#The Desert Hawk

[spryfilm]

Blu-ray review: “The Desert Hawk” (1950)

“The Desert Hawk” (1950) Adventure  Running Time: 77 minutes Written by: Gerald Drayson Adams Directed by: Frederick De Cordova Featuring: Yvonne De Carlo and Richard Greene Omar: “Wench or princess, a woman is only a woman, and always needs a master.” Critical Commentary In the realm of captivating cinema, certain films manage to transport audiences to distant lands, offering an…

[the-storyist]

Cooper's Hawk observing the Rainbow Owl Preserve, Las Vegas, NV

[hawkpartys]

wait did i ever post about the incredibly bizarre rattlesnake awareness posters at my old job here. i couldnt legally photograph them so you have to trust me when i tell you this is the most faithful recreation i could possibly create

[eskiworks]

Masters of their temporary domain, a painting for my dad for christmas!

Posted using PostyBirb

[everdeenxmellark]

“you can’t wake up if you don’t fall asleep”

- asteroid city

[apotelesmaa]

For Halloween one year death the kid is like I want to dress as my personal hero and his dad is like oh it’s gonna be me so lord death is like I’ll get you a mask and a cloak and kids like no I was talking about tony hawk actually

[fuckyeahisawthat]

The future of House Atreides

[catwyk]

going home tomorrow so you KNOW i gotta draw as MANY specimens in the collection at the california academy of sciences as is humanly possible

[gijoe-forever]

[theluckywizard]

In Search of a Wayward Bronto

Summary: Desperate to find his brother, Garrett Hawke heads to a blight-ruined stretch of Orlais to search for the Wardens with Varric and Alistair. Amid their misadventures and unending banter, Garrett grapples with past failures and his growing love for Inquisitor Rose Trevelyan.

WC: 6585

Rating: Teen

No CWs

Excerpt below the cut 👇

“I think there’s sand under my eyelids,” complains Varric. “Sand in my shoes. Sand in my hair. Sand in creases I didn’t know I had. And now my Maker-damned eyelids.”

“Hawke, where’s your spyglass?” asks Alistair.

“Check the outside pocket,” says Garrett, taking a swig from his water skin and wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. He squints through the darkness, scanning for the ritual tower that’s supposed to be right bloody here. They’d sent Liska and Feyrith on to the Inquisition camp ahead of them to reduce their party size on these vast stretches of sand and salt.

Instead, Alistair pulls out that well-worn copy of The Fires of Satinalia Garrett kept, his eyebrow arched high, wrestling with a tenacious grin and losing.

“The Fires of Satinalia?” chuckles Alistair. Garrett plucks it from him and thumbs randomly through the pages, laughing in preparation for the roasting. Alistair snatches it back, dancing out of reach. “Hey Varric— look what Hawke’s had all this time. Contraband.”

Varric saunters over, catching the book Alistair tosses. “Maker, Hawke, really? I thought you were a few pegs above the target audience for this shit.”

“You seem more like a Lurid Lust Charade man, to be honest,” says Alistair. “Or maybe The Pleasure Château.”

“Bit quick on the draw with those titles, aren’t you?” asks Garrett, flashing a grin. He leans into it, desperate for something to lighten his mood. “If you must know. It’s sentimental.” He braces for another savage tide of comments.

“Sentimental? Of velvety candlelit nights with your hand in your drawers?”

“How scurrilous of you, my sweet prince,” rejoins Garrett. “Try ‘velvety candlelit nights making my lover snort brandy through her nose’.”

“Really didn’t need to know that,” says Varric. 

“Pish posh. You’re just envious of my good fortune! How long’s it been for you? Four years? Five?” Varric waves him off.

“Keep your sodding smut,” says Alistair, chucking the book at Garrett’s chest. “Just hang a sock on the tent before you cozy up with it.”

“Spoken like a true connoisseur.”

Alistair huffs an indignant laugh and taps his temple. “I certainly have no need of such things.”

“You never had a stack of poorly drawn tits hidden under your mattress? I find that highly doubtful,” says Garrett.

“The way the sisters would scour the dormitory?” he chuckles. “No.”

“Probably behind a loose brick in the base of a statue of Andraste that they’d all know about,” theorizes Varric.

“Well— it was Hessarian,” admits Alistair, finally fishing out the spyglass. “Impressive guess though.”

Varric smirks. “Adolescents are nothing if not predictable.”

“The prevailing rationale was that Andraste’s holy bosoms would draw suspicion,” says Alistair. “They were— remarkably shapely.”

Read the rest here!

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[filmap]

Asteroid City Wes Anderson. 2023

Asteroid City Cam. Viejo de Chinchón a Colmenar de Oreja, 28370 Chinchón, Madrid, Spain See in map

See in imdb

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Soaring with the Tarantula Hawk Wasps

Tarantula hawk wasps, or more simply tarantula hawks, are a sub-group of the spider wasp family Pompilidae, famous for both their painful sting and their tendancy to predate exclusively on tarantulas and large spiders. The tarantula hawks encompass two genuses. Pepsis, which includes about 133 species, is found exclusively in the Americas, and occupies a range of habitats including rainforests and deserts. Hemipepsis has 180 species and is found in tropical regions on every continent.

Although tarantula hawks get their fame and their name by hunting tarantulas, only larval wasps actually feed on arachnids. The adults actually consume nectar and fermented fruit, like other hymenoptrids like bees and hornets. In fact, many species of flowers rely exclusively on pollination by tarantula hawks. The painful sting they carry is enough to keep away potential predators. In general, however individuals are not aggressive and won't utilize their defenses unless provoked. In addition, though the sting is extremely painful to humans, it is not venomous and doesn't require medical attention unless it triggers an allergic reaction.

Members of both Pepsis and Hemipepsis are active during the daytime, and spend most of their time foraging. In the summer, females will also actively hunt for prey in which to lay their eggs, while males will practice a behaviour called 'hill-topping', in which they perch on a tall flower or shrub and wait for reproductive females to pass by. Males can become defensive of their territories, but lack stingers as they have no need to hunt.

When males locate a receptive female, they engage in elaborate aerial dances to entice her to mate with them, sometimes reaching heights of over 305 m (1000 ft). After a male and female mate, they go their seperate ways; males to find another partner, and females to find a source of prey. Once a female has located a suitable tarantula, she stings it-- the venom she injects paralyses the arachnid but keeps it alive. She then drags it back to a specially prepared burrow, where she lays her egg inside the spider and covers the burrow.

The egg hatches about 3-4 days after being laid, and begins consuming its host. The sex of the larva depends on fertilization; unfertilized eggs produce males, while fertilized eggs produce females. Over the next several weeks, the larva will consume the tarantula in its entirety, keeping it alive as long as possible and going through several molts. Eventually the larva forms a pupa, and 2-3 weeks later emerges as a fully mature adult. Both sexes have fairly short lifespans: males only live for a few weeks, and females only live for 4-5 months, but in that time they will produce over 13 eggs.

Tarantula hawks are among the largest wasps in the world. The very largest can grow up to 6.5 cm (2.5 in) long, and have wingspans to match. The females' stinger is equally impressive, reaching a length of up to 12 mm (0.47 in). Species can come in a variety of colors, most commonly orange, blue, or black, with bright orange or red wings. These features, combined with the tarantula hawks' long, hooked claws and large eyes, make members of any species easily distinguishable from other wasps.

Conservation status: No species of tarantula hawk wasps is currently threatened, although many species are facing habitat destruction and a decline in their primary prey. One species of tarantula hawk, Pepsis grossa, is the official insect of the state of New Mexico in the United States.

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Photos

Hemipepsis ustulata by Gary McDonald

Elegant tarantula hawk wasp (Pepsis menechma) by Will Stuart via iNaturalist

Hemipepsis tamisieri by Debbie Hall

[speedyz3]

There is a family of Red Tailed Hawks that live me and occasionally I spot them flying around. I got lucky this weekend and spotted this one taking a little break.

[jakud]

Halfway through drawing the epilogue to Modern Carapace: O Bounty Of Thy Ribs. Coming this summer, I think!

[rarainks]

two red coded blonds with scars and unresolved trauma

[chaoticdesertdweller]

The female tarantula hawk wasp stings a tarantula between the legs, paralyzing it, and then drags the prey to a specially prepared burrow, where a single egg is laid on the spider's abdomen, and the burrow entrance is covered. The hatched larva will then consume the still living host.

Video footage courtesy of Big Bend National Park.