This Is Superior Humor

Van der Linde gang, early days

Cecropia moths, Hyalophora cecropia, + details Photos by Alexander Wild // Twitter

Tumblr for some reason is not letting me publish asks but anyway…

The fuzzy fur-like stuff that covers a lot of moths is actually modified scales, like the scales on their wings, made of a substance called chitin, rather than keratin as in mammal hair. Chitin also makes up their exoskeleton. Wing scales are used to absorb heat, possibly to assist with flight, and to display colors/patterns as defense/camouflage or to attract a mate. The fuzz on their body is thought to muffle the sonar of predatory bats as well as keep them warmer in the chilly night air. Unlike mammal hair, though, these scales are not continually growing and cannot be replaced if lost or damaged.

Here’s a fun extreme macro photo of a sunset moth’s wing scales and longer modified hair-like scales:

Photo via Johan J.Ingles-Le Nobel

are people online really promoting the idea that each crystal has a “lifespan” metaphysically and should be replaced after that time? that’s not sustainable and holy shit what kind of idiot really believes that a rock can sit nicely for 300 million years and still keep its ~ magic ~ but also believe that you have to replace your stone after 4-5 months because it’s “not magical anymore”

Here’s an odd one: the skull of the only known “narluga”, a possible narwhal/beluga whale hybrid. It was killed by a Greenlandic hunter around 1987 and the skull was lying on top of a toolshed in 1990 when it was noticed by a visiting scientist. According to the hunter, the animal was a uniform grey color (as opposed to the mottled narwhal and the white beluga), with the tail of a narwhal but the pectoral flippers of a beluga whale. 

The skull is larger than both parent species’ and its teeth a strange mixture of both. Narwhals don’t have teeth except for the single large tusk of the male, while beluga whales have a full set of smaller teeth. The narluga seems to have a full set of teeth but some of them are strangely elongated and oriented like narwhal tusks, as seen in the third picture. The unusual dentition didn’t seem to bother the animal since it reached a great size but it would presumably have been sterile as most hybrids are. No other examples of narwhal/beluga whale hybrids have been found. 

The skull is currently housed at the Zoological Museum of Copenhagen.

Just ordered screenprinted shirts of this design… IM SO NERVOUS AND EXCITED :0000

Found two "poems" that I wrote when I was like... 17? l.p. stands for 'lux permanet'. Who the f did I write the first poem about, my imaginary bf? Hahahaha

$15 DIY Fogger for Frog Tank or Vivarium

Showing off my diy humidifier-fogger I made for my dart frog tank as well as tips for how to make your own. One day I'll make a nicer version of this video, ...

Made this at the request of a friend and figured it might be useful to some people with humidity loving plants in boxes XD