />
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<blockquote>“Look… a <a href="http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Pink-winged-Phasma/Podacanthus/typhon.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">stick insect</span></a>. The colours on the outside camouflage it, but look at the amazing colour on the underside of its wings – reds and pinks.”</blockquote><blockquote><i>“See the <a href="http://steveaxford.smugmug.com/Living-Things/Animals-the-consumers-birds/Reptiles-and-amphibians/3229840_jPZSV#178441595_5QmTJ" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">dragon lizard</span></a> waving one leg in the air.. It looks like its saying 'tata' (goodbye), but it’s just cooling its foot down because the ground is so hot.”</i><br />
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<i>“Shhh…. listen …you can hear the <a href="http://sci-s03.bacs.uq.edu.au/ins-info/Cic4.htm#Tick-tock" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">cicada</span></a> telling us summer is here….tick, tick, tock. Follow the sound and we should find one…. and if you look very carefully at the base of a tree you might find an empty larvae case.”</i><br />
<i></i></blockquote><i></i>Being still enough to find and observe the creatures shown to me was like a form of meditation. My father’s patient, soft spoken and gentle nature was a calming and soothing influence and one of the best lessons in both parenting and self-preservation I could have learned. <br />
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Now, I have children of my own and it’s such a pleasure to see their faces light up when I spend time with them, sharing experiences, examining all the wonderful, unusual….and sometimes-scary creatures in this world. We often pull over, when driving, to watch a snake sunbaking, to examine a spider web glistening in the car’s headlights or to investigate what is living in the waterlogged road verges during winter. These frequent stops make the journey just as rewarding as the destination. <br />
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I know I have done my job as a parent, just as my father did, when I see my children escaping outside, sitting quietly and finding inner peace while observing butterflies, slugs and all things creepy crawly. Again, I am reminded of my special bond with my father.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: orange;">“Hold out your hands.…be still….I’m going to show you something incredibly special…”</span></i></b><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs_y2Ooa2us0yDLp_QgZ0hDCw3D838Yt2G_dw399bXU9pVibUbPEQRAkB1ClXPvZILG-TcSKoTDjon1weALognG3DAr0kAkgBmtIhywt6Cq1N95e4KQCi-8YkrLvvVI8lD_e5YC-L3Kk/s1600/Hold+out+your+hands+-+photo+by+Debbie+Rudd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs_y2Ooa2us0yDLp_QgZ0hDCw3D838Yt2G_dw399bXU9pVibUbPEQRAkB1ClXPvZILG-TcSKoTDjon1weALognG3DAr0kAkgBmtIhywt6Cq1N95e4KQCi-8YkrLvvVI8lD_e5YC-L3Kk/s320/Hold+out+your+hands+-+photo+by+Debbie+Rudd.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Debbie Rudd - </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">CC BY NC ND</span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;">, used with permission</span> </div><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">P</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">hoto by Debbie Rudd - </span><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">CC BY NC ND</span></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;">, used with permission</span> <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="253" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/go4MqVq9HVM" width="320"></iframe></small>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-57894769327436644172011-07-30T16:23:00.008+08:002011-08-21T14:58:40.175+08:00Crawling with Geckos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a 1em;?="" ;="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PLDOg9jD3rUhn77IsrMBT1hgWc_SwontW4mOZ7xEMUnvDobYWHVFjm2Fh8Qgprh0sdpAUmq_dQGLr4xJoah3aeYufVZa05D8O9OhfU2XxbjP6JfSgLhBKEgVpF6Svmt9wbGD-YQOILI/s1600/Creatures---Handfulls-of-Lizards-3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PLDOg9jD3rUhn77IsrMBT1hgWc_SwontW4mOZ7xEMUnvDobYWHVFjm2Fh8Qgprh0sdpAUmq_dQGLr4xJoah3aeYufVZa05D8O9OhfU2XxbjP6JfSgLhBKEgVpF6Svmt9wbGD-YQOILI/s320/Creatures---Handfulls-of-Lizards-3.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSD_N8YPtIVrbsLVeViA7Ro9OZqd36f006SmM1i8M6C1HPtDJWBdMqsrb1Fgl1biEg-AV7Y8rN4oAbwe21FfJoNerQP9aVjiCm0I4a6lSF8xkTglx78QIoKCI5alILAd5PMTNX-_8Fb4/s1600/Creatures---cutting-down-palm-fronds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqSD_N8YPtIVrbsLVeViA7Ro9OZqd36f006SmM1i8M6C1HPtDJWBdMqsrb1Fgl1biEg-AV7Y8rN4oAbwe21FfJoNerQP9aVjiCm0I4a6lSF8xkTglx78QIoKCI5alILAd5PMTNX-_8Fb4/s200/Creatures---cutting-down-palm-fronds.jpg" width="103" /></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s time to prune the palm trees and I worry about my husband balanced on the top of an extended fire ladder. It is a long, long way up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Using a pruning saw and a length of rope he cuts, pulls and coaxes bunches of berries, spent palm fronds and closed pods from the palm. The berries crash to the ground with an earth shaking thump, the pods spear aggressively into the ground.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">However, every now and then he lowers a frond down on a rope. Gently, gently. </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">These fronds are for me to look at, sheltering little surprises: doe-eyed geckos, a clew of worms, or an occasional spider. There are lots of geckos this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I struggle to hold all of them at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I try to photograph them with one hand, they run up my arm and out of focus. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They won’t behave and pose for the camera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love the feel of their soft padded feet and looking at the colour variations and camouflaging patterns on their scaly skin. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">I</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"> have to be careful not to frighten them too much or they will drop their tails in an effort to distract me, so they can escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the tail will regrow, it is where lizards store their fat supplies to keep them healthy and last them through winter or when food is scarce. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">When the pruning has been finished, I release the geckos onto the trunk of the palm tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They don’t take long to run to the top and find a place to hide at the base of the remaining leaves. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least the geckos are not scared of heights.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDC-ocyLzKmxpZ5Ky40rcl9vextf4FOmMRnxf5u_oeT1zVmpqlz3dG2zERHQjnLAH4hd_4uZRDTwIRJ3YyYDZ3C_d-83zVM0K5e7nLop6sBUs8xxMfY28fE2hFodm-avmgey2sU3O_9Ok/s1600/Creatures---Handfulls-of-Lizards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDC-ocyLzKmxpZ5Ky40rcl9vextf4FOmMRnxf5u_oeT1zVmpqlz3dG2zERHQjnLAH4hd_4uZRDTwIRJ3YyYDZ3C_d-83zVM0K5e7nLop6sBUs8xxMfY28fE2hFodm-avmgey2sU3O_9Ok/s400/Creatures---Handfulls-of-Lizards.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-cpq5xVPFFnX5YV-vfJrKvnZdFgvz8hyphenhyphenPl3aKmH4qXjn6ypv8gLnMh9NOqwe6sq0mlfegwL7gkkhEOsZG6olIy6sF64_8f4vKyCYbjRVNET3RAY4q_zUnG5oCvdj2lRLiSCc2auqHDk/s1600/Creatures---Handfulls-of-Lizards-escaping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-cpq5xVPFFnX5YV-vfJrKvnZdFgvz8hyphenhyphenPl3aKmH4qXjn6ypv8gLnMh9NOqwe6sq0mlfegwL7gkkhEOsZG6olIy6sF64_8f4vKyCYbjRVNET3RAY4q_zUnG5oCvdj2lRLiSCc2auqHDk/s400/Creatures---Handfulls-of-Lizards-escaping.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="325" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/IkV1zMh_GQk?rel=0" width="400"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-71917968048349355032010-10-31T09:28:00.004+08:002011-09-01T11:38:32.827+08:00Lots of lizards<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">On the weekend, a typical Perth, blue sky, sunny day, we went four wheel driving with a number of friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, in the middle of the track was a large ‘sleepy Joe’, also known as a bob tail skink or blue tongue lizard. So we stopped to get it off the track before it was run over. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course everyone came to see why we’d stopped so suddenly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With so many people around the lizard, it couldn’t be convinced to move in the right direction, so my husband picked it up to take it off the track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As expected, the lizard wasn’t particularly happy about being handled, opened its mouth threateningly and showed that wonderful, distinctive blue tongue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/5122472196/" title="Say "Argggh" by Kaz Creatures, on Flickr"><img alt="Say "Argggh"" height="180" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/5122472196_5d11bf994c_m.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Further along on our expedition I noticed something move behind one of the cars as they were trying to pull up off the main track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was out of the vehicle in a flash, camera in hand, so I could photograph a beautiful goanna with golden stripes on its belly. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being one of Australia’s faster lizards, it didn’t hang around for long, raced off and ducked under a rock ledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband, who followed, stepped onto a large sheet of stone that rocked back and forth. Worrying that he might have crushed some wildlife under the rock, he lifted it, only to discover an amazing barking gecko.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Handling it gently, we checked that it hadn’t been hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hadn’t. It was photographed and released it. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Seeing these three completely different lizards was a great experience, especially as some of our friends were new to Australia and hadn’t seen anything like this before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I particularly loved seeing the leaf gecko as I’d not seen one of these in the wild before, and geckos would have to be one of my</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> favourite</span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> creatures. It just shows what you can see when you take the time to look around you when in the bush. Australia has lots of amazing lizards.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/5122473382/" title="Barking Gecko by Kaz Creatures, on Flickr"><img alt="Barking Gecko" height="186" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/5122473382_ff4f159633_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-14107694443105790252010-10-29T09:15:00.002+08:002011-08-21T15:03:59.164+08:00To spray, or not to spray, that is the dilemma<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Its spring and my roses are covered in aphids. They’re destroying the new shoots, sucking the sap, withering the rosebuds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love my roses. I love having huge bouquets in the lounge and on the dining table with their perfume filling the house. If I want my roses I must eliminate the aphids. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must spray.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I went outside to “kill the little suckers”. Instead I ended up watching them – and all the other little insects. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Couldn’t help myself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed black ants forming a trail up the rose plants to milk the aphids of their sweet excretions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed brightly</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-AU; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> coloured</span><span lang="EN-AU" style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">lady birds and their larvae voraciously eating the aphids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I noticed green caterpillars eating holes through the middle of the rose buds (now I want to kill them too – but then I wouldn’t get the pretty butterflies) and a variety of tiny wasps buzzing around picking out prey. Now if I spray I will kill more than just aphids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To spray or not to spray – that is my dilemma. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I think I’ll just go and shoot them with the camera.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxtTz9JTG1GCfiJxKf1iwsVfYmRNztSnm-spOQ1azDzGYvAFj0-qldKdzsnvpXLYSDoxj6MqndQHUNLu0hniXNbJIUNSQSkjL8MztidOdR6WHIoA3kKUWmhxTUd6zEuSBObKFeZKHAZQ/s1600/Ladybird-and-aphids-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxtTz9JTG1GCfiJxKf1iwsVfYmRNztSnm-spOQ1azDzGYvAFj0-qldKdzsnvpXLYSDoxj6MqndQHUNLu0hniXNbJIUNSQSkjL8MztidOdR6WHIoA3kKUWmhxTUd6zEuSBObKFeZKHAZQ/s320/Ladybird-and-aphids-1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-11141238157737297982010-10-28T13:56:00.003+08:002011-08-21T15:04:52.905+08:00Cemetery, Place for Renewed Life<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">My husband and I stopped off at the old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toodyay,_Western_Australia" target="_blank">Toodyay</a> Cemetery trying to find more information about long dead relatives and photograph any of their headstones we could locate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the process I came across an old, very weathered, cracked, wooden headstone with, what I thought, was an unusual creature perhaps beetle on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So with my desire to share all amazing creatures, I raced off to grab my husband to check out what I’d found, and to see if he could identify it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">When we returned I noticed its shape had changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a beetle at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took some time to work out that it was a butterfly newly emerged from its chrysalis and we were getting the rare opportunity of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/5122319550/in/set-72157625257258588/" target="_blank">watching it expand its wings</a> ready for its first flight. We watched and were awe-struck with this amazing process.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We find it quite ironic that a beautiful ‘new life’ emerged from a place of the dead.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">….Oh, and I still haven’t been able to identify what type of butterfly it is. So if anyone can help it would be appreciated.</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/5122320458/" title="Butterfly New Life 2 by Kaz Creatures, on Flickr"><img alt="Butterfly New Life 2" height="180" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1194/5122320458_baf8b9425c_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/5121721861/" title="Butterfly New Life 8 by Kaz Creatures, on Flickr"><img alt="Butterfly New Life 8" height="180" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1310/5121721861_092bb72db8_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-34359662016327568042010-10-28T09:07:00.005+08:002011-09-01T11:36:08.289+08:00Slugs<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Isn’t it wonderful how children have a natural fascination with the creatures in our world, even the slimy ones?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">My nephew, who is autistic and my daughter have always loved to find quiet nooks in the garden to relax and de-stress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They spend hours examining leaves, flowers and ‘creatures’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They use all their senses – smelling the perfume of the flowers and crushing scented leaves; listening to the sound of insects and the creak of the trees; feeling the different textures, feeling insects, caterpillars and slugs crawl over their hands, looking closely at all the tiny elements and colour that make up a backyard garden; talking and singing quietly to themselves the whole time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I deliberate plant gardens with as much variety as possible, both for the children and to provide a home for insects, lizards, birds and frogs and any other creature that finds its way in.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Recently the kids went outside to play in the sandpit only to discover it still contained the sandpit toys, but had been emptied of sand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In amongst all the toys were <a href="http://kazcreatures.wikispaces.com/Slugs" target="_blank">slugs – lots of slugs</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of being upset they sat in the empty sandpit letting the slugs glide over their hands for hours. Feeding them blades of grass, being fascinated by the slug’s mouth and how the optic and sensory tentacles retracted when touched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, they had to wash all the slime from their hands when they came inside, but they had fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were peaceful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They giggled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were gentle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They enjoyed an amazing creature that we usually just try and eliminate from our gardens.</span></span></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kazscreatures/5122330528/" title="Slugs by Kaz Creatures, on Flickr"><img alt="Slugs" height="180" src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1159/5122330528_ec8e81474a_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For an interesting look at how leopard slugs reproduce view the following video from the BBC wildlife show and hosted by Sir David Attenborough.</span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/FhVi4Z6CjZk?rel=0" width="560"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2003616294903889741.post-49931422587509198342010-10-27T09:46:00.004+08:002011-08-21T15:07:16.937+08:00Just Wandering<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I thought I’d start my first blog by talking about the wonderful 'butterflies' photo I’ve used as the backdrop for by blog. I love the contrasting colours with the brilliant blue Perth sky, the white of the <a href="http://kazcreatures.wikispaces.com/Xanthorrhoea+%28Grass+Trees%29" target="_blank">grass tree</a> flowers and the orange and black of the <a href="http://kazcreatures.wikispaces.com/Monarch+Butterfly" target="_blank">Monarch (Wanderer) Butterfly</a>. The photo was actually taken by my 15 year old son (used with permission) when we went for a bush walk in the hills region of Perth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We stepped out into a clearing, with lots of wildflowers and grass trees in flower, nearly treading on the masses of butterflies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were everywhere. I’ve never seen so many butterflies in one place or anything so pretty before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I raced off and grabbed the rest of our group to ‘come and see’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the kind of nature experience that needs to be shared. </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6sXN8A8CH-oELlBeXJn9Emynxahjy_USacGi-haukY8FI2zwBws8pVbU6goK6buxRotDGr858hy7GCoKIH2P3PEVkyhneb_90FiEqi-7bfnVj8X9O581QVL8llv4pn-4A1BVE723f_yA/s1600/Butterflies-1-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6sXN8A8CH-oELlBeXJn9Emynxahjy_USacGi-haukY8FI2zwBws8pVbU6goK6buxRotDGr858hy7GCoKIH2P3PEVkyhneb_90FiEqi-7bfnVj8X9O581QVL8llv4pn-4A1BVE723f_yA/s320/Butterflies-1-web.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0