Rain Locust (Lobosceliana cinerascens), female, family Pamphagidae, Gorongosa National Park, Mosambique

photograph by Piotr Naskrecki

Bronze Parotia (Parotia berlepschi), family Paradisaeidae, order Passeriformes, Foja Mountains, New Guinea

photograph by origin-www.roc-taiwan.org

Weevil (Pachyrhynchus congestus), family Curculionidae, Philippines

photograph by Frank Deschandol

@weevilsdaily

A snake in Thailand spent enough time sitting still in the water to grow moss and turn into a dragon, apparently.

More video at the source account!

While snakes can sit still a very long time, this is some kind of hair algae (not moss!) many species of which grow in n fast moving streams, so the snake could have been fairly active and still grow an algae coat, which it will lose next time it sheds or if environmental conditions (like seasonal temps) change too much for this algae's liking :)

SHOCKINGLY the 'brilliant mind' behind this beast is now defunct, so thanks to this one pinterest account for saving these photos

Fossilized fish (Mene rhombea) By: Carroll Lane & Mildred Adams Fenton From: Life Nature Library: The Earth 1962

Orange Ater-group Arion slug, Arion sp., Arionidae

Photographed in Germany by emanon

Flameleg millipedes in the genus Lamellostreptus

Found in Southeast Asia

Photo 1 by nolliecilliers, 2-3 by chinaberryhuang, 4-5 by danolsen, 6-8 by carey_knox_southern_scales, and 9 (for scale) by salticids

guy found exhibiting behaviors…

These ridiculous floofs are the sporangia of a slime mould - Heterotrichia oerstedii, or something very like it.

They release impressively pink clouds of spores when they wobble. Which is most of the time. ^_^

iNaturalist observation 266196502

White bees!!

This danger noodle isn’t very dangerous—unless you’re a lizard, arthropod, or rodent! Meet the Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari), a non-venomous snake found in parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Notice its unusual eyes? Because they’re positioned at the top of the boa’s head, this species can remain almost perfectly concealed in desert sand while watching for prey. After ambushing its victims, this snek constricts its soon-to-be meal, squeezing until suffocation or immobilization occurs. 

Photo: sindic, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, iNaturalist

Meet the pitcher plant moths, Exyra semicrocea: one of the few insects badass enough to live their whole lives in a trap specifically evolved to kill their kind.

Pitcher plants are finely tuned to kill insects, with slippery sloping walls leading down to a pit of insect-dissolving digestive juices. But these little guys turned the tables! From the moment they hatch, they're a pitcher's nightmare.

The spiky blood-red caterpillars seal the pitchers' entrances and eat them from the inside out, using the death trap as their own personal sanctuary from predators. They have specialized feet to grip onto the slippery walls, and use silk as a safety line to keep themselves from falling to their deaths.

When they emerge as adults, they wait until nightfall and then go party in other pitchers.

Adults have only ever been observed to perch inside pitchers with their heads facing up. It's assumed that their grip only works in one direction, and if they slip up they could fall in (like the poor fly below).

So they seem to like living on the edge.

Photos & art by Laura Gaudette, Steve Taylor, Helen Cowdy, Ashley Bosarge, Deanna D, and Kpinso.

Mirror-ball spider, Thwaitesia pulcherrima, Theridiidae

Photographed in Madagascar by Frank Deschandol // Instagram

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

Eurasian bullfinch/domherre. Värmland, Sweden (April 5, 2021).

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) male, Xanthistic, family Cardinalidae, order Passeriformes, AL, USA

photograph by Jeremy Black

Eurasian Hoopoes (Upupa epops), family Upupidae, order Bucerotiformes, UAE

photograph by Kinan Echtay