Extinct Butterflies

, July 4, 2011

Extinction isn’t a strange term to most of us. While extinction is known to be a natural phenomenon, and had happened before without any human intervention, the extinctions that occur in the recent millennia had been mainly human-induced. Dodo and Javan Tigers are some of the well-known example. Even butterflies did not manage to escape this mess. In this post we’re going to take a look at 3 species of the butterflies that you can no longer see fluttering around.

Xerxes Blue (Glaucopsyche xerxes)

First described by Boisduval in 1852, this beautiful butterfly was last seen between 1941 and 1943. The species is particularly found in Sunset District of San Francisco, USA. Thanks to urban development, the destruction of their habitat drove to them to extinction. The exact cause of their extinction is not known, since their food plant still exist. It is considered the first known butterfly to extinct in USA. Xerxes Blue received a lot of attention when they disappeared, but the attention came a little too late.

Xerxes Blue – upperside

Xerxes Blue – underside

Photo by Chris Grinter (http://skepticalmoth.southernfriedscience.com/2010/08/butterfly-porn/)

 

Mbashe River Buff (Deloneura immacualata)

The species is endemic to Mbashe River of the East Cape, South Africa. Trimen described it in 1868 and apart from that, there is very little information about this species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species recorded no sighting of this species since 1986’s assessment and therefore considered listed it as extinct.

This is the only photo of the species found on the net, believed to be one of the olderst specimens in the Iziko South African Museum:

Mbashe River Buff – Upperside

Mbashe River Buff – underside

Photos by S. van Noort, Iziko (http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/butterflies/lycaenidae/deloneura_immaculata.htm)

 

Morant Blue (Lepidochrysops hypopolia)

Morant’s Blue is the rarest butterfly in South Africa that IUCN Red List has categorized it under the extinct group since there were only 2 encounters of the species. Ever. The first was by Walter Morant in 1870, where he found 2 males and another by Thomas Ayres in 1879. You can read the detailed description on that in http://www.thorntree.co.za/Butterfly.htm. There are unfortunately no photos available of the species. However Morant’s specimens are one in the Natural History Museum, London while Ayres’ specimen is now at the South African Museum.

No one could explain how Morant Blue and Mbashe River Buff became extinct as they are already very rare by the time they caught the attention of entomologists. Just like Xerxes Blue, attentions came a little bit too late.  Its a little too late to study them, understand them and save them.

Some scientists are still hopeful that these species still exist, somewhere. Nevertheless, the loss of these beautiful creatures is simply tragic. All we have left now is the preserved specimens, that would age, and sooner or later gone forever. All we have left for our children are photos and illustrations. Let this be the lesson for us to start to care more for our environment. Think about what how we utilize resources. Replenish what we’ve claimed. We’ve claimed their homes, now its time for us to rebuild them.

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” ~Native American Proverb

 


Posted in Butterflies, Mother Nature |

Cricket Thermometer

, June 13, 2011

When everything else is silenced at night, you’ll hear the crickets’ chirp.

Apart from frequently used as the background sound of a night scene in the movies, or as your gecko pet’s lunch, crickets have another bizarre purpose; a thermometer (surprise!). Weird but, yes, we can actually estimate the surrounding temperature by counting cricket chirps!

(By the way, you don’t need to get Myth Buster to confirm this because Wikipedia has all the proofs you need.)

It was this guy name Amos Dolbear who formulated the Dolbear’s Law that states the relationship between air temperature and the rate of which cricket chirps. He published the law in 1897 in an article called The Cricket as a Thermometer. (Source: Wikipedia)

Yeap, that’s Dolbear right there.

So how to calculate?

In Fahrenheit (°F)
The number of chirps in 15 seconds is added to 40.
For example: The cricket chirps 44 times in 15 seconds.
Therefore, the temperature would be: 45 + 40 = 80°F

In Celcius (°C)
The number of chirps in 8 seconds is added to 5.
For example: The cricket chirps 20 times in 8 seconds.
Therefore the temperature would be: 20 + 5 = 25°C

However the formula is more accurately applied to a particular species of tree crickets, Oecanthus fultoni, or commonly known as the snowy tree crickets, which are usually found in North America. Here’s a photo of it:

Amazing little thing, isn’t it?


Posted in Insects, Mother Nature |

, June 22, 2010

星期二, 二零一零年四月十三号

二零一零年四月十三号

夜探浮山背


如果你是来西人, 哪每当其他人一提起浮山背, 第一海的肯定 是 红虾, 葫芦,耳朵, “11或是近来最火林冠英。。。。

呷!哪是什么意思啊??

啦! 全都是城州最出名的榴品种啦。。。

有朋自方来, 不亦乎!! 我身为东道主, 当然要一尽地主之, 朋友们张 罗吃喝玩一番。是晚, 完了世界的尽坊的海餐后, 朋友想探一 探浮山背的林。

呵呵呵! 是的! 你没听!!我的朋友是要夜探浮山背的林!!

于是, 我只好call ,好夜足装, 一行7人浩浩荡荡的往浮山背的山林 出。 晚九点的山林, 凉意阵阵迎面来, 心情不觉轻松平静了下来, 只是四 周漆麻黑一片, 所今步不知前步路, 大家手拿着筒, 排列成直线, 开了 我们众乐乐虫游

穿行于56尺高的茅草, 每步行一步,两 出吱沙吱沙茅草相互拍的声音,期 间还夹有蟀虫叫, 原始的青草味也 遍布四周, 不就是大自然特有的味道?

寻寻觅觅, 都有所发现, 一会毛虫, 一会路虎甲, 一会小蛇卷 在枝, 只可惜我们带去的相机没, 所以没能把我们发现物一一上列明 与大家分享。

拨开茅草见什么??? 小蟋蟀, 小甲虫, 小蚱蜢咯 ;-)

拨开茅草见什么??? 小蟋蟀, 小甲虫, 小蚱蜢咯 ;-)

你知道毛毛虫这个词是怎么来的吗? 全因这个Look 咯!!

你知道毛毛虫这个词是怎么来的吗? 全因这个Look 咯!!

鲜橘色的热带蛙, 体长只有3cm

鲜橘色的热带蛙, 体长只有3cm

细细长长的枝干怎会一直摇摆不停并有往上移动的感觉?是我们眼花还是?????莫非。。。。。

细细长长的枝干怎会一直摇摆不停并有往上移动的感觉?是我们眼花还是?????莫非。。。。。

哈哈!原来就是难得一见的足节虫啦, 而且这还是槟城最长的足节虫品种, Phobaeticus serratipes 呢!

哈哈!原来就是难得一见的足节虫啦, 而且这还是槟城最长的足节虫品种, Phobaeticus serratipes 呢!

在一们发现的物种当中, 我想特别介蚰蜒种生物:

蚰蜒

蚰蜒

蚰蜒

为节物的一种, 因外形与蜈蚣极相像, 故常被人误认为 毒物。  蚰蜒俗称串子,古草鞋虫,有的地方香油虫蚰蜒 的前爪能分泌毒液,触及人体皮肤后即可致 局部疱疹,但不会致命。 它行敏捷,多生活在房屋内外的阴 暗潮湿,多捕蚊蛾等 小昆虫主食。当蚰蜒的一部分步足被捉住的候,部分步足就从身体 上断落下来,使身体可以 逃脱,是蚰蜒逃避害 的一种适

本解取自百度百科。

七剑客

七剑客


Posted in Mother Nature, Photos |

Celebrating Earth Day 2010!

, April 21, 2010

Earth Day – is this the only day we appreciate our Earth? Uh uh, we should appreciate EARTH every single day!

Some Earth Day Facts you might want to know…

Earth Day Milestone
1969: The U. S Senator, Gaylord Nelson first floated the idea of Earth Day to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.
First Earth Day:  22/4/1970: Over 20 million demonstrators and thousands of schools and local communities participate in Earth Day events. Gaylord Nelson directly credited the first Earth Day with persuading U.S. politicians that environmental legislation had a substantial, lasting constituency. Many important laws were passed by Congress in the wake of the 1970 Earth Day, including the Clean Air Act, wild lands and the ocean, and the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Why it’s international?
Earth Day is now observed in 175 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network, according to whom Earth Day is now “the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a half billion people every year. “ Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action which changes human behavior, help to contribute to the billion acts of green themes and provokes policy changes.

Earth Day 2010
The 40th anniversary of Earth Day 2010 will coincide with the World People’s Conference on Climate Change, to be held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and with the International Year of Biodiversity.

The Earth’s Challenge
The age of the Earth is around 4.54 billion years. A variety of environmental problems now affect the earth.  As globalization persists and the earth’s natural processes transform local problems into international issues. Some of the largest problems now affecting the world are Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global Warming, Hazardous Waste, Ozone Depletion, Smog, Water Pollution, Overpopulation, and Rain Forest Destruction.

which-earth-do-you-want-live-in

So what can we do to appreciate Mother Earth?

  • Support your local government in their Go Green activities
  • Don’t use polysterene materials anymore!
  • Hang your laundry under the sun.
  • Reduce air conditioning and use fans to keep cool.
  • Use mass transit, try car pools, bike or rethink your mode of transportation.
  • Try your best to go paperless – Buy digital storage solutions to cut down on paper.
  • Turn everything off when not in use.
  • Don’t throw away leftovers! Try to re-cooked and recycled older meals into tasty newer meals.
  • Compost the kitchen trash and makes a great natural fertilizer.
  • Consider energy efficient alternatives, e.g.: energy-efficient light bulbs.
  • Buy local products to reduces pollution and fuel use.
  • Plant trees and other foliage.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Mother Nature |

环保入门

, April 19, 2010

可重复使用的多功能提篮、环保袋还有月饼盒。

可重复使用的多功能提篮、环保袋还有月饼盒。

响应环保的普罗大众,无时无刻不被混乱复杂又五花八门的环保资讯轰炸得昏头转向。更多的群众对于环保的概念,往往只停留在回收垃圾及不乱丢垃圾的阶段而已。有者更误以为环保其实是意味着高昂的消费,从高功能的环保屋、到比市价贵好几倍的有机食品及目前仍然被视为未来汽车的太阳能汽车等等。这些奢侈的绿色消费让很多人产生错误的环保迷思。

其实,环保不应该是项望尘莫及的大项目。反之,环保理应是一种健康、简朴又省钱的生活态度。让我们从小处着手,一起来支持环保:

1. 自备提篮或环保袋。

省钱指数:+++      健康指数:++

2. 用节能灯炮。

省钱指数:++++     健康指数:++

3. 在外打包时自备容器,尽可能不用免洗餐具。以毛巾或手帕代替面纸或餐巾。

省钱指数:+++++     健康指数:+++++

4. 尽可能不买过量包装的物品,选择耐用或可重复用的物品。

省钱指数:+++            健康指数:++

5. 不浪费食物,把剩菜打包回家,减少厨余。

省钱指数:+++++     健康指数:++

6. 多喝白开水,少吃过量加工的食品,没营养的垃圾食物能免则免。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:+++++

7. 以有盖容器取代保鲜膜收藏食物。

省钱指数:++++      健康指数:++++

8.  将不要的蔬菜渣滓、剩菜、果皮、落叶杂草等作成有機的堆肥或家禽饲料。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:+++++

9.  做好垃圾分类,把不要的生活杂物捐给响应资源回收的慈善机构。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:+++++

10. 选择没有农药、不添加人工色素的本地有机农作物。(舶来品所费的运输费、汽油费并不环保。)

省钱指数:++      健康指数:+++++

11. 以洗米水取代碗盘清洁剂。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:+++++

12. 多吃菜及谷粮,少吃肉类,以减少禽牧废水的排污量。

省钱指数:+++      健康指数:++++

13. 选择以脚踏车代步或步行到附近的商店或场所,尽量少以汽车代步,多响应公车及共车计划。

省钱指数:++++      健康指数:++++

14. 在家多用风扇,少用冷气。必要时以风扇辅助冷气,以调节室内温度。

省钱指数:+++     健康指数:+++

15. 以吊衣绳取代衣物烘干机。太阳公公天然的杀菌功能远胜烘干机。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:++++

16. 自行种植无农药的有机菜。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:+++++

17. 减少到拥有冷气设备的室内运动室,多做户外运动。

省钱指数:++++     健康指数:+++++

18. 养成在家休闲的爱好,少逛商场以减少不必要的消费。

省钱指数:++++      健康指数:+++++

19. 到户外郊游时,不乱丢垃圾,最好可以把垃圾带回家。

省钱指数:++++      健康指数:+++++

20. 尽可能不在水源区野餐,以避免污染水源。

省钱指数:++++      健康指数:+++++

21. 不要在公共场所吸烟,避免造成空气污染。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:+++++

22. 把生活残留物制成具创意又节省资源的礼物或贺卡。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:++++

23. 送花最好以盆花或盆栽取代切花。

省钱指数:+++      健康指数:+++

24. 避免施放可以污染环境的气球、烟火及鞭炮。

省钱指数:+++++      健康指数:+++++

个人的改变会起大作用吗?

在这个处处充满商机的消费时代,每个个体的消费行为都会衍生至小社会,直接对我们的大环境造成影响,这些都是不容小觑的事实。正所谓“勿以善小而不为,勿以恶小而为之”,如果身边的你、我、他在消费的时候都可以停下脚步,思量一下我们所买的物品是否会对环境造成好的或坏的影响,大家都转而选择一些对环境友善的产品的话,全球的市场供应结构便会顺应消费人节能减碳、减少消费、减少废弃物的消费行为而转向一个更为健康的绿色市场,为我们带来真正绿化的环境。


Posted in Mother Nature |

Happiness in Nature

, January 2, 2010

Do you like reading poems? Here is one I wrote on mother nature…


When you watch the birds and touch the sky,
When you see the moving clouds and the swaying trees,
When you sit by the quiet lake and the fish within,
Did you smile, as I accompany you?

When you learn the language of bees,
When you feel the tickle of plants,
When you hear the sound of rivers,
Did you laugh, when I play with you?

When you chase the dragonflies to my waterfall,
When you pick the flowers from my garden,
When you wash your legs in my pond,
Did you feel happy when I spend time with you?

When you search the green grassy meadows,
When you sight the fanciful forests and mountains,
When you walk the beach and dive the oceans,
Did you travel very far just to look for me?

Hmm… perhaps, did you even know me at all?

Some quotes I like about butterflies, nature and happiness:

“Nature’s message was always there and for us to see. It was written on the wings of butterflies.”

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”

“Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, it may alight upon you.”

happiness


Tags:
Posted in Mother Nature, Nature's Motivation |

Dine & Draw at Penang Butterfly Farm’s Papilio Cafe

, June 15, 2009

Mummy, look at my drawing...

Mummy, look at my drawing...

Creativity and expressive!

Creativity and expressive!

The little ones from Starbright Kindergarten, Chai Leng Park & Simpang Ampat Centre putting out their love and passion on drawing at Penang Butterfly Farm’s Dine & Draw Session.

Posted in Butterflies, Food, Latest News, Mother Nature, Photos |

Congregation of Rajah Brooke Butterflies, Kuala Woh Recreational Park

, May 31, 2009

The striking metallic green butterflies congregating at the river banks

The striking metallic green butterflies congregating at the river banks


Posted in Insects, Mother Nature |

Earth Day 2009

, April 22, 2009

Yes, today is Earth Day 2009… Why are we watching Earth Day? If you live on Earth, you should know what to do to save the Earth.

Some facts to know about the climate change:

  • Human activities are now adding about 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere every year and this contributes to global warming.
  • As the world grows warmer, diseases such as malaria are predicted to spread, due to the carriers of disease spreading out over a larger geographical area.
  • As many as 15 to 37% of all wildlife species in some regions could be “committed to extinction” by 2050 years because of global climate change. Our butterflies will go extinct too.

You can also download a free Earth Day wallpaper from us:

Earth Day Wallpaper by butterfly-insect.com/blog

Earth Day Wallpaper by butterfly-insect.com/blog


Posted in Latest News, Mother Nature |

Earth Hour, 28 March 2009, 8.30pm

, February 26, 2009

At 8.30PM on 28 MARCH 2009, 1000 cities and towns across the world will turn off their lights for ONE HOUR – sending a powerful global message that it’s possible to take action on global warming.

An initiative which started in Sydney in 2007 whereby lights were turn off for an hour, this noble gesture had spread across 370 cities and towns in more than 35 countries across 18 timezones, and the campaign shifted from a Sydney event to a global sustainability movement a year later. An estimated 50 to 100 million people around the world switched off their lights for Earth Hour in 2008, and global landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Rome’s Coliseum, the Coke billboard in Times Square and Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai darkened for one hour.

In what we hope will be the world’s largest mass participation event, Earth Hour 2009 will be the culmination of one billion people around the globe, in more than 1000 cities from business, government and the community turning off lights, and sending a message to world leaders in the lead-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference Copenhagen 2009 that we need a commitment to actions that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the short and long term benefit of the planet.

It is our delight that Penang Butterfly Farm together with other major tourist attractions in Penang had the privilege to join hands and support this significant Earth Hour cause. For the first time ever, Penang will be supporting this effort with many interesting programs. Major shopping complexes, hotels, government state buildings and many other tourist attractions have pledged their support on 28 March 2009, 8.30pm to power down the electricity of their non-critical areas premises.

Prior to this, some organisations had taken up their own initiative to organise some interesting awareness programs such as Essay Competition, GREEN Performance and NO CAR DAY. Penang Butterfly Farm, having its role played in the nature and environment sustainability efforts will be distributing 100 Butterfly Host Plants to all invited guests during the official countdown day at Island Plaza, 8.30pm. These host plants are meant for greater propagation which in directly translates to more butterflies in our Earth. Having said this, butterflies which play an important role in pollination will interact with other animals, plants and the physical environment in the ecosystem. The effects of the global warming which had already begun will continue to deteriorate if the ignorance and selfishness of human beings toward Mother Nature sees no mercy and stop.

Earth Hour is simply a message of hope and action. Imagine what we can do if we act together. Already, through the extensive WWF International network, Earth Hour 2009 will be delivered in over 60 countries; the number growing is each day.

For the sake of our future generations and loved ones, pledge your support with us – Earth Hour 2009 today!


Posted in Latest News, Mother Nature |