Sunday 22 December 2019
Saturday 21 December 2019
21-12-2019 MONTE CORONA, VALENCIA - WAVE MOTH (Idaea minuscularia)
White moth Idaea minuscularia
One of the many species of moths (also called moths ) that can enter the house attracted by the interior lights and remain on the wall still for many hours. Belonging to the Geometridae Family . Very large group of nocturnal moths (about 35,000 species). With a wide variety of sizes, they include wingspans ranging from 12 to 120 mm. The morphology and posture they adopt are characteristic of the family:
The forewings of these moths are wide and triangular in shape with hindwings almost as wide.
During the day, they keep their wings extended and flat against the surface on which they rest.
The coloration along with a mottled pattern and posture allows them to go unnoticed in a natural environment.
The caterpillars of this family have a very particular way of moving. Because they have a space between their front legs and those located at the end of the abdomen, they move by bringing the rear end to the front legs and then extending the body forward.
Moths of this family are characterized by slender bodies and large , broad forewings, which are often crossed by thin, wavy lines.
Idaea is a genus that encompasses approximately 700 known species, between the Mediterranean, Africa and
western Asia.
12 to 18 mm wing span. White background color. Transverse lines and points of the cell generally thin or practically non-existent. Posterior edge dotted and parallel to it, series of dots on the inside of the wing. Dark spots appear between the two that are often inconspicuous.
The caterpillar is polyphagous . They feed on a multitude of low-growing herbs in all types of habitats, being adapted to parks, gardens and urban lots .
Adults come to the streetlights at night , staying on the walls for a long time, even during the day. Occasionally they access homes.
In temperate zones they can be found in all months of the year.
Western Mediterranean. North Africa (Morocco, western Algeria) and Iberian Peninsula. It is also known from the Balearic Islands.
It is often found near the coast in bushes, buildings and walls. It lives in arid biotopes with little vegetation cover. Parks, gardens and urban lots .
Friday 20 December 2019
Wednesday 18 December 2019
Monday 16 December 2019
25-11-2015 JURONG BIRD PARK, SINGAPORE - PAINTED STORK (Mycteria leucocephala)
The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not migratory and only make short-distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.
The painted stork is widely distributed over the plains of Asia. They are found south of the Himalayan ranges and are bounded on the west by the Indus River system where they are rare and extend eastwards into Southeast Asia. They are absent from very dry or desert regions, dense forests and the higher hill regions. They are rare in most of Kerala and the species appears to have expanded into that region only in the 1990s. They prefer freshwater wetlands in all seasons, but also use irrigation canals and crop fields, particularly flooded rice fields during the monsoon. They are resident in most regions but make seasonal movements. Young birds may disperse far from their breeding sites as demonstrated by a juvenile ringed at a nest in Keoladeo National Park that was recovered 800 kilometres away at Chilka in eastern India. Breeding is always on large trees, usually in areas where nesting trees are secured over long periods of time, including in wetland reserves, along community-managed village ponds and lakes, inside villages when protection is also afforded to nesting birds like in Kokrebellur, protected tree patches in urban locations such as zoos, and on islands in urban wetlands.
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