Aug. 29/2018

Feature:

10 Fascinating Facts About Butterflies

“…1. There are more than 17,500 recorded butterfly species around the world, 750 of which can be found in the United States.

2. Butterflies & moths are part of the class of insects in the order Lepidoptera. Butterflies are flying insects with large scaly wings. Like all insects, they have 6 jointed legs & 3 body parts: the head, the thorax, & the abdomen. The wings are attached to the thorax, & they also have a pair of antennae, compound eyes, & an exoskeleton.

3. The cabbage white…is the most common butterfly in the U.S. Although it appears mostly white with black markings on the top of its wings, those wings are yellowish-green on the underside. Cabbage whites have a wing spread of just about 2 inches. Males have only one spot on each wing, while females have 2…

 

4. Monarch butterflies migrate to get away from the cold. However, they are the only insect that migrates an average of 2,500 miles to find a warmer climate. The iconic North American monarch has been greatly affected by extreme weather events, undergoing drastic dips, & spikes in population over the past several decades…

5. …The painted lady, American lady, red admiral, cloudless sulphur, skipper, Sachem, question mark, clouded skipper, fiery skipper, & mourning cloak are among the other butterflies that also migrate — but not as far as the monarchs.

                                                     

6. The common buckeye butterfly is one of the most striking butterflies, with its bold multicolored eyespots & thick upper-wing bars — all designed to frighten away any birds that might be tempted to chomp on them. If you look under its wings, you’ll find a more abstract profusion of brown, orange, & beige…

 

7. The orange barred sulphur butterfly is one that you can find all over the Americas & the Caribbean. It’s very distinctive, with bright yellow coloration & patches of orange marking both forewings & hindwings. Females tend to be bigger & darker than their male counterparts. And, just like the adult butterflies, the caterpillars have bright yellow bodies segmented by dark stripes.

                                                

8. …The butterfly starts its life as an egg, laid on a leaf. The caterpillar, or larva, hatches from the egg & eats leaves or flowers. It loses its skin many times as it grows, increasing greatly in size. Eventually it turns into a pupa, or chrysalis, & finally a beautiful adult butterfly emerges, & the cycle continues.

9. An adult butterfly has a very short life: just 3 to 4 weeks. However, the entire life cycle of a butterfly can range between 2 & 8 months, depending on the species. Some migratory butterflies…can live as long as 7 to 8 months in one generation.

10. The giant swallowtail butterfly, as its name implies, is one of the biggest butterflies, with a wing spread of 4 to 7 inches. The female is once again larger than the male. Swallowtails are found throughout North America, & sometimes as far south as South America. These butterflies are called ‘swallow’ because they have long tails on their hind wings that resemble the long, pointed tails of the birds known as swallows…”

Judy M.

April 28/2018

Care2.com

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle

Aug. 22/2018

Feature:

5 ‘Ugly’ Animals Who Deserve More Love

“It’s official: The blobfish is the ugliest animal in the world…

According to the Guardian, 3,000 people voted in an online poll in favor of giving the blobfish this dubious distinction. The campaign was organized by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society with the goal of drawing attention to the needs of our less cuddly & fluffy- but no less endangered- animal cousins…

I decided to compile my own list of the top 5 ugliest animals…Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Naked Mole Rat

…The rats are mammals, but they don’t regulate their own internal temperature like humans or dogs…A naked mole rat’s body temperature tracks the ambient temperature.

Naked mole rats were also the first mammals discovered to be eusocial…There is a queen naked mole rat that breeds with only a few males, while the others in the colony serve as workers.

 2. Star-Nosed Mole

…The star-nosed mole is functionally blind, so it has to find food using its highly specialized nose, which is crowded with very sensitive touch receptors.

It’s also the fastest-eating animal. On average, it only takes 227 milliseconds for a star-nosed mole to identify & consume individual items of food.

3. Goblin Shark

…The goblin shark’s long snout is covered with electroreceptors called ampullae of Lorenzini that allow it to sense tiny electrical fields emitted by its prey. When prey is detected, the goblin shark pops its jaw out & chomps…

4. Anglerfish

…this fish is glowy & terrifying.You might guess the source of the anglerfish’s name – it’s related to how the animal hunts. The anglerfish grows a long spine —  actually a modified dorsal fin — with a fleshy growth on the end. The fish wiggles that around in the water to imitate another animal’s prey. Once the anglerfish’s prey is within reach, chomp!...

5. Hagfish

…the hagfish is…otherwise known as a slime eel for a reason. Even though it’s super gross, the slime the hagfish produces is actually a pretty good defense strategy.

When the hagfish is captured or held, the 100 glands that run along its body spring into action & produce a viscous mucus. When combined with water, this snot can expand to over 5 gallons…

If the deluge of mucus doesn’t result in their freedom, the hagfish have another trick up their sleeve. They can tie themselves in a knot, which scrapes off the slime & frees them from their captor…"

Mindy Townsend

March 18/2018

care2.com

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle

August 15/2018

Feature:
Rare Golden Eagle Found Far From Usual Habitat

   “A rare bird is in the care of a Nova Scotia rehabilitation centre after being plucked from the Atlantic Ocean by fishermen. The Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre sees about 30 eagles a year, but last week they got an unexpected visitor- a golden eagle. ‘It was found by some lobster fishermen off the coast of Seal Island about 3 km into the ocean, which is a very unusual location for a golden eagle to be,’ said Murdo Messer, co-founder of the Hilden, N.S. centre. Golden eagles are usually found in the western U.S.”

The Canadian Press
The Gazette, Montreal
May 8/2018

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Weekly Chuckle

August 8/2018

Feature:
Admiral Butterfly May Soon Flutter Its Way To Status As Quebec’s Official Insect

   “Quebec might soon have a butterfly added to its list of official symbols.

   The Parti Quebecois…is expected to table a motion…calling for the white admiral butterfly to be designated the province’s official insect.

   The move coincides with the theme for this year’s edition of the Fete Nationale ‘Quebec, emblem de notre fierte’ (Quebec, symbol of pride).

   And anyone who has been to Montreal’s Botanical Gardens during its annual butterflies exhibition knows, Montrealers love their butterflies.

   There is already legislation- the Flag & Emblems of Quebec Act- that strictly catalogues the province’s official symbols, including the official tree (the yellow birch), the official flower (the blue flag iris), & official bird (snowy owl).

   However, there are between 25,000 & 30,000 species of insect in Quebec & more than 2,500 varieties of butterfly.

   The PQ motion focuses on the admiral butterfly, which had already been unofficially designated Quebec’s insect by a popular vote held in 1998…”

Postmedia News

in The Gazette, Montreal

June 16/2017    

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Weekly Chuckle

August 1/2018

Feature:
It’s Their Heroic Day: Heroic dogs inducted into Quebec’s Animal Hall of Fame

   “…Buffon, a wet-nosed black Labrador mix with a white patch on is chest…is …officially, a hero.
   Last October, Jacques Millette fell out of his wheelchair while trying to put out a fire after a welding torch fell from his hands & filled the basement with black smoke.

   Buffon rescued Millette by dragging him out to safety. Millette clung to Buffon’s fur with one arm & pushed himself along the floor with his other hand to the elevator. He managed to get outside & lay in the parking lot in the rain until a delivery man showed up & called the fire department.

   ‘Without him, I wouldn’t be alive today,’ Millette said…after a ceremony inducting Buffon into the Pantheon Quebecois des animaux, roughly, the Quebec Animal Hall of Fame, created by the provincial association of veterinarians 20 years ago.

   ‘We function like one entity- & we’ve only been together 3 months,’ Millette said, who communicates in sign language because he is deaf & mute…

   ‘And he’s very affectionate. There’s lots of love between us.’

   The only other inductee was Kanak, the Sherbrooke police support dog who has already won hearts for his work with young crime victims. A black Labrador who has his own Facebook page, Kanak is the first working dog of his kind in Quebec. Trained by the Mira Foundation, Kanak started working in 2016 & accompanies young, traumatized victims of sexual, physical or psychological abuse while their cases go through the legal system.

Just his mere presence soothes young victims, giving them support, comfort, & unconditional love, said his handler, Sherbrooke Detective Melanie Bedard…

   …Kanuk was honored for his excellent work, having assisted investigators in nearly 200 cases. Sometimes he sits by victims in court- 7 cases so far- when they confront their aggressors in front of a judge.

   ‘Kanak paves the way for a more compassionate justice. It is pet therapy in a judicial environment,’ Bedard said.

   For the provincial association of veterinarians, it’s important to understand the role of animals considering that 1 to 2 homes has a pet- 23%  have dogs, 32% have cats.

   In Quebec, that’s about one million dogs, 2 million cats, plus horses, birds, & other small animals, said Michel Pepin, who heads the Associatiojn des medecins veterinaires du Quebec en pratique des petite animaux (AMVQ).

   Much has been written about the benefits of this human- animal bond or relationship, Pepin said.

   ‘It’s a beautiful love story,’ he said. ‘And when we (veterinarians) take care of pets, we also take care of the owners.’

…’We wanted to highlight the tremendous benefits we all receive as a society, & to develop & encourage better relationships between humans & animal companions’”

Charlie Fidelman

March 12/2018

The Gazette, Montreal

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle