Sunday, 7 October 2018
Saturday, 6 October 2018
Friday, 5 October 2018
Thursday, 4 October 2018
4-10-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - MOORISH GECKO (Tarentola mauritanica)
Tarentola mauritanica, known as the common wall gecko, is a species of gecko (Gekkota) native to the western Mediterranean area of North Africa and Europe. It has been introduced to Madeira and Balearic Islands, and the Americas (in Montevideo, Buenos Aires and California). A nocturnal animal with a predominantly insectivorous diet, it is commonly observed on walls in urban environments in warm coastal areas; it can be found further inland, especially in Spain where it has a tradition of cohabitation with humans as an insect hunter. A robust species, up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in) long, its tubercules are enlarged and give the species a spiny armoured appearance.
The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. It is also known as moorish gecko, crocodile gecko, European common gecko, and, regionally, as osga (in Portuguese), salamanquesa (in Spanish) and dragó (in Catalan).
4-10-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - GIANT HOUSE SPIDER (Eratigena atrica)
The giant house spider has been treated as either one species, under the name Eratigena atrica, or as three species, E. atrica, E. duellica and E. saeva. As of April 2020, the three species view was accepted by the World Spider Catalog. They are among the largest spiders of Central and Northern Europe. They were previously placed in the genus Tegenaria. In 2013, they were moved to the new genus Eratigena as the single species Eratigena atrica. In 2018, the three separate species were restored. The bite of these species does not pose a threat to humans or pets, and they are generally reluctant to bite, preferring instead to hide or escape.
The webs built by the giant house spider are flat and messy with a funnel at one end. They do not contain sticky threads. The spider lurks in the funnel until a small invertebrate happens to get trapped in the web, at which point the spider runs out and attacks it. They usually build their webs in corners (on both the floor and ceiling), between boxes in basements, behind cupboards, in attics, or any other area that is rarely disturbed by large animals or humans. They are also often found near window openings.
Wednesday, 3 October 2018
24-11-2016 INLE LAKE, MYANMAR - PHEASANT TAILED JACANA (Hydrophasianus chirurgus)
The pheasant-tailed jacana's main sources of food are insects, molluscs, and other invertebrates picked from floating vegetation or the water's surface. It forages by walking on vegetation and also by swimming in water, somewhat like phalaropes (although Hoffmann claims that they wade in deeper water but never swim. It also ingests filamentous algae, seeds and plant material, but this may be purely accidental. Flocks of as many as 50 to 100 can be found on a body of water, and they can become tame and habituated to human presence. They usually fly low over the water surface but may also mob raptors higher in the air. On landing, they keep their wings open until they find firm footing.
The typical call is a mewing me-onp or a nasal teeun among winter flocks. Males and females have different calls during the breeding season, and several contextual variants exist. Young birds produce a low cheep with the bill closed.
3-10-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - GIANT HOUSE SPIDER COMPLEX (Complex Eratigena atrica)
The giant house spider has been treated as either one species, under the name Eratigena atrica, or as three species, E. atrica, E. duellica and E. saeva. As of April 2020, the three species view was accepted by the World Spider Catalog. They are among the largest spiders of Central and Northern Europe. They were previously placed in the genus Tegenaria. In 2013, they were moved to the new genus Eratigena as the single species Eratigena atrica. In 2018, the three separate species were restored. The bite of these species does not pose a threat to humans or pets, and they are generally reluctant to bite, preferring instead to hide or escape.
The webs built by the giant house spider are flat and messy with a funnel at one end. They do not contain sticky threads. The spider lurks in the funnel until a small invertebrate happens to get trapped in the web, at which point the spider runs out and attacks it. They usually build their webs in corners (on both the floor and ceiling), between boxes in basements, behind cupboards, in attics, or any other area that is rarely disturbed by large animals or humans. They are also often found near window openings.
Tuesday, 2 October 2018
30-9-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - CANNA LILIES (GENUS CANNA)
Canna or canna lily is the only genus of flowering plants in the family Cannaceae, consisting of 10 species. All of the genus's species are native to the American tropics and were naturalized in Europe, India and Africa in the 1860s. Although they grow native to the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world, as long as they receive at least 6–8 hours average sunlight during the summer, and are moved to a warm location for the winter. See the Canna cultivar gallery for photographs of Canna cultivars.
Cannas are not true lilies, but have been assigned by the APG II system of 2003 to the order Zingiberales in the monocot clade Commelinids, together with their closest relatives, the gingers, spiral gingers, bananas, arrowroots, heliconias, and birds of paradise.
The plants have large foliage, so horticulturists have developed selected forms as large-flowered garden plants. Cannas are also used in agriculture as a source of starch for human and animal consumption. C. indica and C. glauca have been grown into many cultivars in India and Africa.
2-10-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LANED WAVE MOTH (Scopula luridata)
Scopula luridata is a moth of the family Geometridae. It is found in southern Europe, Asia Minor, China, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, Oman and Japan.
Subspecies
Scopula luridata luridata
Scopula luridata distracta (Butler, 1881) (Pakistan)
Scopula luridata sternecki Prout, 1935 (Japan)
2-10-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - Acrosternum heegeri
The species Acrosternum heegeri Fieber, 1861 is a well-known member of the Mediterranean fauna in Europe and until recently was not recorded outside its natural range. In recent years, the presence of stable populations of the species in Budapest has been confirmed, and the first findings on the territory of Serbia are from 2013, when several overwintering adults were found under the bark of deciduous trees in Novi Sad.
Since 2017, active individuals have been recorded throughout the season, for now mainly from the area of Vojvodina. This bug is probably conquering new territories by transporting people and goods, but we assume that climate change is also responsible for establishing stable populations in new environments. The paper presents the findings of the species A. heegeri in Serbia, which were taken from the Alciphron database on insects in Serbia. A. heegeri is a polyphagous herbivore and has the status of an economically significant species in the Middle East because it causes damage in pistachio plantations.
As natural expansion of southern species towards the north is getting more and more common in recent years in Europe (e.g., Ott 2001, Károlyi & Rédei 2017, Paulovics & Vas 2021, most probably driven by warming and drying climate, preferred by antlions, it is reasonable to include species in the identification key with considerable probability to appear in Hungary. Species of this category were included by the following biogeographical criteria: the species is either known from at least one country directly neighbouring Hungary or known from the Balkan Peninsula north of Greece (Greece not included).
30-9-2018 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - LONG JOINTED BEETLE (Lagria grenieri)
Lagria is a genus of beetles in the family Tenebrionidae.
Lagria villosa is a significant pest of crops.
Species
Species recorded in Europe include the following:
Lagria atripes Mulsant et Guillebeau, 1855
Lagria glabrata Olivier, 1792
Lagria grenieri Brisout de Barneville, 1867
Lagria hirta (Linnaeus, 1758)
Lagria lata Fabricius, 1801
Lagria rubida Graells, 1855
Species native to Africa include:
Lagria cuprina Thomson, 1858
Lagria villosa (Fabricius, 1781) – invasive in South America
Monday, 1 October 2018
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