#Pest Insects On Flowers

[yardenercom]

Do birds eat slugs?

Encourage slug eating birds like thrushes and robins into your garden for free pest control! Set up feeders and habitat to attract these beneficial birds that will happily feast on slugs and snails infesting your vegetable plots and flower beds. Supplement with physical barriers for complete protection.

[jenfoundabug]

Questing for cucumbers

Acalymma vittatum, Pennsylvania

[crudlynaturephotos]

[inthecityofgoodabode]

May 2023: The Good, The Bad & The Tasty

Striped sweat bee doing what they do best... pollinate: 

Volunteer runner beans: 

A Common Clearwing moth. This is the moth that lays the eggs that produce squash vine borers. Given their coloration & being diurnal, it is easy to see why they are sometimes mistaken for wasps. This one got stomped: 

Surf & Turf - chimichurri steak, grilled tilapia with grilled vegetables & grilled limes: 

Dinner tonight: 

[glamnessaaumisc]

Moar Discord Requests

She's so precious uwu

[gelastocoridae]

DEET is the oldest, most studied and reliable insect repellant (the next being picaridin, which is less toxic or absorptive, but not nearly as time-tested). However, its exact function for how it repells is still uncertain and:

While DEET isn't an insecticide, it is still a neurotoxin, and could be leaving negative impacts on more delicate wildlife such as pollinators, fish, and insectivorous birds (including hummingbirds! and swallows that cut down on mosquito populations!)

Please use only as directed. Do not spray it into clouds of bugs, puddles, streams, flowerbeds, bushes, or grasses around you as though it's an insecticide; other animals will end up consuming it like one.

I'm trying to write a post about tick safety and avoiding tick bites, but a lot of the info on websites is like "Avoid going in the woods, in plants, and where there are wild animals" and "Activities like hiking and gardening can put you at risk" and I'm like thanks! This is worthless!

As ticks and tick borne illnesses are expanding their range, I think it's important for people to be educated about these things, and I think it's especially important to give people actual advice on how to protect themselves instead of telling them to just...avoid the natural world

Rough draft version of Tick Advice:

Ticks don't jump down on you from trees, they get on you when you brush against grass, brush, bushes etc.

Ticks get brought to an area when they get done feeding from an animal and fall off them. In the USA, the main tick-bringing animal is deer, but I've seen plenty ticks on feral cats and songbirds.

Ticks get killed when they dry out so drier areas with more sunlight are less favorable to ticks.

The above is useful for figuring out whether an area is likely to have lots of ticks, and how vigilant you have to be in that area.

Wear light-colored, long pants outside. Tuck your pants into your socks, and tuck your shirt into the waist of your pants. Invest in light, breathable fabrics idc

IMMEDIATELY change out of your outside clothes when you come back from a tick-prone area, wash them, and dry them on high heat to kill any ticks that might be stuck on.

Shower and check yourself for ticks after coming inside. Hair, armpits, and nether regions in particular. You can use a handheld mirror or rely on touch; an attached tick will feel like a bump kinda like a scab

While you're outside, you can just periodically check for ticks by running your hands down your legs and checking visually to see if anything is crawling on your clothes. Light colors make them easy to spot, and they don't move fast.

Combing through each others' hair to check for creepy crawly critters is a time-honored primate ritual and is not weird. When hiking, bring a friend who will have your back when you feel something on your neck and need to know if it's sweat or a tick

If you're careful, you can usually catch ticks before they bite you, but if one does bite you, it's not the end of the world. Since tickborne diseases are different regionally i suspect this advice will differ based on where you are, but the important thing is remove the tick with tweezers (DON'T use butter, a lit match, or anything that kills the tick while it's still attached, please) and contact a doctor to see what to watch for. Most illnesses you can catch from ticks are easily treatable if you recognize them when symptoms first appear

[cselandscapearchitect]

Arizona Ash Trees: A Guide to Addressing Distorted Growth and Decline

The Arizona Ash (Fraxinus velutina) is a beloved staple in desert landscaping. Known for its fast growth and lush canopy, this deciduous tree provides ample shade in arid environments like Arizona, where relief from the intense sun is a top priority. Reaching heights of 30 to 50 feet with a spread of 40 to 60 feet, the Arizona Ash is a powerhouse when it comes to creating a cooling oasis in urban…

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Blister Beetles: Pretty colors, serious powers

🌿🐞 Did you know about Nuttall’s Blister Beetles? These vibrant insects are a part of our local parks and greenspaces, often found on flowers like lupines and milk-vetch.  🌼 While they may look beautiful with their bright colors, handling them can be risky!  🚫 Their bodies contain cantharidin, a toxin that causes skin blistering if mishandled. Here’s how to enjoy nature safely:  👀 Spot them…

[literaryvein-reblogs]

more words for worldbuilding (pt. 2)

ANIMALS

Animal: adult, beast, buck, cat, chicken, cur, father, frog, goat, half-breed, horse, hybrid, litter, mongrel, monster, parasite, pig, stock, young

Bird: bird, chicken

Fish: aquarium, aquatic

Group of animals: drove, herd, insect, pack, stock, team

Insect: bee, grub, pest

Limb or appendage of: bill, coat, feather, fur, mop, pelt, scale, trunk, wing

Mammal: cat, dog, father, goat, hound, mother, pig

CLOTHING

Accessory: bag, belt, buckle, collar, pocketbook, purse, satchel

Clothing: apparel, array, bathing suit, cape, clothes/clothing, costume, dress, dungarees, falsies, frock, garment, girdle, gown, hat, jacket, negligee, nylons, pajamas, pants, quilt, scarf, skirt, suit, swimsuit, thing/things, trappings, underwear, veil, wash, wrap

Part: collar, crown, pocket, strand, tiara

State of dress: bareness, nudity, try on/try out, wear

FOOD & DRINK

Beverage: alcohol, coffee, drink, potable

Beverage, alcoholic: beer, liquor

Change in: curdle, turn

Food: appetizer, bite, brew, bun, casserole, condiment, cracker, diet, doughnut, feed, frosting, grub, helping, hors d’oeuvre, leftover, macaroni, meat, nosh, nurture, nutrition, pastry, produce, refreshment, seasoning, stew, subsistence, support, sweet, treat, vittles

Food part: morsel, nip, taste, tidbit

Meal: banquet, bite, buffet, diet, fare, picnic, repast, spread, table

Produced from animal: comfort food, feed, food, frosting, grub, hero, macaroni, sandwich, submarine, vittles

Produced from plant: condiment, doughnut, loaf, pastry, produce, sweet

Quality of: acerbity, baked, done, edible, mellow, nourishing, perishable, rare, ripe, salty, short, stale, strong, sweet, unappetizing, weak, wholesome

NATURAL RESOURCES

Electricity: beam, spark

Energy: electricity, fuel, nuclear energy, petroleum, power

Expression of energy: blast, bonfire, chill, concussion, discharge, fire, flash, noise, thunder

Natural event: eclipse, meteorology, weather

Resources: fuel, resource, rock, substance

PLANTS

Flower: bloom, bouquet, flower

Fruit: berry, produce

Growth or death of: bloom, bud, germinate, growth, wilt, wither

Part: bark, branch, cereal, flavoring, foliage, grain, juice, limb, nut, pod, scion, shell, stalk, trunk

Plant: algae, bramble, bush, crop, fossil, grass, harvest, hybrid, organism, produce, wreath

Tree: timber, wood/woods

Vegetable: produce

WEATHER

Object connected with: avalanche, breeze, climate, cold, dew, film, flurry, frost, gust, haze, hurricane, meteorology, moisture, puff, thunder, weather, wind

Quality of: breezy, clear, close, crisp, dismal, fair, fiercely, fine, furious, gloomy, hazy, humid, intimidating, misty, oppressive, raw, rugged, soft, stormy, sultry, temperate, thick, tranquil, turbulent, wild, wintry

Type of: blizzard, cloud, drizzle, fog, hail, mist, puff, rain, shower, tempest, torrent, tremor

NOTE

Excerpted from Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Updated and Expanded 3rd Edition, in Dictionary Form, edited by The Princeton Language Institute.

The above are concepts classified according to subject and usage. It not only helps writers and thinkers to organize their ideas but leads them from those very ideas to the words that can best express them.

It was, in part, created to turn an idea into a specific word. By linking together the main entries that share similar concepts, the index makes possible creative semantic connections between words in our language, stimulating thought and broadening vocabulary.

Source ⚜ Writing Basics & Refreshers ⚜ On Vocabulary

[crevicedwelling]

hello! i am a relatively new user here on tumblr, less than a year, and i have heard a comment or two about a 'wasp discourse' that happened here, that wasps are much more nice than bees or something among those lines

this caught my curiosity as im writting a wasp based character whos just an ahole as i did it on what i knew abt them from general internet and im stuck on wether i should maaayybe change them up a bit

if its not too much to ask do you happen to know a bit abt this discourse? or have a link to it? or if not to the discourse itself some other link that elaborates abt the same topic? perhaps even someone else i can ask this?

thank you very much!

to start off, there are a lot of bees and wasps in this world and it is not easy to generalize about them. there are ~20,000 bee species, and the vast majority of these are solitary bees that nest in the ground, plant stems, or in holes in wood, and because they produce no honey or have a colony to guard, have no need to be defensive or aggressive towards humans (because “towards humans” seems to be what most people base this idea off of). colonial bees, like honeybees, are actually much more defensive than solitary ones; they have huge food stores and many defenseless larvae, hence their nasty stings (or bites, for the stingless bees) and swarm defense of their hives.

bees, however, are just a family of wasps. their closest relatives are believed to be the crabronid wasps (example: cicada killers) and sphecid thread-waisted wasps (ex. mud daubers). these wasps, and most others, are also largely solitary, and hunting prey aside, don’t typically use their stings for anything other than personal defense. of the hundreds of thousands of wasps, most of them (75%) are not just solitary but also parasitoids that develop inside other insects. it’s hard to say “all wasps are assholes [to people]” when some 100,000 of them are tiny specks smaller than sesame seeds that nobody other than scientists notice.

two parasitoids: a braconid ~3mm long & something else ~0.3mm long

the wasps most people take issue with are vespids, since they like the same foods we do (sweets, meat) and have powerful stings to defend their nests. these include the social hornets, yellowjackets, and paper wasps, but many mason wasps and the like are solitary (and, you guessed it, want nothing to do with people). vespids are great predators of caterpillars, flies, and other pests that humans don’t like in addition to being pollinators.

a yellowjacket: Vespula squamosa

the usual anti-wasp, pro-bee sentiments go: wasps attack for no reason, don’t pollinate, don’t make honey, and are “assholes.” wasps do pollinate (most wasps, bees and ants don’t eat solid food, and therefore largely drink flower nectar; some plants are only pollinated by wasps).

some tropical wasps do actually make honey, though it’s not harvested by humans. it’s sort of silly to say that making honey is what makes bees “good” though—a very selfish mindset, and for example butterflies are well-liked by people despite not making any edible products for us.

wasps also attack only when provoked, either because you’re near a wasp nest or when you lean on one accidentally. they are defending their baby sisters and themselves, same as bees would. at least in the US, I think the reason that wasps are so hated is that we have many species of paper wasp and yellowjacket that are willing to nest on or under houses, while the (invasive) honeybees prefer trees or are kept by beekeepers in artificial hives, so it’s just more likely you’ll run into problems with wasps than bees.

tl;dr:

wasps and bees are neither “nice” nor “mean.”

bees are mostly loners that don’t bother people. colonial bees will sting to defend their nests or themselves from predators. most bees are pollinators, who gather pollen to feed their larvae. a few species make honey that humans harvest.

wasps are mostly loners that don’t bother people. colonial wasps will sting to defend their nests or themselves from predators. most wasps are pollinators, and most hunt or parasitize other insects to feed their larvae.

[howi99]

A knight second chance 4

Pyrrha: *looking around* ... Where did Jaune go?

Nora: *sucking tree sap like a vampire* 'unno, he 'as he'e a se'on's a'o.

Ren: I think i heard him say something about Ursa.

Pyrrha: *panicking* He could be in danger! Trying to kill them by himself.

Both Ren and Nora looked at her, deadpan

Pyrrha: W-what!?

Nora: Pyrrha, Jaune out-stamina ME during my morning routine WHILE doing twice as much. He might not be as flashy as us, But the guy just doesn't stop!

Ren: *nod* His aura control is immaculate, which is really impressive for someone who didn't have his aura unlocked until initiation.

Pyrrha: H-how... When!?

Nora: Oh he told us in the first two weeks... Wait, we didn't tell you?

Pyrrha: NO! I THOUGHT HE WAS HIDING IT!!

Nora: Eheh... Oups?

___________________________________________

Cardin: *looking at the friendly Jaune ripping the head of the ursa with his bare hands* ... Holy shit, is that why you only go for ring out!?

Jaune: *looking back at Cardin with a smile* Oh it's quite easy actually. You just have to twist the head!

Cardin: ... *Looking at the sap on the ground* And i almost threw that at your teammates as a prank. Thanks GODS i didn't, it could have been dangerous!

Jaune: Especially with rapier wasps.

Cardin: *confused* Rapier wasps? What are you talking about?

Jaune: Wait... You weren't planning on sending rapier wasps on my team?

Cardin: What!? NO! And where would we find those anyway!?

Russel: ... My girlfriend does have a wasp farm.

Cardin: *looking at his friend* WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND!?

Russel: *shrug* Her semblance gives her control over some insects and they are natural predators for most pests. She likes her garden clean.

Dove: Flower or food?

Russel: *turn to Dove* Both. Oh, by the way, she made us blue and blackberry jam!

___________________________________________

Pyrrha: *blushing* ... He barely moved when the ursa rammed into him. He stood his ground like a knight...

Ruby: *slight blush* And the way he just casually decapitated the ursa while continuing to smile, as if to say nothing wrong could happen...

Weiss: *blushing hard, staying silent* ...

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Wheel Out the Wheel Bug

The wheel bug, also known as Arilus cristatus, is a member of the assassin bug family found throughout eastern North and Central America. They thrive in a variety of environments including grasslands, deciduous and tropical forests, and gardens; anywhere where flowers are abundant.

The wheel bug is so named for the distinctive, spiny wheel-shaped hump along its thorax and abdomen. The body is otherwise elongated and dark grey with white spotting. As an assassin bug, the species also sports an enlarged proboscis for deeding. This species is also noted for being one of the largest true bugs endemic to North America, at a whopping 3.8 cm (1.5 in) long.

As an assassin bug, A. cristatus is a voracious predator within its natural habitat. Individuals catch caterpillars, beetles, sawfly larvae, aphids, and stink bugs with their long forelimbs and then inject their target with a potent paralytic, dissolving its insides and slurping up the resulting soup. Due to their spiky bodies and painful bite, the wheel bug has few natural predators. However, eggs are often prey to parasitic wasps.

Wheel bugs begin mating in September and continues throughout the fall. After mating, the female lays anywhere from 40 to 200 eggs on a leaf, in a cluster resembling a cylindrical honeycomb. The eggs incubate over the winter and juveniles emerge the following spring. They mature throughout the summer and become full adults the following fall, where they mate and then die.

Conservation status: The wheel bug has not been evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are widely dispersed throughout its range and the species is generally ecologically stable. In many areas, it is one of the only predators of other invasive or pest insect species.

Photos

Rick Kelly

Seth Ausubel

Richard Orr

[redd956]

30 Random Things to Worldbuild For Fun/When Bored

Pet Breeds

Unorthodox Jobs

Tree Species

Flower Species

Local Festivals & Fairs

Military Ranks

Weapon Laws

Pets

Insects

Local Pests

Beauty Standards

Alcohols & Recreationals

Edible Freshwater Fish Species

Local Cuisine

Children's Pastimes

Romance Rituals

Musical Instruments

Desserts

Folklore

Religious Rituals

Diseases

Genetic Anomalies

Local Prey Species

Sports

Card/Board Games

Language Dialects

Collectables

Common Brands/Companies

Stupid Laws

Uniforms Found Around Town (Jobs, Schools, Religion, Guilds, etc.)

[crudlynaturephotos]

[pupsmailbox]

BUG ID PACK

NAMES ⌇　adalia. adam. agatha. amber. andrena. ant. antony. aranea. arthro. aspen. attacus. beckett. bee. beetle. behan. benjy. bogárka. bubonic. bubonicholas. bubonick. bugsy. buzzie. býleistr. carrie. celastrina. cesare. cheli. chelicera. chrysalis. coley. cordulia. craniifer. crawly. creepy. critter. cuddlebug. dahlia. danuria. destiny. diseaselie. dishevella. dishevelle. dusk. dust. ella. ellsee. emery. eve. fern. fester. fifi. firefly. giselle. glimmer. hawk. hexa. hisser. hive. honey. hope. infestatianne. instar. jan. jeb. jed. jeddie. jeddy. jewelette. junebug. kaida. kaira. kieran. ladybird. lepidoptera. lester. lightsse. logan. lorcan. lovebug. luciole. luna. lyssa. mandela. mandibella. mandibelle. mandible. mangie. mangy. mantis. maurr. maxwell. midge. mikio. minii. mold. monarch. mordecai. mordechai. mordekai. mordy. mortimer. morty. moth. mould. naoki. nettle. ogtha. opal. osa. paul. pepper. phobianna. phoenix. ralph. ralphie. ralphy. ratianna. ratianne. ration. ravenesse. ravenette. ravenous. rex. rhene. rhyssa. roach. roark. rolf. ronan. rotgut. rowan. ruddy. rudy. ruth. salvia. scorpio. scurry. scuttle. sicknesse. sicknette. skittish. snugglebug. tawny. terry. thorax. toffee. vanessa. vespasiano. wesley. whiskey. wren. writhe.

PRONOUNS ⌇　ant/ant. antenna/antannae. antenna/antenna. anthill/anthill. aphid/aphid. arachnid/arachnid. arachnid/arachnids. arthropod/arthropod. bee/bee. bee/beetle. beet/beetle. beetle/beetle. bu/bug. bug/bug. bug/bugs. butterfly/butterfly. buzz/buzz. bzz/buzz. centipede/centipede. change/change. cicada/cicada. click/click. cloth/cloth. crawl/crawl. creepy/crawly. cricket/cricket. damp/damp. dig/dig. dirt/dirt. dragonfly/dragonfly. dusk/dusk. dust/dust. ely/elytra. en/entomology. ento/entomology. exo/exoskeleton. exoskele/exoskeleton. fate/fate. fester/fester. firefly/firefly. flea/flea. flow/flower. flutter/flutter. fly/butterfly. fly/fly. forest/forest. fy/fly. glow/glow. grey/grey. grime/grime. grime/grimy. hex/hexapod. hiss/hiss. hive/hive. hornet/hornet. hun/hungry. infect/infect. infest/infestation. inse/insect. inse/insectoid. insect/insect. insect/insectoid. it/it. jewel/jeweled. lady/ladybug. ladybug/ladybug. lamp/lamp. lice/lice. light/light. lin/linger. lost/lost. lur/lurk. mange/mangy. mant/manti. mantis/manti. millipede/millipede. mite/mite. mo/moth. mosquito/mosquito. moth/moth. night/night. pest/pesticide. pho/phobia. ro/roach. ro/roache. roach/roach. rot/gut. scarab/scarab. scurry/scurrie. scurry/scurry. scut/scuttle. sick/sickly. sick/sicknes. spider/spider. star/star. sting/sting. swarm/swarm. termite/termite. tin/tiny. twitch/twitch. venom/venom. ver/vermin. wasp/wasp. web/web. weevil/weevil. win/wing. wing/wing. worm/worm. 🐌 . 🐛 . 🐜 . 🐝 . 🐞 . 🕷 . 🦂 . 🦋 . 🦗 . 🦟 .

[dzvelinaskebiyars]

Analysis on Liu Xiao's preview.

Please keep it in mind that you might have different interpretations on him as a character and his preview so it's alright if our viewpoint is different. However, I'm trying to reach and analysis what was intended to say in the preview.

Tagging: @ammiya

Firstly, Liu Xiao as spider.

It's veryy interesting that even in the beginning, Liu Xiao is represented as a spider which already tells us what kind of person he is. We see that there's insect trapped in spider's web and the spider, Liu Xiao, is moving towards it for obvious reasons.

Let's talk about spiders in general because isn't it interesting that Liu Xiao is portrayed as spider when he can be any other predator animal? Why not wolf, for example? Why not lion? Why not panther? Why small spider when it's not even comparable to other animals and even birds, as birds often attack spiders and destroy their web? (Many birds and animals may try to eat spiders, or at the very least, they'll probably interfere with the spider's food source.)

Spiders are predators, above all else, so hunting and killing is where they really shine. In the bug world, spiders are fairly fearsome animals -- they're the tiny equivalent of wolves, lions or sharks. Different spiders employ different hunting strategies. Some species build intricate webs to ensnare passing insects. Other spiders, such as the various wolf spiders, seek their prey out on the ground. Trap door spiders dig holes, cover them up with dirt doors hinged with spider silk, and lie in wait for passing prey. Similarly, some spiders hide inside flowers to catch feeding insects by surprise. Liu Xiao is obviously the web-spinning spider that carefully and patiently makes the web and waits for the prey. Web-spinning spiders wrap their prey in a web and then crush its body with their fangs. But let's point out what this tells us about Liu Xiao. Building web requires so much time and good nerves because it can be often destroyed by other animals and even humans after it's done or in the process. This shows two of Liu Xiao's character points:patience and persistence. He carefully and patiently hunts his preys, even if it takes years. He's completely different from his brother. He's not aggressive person, he's not manipulated and he doesn't rush anything. He does it all by himself too. He's the smart, sweet-talking manipulator. Not only that, he keeps others under control like Tiachen as an example just like spiders, who keep other pests under control.

I think I should move on from Liu Xiao as a spider before someone realises I spend hours learning about them👀 (here's the link if anyone wants to know more about web-spinning spiders)

Now second is, headless angel.

Let me point out main things here: it's a statue, no head, the hand placements, the number of wings.

Firstly, let's talk about this representation as statue. We know that greeks & romans are famous for creating statues like this and there is a well-known masterpiece of greek sculpture called The Winged Victory of Samothrace. I could go on and talk more about this specific statue but I'll say it shortly, The Winged Victory Of Samothrace symbolizes the goddess Victory, or Nike, alighting on the prow of a warship. The Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of the rare Greek statues whose exact original location is known. It was made as an offering to the gods for a sanctuary on the Greek island of Samothrace. Placed at a height, people could see her from afar. That is why, in a nod to her original lofty home, she now adorns the top of the Daru staircase. Nike, the winged goddess who heralds victory, is seen just as she is about to alight on a ship. Why is that headless statues were created? It's possible that the head may fell off due to the statue being ancient but sometimes it was purposely like that. It seems the Romans deliberately created statues without heads – and for a practical reason.Headless sculptures are probably among the more iconic features of Roman art and archaeology. But rather than being incomplete due to misadventure, some of these sculptures were created with detachable heads. This is because the Romans, ever the pragmatists, liked to be flexible with their artistic displays. Or, to put it another way, if you commissioned an expensive sculpture of a popular figure or hero, what happens if said hero becomes unpopular? The solution is simple – you pop their head off and replace it with whoever the latest social icon or hero is.This inbuilt flexibility was particularly important for Roman culture, as the act of forgetting was one of the more significant forms of punishment for those in disgrace. Statues were defaced and decapitated as a way to destroy the memory of the person they depicted, which often happened when one emperor replaced another or there was a significant regime change.To be clear, not all sculptures were built for this flexibility, so not every headless example was designed to end up this way.Another reason they are missing heads is because a lot of statues back then represented emperors and leaders. And every time they got a new emperor or a new god or goddess they would remove the head of the old emperor/god/goddess/whatever and put on a new one to look like the new emperor/god/goddess/whatever. There is lot of God/hero/emperor symbolisms in this preview but I'll explain it later.

The hand placement.

One hand is resting on the chest, which is done when introducing yourself or as the way of showing that you're being honest, practically saying "trust me". The second hand is often used in art, which I'm pretty sure all of us can tell that it symbolizes telling something, whether it's a story or whether explaining something. So what's shown is that this headless angel is saying something ehile indicating that they're being honest, thst they're trustworthy. Ironically enough, we can't trust these hands to know that the angel is being honest because it doesn't have the most important part of body to read the truth from: the head. What kind of expression does the statue have? What kind of emotion is portrayed? Do their eyes look honest? We won't know, because the angel has no head. I think this tells us more about Liu Xiao. I mentioned that he is sweet-talking manipulator. He'll convince that he's honest about helping you, or about whatever information he gave you but is he really? Maybe he's offering protection because that's what angels do, but you won't know if he's truly being honest. Because he's not. You can't read him, he's like headless angel here, showing you that he's honest when he's not.

The number of wings.

Honestly, it's hard to tell. It can be four and six too but from what my viewpoint, the statue has four wings. Now, in Christianity, we have four winged angel(s), Cherubs. In Christianity, angel wings are a powerful symbol of divine presence and protection so what do Cherubs protect? what belongs to God or even His own presence. They're throne bearers of God. They represent purity, grace, and the innocence of the divine and symbolize presence of the Divine.

To sum it up, this angel symbolizes purity, innocence, honesty and protection like other angels but the difference is the desperate conviction (with hands) and they're being honest, trustworthy but there's not a way to confirm that.

Do you all know what's more ironic? Yes, we talked about angels a lot and there's lot of angel statues and angel symbolisms but the very next scene and its symbolism make us doubt that the place, this scene, and Liu Xiao are actually related to good things.

The very next scene where goat-head men worship Liu Xiao immediately breaks the good image of him. Because goat heads are the symbol of the Church of Satan, the symbolism of satan. Which I think tells us that these men are followers of "satan", followers of evil and who do they follow? Liu Xiao. Oh Liu Xiao is fact was NOT being honest, huh? Now Satan has many different views. For example, in Christianity he's seen as evil, fallen angel who pushes humans into committing sins. But people believe Satan punishes sinners and hence, isn't bad at all. What I believe, as an Orthodox Christian, is that Satan doesn't punish sinners at all. He's sinner himself, a devil, and he isn't even ruler of hell in the first place. Satan spreads evil and I think that's what Liu Xiao is doing for whatever reason.

Now we also learn that Liu Xiao plays dart boards game.

Does even this have a meaning? You might ask. But yes, it does. Everything in the preview has meaning that we need to know in order to know more about Liu Xiao.

The dart board represents clear, specific goals in life. It symbolizes the satisfaction and motivation derived from achieving these goals, especially when they require focused, persistent effort. Now, obviously, Liu Xiao probably plays this game due to boredom especially in preview and not everything has deep meanings usually, but it's a preview. In previews, we're being shown to what kind of things or character we're going to see and usually such graphic and visual representations such as Liu Xiao's preview tells us so much more than we might even realise. Now, due to this dart game, we know that Liu Xiao has a goal in mind that he deeply focuses onto and doesn't do all these for laughs and giggles. He's serious and motivated. Conversely, the "dart" or "arrow" can be seen as a representation of death or the passage of time.

And again, the angel.

Showing angels after we saw Satan's followers is ridiculous but obviously it has meaning. From what we see, here's six winged angel. Seraphim. Seraphims have six wings and Seraphim serve as agents of purification. Their whole job is to honor God with that proclamation and to make His holiness known to everyone who dares to approach the throne of God. This statue's hands are placed differently than the previous. We're directly shown the palm, which is done in few cases: show that you're being truth to your words, introduce or point at something and manipulation. Have you all ever heard of saying "you have them in palm of your hand" or anything similar? It means to have complete control over someone and to be able to make them do anything you want. Hence, manipulation. I'm not even exaggerating. Throughout history, the open palm has been associated with truth, honesty, and openness. On the other hand, a palms down gesture suggests dominance, aggression, and authority. However, for a manipulative person, we do see the face of angel but it's Impossibly hard to identify the emotion. Why? Because it's a statue. I think that's the whole meaning of showing truth, honesty, openness, protection & authority, manipulation, dishonesty through statues because it's hard to know what kind of emotion is on the statue because statue has no emotions.

Next, we're being shown the face of the angel statue up close which is only statue that we see the expression of up close. I'd say it has more to do with Christianity but that won't be right, because in Christianity angels don't have human faces. Many of us like the picture of angels as beautiful winged feminine creatures or baby-like creatures with halos and harps, known as cherubims. But angels in the Bible likely do not look like any of our imaginations, nor do they appear as our media would have us believe.Angels, being spiritual beings, can take on different forms. As we see in Scripture, angels can sometimes appear as humans, to the point where we may not even recognize that we’ve served an angel. The short answer is we don’t have a definitive description for angels, but we can use Scripture to show how they sometimes appear.

I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude (Daniel 10:5-6).

And, of course, the most bizarre: Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, and wings, were full of eyes all around, as were their four wheels (Ezekiel 10:12).

This being said, I do not recognize the angel that is shown and unfortunately,I can't tell much about it. It's probably greek or roman sculpture but I can't tell which one and I can't idetify the "angel" (face) shown in the preview, so please pardon my lack of knowledge. But I can talk about the scene where this specific angel "cries" in red lights. Firstly, let's say that from beautiful angelic statue, it suddenly turned into demonic. The colour red symbolizes many things but is popular to symbolize danger, warning and us often related to satanism in a way. Now the biggest attention we need to pay to is crying/weeping angel. Has any of you heard of the myth of crying angel? Yes? No? Maybe so? Apart from basic meanings such as tragic loss, weeping angel symbolizes (according to myth) monster with the capability of sending others back in time by touching them. Now, Link Click is known for time travelling stuff and the anything related to time so it shouldn't be a surprise that maybe Liu Xiao's ability is exactly that, not manipulation. I mean, he's smart and very intelligent so why not? Maybe he's not using his ability but his brains to manipulate others. He's shown to be able to play chess and cards/poker which already indicates that he's intelligent.

Speaking of cards/poker:

These are the cards Liu Xiao played and apparently won with. Now let me educate some here about cards and their meanings.

Spades suit is considered the highest-ranking suit in games that give preference to the card suit. Spade symbolizes the winter season, and the symbol represents the water element. The suit symbolizes the acme of old age when humans gain knowledge, transformation, and acceptance.

the heart suit represents the season of spring. It also symbolizes the childhood stage of life and represents the fire element.

the diamond suit represents the autumn or fall season. The suit implies the growing state of a person’s working career. A diamond card represents progress, ethics, stability, commitment, and the air element.

the club symbol represents the summer season and the earth element. The club suit in cards indicates youth, a phase when a person focuses on education, and recklessness.

Ace – Desire

2 – Union

3 – Faith

4- Satisfaction

5 – Change

6 – Adjustments

7 – Victory

8 – Power

9 – New beginnings

10 – Success

King of Spades – King of Israel, David

King of Hearts – King of France, Charlemagne

King of Diamonds – Roman Caesar, Augustus

King of Clubs – King of Macedonia, Alexander

‘Jack’ in the 16th and 17th centuries meant a male servant without a specific role or skill; so not a cook, gardener, coachman etc, just a strapping fellow who can carry stuff, be sent on errands or brought along as a guard, whatever you happen to need doing. The French word for the card is valet, which in French means exactly the same thing.The other English word for the card is knave, which originally meant ‘boy, young man’, as its German equivalent, Knabe, still does. It evolved to mean ‘young manservant or henchman’. Eventually it became a derogatory word because royal households had so many of these young men, who went swaggering around the streets picking fights, molesting the girls and generally making nuisances of themselves.

Now the card I want to pay attention to is Ace of Spades. Why? Because the ace of spades is a symbol for people who are asexual and aromantic. Now, I'm not saying that Liu Xiao is 100% aro/ase or smth since I know that this probably isn't meaning at all but I'm analysising everything here as much as I can. But also, in poker Ace of Spades is often related to luck, wealth, power, transformation and even death. The Ace of Spades is also known as the "death card," and is often associated with bad luck or negative outcomes. However, in other games, the Ace of Spades is considered a lucky card, and players will often try to collect as many of them as possible. But well, we are talking about Poker, so it's death card.

Does this mean Liu Xiao dies? No, what this mean is that the men who were playing against Liu Xiao died.

The next scene is number of hands asking help and shortly after dragging someone's leg and someone with them. The hands are definitely of Liu Xiao's victims so could this mean that he's feeling some kind of guilt? Who knows, but there's emotion in those scenes. First is desperation for help then something like anger and dragging (probably Liu Xiao) down.

Chess.

Liu Xiao is holding the King, which means he's being protected. He's mastermind. But this specific scene where he hits the black knight, his ally is so thrilling. He's supposed to attack white pieces, his enemies, but he suddenly gets rid of his own ally himself? One doesn't know such thing in chess, but of course, it's not simply chess but another key to know what kind of person Liu Xiao is. My sister said from her analysis that this is portraying betrayal, where I think it's getting rid of your ally/puppet after they're no longer useful. So, this scene can be perceived in different views, however there's one fact that stands for sure. Liu Xiao isn't opposing the idea of getting rid of and betraying his own allies if he needs to.

THIS is the reference with headless angel. Same hand position, seems to spread kindness and righteousness and makes himself to be our ally/friend but how true is that? The light above him makes him seem godlike being, saint or innocent. He's wearing blue expensive clothes (ironically, spiders hate blue colour), gold rings and earrings which makes us think that he's capable of helping us, he's rich and capable. But the previous analysis on headless angel proves us otherwise. While we do see his expression, his face, we can't identify exact emotion. For a second he seems amused, all knowing and in another second it's as if he's taking pity on us. Plus, he's looking down on us, directly. Showing that he's on higher stage, higher status. I said this before, he's sweet-talking manipulator and here is being shown how he's truly manipulating others.