dinosaursock

[dinosaursock]

I made a gingerbread tree today!

Last night I fell asleep looking at this ask

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Found this on facebook but reposting to SAVE A LIFE.

Or at least some of y’all’s GPAs.

You’re welcome.

[dinosaursock]

Found this on facebook but reposting to SAVE A LIFE.

Or at least some of y’all’s GPAs.

You’re welcome.

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[dinosaursock]

in tears rn

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my mom got a new vacuum and waited till I got home from work to empty it because she wanted to show me how much dust was in the living room. shes currently vacuuming my slippers.

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Can’t believe Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice in the 2000s

And in 2015 Emily Brontë released literary clsssic Wuthering Heights

Thank God someone paved the way for them…

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trying to get one person to understand the other person’s mental illnesses and trying to get that person to understand the other person’s ideas about making their life better but no one is listening and my pajamas are damp with tears and snot

sorry I’m dumping this into the void because I don’t know who to talk to

I don’t know what to do and I’m trying to fix things that honestly aren’t even mine to fix and I’m trying to get these people to understand each other but I can’t and now all three of us are crying in separate rooms and I want to fix it I want to make everyone happy but that’s not how this works. It feels so hopeless.

[dinosaursock]

sorry I’m dumping this into the void because I don’t know who to talk to

I don’t know what to do and I’m trying to fix things that honestly aren’t even mine to fix and I’m trying to get these people to understand each other but I can’t and now all three of us are crying in separate rooms and I want to fix it I want to make everyone happy but that’s not how this works. It feels so hopeless.

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life sucks and then you die

but sometimes you see a cool bug and that makes it worth it

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[dinosaursock]

Yellowjacket-Mimicking Moth: this is just a harmless moth that mimics the appearance and behavior of a yellowjacket/wasp; its disguise is so convincing that it can even fool actual wasps

This species of moth (Myrmecopsis polistes) is one of the most impressive wasp-mimics in the world. The moth's narrow waist, teardrop-shaped abdomen, black-and-yellow patterning, transparent wings, smooth appearance, and folded wing position all mimic the features of a wasp. Unlike an actual wasp, however, it does not have any mandibles or biting/chewing mouthparts, because it's equipped with a proboscis instead, and it has noticeably "feathery" antennae.

There are many moths that use hymenopteran mimicry (the mimicry of bees, wasps, yellowjackets, hornets, and/or bumblebees, in particular) as a way to deter predators, and those mimics are often incredibly convincing. Myrmecopsis polistes is one of the best examples, but there are several other moths that have also mastered this form of mimicry.

Above: Pseudosphex laticincta, another moth species that mimics a yellowjacket

These disguises often involve more than just a physical resemblance; in many cases, the moths also engage in behavioral and/or acoustic mimicry, meaning that they can mimic the sounds and behaviors of their hymenopteran models. In some cases, the resemblance is so convincing that it even fools actual wasps/yellowjackets.

Above: Pseudosphex laticincta

Such a detailed and intricate disguise is unusual even among mimics. Researchers believe that it developed partly as a way for the moth to trick actual wasps into treating it like one of their own. Wasps frequently prey upon moths, but they are innately non-aggressive toward their own fellow nest-mates, which are identified by sight -- so if the moth can convincingly impersonate one of those nest-mates, then it can avoid being eaten by wasps.

Above: Pseudosphex laticincta

I gave an overview of the moths that mimic bees, wasps, yellowjackets, hornets, and bumblebees in one of my previous posts, but I felt that these two species (Myrmecopsis polistes and Pseudosphex laticincta) deserved to have their own dedicated post, because these are two of the most convincing mimics I have ever seen.

Above: Pseudosphex sp.

I think that moths in general are probably the most talented mimics in the natural world. They have so many intricate, unique disguises, and they often combine visual, behavioral, and acoustic forms of mimicry in order to produce an uncanny resemblance. Moths are just so much more interesting than people generally realize.

Sources & More Info:

Journal of Ecology and Evolution: A Hypothesis to Explain Accuracy of Wasp Resemblances

Entomology Today: In Enemy Garb: A New Explanation for Wasp Mimicry

iNaturalist: Myrmecopsis polistes and Pseudosphex laticincta

Transactions of the Entomological Society of London: A Few Observations on Mimicry

[dinosaursock]

Hoping on the “American healthcare sucks” bandwagon to say my uncle died because he was rushed out of multiple emergency rooms. No one took his symptoms seriously, which he had for days. He was a big bald man with a ton of tattoos, and they admitted to profiling him thinking he was just looking for drugs. READ THAT AGAIN. THE ER PROFILED HIM. He knew something was wrong, my mom knew something was seriously wrong and they all sent him away. Even a top hospital in Boston, who performed his heart transplant, knew he was coming and needed help, did not take care of him. He died alone in his apartment.

Fuck. The. System.

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Know your enemy.

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yeah baby fuck that melon up !!!!!!!

@rotted-angels submitted: I have a lotta bug photos but heres these buds having a watermelon treat last summer

At first glance I thought this was a horrible pile of flesh lmao. Glad it's just watermelon and they're enjoying a lil nibble :)

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