milo_hr 的最愛

A female Giant Ichneumon wasp (Megarhyssa macrurus) oviposits into the side of a tree.

I was honored to have this observation selected as observation of the day for June 11, 2020, and again as observation of the week (week of June 21, 2020). It is covered in this blog post: A Trip to Texas Provides a Long Sought Photographic Opportunity - Observation of the Week, 6/21/20.

Say Hello to 'Bubba.' This magnificent, adult, male Mohave ground squirrel (MGS; Xerospermophilus mohavensis) was captured and released near Coso Junction, California, on June 6, 2019. It was a bit late in the year to capture an adult MGS, especially one so obviously well fed, above ground. That is because this species not only hibernates through the winter months, but it estivates through the hottest months of the summer; they hibernate or estivate for ~7 months of the year. Sadly, because of the pandemic, I could not return to my field site in 2020 and it does not look very promising either for 2021.

Beautiful & very unusual lusus (genetic aberration) of an Ophrys reinholdii.
This has been confirmed later by a small secondary "plant foot", attached to the main one (with the white flowers) and happened to give normal classic O. reinholdii flowers (pics attached).
Aberrations to that extend are pretty rare in the wild.
In that specific case, the genetic modifications gave flowers morphologically very different from the "classic" ones.

I am doing an experiment in post-truth science. For people who think reality is just a matter of opinion and that "civility" is the highest good, I present to you a Giant Pacific Octopus.
Remember, that if you disagree with my feelings, you are being very uncivil, which is the worst thing a person can be.