sinobug:

Meanwhile, at the rear of the queue......Gray-veined White (Pieris melete, Pieridae)Ricanid Planthopper Nymph (Ricaniidae)Iceryine Scale Insect (Icerya sp., Monophlebidae, Coccoidea)Tussock Moth (Lymantria sp., Lymantriinae)Flatid Planthopper (Cryptoflata guttularis, Flatidae)Drepanid Moth (Ditrigona triangularia, Drepaninae)Zygaenid Day-flying Moth Caterpillar (Agalope sp., Chalcosiinae)Drepanid Moth (Auzata sp., Drepaninae)Eye Looper Moth (Problepsis vulgaris, Sterrhinae, Geometridae)Puss Moth (Paracerura (Cerura) sp., Notodontidae)Crambid Moth (Palpita sp., Spilomelinae)

Click individual images to see identification (linked to my Flickr page)…..

See my other posts in the Colours in Nature Series HERE.

See more Chinese insects and spiders on my Flickr site HERE……

If you guys aren’t following Sinobug, I don’t know what you’re doing with yourselves.  John Horstman has got to be the best contributor of original, beautiful, engaging and fascinatingly mind-blowing content on all of tumblr. Srsly. He brings an alien world to life. 

The Brain Scoop Episode 25: 
Chicago Adventure, Part 1: Beetles ‘n Bats

The first episode of our adventure to the Chicago Field Museum is finally up!  There was SO MUCH to see and take in; this video only captures about the first 2 hours of my visit, so there is a lot more to see in future episodes. 

I seriously can’t get over that hammerhead bat.  Really, nature? You crazy. 

Here I am assisting in skinning a giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactylawith mammal prep staff at the Chicago Field Museum back in April.  We made bets on how much we thought this large male weighed - estimates were anywhere from 52-78lbs.  Actual weight was 82lbs (37kg), if I remember correctly.  The mammal prep lab manager, Anna, did the majority of the work on this specimen, but was nice enough to let me jump in at the end and help out. Bottom picture is me cutting around the gonads.  

Before you ask - I’m not wearing gloves because in many circumstances it’s arguably safer.  It allows you to get a much better grip on the specimen, which gives you more control over your instruments and the specimen, and no, I’m not really concerned with contracting some kind of awful disease if I had accidentally cut myself.  Wearing gloves and similar precautions are taken more seriously when dealing with primate specimens.  I’m not saying that it’s always advisable to go in bare-handed, just that some institutions approach procedures differently. 

Thanks to Marisol Cowan for the photos! 

A rare grey-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes oreas) from Nigeria.

A rare grey-necked Rockfowl (Picathartes oreas) from Nigeria.

Reposted from my personal blog. 

Reposted from my personal blog

Deformed antlers of a whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus). No data.

Deformed antlers of a whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus). No data.

Anonymous asked: if you had to describe the whole experience of getting, skinning and gutting the wolf in one word - what word would you use?

Religious. 

Visual cacophony.

Visual cacophony.

——
I’d appreciate a heads up before a complete stranger enveloped me in an embrace, but I typically don’t mind.  These situations usually play out something like this: 
(In public; lock eyes with random person. Random person does not look away.)Me: (in my head) they know. person: (stares)Me: (paranoid) do they know? or do I just have something weird on my face? person: (keeps staring)me: omg they know everything about me I bet they’re from PETA they’re going to throw pigs blood on me and wish a plague upon my houseperson: (pause) … ARE YOU EMILY FROM THE BRAIN SCOOP?!me: ohthankgod. Yes. Hello. I’m Emily. Hugs, chats, signing of paper product/arms/clothing commences, pictures are taken, my heart swells with joy and appreciation, and we go on our merry ways. 

——

I’d appreciate a heads up before a complete stranger enveloped me in an embrace, but I typically don’t mind.  These situations usually play out something like this: 

(In public; lock eyes with random person. Random person does not look away.)
Me: (in my head) they know. 
person: (stares)
Me: (paranoid) do they know? or do I just have something weird on my face? 
person: (keeps staring)
meomg they know everything about me I bet they’re from PETA they’re going to throw pigs blood on me and wish a plague upon my house
person: (pause) … ARE YOU EMILY FROM THE BRAIN SCOOP?!
meohthankgod. Yes. Hello. I’m Emily. 
Hugs, chats, signing of paper product/arms/clothing commences, pictures are taken, my heart swells with joy and appreciation, and we go on our merry ways. 

biomedicalephemera:

American Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber

Flamingos aren’t naturally pink! They get their coloration from beta carotene found in the blue-green algae they consume. The flamingos that consume blue-green algae directly are much pinker than flamingos that primarily consume the blue-green algae secondhand (via zooplankton/brine shrimp). 

Flamingos are also unique in their method of eating - their bills are designed to scoop the bottom sediment and then filter out the mud and silt, leaving only the blue-green algae or the brine shrimp in their mouth. They shake their head back and forth under the water after scooping up the sediment. The big, fleshy tongue of the flamingo pushes water back and forth in the mouth and facilitates the filtering of all that mud. They also swallow their food while their head is upside-down! The meaty tongue used to be considered a delicacy among the Roman elite.

Images:
Nature Neighbors: Embracing Birds, Plants, and Minerals. Nathanial Moore Banta for the American Audubon Association, 1914.

Osteologia Avium; or, A sketch of the osteology of birds. T.C. Eyton, 1867.

Just look at that tiny tiny little body.  Oh, Flamingo. How do you hold your heavy head up on that skinny little neck?  You look so unfeasible and I love you. 

Love,

Emily 

scishow:

Telepathic Rats and a Red-lored Amazon: SciShow Talk Show #10

Emily Graslie of The Brain Scoop is back again to stump Hank and to tell us about some fascinating new research in the field of rat telepathy (NO JOKE). Then Jessi from Animal Wonders shares Zoe the Red-lored Amazon parrot.


Want more Emily? Check out The Brain Scoop! http://www.youtube.com/thebrainscoop
Learn more about Zoe! http://www.animalwonders.org/zoe.html
Want more animals? Check out Animal Wonders Inc. at http://www.animalwonders.org or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/anmlwndrs

Like SciShow? Want to help support us, and also get things to put on your walls, cover your torso and hold your liquids? Check out our awesome products over at DFTBA Records: http://dftba.com/artist/52/SciShow

References
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/nueroscience/science-can-now-create-telepathic-rats-15155052

Skulls! News stories! Pretty birds! 

the beauty of The Brain Scoop
from the episode Most of a Bear [x]

That was a good day. 

(Source: dylansdream)

Some blogs you should follow…

somuchscience:

in the name of SCIENCE:

for fantastic photos:

for kicks, giggles, et cetera:

Yes.

disadvantaged-fromthestart asked: if taxidermy humans was morally ok, would you get yourself stuffed when you die?

I really don’t know - probably not.  There are so many better and more useful alternatives.  I’d like to be fed to a colony of beetles, but I pity the person who has to flesh my skeleton ahead of time.  I would be happy to donate my body to science in whatever capacity possible.  If I had a family that thought both of these options were weird, I’d consent to a green burial. But, really - throw my body on a burning raft and send it over a waterfall and I’ll be good to go.