Yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina)

Yellow-legged hornet or Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) is an animal species in Vespidae, wasps with white or yellow tarsi, has about 13 subspecies, queens are 30 mm long and males 24 mm, workers 20 mm long and build nests to accommodate thousands of colonies.

V. velutina has a velvety brown or black chest with a brown belly. Each ventral segment has a narrow yellow border except for the fourth segment which is orange, black head and yellow face but varies widely in color and several subspecies have been identified by geographic coverage.

The female has a stinger to defend the nest and kill prey. Large egg-shaped nests up to 50 cm in length. The nesting season is long and the colony usually starts with building a nest in low bush, then leaves after a few months and quickly builds a new nest in the tree.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Infraorder: Aculeata
Superfamily: Vespoidea
Family: Vespidae
Subfamily: Vespinae
Genus: Vespa
Species: Vespa velutina
Subspecies: Vespa velutina ssp. ardens, Vespa velutina ssp. auraria, Vespa velutina ssp. celebensis, Vespa velutina ssp. divergens, Vespa velutina ssp. flavitarsus, Vespa velutina ssp. floresiana, Vespa velutina ssp. nigrithorax, Vespa velutina ssp. variana

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis...

Pink poui (Tabebuia rosea)

Pink poui ( Tabebuia rosea ) is a species of plant in the Bignoniaceae, a small neotropical tree, growing up to 30 meters tall and up to 100 cm in diameter. It has layered and irregular branches, with gray to brown bark and vertical fissures. The leaves are compound, finger-shaped, five-petaled, length up to 33 cm, width up to 15 cm and long stalk up to 9 cm. The flowers are large, bright red or purple or white, fan-shaped, up to 9 cm long, up to 8 cm wide. The fruit capsule is slender and up to 35 cm long. The fruit dries and dehisces, producing anemochorous seeds with hyaline membrane wings. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Bignoniaceae Genus: Tabebuia Gomes ex DC. in Biblioth. Universelle Genève, n.s., 17: 130 (1838) Species: Tabebuia rosea (Bertol.) DC. in Prodr. 9: 215 (1845) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Couralia rosea (Bertol.) Donn.Sm. in Bot. Gaz. 20: 9 (1895) Sparattosperma roseum (Bertol.) Miers in Proc....

Blue pea (Clitoria ternatea)

Blue pea ( Clitoria ternatea ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family. It is a climbing herb with compound leaves, 5-7 leaflets, up to 12 cm long. The leaflets are oval to round, up to 4 cm long and 3 cm wide, and green. The flowers are blue and white, up to 5 cm long and 3.5 cm wide. The pods are up to 11 cm long and 1 cm wide. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Subfamily: Faboideae Tribe: Phaseoleae Subtribe: Clitoriinae Genus: Clitoria L. in Sp. Pl.: 753 (1753) Species: Clitoria ternatea L. in Sp. Pl.: 753 (1753) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Clitoria spectabilis Salisb. in Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 336 (1796) Nauchea ternatea (L.) J.-T.Descourt. in Mém. Soc. Linn. Paris 4: 8 (1826) Ternatea ternatea (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(2): 72 (1898) Ternatea vulgaris Kunth in F.W.H.von Humboldt, A.J.A.Bonpland & C.S.Kunth, Nov. Gen. Sp. 6: 415 (1824) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Clitoria albiflora Matte...

Dlium