The Nature Photography Thread

[ConcinusMan]

It's Jew's Ear fungus. (Auricularia auricula judae)
Edible when young.

What the? did a bunch of Nazi's sit down to dinner one day and say, "hey, this is pretty good, reminds me of..."

[drache]

goodness - it's been days
very nice photos, everybody, and I really want to go where Nate went to take those amazing photos - even if I'd see only a fraction of the animals

[Stefan-A]

What the? did a bunch of Nazi's sit down to dinner one day and say, "hey, this is pretty good, reminds me of..."

Not to get into politics, but the West does have a 2000+ year history of antisemitism. The Nazis just took the whole thing one "tiny" step further than what the church and numerous states had done in the past.

Then again, we have dozens of plants with (Swedish) common names referring to Russians.

[MasSalvaje]

Last night I went into the snake room to check on everyone. I looked into the cage with my female Desert Hairy scorpion and saw this.



They have a nasty habit of eating their young in captivity so I am hoping I can change that with this girl. I need to get them to their 2nd instar (after they molt for the first time) before I can take them from mom and into their own enclosure. I just hope they make it!

-Thomas

[ConcinusMan]

Awesome. I once had a yellow scorpion that looked much like that one. Used to find them in San Diego. Not sure of the species, they pretty much all look the same to me.

[guidofatherof5]

Last night I went into the snake room to check on everyone. I looked into the cage with my female Desert Hairy scorpion and saw this.



They have a nasty habit of eating their young in captivity so I am hoping I can change that with this girl. I need to get them to their 2nd instar (after they molt for the first time) before I can take them from mom and into their own enclosure. I just hope they make it!

-Thomas

That is awesome, Thomas.

[adamanteus]

Excellent photo too.

[MasSalvaje]

Thanks guys! They are still doing well but it is going to kill me to have to wait the 2 weeks to be able to put them in their own container.

-Thomas

[guidofatherof5]

Thanks guys! They are still doing well but it is going to kill me to have to wait the 2 weeks to be able to put them in their own container.

-Thomas

Thomas,
I know nothing about Scorpions so you'll have to educate me.
Why do they have to say with Mom?

[MasSalvaje]

We don't know all of the reasons. Some say the mother feeds the young, which is not actually true. Some say the mother helps regulate the humidity allowing the young ones to molt when it comes time. But the majority of scholars believe it is strictly for protection. The babies have a very week exoskeleton when born and will stay that way until after they molt. The are unable to sting or use their claws to catch food or defend themselves until they are in their 2nd instar so they need mom to help out.

Here is what the San Diego Zoo has to say about it:

Babies on board

Unlike most other invertebrates, female scorpions give birth to live young 2 to 18 months after mating, depending on the species. The babies look like miniature adults, except that they are usually very light in color (adults are dark), have no pedipalps, and cannot sting. The newborns immediately climb onto their mother's back, where they will remain for several days until their first molt. Some young will remain there much longer, depending on the species. She won't feed them, but she does carry them around and protect them until they are able to hunt and defend themselves. This is a tricky time for the young, however, because if the mother gets hungry, she will no longer recognize them as her young and may eat them! After that first molt, the young scorpions will leave to establish territories of their own and will be sexually mature after their sixth molt.

-Thomas