• Behold the Semi-Slug

    Half slug, half little glowing green alien.

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  •  Source: Skandinavisk Dyrepark; Photo: Søren Koch, Hilmer & Koch Nature Photography
    © Skandinavisk Dyrepark /Associated Press
    Source: Skandinavisk Dyrepark; Photo: Søren Koch, Hilmer & Koch Nature Photography

    source: dailymail.co.uk

    © Skandinavisk Dyrepark /Associated Press 

    Scandinavian Wildlife Park photo

    Those lucky workers over at the Scandanavian Wildlife Park in Denmark get to hand raise this unbelievably cutebaby polar bear cub. His name is Siku, which means 'ice' in an Inuit dialect, and he's being hand raised because his mother was unable to produce enough milk to feed him.

    Little Siku rose to internet fame when this over-the-top adorable video emerged. Be Warned, you may pass out from cute overload:



     
    image source: vi.sualize.us
     
    image source: pbs.org

     image source: toxikshock.com

    image source: ohyeahdevelopmentalbiology.tumblr.com

    How cuuuuute is this little bat embryo! Look at its itsy-bitsy bat wings! Awww!




    © maik36

    image source: storahult.com

    image source: http://www.meloidae.com/en/pictures/24003/

    image souce: schmetterling-raupe.de

    Habitat: most of Europe, from central England south to Morocco. To the east it is found from the Near East and Middle East to West Asia
    Status: No Conservation Concerns 

    Here's another caterpillar that undergoes an intense transformation. This is the Sycamore Moth (Acronicta aceris) and its baby form is a beautiful hairy yellow caterpillar highlighted with tufts of fiery red. Then there are those distinctive white spots running along its back -- quite a sight, wouldn't you agree?

    Unfortunately, yet again, these guys have to lose their beauty as they age. Going from sunny and bright, to gray and white. The caterpillars feed on the Common Horse-chestnut, Large-leaved Lime, Mulberry and Pedunculate Oak.


    © [wj]

    © [wj]

    © [wj]
    Habitat: Australia
    Status: Not Evaluated

     This spectacular little beetle (it's only around 5-6 mm in length) is a species of Darkling Beetle (Amarygmus sp) that has a very beautiful sheen to it. Reminds me of a puddle saturated with oil. Don't ya think? 

    James K explains how colors like this come to be in insects: 

    Iridescence is the third way to produce color from reflected light, the first two being conjugated double bonds (eg. pigments, dyes) and metal ions (minerals, gems). Iridescence in insects are largely caused by their shell structure that reflect light in ways such that the reflected light rays interfere constructively or destructively (or some combination in between) with each other. As different wavelengths experience different degrees of amplification or cancellation, different colors result, eg. if the blue wavelengths experience cancellation while red wavelengths experience amplification, red will result. There are apparently various ways this can be achieved, such as multilayer reflectors (eg. very thin layers of chitin) and photonic crystals.


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