#carolinian elegant

[celestialmacros]

Obviously plotting something

Carolinian Elegant (Meromacrus acutus)

July 19, 2024

Southeastern Pennsylvania

[toothedgoose]

Meromacrus acutus (Diptera: Syrphidae)

Carolinian elegant

5 of July 2023 — Maryland, USA

This little fellow confused my mother into thinking it was a wasp! A job well done, as these hoverflies are indeed Batesian mimics of wasps.

Batesian mimics resemble an organism in such a way that it will protect them from predators, without being poisonous or venomous themselves. In this case, resembling a wasp will make birds assume it’s venomous and think twice before eating it.

They differ from Müllerian mimics, on the other hand, which are organisms that resemble each other but are all poisonous or venomous. An example would be the bright coloration of various venomous wasps and venomous bees, which makes them look like each other and therefore protects all of those that have a similar pattern.

Like other syrphids, this fly is a wonderful pollinator and feeds on the nectar of flowers as an adult. The larvae are filter-feeders.

I can’t get over the beauty of this friend. Flies are absolutely gorgeous.

[unicornpinkfantasy]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 1950s Vintage Sailor Style Lady’s Hat by Sara Sue of Miller & Rhoads.

[onenicebugperday]

@possumreqesting​ submitted: Hey boss, this thing was flying around me a few days ago, wanted it ided but didnt follow you on this account, he kept moving around so this is the only good pic i got. Its about the size of my thumb nail, give or take.

(In South TX)

A man! Pretending to be a wasp. But he’s a hover fly, specifically a male Carolinian elegant, Meromacrus acutus. Females would have eyes that don’t touch in the middle of the top of the head :)

[dcbutinamrev]

Could you write a bit of Meade and Tench? Inspired by D&I, I love how you write and sorry for bothering you

Thank you sm!!! Of course, anon! It's not a bother at all! Both inspired by D&I and a mini comic about Kidder getting stuck in the chimney by pupbee.paws on Instagram. Set in their headquarters in Valley Forge.

~~~

Richard Kidder Meade blinks when he feels the sun's beams shining through the window with his shared quarters with his old friend Tench Tilghman. Meade yawns, rather loudly to be quite honest and rolls over onto his side, facing the wall. He shares the bed with Tilghman, who twitches every now and then in his sleep. Even though it is quite aggrevating, Meade also doesn't mind.

Meade keeps his eyes open as he stares off at the wall before him, listening to Tilghman's soft snores coming from beside. It's early yet, though he has no doubt Colonel Hamilton is most at work, as always, probably finishing some drafts or corrospondences. Lieutenant Colonel Laurens must be up as well, for Hamilton would surely be at this ungodly hour of the morning, perhaps coddling him and trying to persude Hamitlon to come back to sleep. To take a break.

Meade smiles to himself at the thought. He knows the two close. He props himself up on one elbow, rubbing the grogginess from his eye and glancing over at his shoulder at Tilghman asleep beside him. Meade furrows his brows with slight curiosity as he tilts his head to one shoulder, wondering about Tilghman's past, his family, if he has a wife--hasn't mentioned one yet--children perhaps? Meade and Tilghman are, in modest friendship, perhaps close as Hamilton and Laaurens, though Tilghman rarely speaks about his personal life--due to his duties and his priorites of the war.

"You're staring how do I make it stop?" Tilghman's voice groans as this catches Meade's eye.

Meade whips his head down towards his old friend, who's now facing him and his expression shows that of annoyance but yet also fondness, both hands pressed underneath his cheek.

Meade clears his throat as he shifts around to hop out of the bed, scratching the back of his neck. "My apologies, Tench. I uh...I was merely...er...lost in thought..."

Tilghman raises an eyebrow as he props himself up on his elbow, a slight, teasing grin on his face. "Oh?"

Meade puckers his lips as though he tasted something sour and never takes his eyes off of his friend. He nods once but doesn't reply. Tilghman hums as he scoots himself forward until he now sits at the edge of the bed and watches Meade shrugs on his long, white shirt, adjusting his ruffled cuffs.

"What plans do you have today, Kidder?" Tilghman asks all of a sudden, breaking the silence in the room.

Meade turns around as he ties his neckcloth and cravat without needing assistance from a mirror. He raises both eyebrows. "Oh. I uh...I know have some corrospondences to ride out to Congress. No doubt about supply and perhaps more men as well as more are needed."

Tilghman hums as he pushes himself up. "Hm."

He strides over towards Meade, now standing an inch below him. Meade glances down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Your cravat is crooked," Tilghman simply says. "It's disturbing me. Here allow me."

Meade tosses both hands up and allows Tilghman to straighten his cravat back into place. Once finished, Tilghman nods his head up and down in approval. Meade couldn't help but feel the corner's of his lip quirk. Tilghman merely rolls his eyes in response.

The two exit their quarters and into the main parlor where the rest of the family stands, finishing getting themselves ready for the morning. Meade spies Lafayette chatting rather lively with General Washington, Laurens eyeing Hamilton as he fixes his dark red hair into a tight braid rather unusually dreamy. Meade shakes his head at that. He turns to find Tilghman standing between Harrison and McHenry, who hands him a cup of tea while Harrison places a handful of corrospndences and drafts to be written.

Meade walks over to his chair at the long, oval wooden table in the aide-de-camp office, grabbing a random inkpot and quill and pulling out his chair. But before he sits, however, he freezes when he realizes a letter is placed before him. He furrows his brows and tilts his head to one shoulder, an eyebrow raised with curiosity.

Meade glances over his shoulder, no eyes on him, before he snatches the letter. He lets his thumb trail over the elegant cursive of Hamilton's handwriting, a small grin appearing on his face as he lets out a, "Huh", sound.

"What was that, Kidder?" Tilghman prompts, starling Meade out of his gaze.

Meade jerks his head upward suddenly, both of his arms now clasping behind his back and he puffs out his chest a little, squaring his shoulders and clenches his jaw as he eyes Tilghman, McHenry, and Harrison all staring at him with wide, curious eyes and their mouths slightly agape.

"To whom is that letter for?" Harrison wonders.

"And who was it from?" McHenry counters curiously.

Meade clears his throat, glancing over his shoulders at Hamilton who now stands unusually close to Laurens, near to the point his chin could be resting on Laurens's shoulder. Meade shakes his head againn at that and turn back to the trio before him.

"Um...Er...it is from my uh...my er..." He clears his throat again. "From my uh...bride-to-be!" He says rather quickly, so the words are slightly jumbled up. "Elizabeth Randolph's her name."

A small lie but it'll due.

"Now, if you'd excuse me, gentlemen," Meade hisses and quickly trots over to a small area where it's more private.

The trio all turn to each other, brows furrowed, and looks exchanged, and shoulders shrugged.

Meade lets out a breath as he finally unfolds the letter, his eyes ticking up to Hamilton who now stands really unusually close to Laurens--near chest to chest. Meadde furrows his brows as he sees Hamilton tap Laurens's lapel, whispering something only the South Carolinian could hear.

Meade shrugs it off and ticks his eyes back down towards the letter in hand. He feels his anxietys and burdens suddenly wash away when he sees Hamilton's beautiful script before him.

My dear Meade,

It is not without trepidation I admit this to you, but I trust your affections for me will pursuade your most sincere confidentiality. I must further more rely on our friendship to beg a favor of you.

Meade's heart stops and his he feels his eyes grow unusually wide for some reason. He feels his cheeks grow warm as he presses his lips together and glances up at the room around him. Tilghman, Harrison, and McHenry all seated at the aide-de-camp office across the parolor, either sipping tea as they write their corrospondences or munching on their breakfast while Lafayette sips his coffee as he nods at the General as he speaks. Hamilton finally pulling away from Laurens and Laurens now sulking.

Meade couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Meade glances back down at the letter before him before glancing back up. He spies the firepit not far from him. He clamps the letter between his teeth and crouches low until he sneaks around the desks and chairs surrounding the wall. He glances over his shoulder before finally stepping in the firepit.

With a determined look on his face, he presses his back agaisnt the wall and brings one leg up to the wall across from him and his left hand on the opposite wall as well.

Once he reaches a comfortable position, he huffs out a breath of relief and unfolds the letter once more to continue reading. His wide smile instantly falters and his eyes wide, mouth agape.

MEADE! I'M IN LOVE WITH LAURENS!

Do you think he likes me back?? I need you to ask him for me but be SUBTLE about it! Tell me EVERYTHING he says!!!

I have the honor to be, sir, your most affectionate and humble servant,

A. Ham

-Remember, don't tell him I asked you!

Meade stares at the letter with a blank look upon his face. He blinks once, twice, three times with his jaw slacked. He glances up at the wall across from him.

I didn't asked to be involved...

[bugkeeping]

Carolinian Elegant 

Meromacrus acutus

[books0977]

Mrs. Thomas Lynch (1755). Jeremiah Thëus (American, 1716-1774). Oil on canvas. Reynolda House Museum of American Art.

The daughter of a prominent South Carolina family, Elizabeth Allston married Thomas Lynch, another well-connected South Carolinian, in 1745. At age 17, she became the mistress of Hopsewee Plantation, where the Lynch family cultivated rice and indigo. The painting shares much in common with other Thëus portraits: the attention to fine details of dress, the oval format, the lively palette. Thëus was not particularly talented at conveying his subjects’ personalities, but his attention to the elements that communicate wealth and status would have won him favor with most Charlestonians. Elizabeth’s rather bland expression might, in fact, have been interpreted by her contemporaries as elegant reserve.

[rjalker]

Well I guess I'm an adoptive parent of some soon-to-be maggots(?) because a Carolinian elegant fly laid eggs in the bottom of my swamp milkweed's plant pot, so now I'm going to keep checking to see when the babies hatch so I can take pictures of them too :)

Here's the iNaturalist observation, with photos of the adult fly, as well as at the end a recording of the buzzing noise it makes when it flies. These flies mimic bees for protection, and IDK if their loud buzzing is part of that, or just because they're big flies, but it's the loudest buzz I've ever heard a flying insect make.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/111218858

[eatraleigh]

Carolina Hurricanes All-Star Chefs Series

Acclaimed North Carolina chefs teaming up together to serve a multi-course meal is something typically associated with highbrow dinners. But this years version of the Carolina Hurricanes has been having fun at the expense of more traditional sensibilities, queue angry NHL analysts getting upset at the post-win celebrations. So with this era of fun in the PNC Arena, the All-Star Chefs Series brings the all the elegance of a chefs’ dinner to the hockey rink. 

On the surface, gourmet food and hockey have no correlation but in this town, I’d argue it makes perfect sense. In what seems to be a quest for the Hurricanes to reconnect with everything that make them Carolinian other than their location, to the Petey Pablo goal song to taking the fellas out to the NC State Fair, giving a platform for this foodie crazed town to enjoy the state’s best chefs is just the next step.

Coming from the Queen City, Chef Chris Coleman leads the kitchen at Stoke. Chef Chris served a whimsical collection of farm-to-table dishes with a Southern twist. No other dishes were as fun as the Farmer Dan’s lettuce cups. 

The build-your-own lettuce cup station offered grilled maiatake mushrooms, soy and ginger slaw, and the crown jewel of the dish - Pepsi boiled peanuts. Each flavor and texture built off each other - earthly mushrooms and sweet peanuts, fresh lettuce and crunchy slaw. 

Another vegetarian dish that impressed was salt-roasted turnips with turnip green-Calvander cheese mouse. 

Deceptively tasty morsels, packed a lot of flavor in one bite. 

Turning a fried Italian treat into handheld shrimps and grits, Chef Chris’s served a shrimp, spicy young mustard, rice grits arancini.

While not the most photographic dish, the Shepherd's Pie Stuff Potatoes’s braised lamb and crispy cheese teamed together to make for a hearty bite.

Coming from the coast, Chef Dean Neff from Wilmington’s Pinpoint Restaurant brought all the fresh seafood you’d imagine a coastal chef to serve. But to prime our palates, Chef Dean served a pleasant shot of peanut soup. 

Chef Dean’s fresh cobia with garlic-ginger dressing showcased Dean’s willingness to get out of the way of the seafood. 

The dressing and grapefruit provided just the right amount of acid for the meaty fish. 

Two types of oysters occupied Chef Dean’s table. One was broiled with shrimp and chilies piled on top. 

The other was raw served with a Haw River Brewing Rusty Plow migonette, which ended up being my favorite bite of the night. Chef Dean also had a ghost pepper hot sauce to dab on top of the raw Masonboro oyster which engulfed my palate with spice. 

Not all of Chef Dean’s dishes came from the sea. For the plant eaters, he offered a beautiful butterbean hummus.

For the carnivores he served a ghost pepper spiced short rib. Though the description sounded a little intimidating, Chef Dean was able to balance the heat with star anise and sourgum glaze. 

As this dinner was sponsored by the seemingly restless G Patel’s Social House Vodka, a signature cocktail was crafted by featured bartender Matt Schwab. My tolerance for black licorice made me wary of the night’s signature cocktail that featured star anise but I decided to take a chance and use my one drink coupon on the featured cocktail. The results was a sublime mixture of sweetness, vodka and just the right amount of licorice. 

Beyond just the food, the event itself was just plain fun. The chefs were approachable and accessible. Chef Chris even gave us the leftover Pepsi boiled peanuts after we raved about them. The food was plentiful, as we made multiple and frequent trips to the food. Even the Hurricanes’ GM and President Don Waddell made his way through the crowd, where I almost convinced him to try the signature cocktail.... he’d need it after the team blew a two goal lead and loss in a shoot-out that night.  

With happy bellies we took to our lower level seats (included with the dinner package) to enjoy the rest of the night. It was nice to be able to sit down and enjoy the game without having to balance handfuls of food as you descend down the stairs or go on constant food runs. And despite a frustrating ending to the game, the action was still entertaining to watch. And fun is something that this All-Star Chef’s Dinner and this season of Carolina Hurricane hockey is definitely providing. 

Carolina Hurricanes All-Star Chefs Series https://www.nhl.com/hurricanes/tickets/all-star-chef-series

[motherofthebridedresses]

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[too-pirate-to-function]

Cajun Louisiana accent is based on French, not English, so it wouldn’t apply

Any of the southern accents work because some wood elves are a little more rustic and could have Deep South Alabama accents and the more elegant wood elves could have Georgian or Carolinian accents

High Elves – Upper Class British English Accent

Wood Elves – American Southern English Accent

Drow – Australian English Accent

[celestialmacros]

Flies pretending to be wasps

Carolinian Elegant (Mydas clavatus)

Clubbed Mydas Fly (Mydas clavatus)

Yellow-spotted Falsehorn (Temnostoma daochus)

Late Spring (Falsehorn) and early Summer 2024

Southeastern Pennsylvania

[skunkybotanics]

Lush fuchsia florals & other elegant wedding ideas from Charleston Boasting elegance and class that any historic city should, it's no wonder this colorful South Carolinian gem is such a wedding hotspot.  https://bridalmusings.com/2019/02/elegant-fuchsia-wedding-ideas-charleston/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bridalmusings+%28Bridal+Musings%29 https://www.instagram.com/p/Btv6hfdn1q1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13rq53dfw0piz

[unicornpinkfantasy]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: 1950s Vintage Sailor Style Lady’s Hat by Sara Sue of Miller & Rhoads.

[onenicebugperday]

@aevarswall​ submitted: Good day! Could you identify this bee(?) for me? It’s not one I’m familiar with. Found around Knoxville, TN earlier this Summer.

Hello! It’s not a bee! It’s a fly trying to look like a bee and doing a great job of it. Specifically it’s a Carolinian elegant, Meromacrus acutus :)

[afishtrap]

The following is the product of one of the two ‘Special Topics’ classes taught during the spring of 2012 in Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southern Denmark. The theme of the work is the application of techniques from naval architecture on ancient boats. The seven authors of this book also represent seven countries, and almost as many different traditions of archaeological practice. Even after running this programme for several years it is still an eye-opener and a challenge to your every professional preconception to work in an environment like ours. The chronological and spatial diversity of the boats presented here may also be a reflection of the wide scope of our student’s interests.

Ejstrud, B (editor). SEVEN BOATS: Assessing the performance of ancient boats. Maritime Archaeology Programme, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg 2012. Electronic publication.

Although Singaporean sampans have appeared often in paintings and memories of western visitors in Singapore, only in 1906 in the “Mast and Sail in Europe and Asia” by Warington Smyth (1906: 335), is it possible to find a brief account on this boat. Smyth refers to the Singapore Sampan as “high-sided Chinese junk” which was only able to sail along the coast between October and February, when the weather otherwise does not allow local navigation. Furthermore Smyth classified these small craft as a member of the Chinese Sampans family, describing them as:

“[…] gaily painted, two-tailed boats […] great beam, flat bottom, and deep rudder, they are good carriers and rapid sailors, but their best point of sailing is undoubtedly a 'soldier's wind” (1906:418).

Even though Smyth reports about the sailing properties of this sampan, often the most used source of propelling is human force, as clearly visible in several illustrations of the Singapore harbour, with a crew of maximum three (Gibson-Hill 1950: 163).

[...]

Gibson-Hill in his article The fishing Boats operated from Singapore Islands (1950: 160-165) outlines better the occurrence, placing them in the “Chinese Keelless Boats” family, and outlining the distribution area of the Sampans Kotak which is limited to the Singapore Islands. Although the general design lines are followed, there is a considerable local variation in the form and size from sampan to sampan, and the largest reach a maximum length of about 10 meters and a maximum beam of 3 meters. Furthermore, Gibson-Hill (1950: 163) claims that generally the larger models, despite the wide beam and gently flat bottom, are too heavy to be beached and are left in the water, while the smaller specimens are beached or moored where the receding tide could leave them grounded.

The main role of this vessel is to transport goods or passengers, as suggested by its Malaysian name “Kotak” that means “container”, around the Singapore harbour from the large ships stationed off the port and the harbour warehouse or quays (Jayapal 1992: 31). This procedure was, and still is, caused by the condition of the seabed, as it will be explained later, that does not allow the access of the harbour to large vessel. The small examples are also used for fishing off Singapore Island (Gibson-Hill 1950: 165).

[...]

The Singaporean Sampan is of flush-strake construction with a wide round beam and transom raked both bow and stern. Examining the shape of this traditional craft the first noticeable characteristics, in contrast with the other Sampan-like constructions, are the slender breadth lines and the triangular short bow. As in line with the “Chinese Keel-less Boat” tradition, the Singapore Sampan has a rockered bottom provided with a false keel of 5 cm sided, attached at the centreline from the bow to the stern end section.

From the body plan is visible that the boat starts in a V-section at the bow, the lines evolving in a gentle rounded shape at mid-section with a flattish bottom, a usual shape for small-crafts that are frequently hauled up on the beach. The waterlines show a modern design, since the bow is fine and the widest section is aft the amidships ending with a full stern. This design is actually used by modern day cruisers, characterizing displacement and semi-displacement hull (Brewer 1994: 22).

The elegant rocked shape of the sheer plan ends at the stern with a high double tail, a similar feature is visible on Shanghai Sampans, while the prominent prow is ornamented on both sides by the typical “oculi”.

The flush-laid planking of 2 cm of thickness develops till the gunwale delimited by a semi-circular wale, with a height at amidships of about 50 cm. The freeboard of this sampan is increased thanks to an internal extension; a 10 cm high coaming connected to the gunwale by side-decks of 10 cm in width. This extended coaming is kept in place by a sort of hanging knee fixed on the bulkheads and the futtocks.

[...]

The “flying proa” of the Caroline Islands archipelago ought to be looked at as a self-integrated body. This view is generated by the unique fashion in developing and evolving the design of the single outrigger canoe. Lacking any substantial contact with either Polynesia or Indonesia – inasmuch as cultural human relations are concerned – a long period of comparative isolation has been the backbone for shaping the Caroline Islands – and possibly the entire Micronesian – flying proa development process.

[...]

What defines the flying proa is the presence of the single outrigger – which is encountered likewise in the Marianas but the complexity of its attachments has attained an increased level on Puluwat, in the Carolines. As the outrigger is fitted always on is weather side, the lee side is fitted with a platform which serves as counter balance applying the cantilever principle against the weight of the outrigger and its decking.

The hull of the Carolinian wa is axially asymmetrical. Due to the presence of the single outrigger, the type is inherently asymmetrical, with the outrigger on the weather side (Doran 1981: 30). But even the main hull itself is – as a general rule of thumb- not symmetrical, as the outrigger side is fuller than the opposing lee platform side. The difference can be more or less marked in different parts of the Pacific, and sometimes the lee side is almost completely flat. The Carolingian Proas are somewhat fuller, but still noticeably asymmetrical (Haddon & Hornell 1991: 377).

The boats are, however, symmetrical on an athwartships axis, and there is no fixed bow or stern as the two ends are identical. This allows the boat to shunt; rather than tacking or wearing, this boat will turn by simply reversing direction. Shunting keeps the outrigger on the weather side.

[...]

A Puluwatan sailing canoe comprises four essential elements: the hull, the outrigger, the lee platform, and the rigging and the sail. As the drawings show (Figure 67; Figure 68), the hull is narrow and deep forming (a cross-sectional) V at the bottom. As noted above, the end-to-end symmetry is preferred. The weather side is designed to be a bit higher in order to conform with the upward slope of the heavy outrigger booms where they manage to intersect the hull. The dimensions of the boats are described by Gladwin (1970). Hulls around Puluwat average 7.92 m (26’) in length. The wa Mikael is 7.85 m in length when measured from the base of the V-shaped ornament at each end. The waterline length measurements will generally be 0.76 m (:2.5’) shorter. There is some variation in width. The average will be found somewhere in the region of shortly over 0.9 m at the top of the hull. What is more interesting is the variation in L:B ratios of the Pusuluwatan canoes – with some being broader and other showing increased levels of narrowness. Basically the builder may either opt for speed – narrowness – sacrificing cargo room, or vice versa, while he is also limited by the breadfruit tree trunk’s availability. Consequently this ratio varies from nine to as high as twenty; while beam-to-depth can go as low as 0.5 (Gladwin 1970: 76). According to Gladwin, the wa Mikael has a L:B ratio of twelve. Our calculation however yields a number of less than eight. In both cases this can be interpreted as a cargo oriented canoe.

A system of proportional measurements determines the size of the elements which are to constitute the hull. Pursuant to all considerations on the design of the boat, the builder starts by defining the keel piece which constitutes the backbone of the hull. The keel piece is a single piece of wood which is shaped and hollowed to form the lower half of the hull running the full length. The breadfruit of choice for this operation will determine the size of the canoe – which is why choosing a proper trunk is a hallmark operation. From this logboat base the hull is built up from planks – of the same wood, or some other type, if breadfruit is scarce – which are to match the contours of the keel piece. As all voyaging canoes have freeboards greater than 0.76 metres (2.5’) this makes them safe to face most sea conditions. (Gladwin 1970: 76).