Quail grass (Celosia argentea)

Boroco or quail grass (Celosia argentea) is a species of plant in the Amaranthaceae, a shrub with erect stems, maroon or green in color, requiring full sun, widely used as ornamental plants and flowers by the distinctive form of erect spikes.

C. argentea has a strong stem with many branches from the lowest base to the apex to form a dense plant, but it opens and tapers upwards to a height of up to 1.5 meters, is maroon or green in color and the surface has vertical grooves.

Single leaf 5-15 cm long, base and tip pointed, oval or lance-shaped and strongly veined, a main vein linear and straight with several minor veins towards the sides and curved, slightly wavy margins, upper surface maroon or green.

Abundant flowers growing at the tips of branches above the leaves, sturdy, erect cylindrical, 2-15 cm long and depending on the cultivar, pointed tip, white on the underside and maroon on the top or one of these and often develop a silver sheen. Flowers are visited by bees, wasps, butterflies and the occasional hummingbird.

Quail grass produces tiny, shiny black seeds with a pink to white or cream hue that remain attractive even after the flowers have worn off and are often used as fresh or dried cut flowers.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Amaranthoideae
Genus: Celosia
Species: Celosia argentea
Varities: Celosia argentea var. argentea, Celosia argentea var. plumosa, Celosia argentea var. pyramidalis

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...

Javan mocca (Amanita javanica)

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a fungi species in Amanitaceae, having a cap width of 60-85 mm, the top is yellow orange to ocher yellow, sometimes with a tinge of reddish brown to yellow and yellow brown in the middle and the edges is white. A. javanica has gills on the bottom side of the cap that are translucent to the top surface and form fins straight to the side with an angle and ends in the middle on the stem, side view yellow or orange yellow or white and 8-12 mm wide. Pillar-shaped rods for 90-130x10-14 mm, narrowed upward, yellow decorated with orange scales like peeling. Ellipsoid and inamyloid-shaped spores, 8-12x6-8 µm and clamps at basidia bases. Javan mocca lives solitary or in groups for several individuals above the clay surface. Living in humid and shady areas on the forest floor is included under merkus pine ( Pinus merkusii ) community at an altitude of about 700 m. This fungus grows in tropical climates with 6 months rainy seas...

Dlium