Showing posts with label #mothernature. Show all posts

They Might Look Like Pinecones, But They're Actually Gross Insects


People who spend hours working on the perfect landscapes for their homes know just how frustrating it is when pests decide to take over. Sometimes, those with skilled eyes and the time to wage war can usually catch the buggers before they cause too much damage. However, the casual garden enthusiast often catches them too late to do anything about their precious destroyed plants.


One of the worst garden pests, for those of us in North America, is the Evergreen Bagworm. If you thought you had a pest problem before, you have no idea.




These gross little worms aren’t actually worms, they’re moth larvae. Still, that doesn’t stop them from chowing down on unsuspecting trees.






Before they undergo metamorphosis, bagworms attach themselves to trees and feed on their leaves. They look an awful lot like a pinecone.






While the resulting bagworm moth looks beautiful, its life cycle can cause irreparable damage to trees.






Once the bagworms are sealed in their cocoons, they’re easy to dispose of.






While throwing the cocoons out is effective, some people (like the photographer below) take special pleasure in more elaborate forms of bagworm destruction.




He’s burning a bag of bagworms…very meta.




(source Reddit)


I’ve honestly never heard of bagworms before, but I’m not a fan. Let’s save the trees and burn the bagworms!



You Might Not Realize Just How Amazing Hummingbirds Are...Until You See This


Just when you thought watching the Discovery Channel every night made you an expert on wildlife, Mother Nature turns around and proves she has a few more surprises up her sleeves.


Case in point: male hummingbirds have been hiding something all their lives, and it’s finally coming to light. Watch below to see just how the winged creature shares similarities with a color-changing chameleon. Seeing it in action will make you wonder how you went all this time without noticing this in the wild.





Source: Hummingbird’s mesmerizing “color change” illusion by DesJardin on Rumble




Watching him shift colors like that was nothing short of breathtaking. That’s why we’re so thankful we don’t know everything about nature yet. Otherwise, we’d never be this giddy again!




For more incredible animal stories, check these out:




He Thought He Just A Regular Fish, But When He Looked Closer, He Couldn't Believe It


Nature is both wonderful and terrifying. Just when we think we’ve seen everything there is to see, mother nature surprises us. Usually these surprises are pretty cool, but sometimes they’re downright terrifying. Earlier this month, a fisherman in Colorado got a lesson in the latter.


According to a post on Imgur, the poster’s neighbor was down by a local pound when this was found washed ashore.




From the looks of it, this is a dead fish with what appear to be fully formed legs. Is it time to head for the hills yet?




If you look quickly enough, you might not even notice the creature’s legs, but there they are. Commenters were quick to call this a sign of the end times. However, a much more conventional explanation is likely.





Meet the axolotl, an amphibian with fully formed legs which is related to the salamander. They are sometimes referred to as “walking fish.”



However, there is no concrete proof that the creature in the first picture is actually an axolotl. Maybe we’re witnessing the beginnings of a new, power-hungry fish species who will eventually take to the land.




(via: The Daily Mirror)


Ok, that last explanation is a little bit far fetched, but nature does work in mysterious ways. Who knows? If these fish are actually evolving to be Earth’s new overlords, the time to act is now! (Or we can at least keep fishing at the same pond until we catch them all.)