#deciduous forest insects

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Fritter Away with the Mormon Fritillary

The Mormon fritillary (Speyeria mormonia) is a common species of butterfly found throughout western North America. There are multiple subspecies distributed throughout its range, which extends from northern Canada to the southern United States, following the Rocky Mountain range. They are found in a variety of habitats, including alpine grasslands, meadows, and sparse pine forests.

Larval S. mormonia are almost entirely dependent on violets for food, while adults will also feed on milkweeds, thistles, and daisies, as well as mud puddles and animal waste. Birds, rodents, lizards, frogs, spiders, and mantids are all common predators of both caterpillar and adult Mormon fritillaries.

Mating for the Mormon fritillary occurs in mid to late summer. Males regularly search open areas for available females, and following an encounter females lay their fertilized eggs in leaf litter near patches of violets. After about 10 days the eggs hatch, but rather than feeding the caterpillars enter a period of hibernation that lasts throughout the winter. Come spring, they emerge and feed on their host plant for just over a month. Pupation takes 10-12 days, after which they emerge as fully mature adults. In the wild, individuals can live up to 4 years.

S. mormonia are rather small, but brightly colored butterflies. The wingspan for females ranges from 25-27mm (0.98-1.06 in), while males are slightly smaller at 23-26mm (0.9-1.02 in). The top wings of both sexes are orange with black spotting, while the undersides are lighter yellow with white spots, and the body is covered in brown or tan fur.

Conservation status: The Mormon fritillary has not been evaluated by the IUCN, but populations are generally considered to be stable across the US. Its most common threat is the disappearance of its host flower species.

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Photos

John Lane

Mark Leppin

David Inouye

[crevicedwelling]

Cyrtoxipha columbiana, one of my favorite local crickets

[todaysbird]

the saffron-billed sparrow is a small member of the new world sparrow family found in argentina, bolivia, brazil, and paraguay. they live in tropical deciduous forests, and feed on fruits, seeds, and insects. the birds’ name comes from their distinct bright orange beaks. males have a distinct black head with a white supercilium and a soft yellow back; females look similar, but are duller in color.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Habitats

Coniferous forest - Vast areas of Scandinavia, Russia, Alaska, and Canada are the site of coniferous forests—home to moose, beavers, and wolves.

Mountain - High mountain ranges have arctic climates near the peaks, where few plants grow. Animals must cope in dangerous terrain.

Savanna - These tropical grasslands with wet and dry seasons support huge herds of grazing animals and powerful predators.

Polar ice - The ice that forms on cold oceans is a refuge for animals that hunt in the water. The continental ice sheets are almost lifeless.

Tropical rainforest - The evergreen forests that grow near the equator are the richest of all biomes, with a huge diversity of plant and animal life.

Desert - Some deserts are barren rock and sand, but many support a range of plants and animals adapted to survive the dry conditions.

Tundra - These regions on the fringes of polar ice sheets thaw out in summer and attract animals such as reindeer and nesting birds.

Mediterranean - Dry scrub regions, such as around the Mediterranean, are home to a rich insect life and drought-resistant shrubs and plants.

Temperate grassland - The dry, grassy prairies with hot summers and cold winters, support grazing herds such as antelope and bison.

Deciduous forest - In cool, moist regions, many trees grow fast in summer but lose their leaves in winter. The wildlife here changes with the seasons.

Animals, plants, and all living things are adapted to life in their natural surroundings. These environments are called habitats.

Every living species on Earth has its own favored habitat, which it shares with others. These different species interact with each other and with their natural environment—be it hot or cold, wet or dry—to create a web of life called an ecosystem.

Some ecosystems are very small, but others such as rainforests or deserts cover huge areas. These are called biomes.

Life on Land

Different climates create different types of habitats for life on land. Warm, wet places grow lush forests, for example, while hot, dry regions develop deserts. Each biome consists of many smaller habitats and, in many areas, human activity such as farming has completely changed their character.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Worldbuilding

[pleistocene-pride]

Antrostomus vociferous, better known as the eastern whip-poor-will or whip o whill, is a species of bird within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, which is endemic to the deciduous forests and mixed woodlands of North and Central America from Canada in the north to Costa Rica in the south and from the east coast to the great plains. Often migrating to the north of there range to breed and to the south of there range to overwinter. It is named onomatopoeically after its song as whilst the whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, it is rarely seen because of its elaborate camouflage. Eastern whip-poor-whills are a nocturnal species which spends there days resting amongst leaf litter, tree roots, branches, hollows, and fallen logs, emerging at night to feed upon various flying insects such as beetles, flies, mosquitos, and in particular moths. Eastern whip-poor-wills are generally solitary preferring to spend time on their own; however, during migration, they may form loose flocks. Reaching around 8.5 to 10.5 inches (22 to 27cms) in length, 1.5 to 3 ounces (42 to 85grams) in weight with a 17.5 to 19.5 inch (45 to 50cms) wingspan, eastern whip poor whills sport a large head and broad body. They have mottled camoflauged plumage: the upperparts are grey, black and brown; the lower parts are grey and black. They have a very short bill and a black throat. Males have a white patch below the throat and white tips on the outer tail feathers; in the female, these parts are light brown. Breeding often begins in March, with pairs meeting up and building a loose nest on the ground, in shaded locations among dead leaves. Here a female will usually lay 2 eggs at a time. Incubation lasts 19-21 days performed by both parents. Eastern Whip-poor-wills lay their eggs in phase with the lunar cycle, so that they hatch on average 10 days before a full moon. As when the moon is near full, the adults can better forage at night and capture large quantities of insects to feed to their young.The chicks hatch well developed covered in down but with their eyes closed. They are fed and protected by both parents and start to fly at the age of 20 days. Eastern whip-poor-wills usually produce 1 or 2 broods per year and females may lay a second clutch while the male is still caring for chicks from the first brood. Under ideal conditions an eastern whip poor will can live up to 15 years.

[libraryofmoths]

Moth of the Week

Bird-Cherry Ermine

Yponomeuta evonymella

Image source

The bird-cherry ermine is a part of the family Yponomeutidae, the ermine moths. It was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. It was originally placed in the genus Phalaena but was later transferred to the genus Yponomeuta, becoming Yponomeuta evonymella. This species’ common name comes from their main food plant: Bird Cherry.

Description This moth has a white thorax, head, and forewings. The forewings have five horizontal lines of small black dots, and a few black dots are also on the back of the thorax. The hindwings are shorter and wider than the forewings and are a beige/light brown color. Both the forewings and hindwings have a fringe on the end however, the forewings’ white fringe is short and only on the outer margin while the hindwings’ brown fringe is all over the hindwings’ edges besides the parts touching the forewings. Additionally the hindwings’ fringe is longer on the bottom of the wing. This moth’s thin and wiry antennae are two thirds the length of the forewing and are usually white.

Wingspan Range: 16 - 25 mm (≈0.63 - 0.98 in)

Diet and Habitat This species’ caterpillars mainly feeds on Bird Cherry (Prunus padus), but they also occasionally feed on cherry (Prunus) or buckthorn (Rhamnus). They are known to sometimes be pests of the bird-cheery because the caterpillars pupate and feed together in web like nests that can cover whole trees. This web keeps them protected and allows them to eat mostly unbothered by other insects and predators. The tree is still likely to survive after this, but may grow less in the following growth season/spring. Adults feed on nectar.

This species can be found in Europe and the northern and eastern parts of Asia. They live in many habitats such as river lowlands, deciduous forests, alluvial forests, stream banks with bushes and trees, gardens, parks, and more. Strangely according to Butterfly Conservation, this moth can be found “often far from the known foodplant.”

Mating This moth is seen in June to September and has only gerarion per year. Females let their eggs on the winter buds of their food plants.

Population sizes fluctuate, but it’s not uncommon for mass outbreaks of caterpillars to happen, which results in defoliated trees.

Predators This species is preyed on by parasitic wasps and seems to have few other predators.

Fun Fact This moth is attracted to light. Additionally when disturbed, this moth can skip away and falls to the ground. Note: this second fact does not currently have a citation on Wikipedia so it may be disproven in the future.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation)

[beardedelectron]

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GUY? This lil' dude is the Chinese Bushbrown Caterpillar, and he is VERY important (insomuch as biodiversity is important but also just because he is very cute and I love him). Butterflies are some of the most well-documented insects in the world, but quite often their larval stages get overlooked. This little creature should never be overlooked. Native to a fairly widespread area from the Himalayas into southeast Asia, the Chinese bushbrown (or Mycalesis gotama) is a member of the satyrine group of butterflies, and their larval stage is distinct, having been referred to as the 'Hello Kitty caterpillar". Their preferred habitat in rainforests and deciduous forests, especially near glades and beside streams or logging roads. Anyway, thought you should know. c: Please enjoy possessing knowledge of this very important dude.

[artsyaxolotl]

Meet September's Pal of the Month... the Flame Leg Millipede!

Living in the lush, damp deciduous forests of the Philippines, the flameleg millipede earned its name for a reason. Its vibrant orange and yellow legs stand out like tiny flames against its sleek black body, a dazzling display believed to warn potential predators. When threatened, these millipedes can secrete a liquid that can even stain human skin!

Despite their fiery appearance, flame leg millipedes are peaceful herbivores. Often found in small groups, they munch on decaying leaves and organic matter, playing a vital role in decomposition and returning nutrients to the soil. Some enthusiasts in the exotic pet hobby claim their legs even glow under blacklight.

The flame leg millipede is classed as "least concern" and is an uncommon but popular pet for insect enthusiasts due to its beautiful colors.

Members of the Ko-fi Club will get a 3in sticker and a collectible trading card!

[pixelarthropods]

Hello! I saw you have an inbox for arthropod suggestions so here's mine: Typhochlaena seladonia.

Top left: "Brazilian jewel tarantula (Typhochlaena seladonia) is a species of aviculariine tarantula. They are found in Bahia and Sergipe, Brazil in rainforest parts. It is unique as an arboreal spider that constructs trapdoors in the bark of trees. Doesn't really like human contact much. They are generally more docile, although some individuals are particularly defensive."

Top middle: "Purple pink toe or purple tree tarantula (Avicularia purpurea) are mainly present in Ecuador in the Amazon Region. This species can be found in very different habitats, but frequently it is present in agricultural areas, especially in the field of grazing cattle. Sometimes it can be found in holes of walls of buildings or in the spaces below the roofs. They builds their nests primarily in hollows in the trees, sometimes in the vicinity of epiphytic plants. They eat mostly crickets, cockroaches, meal worms, waxworms and darkling beetles, but they also can catch small rodents."

Top right: "Trinidad dwarf tiger (Cyriocosmus elegans) is a New World Terrestrial Tarantula that comes from the tropical climates of Trinidad, Tobago and Venezuela. They are venomous. Also, due to being a such a small tarantula, females have an average lifespan of around 7 years while males tend to only live about 2 years."

Down left: Golden Brown Baboon Spider "Augacephalus breyeri is a species of harpactirine theraphosid spider, found in South Africa, Mozambique and Eswatini. They live in a hole that takes it between five to seven years to construct. They feed on a variety of small invertebrates such as beetles, grasshoppers, millipedes, cockroaches, crickets, and other spiders!"

Down right: "Gooty Sapphire Ornamental Tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica) also known as the peacock tarantula, is an Old World species of tarantula. This is the only blue species of the genus Poecilotheria. Like others in its genus it exhibits an intricate fractal-like pattern on the abdomen. The species' natural habitat is deciduous forest in Andhra Pradesh, in central southern India. They live in holes of tall trees where it makes asymmetric funnel webs. The primary prey consists of various flying insects."

Here's some more tarantula for you guys! Also from now on every species I make will have short description about em. Thank you for suggestion!

[willtheweaver]

A writer’s guide to forests: from the poles to the tropics, part 7

Is it no.7 already? Wow. A big shout out to everyone who has had the patients to stick with this. Now onto this week’s forest…

Dry forest

Water is life. That’s a fact. And especially where it doesn’t rain for more than half the year.

Location: Dry forests are scattered throughout the Yucatán peninsula ,South America, various Pacific islands,Australia, Madagascar, and India. Areas have been cleared by human activity, and the SA dry forests are classified as the most threatened tropical forests.

Climate: Temperate to tropical, with just enough rain to sustain trees. Many are monsoonal, with rain coming in one or two brief periods separated by a long dry season.

Plant life- Hardy trees, such as Baobab and Eucalyptus are able to last with little rain by tapping into groundwater with extensive root systems. Many trees are evergreen, but in India, many species are deciduous. Trees are often more spaced out, and shrubs and grasses grow extensively. Cacti are common plants in the Americas, with some growing tall enough to be considered trees. In order to survive the heat and lack of water, many small plants are annuals, or store water in tubers. Palms can make up a large percentage of the trees, as was the case in the now vanished forests of Easter Island.

Animal life- As they can come and go when they please, birds are common species. Larger animals are active year round, with smaller species of mammals, amphibians, and certain insects only coming out during the rainy season. Isolation means that islands become home to many endemic species; think about Madagascar and the lemurs, or Darwin’s finches, iguanas, and tortoises in the Galapagos. Isolation has also led to the marsupials of Australia developing to fill the niches that would normally be occupied by placental mammals .The introduction of invasive species has brought about the extinction of island fauna.

How the forest affects the story- Water, or the lack of will be the biggest challenge your characters will face. Rivers and lakes may be seasonal, so other sources will have to be utilized. Drinkable fluids can be obtained from various plants and animals, or maybe the bedrock is porous and water accumulates in cenotes. Your characters could come from a culture that builds artificial reservoirs to collect the rain and store it for the dry season. With careful water management, cities can thrive in dry areas. But your characters will have to be careful. Prolonged drought will see societies go the way of the Maya. Deforestation leaves the topsoil vulnerable to the wind, and forests, farms, and grassland will inevitably turn to desert. Whether nomadic or sedentary, your characters and their society will have to find a way to interact with the forest without destroying it or themselves. Can they do it? Can a damaged biosphere be restored before it’s too late? The success or failure of your characters and/or their predecessors can be a driving focus of the plot. Of course ,when the rains do come, it could be in the form of a cyclone. Dry ground does not readily absorb water, and flash floods are a danger. Water can grant life, but it can take it as well.

[bonefall]

Do you think they could boil eggs?

Easily! VERY easily. But it may not be done all too often because eggs would be quite valuable. It's a pivotal binding agent for cooking. Dough, meatloaf, kibble…

They don't have access to an egg-laying domestic bird like a chicken, so they would have to forage wild eggs. On top of it, they would want to avoid taking the eggs of vulnerable species like curlews and songbirds to keep their numbers high.

ShadowClan would actually have access to a lot of eggs in the Lake Territory, because pine forests are home to a lot of birds and insects, with fewer mammals than deciduous forest. RiverClan's ducks and swans would also give them lots to work with; which could be shared by RiverClan's marshes.

Egg-centric dishes would be deeeelicious, like deviled eggs, "egg salad" with chopped fish, omelettes, egg drop soup.... mmgh. I'll add an egg entry to the to-do list.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Open Your Home to the Common House Centipede

A common sight in homes throughout Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Australia the common house centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) is a medium-sized species of centipede originally from the Mediterranean. In the wild, they prefer grasslands and deciduous forests where they can hide under rocks, logs, or leaf litter. These insects have also adapted well to urban development, and are frequently found in basements, bathrooms, and garages,  as well as gardens and compost piles.

Like other centipedes, the common house centipede has less than 100 legs; in fact, they only have 15 pairs, with the front pair used only for holding prey or fending off threats. All those legs let the common house centipede move up to 0.4 meters per second (1.3 ft/s) over a variety of surfaces, including walls and ceilings. The actual body of S. coleoptrata is only 25 to 35 mm (1.0 to 1.4 in) long, but the antennae are often as long as the body which can give this insect a much larger appearance. However, they can be hard to spot, especially in their natural environments; their tan and dark brown coloration allows them to blend in seamlessly to surrounding vegetation.

Though they pose little threat to humans, house centipedes are predatory. Their primary food source is other arthropods, including cockroaches, silverfish, bed bugs, ticks, ants, and insect larvae. S. coleoptrata is a nocturnal hunter, and uses its long antennae to track scents and tactile information. Their compound eyes, unusual for centipede species, can distinguish daylight and ultraviolet light but is generally used as a secondary sensory organ. When they do find prey, house centipedes inject a venom which can be lethal in smaller organisms, but is largely harmless to larger animals. This makes them important pest controllers. In the wild, house centipedes are the common prey of rodents, amphibians, birds, and other insects.

The mating season for S. coleoptrata begins in the spring, when males and females release pheromones that they can use to find each other. Once located, the male spins a silk pad in which he places his sperm for the female to collect. She then lays fertilized eggs in warm, moist soil in clutches of 60-150. These eggs incubate for about a month, and the young emerge with only four pairs of legs. Over the next three years, juvenile house centipedes molt 7 times, each time gaining new pairs of legs. After they grow their last pair of legs, immature house centipedes molt an additional 3 times, at which time they become sexually mature. If they can avoid predation, individuals can live up to 7 years in the wild.

Conservation status: The common house centipede has not been evaluated by the IUCN, as it is relatively common both in the wild and in urban areas. Although they have been introduced to areas outside their native range, no detrimental environmental effects have been associated with their spread.

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Photos

Joseph Berger

David Paul

Conrad Altman via iNaturalist

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this Margaret Renkl Op-Ed from the New York Times:

Until last fall, when PBS screened “The American Buffalo,” a documentary by Ken Burns, I had no idea bison were native to Middle Tennessee, where I have lived for 37 years. I just assumed that Nashville was part of the great temperate deciduous forests that once covered much of the eastern half of the United States.

I should’ve guessed that the picture was more complicated. When I went looking for the once-endangered Tennessee coneflower in 2019, I found them in a rocky glade surrounded by grasslands blooming with wildflowers. And if there are grasslands here now, surely there must have been grasslands here in the past.

Before the European settlers arrived in North America, the region we know today as the American South was home to seven to 10 million acres of prairie, according to Dwayne Estes, a botanist, professor of biology at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., and executive director of the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, which works to research, preserve and restore native grasslands across the South. Today nearly all those Southern prairies — along with nearly all the other types of Southern grassland ecosystems, and nearly all the plants and animals they supported — are gone.

The scope of this loss of is enormous. Until the early 18th century, the South had up to 120 million acres of grasslands — prairies, savannas, wet meadows, barrens, glades, fens, marshes, coastal dunes, balds and riverscour that collectively supported a truly breathtaking array of plants and animals. In a study published in 2021, a team of scientists including Dr. Estes identified 118 major types of grassland ecosystems in the South. Some are close to extinction.

The most widespread were the savannas, grasslands characterized by scattered trees and a wildflower-rich soil. Historically, what kept young trees from filling the grasslands and turning them into dense, closed-canopy forests were two things: fire and bison (or both). “If you take fire and bison off savanna grasslands, which we did for the first time in world history, they will naturally grow up into trees,” Dr. Estes said in an interview. “They will become what we call artificial forests.” By the end of the 19th century, both bison and fire had been largely eliminated from the Southern landscape.

We know the European settlers chopped down much of the Eastern hardwood forests to harvest timber, but the ecological devastation wrought by a belief in Manifest Destiny didn’t stop with deforestation. The grasslands began to disappear, too, as trappers and settlers slaughtered the bison and suppressed the fire and turned the rich soil into farms.

Between row-crop agriculture, urban sprawl, and the transformation of open woodlands into closed-canopy forests, among other human encroachments, there is almost nothing left of the original grassland ecosystems that once sustained the immense biodiversity of the American South, from tiny insects to grasslands birds to the great buffalo itself. The grassy places we still have — pastures, public parks, highway medians and the like — don’t serve the same ecological function that our native grasslands did. These days, “grass” means species imported from Europe and Asia, monocultures that don’t support diverse plant species or native wildlife.

Today, according to calculations by the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, less than 5 percent of our original grasslands still exist. “Yet the remaining scraps include more grassland plants and animals than the Great Plains and Midwest combined,” notes Janet Marinelli in the publication Yale Environment 360. Preserving these remnants is vital, and not just for the biodiversity they sustain. Grassland remnants tell ecologists what a nearby grasslands-restoration project should look like, and they can serve as seed stock for propagation fields that will in turn provide the seeds needed to return the landscape to itself.

[todaysbird]

the blue-backed manakin is a small passerine bird found in deciduous forests of tropical south america. the species is named for the male’s distinctive plumage, with a bright blue back on a black body, with a red-accented head; females are primarily olive green. they are almost identical to the lance-tailed manakin, but lack that species’ distinct namesake tail feathers. this species primarily feeds on fruit and insects. they are known for their elaborate breeding performances, like other manakins; however, uniquely, dances to win affection from females are not performed competitively, but collaboratively. up to eight male manakins will dance together in a ‘lek’ (nest or burrow-like construction made solely to perform mating dances) to impress a female.

[crevicedwelling]

fascinating! Different anon here for the for the winter isopod topic. (I'm in Canada, the Canadian Shield region, which is like... Extra rocky taiga mixed with lots of freshwater sources and deciduous forest.)

If the ground is frozen, where would they go? Like, where I'm from, it reliably gets down to -35 celsius (-31 F) every single winter, during it's coldest weeks. For areas not maintained by regular plough schedules (like roads and sidewalks and specific dedicated paths in yards and lawns), we get a lot of snow and ice buildup. (Even then, sidewalks and paths get build ups of ice. Roads are usually fine because of industrial metal scrapers on the ploughs but even then.) By the end of the winter, despite the constant upkeep of dedicated paths within our yard in order to minimize the amount of snow one sinks in when walking around, there's still a solid foot and a half of snow and ice underfoot, that's been incredibly compressed by the usage of the path. For areas not upkept, they are oftentimes dedicated as "dumping grounds" for snow we need to displace, so it builds up a lot. We get huge snow banks on the sidewalks, I'm talking taller than people and cars. It doesn't get that high in our yard, around four feet on average.

Our temperatures fluctuate a lot as well, and that causes melting, which the ground absorbs. Which freezes up the next time the temperature drops. I'd say at most a solid foot into the ground, it freezes. This oscillation of the temperature also causes there to be different layers and levels of consistency within the snow, as well as causing it to move around and shift and morph into new cracks and crevices and spots.

So with all of that in mind, where the hell would the isopods go? You mentioned under rocks warmed by sun, but where I'm from, rocks loose enough to provide any kind of crawlspace, rocks that aren't anchored in the ground, those easily get congealed within ice. Basically, if you plan on using or moving an item, you better move it before late october, after which it risks being trapped and abused by the weather conditions.

I suppose shelter can be found within the thick buildups of needles under especially large coniferous trees, where snow and ice has a harder time penetrating and freezing to the core. And also human buildings would help too- like where we keep all of our firewood, we keep it clear of snow so that the logs don't rot or get frozen together.

I'm just amazed, honestly, that things like isopods and centipedes and ant colonies can survive and endure such harsh conditions for so long.

Crazy

if it’s any explanation, there don’t appear to be isopods in most of the area you described (map is off iNaturalist.) isopods are livebearing animals that can’t go dormant in egg or pupa form like insects can, so extreme cold is definitely a limiting factor in where they can exist. keep in mind also that most large North American isopods are invasive species from temperate Europe, so aren’t adapted to extreme northern environments in the first place.

[pleistocene-pride]

The lar gibbon also known as the white handed gibbon is an endangered primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae which is native throughout Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, China, Myanmar, Burma, Thailand, and Northern Sumatra. They sport the largest contiguous range of any gibbon species and typically inhabit lowland and submontane rainforest, mixed deciduous bamboo forest, and seasonal evergreen forest.They are a diurnal, arboreal, and social species which lives in familial groups comprised of a mated pair or polyandrous group and there young offspring which often communicate via there loud & distinctive calls. The diet is comprised mostly of fruit, leaves, flowers, vines, insects, and eggs. Lar gibbons are themselves eaten by tigers, clouded leopards, marbled cats, crested serpent eagles, and reticulated pythons. Both sexes reach around 16 – 24in (41 -61cms) in head to body length and 8-17lbs (3.6 -7.7kg) in weight. As gibbons they are true brachiators, propelling themselves through the forest by swinging under the branches using their arms. Reflecting this mode of locomotion, the lar gibbon has curved fingers, elongated hands, extremely long arms and relatively short legs. The fur of this animal can vary from dark brown to ginger, tan, or cream in coloration. Its face is black, with a distinct white ring of hair around it. Its hands and feet are also white. Mating may occur year round but typically peaks during the dry season around March, after a 6-7 month pregnancy a mother lar gibbon will give birth to a single baby. For the first 4 to 6 months of its life, the infant is nursed and carried around by its mother. She then carries it around less and less, and it begins eating solid food, before becoming fully weaned by 2 years old. After weaning it is primarily cared for by its older siblings, and after 3 years it in turn starts caring for its younger siblings as well. Lar gibbons reach sexual maturity between 6 to 9 years of age at which point they leave there familial group in search of mates. Under ideal conditions a lar gibbon may live upwards of 25 years.