#invertebrate < Labels

[faebaex]

Octavinelle with Jellyfish Reader

author note: I’m baaack! It feels good to finally write again. Not anything long, but just some good ol’ slice of life headcanons with the fish mafia (who i think I’m currently obsessed with??) maybe I’ll write more about this, like a small drabble of jellyfish!reader finally remembering Azul or something pfft. Also, gender neutral reader!! Because I realised a lot of my works could be read that way, so I might start labelling like that from now on, so more people can enjoy  (*≧ω≦*)

characters: Azul Ashengrotto, Jade Leech, Floyd Leech x GN!Jellyfish Reader

background: 

You’re a jellyfish mer, specifically of the box jelly variety, meaning that you are highly poisonous. As such, people can be stung as easily as touching your skin, so you keep your skin covered up as much as possible. Well, as much as you can remember, as you are a bit... Airheaded. 

Azul Ashengrotto

You are the bane of Azul's life.

Seriously, his self confidence takes a battering during almost every interaction you have (the tweels don't help).

Why? Because you can never remember who he is.

"Y/N, please pass these papers to Azul." "Okay! ... Who is Azul?"

(He never gets those papers either because you forget why you have them in the first place...)

Azul would never admit it out loud, but he was excited when he learned a fellow invertebrate would be joining Octavinelle. You'd be able to relate to each other, no? Another mer with several appendages who prefers to swim slowly. A perfect match.

Except you are apparently impervious to his charms, and your blank stare haunts him.

Like hello, this is your Housewarden speaking. Anybody home? Do you remember him? ... No? You can't remember him but you remember the twins? Of course you do. Of course.

On the bright side for Azul, your empty headedness makes you deliciously easy to scam.

In fact, he doesn't even need to manipulate you into a contract. You're more than happy to stand sweetly, holding some leaflets promoting the Monstro Lounge's new special menu, or to stand aimlessly at the door, helping to attract clientele.

Now, if only he could think of a way to get you to remember him...

Jade Leech

Apart from the amusement he got from Azul's suffering, Jade wasn't really interested in you at first.

Nothing against you, of course. He just didn't find you very interesting.

However, that all changed when you visited his booth during the culture fair and stared dreamily into his terrariums.

Jade was absolutely delighted to tell you all about each of his terrariums and even about his foraging in the mountains. You stayed until Jade had to leave for his Monstro Lounge duties, and even then he was reluctant to disturb you.

You also won his first guest prize mystery mushroom too!

He found it utterly adorable when he found you still carrying it around in your hands later during the culture fair, cupped delicately like a precious item.

Inevitably, you and Jade fell into an arrangement where he'd talk your ears off about everything mountain and mushroom, and he'd let you view his updated terrariums.

He was fully aware you weren't retaining any of the information he was assailing you with, but you served well as an outlet for him to talk about his hobby, as Floyd was uninterested, and it charmed him that you stared so happily at his terrariums, his work of arts, that he allowed himself to indulge.

But you surprised him one day (no easy feat!). Jade was once again pitching some mushroom dishes for the Monstro Lounge menu to Azul, with some mushrooms for illustrative purposes.

When Azul handled one of the mushrooms with disdain, asking what exactly this was, you suddenly piped up before Jade could.

"That's a chanterelle mushroom. They work well sautéed... And in cream sauces." Cue shocked Jade and Azul.

Low-key Azul is fuming because how can you remember that but not him??

Jade never imagined you would retain any of what he told you, being airheaded was in your nature after all. So he was touched, charmed in fact that you could recall some facts about a mushroom on sight.

He recovered from his shock quickly with a large toothy grin, capitalising on Azul's shock to launch another sales pitch.

Your fate was sealed, he definitely would be taking you along on his next mountain walk.

Floyd Leech

Oh he just loves you, jellyfish! So cute, sweet and squishy!

You are one of Floyd's favourite people to squeeze. He can squeeze you as hard as he likes, and you don't even flinch!

It is guaranteed that if he catches sight of you on campus, he is charging over to you to wrap his arms around you, squeezing and throwing you around with exuberance. Onlookers look on in horror as you just give a ditzy smile.

But as a result of Floyd's constant manhandling of you, it means he sometimes accidentally touches your skin and gets stung.

Resulting in multiple trips to the infirmary. But don't worry, Floyd doesn't get mad about it. In fact, some swear that he likes it.

By this point, it's happened so often that Floyd is likely building up a bit of resistance to your venom.

Now, Floyd tends to sometimes be a bit... Overprotective of you.

Seven forbid he feel that someone is bothering or messing with you. He'll be behind you in a flash, an arm thrown around your shoulder and sharp teeth bared in a snarl.

"Nee... What do you want with my jelly, huh?"

If the other students thought you were an easy mark before, they think twice now with your guard eel lurking about.

Jade and Azul like to keep you in the Lounge when Floyd is having a bad mood day, as your presence tends to keep him from wandering off and help salvage some productivity.

Azul is even willing to waive the loitering rule if that means Floyd will stay in the lounge and do some work.

It doesn't always work, mind. Sometimes Floyd just ends up laying across you in a booth and ignoring his duties. But Azul will take what he can get, at least he is there in case there are any troublesome clientele.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: giant tube worms

You voted that I would talk about a worm and so I shall discuss the mighty giant tube worms. But first, we need to define what a tube worm is. This is another "no such thing as a fish" situation because there are actually a lot of different things we call tube worms. Turns out the "noodle in a tube" body plan is a pretty successful one. The worms I'm discussing today are members of Siboglinidae, a family of annelids (segmented worms) that was formerly classified as two different phyla until genetic evidence came in. I will primarily be talking about two species: Riftia pachyptila and Lamellibrachia luymesi, who have both adapted to distinct extreme environments in similar ways.

(Image ID: multiple patches of Riftia pachyptila growing from rock at a deep-sea hydrothermal vent. The worms are housed in long, white tubes, some stained yellow. Emerging from the tubes are respiratory organs covered in what appears to be red fur. End ID)

All members of Siboglinidae share a basic body plan consisting of a worm body inside of a mineral tube (side not, I think I will be including an orc or ogre named Sibog in my D&D campaign). The tube is composed of chitin and minerals and is secreted through glands along the body of the worm as it grows from larva to adult. The tube provides the worm within with protection from predators and environmental hazards while also providing support, allowing the worm to lift itself up into the water rather than remain on the substrate. The tube either connects to a solid object or is rooted in the sediment with extensions called roots. The roots are composed of the same material as the tube and can be considerably longer than the rest of the worm, though they are so fragile it is hard to study them. Since the worms often live in large congregations, their roots can twist together is massive mats called ropes. The inside of the tube is where you get into the squishy worm parts. The body of the worm is divided into four regions. The first of these regions I found many alternate names for while researching including cephalic lobe and branchial plume. I'm going to simplify and call it the plume because this segment is composed of one to 200 tentacles that are covered with feathery filaments that can make it look like the plume of a quill pen. The feathery portions of the plume are usually red because they are highly vascularized and filled with blood, similar to a fish's gils. The plume is used for respiration, taking in dissolved oxygen and (depending on the species) other dissolved gasses from the water. In most species, the plume is the only part of the body that extends from the tube. When in the presence of threats, the plume can withdraw into the tube, which can then be close with a structure called the obtraculum, similarly to the operculum found in many other invertebrates like snails. The second body region is the vestimentum. It has a winged shape and is composed of multiple bands of muscle. The vestimentum also contains the heart, a simple brain, and genital pores that release gametes. The third body region, which makes up most of the body, is the trunk. The trunk is the wormiest part of the worm and contains the gonads, the coelom (main body cavity), and the trophosome, which I will come back to later. The last body region is the opistosome, which connects the animal to the tube and is used to store and (maybe) excrete waste.

(Image ID: the tubeworm Lamellicrachia satsuma removed from its tube to show its anatomy. It has a plume made up of multiple feathery white tentacles, the vestimentum is a thick white section with flared tips, the trunk is long, brown, and wormlike, and ends with the yellowish opistosome. The body regions are labeled as "op" for opistosome, "tr" for trunk, "ves" for vestimentum, and "ten" for the plume. End ID. Source)

You'll notice that I didn't mention a digestive tract above. That's because these worms don't have one. Instead of a digestive tract, they have a trophosome, an organ composed of highly spongy tissue vascularized by two main blood vessels. Housed within the trophosome is a colony of bacteria that exists in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with the worm. The worm provides the bacteria with a place to live and protection from predators while the bacteria provide the worm with all of its nutrition. The bacteria are all chemoautotrophs, gaining all their nutrition from chemical reactions using chemicals in their environment without needing to intake nutrients. In particular, they use oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide provided to them by the worm. The worm also provides other elements including nitrogen and phosphorus that the bacteria need. I'm going to be honest with you, I tried to comprehend the chemical reactions involved but it's been a long time since I took chemistry and I was never that good anyway so it's over my head. The short version is that the bacteria produces nutrients and chemicals (primarily carbohydrates and ATP) that it shares with the worm. Waste products are also sent into the worm's bloodstream and are sequestered at the opistosome.

(Image ID: a scientific diagram of the internal anatomy of Riftia pachyptila. Of note is the section showing the trophosome, illustrating it as several yellow, spongy cells filled with bacteria and fed by a capillary. End ID. Source)

The most famous of the tube worms is Riftia pachyptila, which you will recognize if you have ever seen a documentary about the deep sea. They're the ones that look like giant tubes of lipstick. These are the most studied of the Siboglinids and live around hydrothermal vents in the deep pacific ocean. Hydrothermal vents are places on the seafloor where water underground is heated by geothermal activity in the Earth's mantle and then released into the water column, often carrying with it chemicals from deeper in the planet. These vents are hotspots of biodiversity in the deep sea and are hypothesized to play a major role in the origin of life. These ecosystems are among the only ones on the planet where the primary source of energy is not sunlight via photosynthesizing organisms. Instead, chemosynthetic bacteria forms the base of the trophic web, generating energy from the heat and chemicals released by the vents. Riftia requires vents which release sulfur into the water and blanket vents with the right conditions all throughout the Pacific. The lifestyle clearly works for them as they have the fastest grown rate of any marine animal. They can go from a larva to a sexually mature adult of 1.5 meters (4.9 ft) long in 2 years. These worms can reach 3 meters in length (9.75 ft) long, but only get to about 4 cm (1.5 in) in diameter within the tube. When reproducing, males will release blobs of stuck-together sperm called spermatozeugmata that collectively swim towards female worms, entering the tube and seeking out the female's oviduct. The female then releases fertilized larvae into the water. These larvae usually spend a few days in the water column before settling down on the substrate and beginning growth into an adult. However, the larvae have been known to reach newly-formed hot vents up to 200 kilometers away from their parent's vents. We don't know how the larvae find new sites to colonize or how long they can remain in the initial, motile state before succumbing to starvation as the larvae do not have digestive tracts and do not develop their internal bacterial colony until they settle down on the substrate. Once the larva does settle down, it develops its internal colony by intaking bacteria from the water using the plume. Riftia are some of the first organisms to colonize a new vent and play a major role in building that vent's ecosystem. Genetic tests show low genetic diversity amongst and between all colonies, which may be a result of how fast they colonize new vents and the fact that if a vent goes dormant or dies, all of the local worms will die with it.

(Image ID: a cluster of Rifita tubeworms, most of whom have their red, feathery plumes exposed. Some tubes do not have exposed plumes, indicating that either the worm has retracted into the tube or the worm has died. Several crabs are crawling on the tubes. End ID)

The other giant tube worm species I'm spotlighting is Lamellibrachia luymesi. These aren't as flamboyant as Riftia, but can get nearly as large (up to 3 meters) and also play a very important role in their ecosystems, though they are less studied. While Riftia likes it hot, Lamellibrachia is more chill. They live at cold seeps, places in the ocean where hydrogen sulfide and hydrocarbons like methane and oil seep out of the sea floor. Like Riftia, these worms depend entirely on an internal bacterial colony for their nutrition. Oxygen is intaken through the plume, but these worms can't get hydrogen sulfide the same way due to the different conditions. Instead, they absorb the sulfide through their roots. While the hot and cold worms absorb their hydrogen sulfide differently, they both have an adaptation to deal with it: specialized hemoglobin. Most forms of hemoglobin can't carry oxygen in the presence of hydrogen sulfide, which is a problem because that's the whole point of hemoglobin. The tube worms, who need to transport hydrogen sulfide, have specialized hemoglobin that seems to use zinc ions to allow for oxygen to bind to it anyway. The cold seep tube worms also excrete their waste products through the roots, returning it to the sediment. The intake of hydrogen sulfide and sequestering of the wast product in the roots and sediment lets the tube worms play an important role in the cold seep ecosystem. Them intaking the sulfide protects organisms who can't handle it as well and sequestering waste products also keeps it away from organisms who could be harmed by the chemicals in it. Hot vents are inherently unstable places. They are formed primarily in places where two tectonic plates are moving away from each other, exposing the planet's mantle. This exposed spot will eventually cool down and the hot vent will die off. Because of this, hot vent ecosystems grow fast and die young. Cold seeps by contrast are extremely stable and long-lasting. Lamellibrachia luymesi grow very slowly and can live for over 250 years. There's no need to hurry when your food comes out of the ground and won't be going anywhere for a very, very long time.

(Image ID: a colony of Lamellibrachia luymesi. Their tubes are more visibly segmented than those of Rifita, with the top of each segment being noticably wider than the base of the next. The tubes are a pale blue, but switch to white at 2 - 9 segments below the top. Many tubes have brown algae growing on them. The exposed plumes are short, red, and feathery. End ID)

[minecraft-inspo]

Why are slimes placed as an early branch off of the kingdom Animalia? 

Slimes are enigmatic. Taken at face value, they could fit anywhere or nowhere in the tree. They tick all of the boxes required to be defined as an animal, but don’t closely resemble any real phylum, though they do bear some resemblance to certain basal animal groups such as ctenophores and cnidarians. 

Why is the elytra branching off from the insects?

The word elytra refers to the hard wings of beetles. This is where beetles would be placed on the tree.

Why is the shulker a mollusk?

It’s a shelled invertebrate - anything beyond this is unclear. It has a pair of shells like a bivalve, but could belong to any of a number of different related groups. 

Why is the sea pickle so close to vertebrates?

The sea pickle is either based on a real life sea cucumber (an echinoderm), or a sea pickle (a tunicate). Either way, both of these groups are deuterostomes, which means they, like us, develop their anus before their mouth. Yeah. 

Why are guardians labeled as manufactured?

It’s an idea I’m not totally sold on, but a theory nevertheless. It has been posited that guardians were created to guard underwater monuments and are not actually animals. I am of the opinion that if this is the case, they are still at least partially biological, as they do drop edible raw fish. In this case, they likely represent a lineage of jawless fish comparable to real life ostracoderms that was further modified for their role as temple guardians. 

Why are the dragon and sniffer related? Why do they branch off the tree so early?

Both are 6 limbed, meaning they are not tetrapods, the group which includes all real terrestrial vertebrates. Instead, they may represent a different lineage of fishes which separately developed a third limb girdle and then followed a line of parallel evolution with the tetrapods. This is comparable to the various invasions of land by arthropods, in which arachnids, myriapods and insects separately evolved mechanisms of terrestrialization while also convergently evolving many of the same structures as each other. 

Aren’t creepers described as “plant-like?” Why are they included with the vertebrates?

They have indeed often been described as plant-like by various developers. It is my belief that they are vertebrates with a symbiotic relationship with some form of plant, probably a moss. This is why they are also included in Bryophyta on the other side of the tree. All promotional merchandise that shows creeper internal anatomy shows the presence of bones and the general anatomy reflects a familiar yet distorted version of the common tetrapod body plan. They do not share much in common with either reptiles or mammals, and so I split them off early in the vertebrate portion of the tree. While creepers share a developmental history with pigs, they do not actually bear any synapomorphies to suggest this relationship is canon, and so I chose not to place them nearby. 

Why are phantoms reptiles?

I’m honestly not sure what else they could be. The underside of the texture reminds me of the plastron of a turtle, though the wings are arguably more bat-like than anything else. Phantoms are all undead and their living version is likely now extinct, so we can’t fully understand the anatomy they would have had. 

Why are striders synapsids? What is a synapsid?

Synapsids are mammals and their extinct, reptile-like ancestors. Striders have hair, like living mammals, but otherwise share very little with modern mammals, suggesting they split off early in synapsid evolution.

What is the warden/sculk?

I don’t know. It’s very purposefully the most alien life in Minecraft. Most realistically, I think it’s not from the overworld at all. However, that’s not really in the spirit of this project. Therefore, I hypothetically place it as a fungus, as fungi are capable of the sprawling growth in dark environments and possible parasitism in the case of the warden itself. 

Why are blazes labeled as “manufactured?”

I haven’t got a clue what blazes could be. Are they sentient fire? Are they living creatures that mimic fire? Who knows. I finally ended up considering them to be something akin to vexes or golems - summoned by someone or something to guard nether fortresses, rather than naturally evolved creatures. This is actually supported by a really old (and likely since retconned) article from the Minecraft website. https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/article/visit-nether- 

Why is glow lichen connected to two separate branches?

Because lichen is a symbiotic structure formed by both algae and fungi!

Why are chorus plants where they are?

They are angiosperms, meaning they bear flowers and fruit, but do not have the characteristics of either of the more derived major lineages of flowering plants.

Why are dripleaf plants alismatales?

To me, they bear a great resemblance to members of the arum family, such as elephant ear plants, arrowhead plants, and Monstera. 

Torchflower?

It bears greatest resemblance to bromeliads, a group of plants related to grasses.

Why is the spore blossom placed where it is?

The spore blossom is another anomalous species. If “spore” is taken seriously, it must be a fern. However, ferns don’t have flowers, so I assumed the spores are actually just pollen. I placed it as a dicot based on the fact that dicots typically have flowers with 4-5 petals, while monocots have flowers with petals in multiples of 3. 

Why aren’t vines and glow berry vines placed together?

The “vine” form has evolved dozens of times in separate lineages of plants, just like the “tree” form. It alone is not enough to indicate a close relationship. I tentatively placed vines where the grape family would go, and placed the glow berries where staff vines (Celastrus) should be. 

Why aren’t dead bushes grouped with sweet berry bushes and azaleas?

Like vines and trees, “bush” is a description of a body form and not an evolutionary group. I depicted the dead bush as a real form of desert bush, a tumbleweed, specifically the Russian thistle, a common tumbleweed in the order Caryophyllales.

Sweet berries, on the other hand, are most likely based on lingonberries, a commonly grown crop in Sweden, where Mojang is based. These belong to the order Ericales along with azaleas, as well as many other common plants not yet represented in the game such as blueberries and cranberries. 

Pitcher plants are real - why isn’t there a “confirmed” lineage on the tree?

Pitcher plants have evolved several times in different lineages, and there is no clear indication which ones the ones in Minecraft are. In fact, most likely, the Minecraft pitcher plants don’t belong to any real group of pitcher plants, as none of these produce “pods” nor do they have similar leaves. However, the most likely candidates are the family Nepenthaceae (order Caryophylalles) or the family Sarraceniaceae (order Ericales).

[sylsoddsandends]

For my Observational Drawing final project we had to make some sort of creative map, ideally of the area or of somewhere important to us.

So I made a fossil map!

Labeled species are placed near the locations where they have been discovered in Missouri. I also have some accompanying Fun Facts:

There are only a few dinosaur fossils that have been found in Missouri! There's just not much exposed rock from those periods.

I sprinkled little shells and invertebrates around the map because... there were tons of them and I couldn't find much info on specific genuses with just a couple hours of research.

The footprints are also (loosely) based on a real find! Early tetrapod footprints! I didn't know exactly what they looked like so I improvised.

Enjoy the map :)

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Are Insects Pests? On Loving the Unloved

(Originally posted at my blog at https://rebeccalexa.com/are-insects-pests-on-loving-the-unloved/)

I do a lot of internet searches in the process of writing my articles and books, putting together class materials, and so forth. Sometimes the subject of insects comes up, and that often includes researching individual species. What gets me is how often some of the first search results won’t be informational sites, but those dedicated to labeling insects “pests” and eradicating them. I get that some species are potentially more problematic when found in or around someone’s home; cockroaches and bedbugs come to immediate mind. But again and again, regardless of what sorts of insects I was searching for, many times the results included exterminator sites.

The fact that so many of the highest search results are dedicated to killing insects suggests there’s a lot of demand for such services and products. It makes me sad, honestly, because we’re right in the middle of an insect apocalypse. There’s already a lot of apathy about conserving invertebrates in general, and “bugs” in particular; many folks simply don’t get why it’s so important to protect the creepy-crawlies of the world. And when it’s common for any insect found in a house to be routinely smashed and discarded without a second thought, regardless of species, “save the bugs!” may seem like an ineffective rallying call indeed.

But let’s look at a few of those search results first, shall we?

My favorite search engine is Ecosia; I have it set up as my default search engine in my browser. They use the profits from ads to plant trees, and as of this writing they’ve planted over 150 million trees. I use Google as a backup, if Ecosia’s results aren’t getting me what I want.

The other day I wanted to know about wasp species in Washington. So I searched Ecosia for “Washington wasp species”, and the ninth result on the first page was a pest control site:

Google was even worse. It took scrolling down only to the third result on the first page to end up with a pest control site:

Okay, so wasps don’t exactly have a great P.R. team., and media furor over the Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) didn’t help the results become any friendlier, either. I figured I’d try a few more very general searches just to see how long it took to hit a pest control site or other site that talked about eradicating the insects I was searching for:

True Bugs: Ecosia 8th on page 1, Google 1st on page 2

Bees: Ecosia 3rd on page 1, Google 3rd on page 1

Grasshoppers: Ecosia 2nd on page 2, Google 5th on page 1 (this was without filtering out things like the Grasshoppers Minor League Baseball team)

Crickets: Ecosia 3rd on page 1, Google 3rd on page 1

Weevils: Ecosia 1st on page 1, Google 2nd on page 1 (never mind that the vast majority of weevils are harmless to us and our food.)

Beetles: Ecosia 1st on page 2, 4th on page 1

Oregon Beetle Species: Ecosia 1st on page 2, Google 4th on page 1

Unsurprisingly when I searched for “fireflies” and “butterflies”, I went back several pages on both search engines and didn’t find anyone advocating for the mass slaughter of these beloved insects. You’d think bees would get the same treatment what with all the “save the bees” campaigns over the past few years, but the 3rd result from both search engines was from a site called “Pest World for Kids”, run by the National Pest Management Association. Really?

Okay, so admittedly this was definitely NOT a scientific study. And I recognize there are a number of factors determining search results, SEO, etc. like how large and popular a given site is, age of the site, backlinks, etc. Still, given how high up in the ranking sites treating insects as pests were, and how many of the recommended related searches had to do with things like whether the insects being searched for would bite, or how to get rid of them, that suggests a lot of people are searching for how to go to war with insects rather than learning about them as unique beings.

On the bright side, most of the results were site that genuinely wanted to educate people about various insects on their own merits. So it’s not as though everything is terrible (unless you’re a weevil, for whom almost all the top search results were pest-related.) Whether those sites got as many genuine clicks as the pest-related ones, I couldn’t tell you. But it was nice to see them anyway.

Maybe I’m in the minority when I wish that people would spend less time trying to eradicate insects, and more time learning about them. It’s just that most folks seem to ignore them unless they become a perceived nuisance. I’ve had to deal with problem insects before–narcissus bulb flies (Merodon equestris) in the garden, pantry moths (Plodia interpunctella) in the flour, etc. And yes, sometimes that involves smushing them on sight, especially in the case of a non-native species.

But I also try to make an effort to learn about even these species. It’s not just to learn how to get rid of them, but to find out more about their adaptations and habits, where they came from, what makes them different from other insects–what makes the species what it is. It’s curiosity that drives me, and I find myself appreciating their ability to find a niche, even if it’s one that’s at odds with my own interests.

It also makes me really think about whether I really need to persecute a particular species, and how that affects my attitudes toward not just insects, but other living beings. When I stop and consider my actions toward another species, it breaks the conditioning that so many of us have to just see nature as something to serve us–only good if it does what we want, and bad if it goes against our wants and needs. And I find myself being able to make a more informed decision that, at times, may be summed up as “leave well enough alone.”

Hence the nest of black-tailed bumblebees (Bombus melanopygus) that has spent multiple years buzzing about the entryway of my garage. Hence the common house spiders (Parasteatoda tepidariorum) that are allowed space in the corners and window-wells of my home to help control flies that may buzz their way in on warm days. Hence the cabbage looper caterpillars (Trichoplusia ni) who get a reprieve in the garden, even though they go after cruciferous vegetables, because they never take everything, and they’re important food for other species. Some would easily justify my killing these and many others, simply for being mildly inconvenient, or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But I prefer to coexist whenever possible, and to look beyond the “pest” label as well.

Did you enjoy this post? Consider taking one of my online foraging and natural history classes, checking out my other articles, or picking up a paperback or ebook I’ve written! You can even buy me a coffee here!

[morbidsmenagerie]

Starting to internalize that I can just begin collecting and pinning inverts at any time. I'm also really into vulture culture and taxidermy, and for some reason before now I've never thought about doing my own pinning. I got a starter entomology pinning set, and I collected this European paper wasp from my work, so this is going to be my first pin! Excited to take macros of her once she's pinned and dried, my goal with this project is to fill up a picture frame with local, self collected invertebrates that are properly pinned, mounted, and labeled in a way that meets scientific standards. Ideally it would be a good representation of local species and I would get to donate it to my local universities entomology department. So we'll see!

[the-potato-procurator]

✨Headcanons✨ on the courtiers because I'm mentally ill

Vulgora is AMAB. They did not undergo any surgeries because they feel comfortable in their own body and like to make dick jokes. For some time they believed themselves to be aromantic, but as it turns out wanting to pick fights left and right so much that you forget that having a partner is an option is not what aromanticism is. They fall fast and hard. VERY hard. They ramble about their glory days on the battlefield to their S/O as they show off their scars

Valdemar is AFAB and AroAce. They performed breast surgery on themselves with nothing but the materials neccessary and a mirror to see what they were doing (They succeeded). They find any and every unsettling item absolutely fascinating. They love taxidermy and combining parts from different animals to create bizarre creatures

Volta is CIS, but doesn't understand isn't fond of labels. She just likes food and anyone who is nice to her. She has separation anxiety and is in dier need of affection. She is also very sensitive and surprisingly empathetic. Her little secret is that she has an itsy-bitsy crush on Muriel, but don't tell him!

Vlastomil is a trans gay man. He sleeps in a coffin. He doesn't have many hobbies outside raising worms, but he does enjoy listening to music while he reads about his favorite invertebrates. He will shamelessly info-dump on the topic if you show the slightest hint of interest. Something tells me that this man is terrified of needles or any surgical tools, I don't know why

Valerius is a CIS bisexual man. He is too proud to admit he has feeling for anyone, however, and will be extra mean to the person he likes in order to hide his crush. Can tell types of wine by smelling them

If there are any misconceptions, please feel more than free to point them out! I will gladly correct them! 🙏🏻

[doctor-fancy-pants]

The Rise of the Bucket Queen

On the last voyage I did, back in 2017, we were trawling in the tropics, and we were trying to hit four shallow water sites a day. We would get extraordinarily large catches, and processing those was a correspondingly extraordinarily intense task.

Once the trawl comes up and is emptied into the mega-bins on deck, the contents of those mega-bins are loaded into the gigantic sorting tray in the sheltered science area.

In a chaotic blur of motion, all the scientists involved in sorting swoop down upon the sorting tray, and it is fucking on.

Because those catches were so large, there wasn't enough room in our lab to sort the material even roughly. And, due to berth allocations, I was the only person on that shift sorting the mobile invertebrates (anything without a spine that can move), at least for the first two weeks (we had a minor staff changeover at that point, and I got my beautiful assistant Frank, who was a total legend).

Everyone pitched in where they could, but my own task could turn into a bottleneck.

The best thing to do was to have a row of 20L buckets, filled partway with seawater, and to do a rough sort in the sheltered science out on the back deck. The fish guys and any other scientists who weren't needed on some other task would pass me critters as they found them, or just set aside a small pile of invertebrates in pails that I would come around and collect, and I'd sort those into the buckets.

When a bucket was full, I'd carry it into the lab, and bring out a new bucket. We learned valuable lessons along the way (or I sure as hell did). Here are some:

The Law of Leaky Crinoids. I love my feather stars, they are beautiful and fascinating animals, and they're my taxonomic specialty. However: some of them do have weird pigment, and when they're stressed, they leak dye into the surrounding water, which means that the water in the bucket is red, purple, yellow, or even a very dark opaque purple. Other critters in the same bucket can be stained by that pigment, which means we can't get live colour notes. Plus: it fouls the water. Everyone figured out pretty quickly which crinoids bore Perilous Pigments, and those all went into the same bucket, labelled "leaky crinoids."

The Law of Sea Cucumber Guts. Sea cucumbers ("cukes", "holos" aka holothurians) are also fascinating animals. They're in the phylum Echinodermata, the same phylum as sea urchins (echinoids), starfish (asteroids - yes, really), brittle stars (ophiuroids) and my beloved feather stars (crinoids! bless.). Unlike those animals, sea cucumbers tend to be soft bodied and squishy (that's a technical term). While all those animals exhibit some degree of regeneration (re-growing lost arms, etc.), the cukes take it to extremes: when stressed, many species literally eviscerate themselves. They break in half and eject their guts, apparently a very effective strategy for distracting predators! It doesn't work on marine biologists, though. It just fouls the water in the bucket. So if we see a cuke and think "oh no, that's one of the species that sheds its innards", they get put in a special quarantine bucket.

The Perils of the Pearlfish. As a bonus, some of these delightful mush-burgers host an unusual and genuinely bizarre houseguest: the pearlfish. Also known informally as "assfish", the pearlfish lives its life in the rectum of the sea cucumber, only emerging at night to forage, and then returning through the anus. You can read that paragraph again if you're having trouble with that. And on this last voyage, in 2017, one of the fish guys (ichthyologists) was interested in these parasite-host relationships, and asked me to retrieve any escaping assfish from the bucket. Since the most common host species is one of those self-gutting species, the poor little assfish is safely snoozing in its comfortable tubular home when the cuke breaks in half and is now shocked and horrified to find itself in a bucket. Now, a fish that swims in and out of an anus on a regular basis is going to be rather well lubricated. They basically look like a black sperm (typically about the length of my hand, sometimes smaller), and a whip-like tail that propels them around the bucket with great speed. This meant that I could be seen playing the weirdest fishing game imaginable, scooping my heavily-gloved hands into a 20L bucket full of seawater and vivisected sea cucumber guts trying to catch an oversized greased sperm. This looked exactly as ridiculous as it sounds.

The Law of Cuke Snot. Still on the holos, some of these increasingly troublesome animals have a peculiar defense mechanism: they produce snot. I'm not talking about the kind of snot you honk into your hanky when you're in the last stretch of a nasty cold. This stuff is like mucousy glue. It sets. Peeling it off every other specimen in the bucket is a time. And yes, this definitely fouls the water. Snotty cucumbers also end up being quarantined in their own bucket.

One crab, two crab, BIG CRAB, small crab. I loved that the fish guys were doing such an excellent job of helping sort out the invertebrates that got mixed in with the fish catch, but now and again I would have to call out politely, "HELLO PLEASE DO NOT THROW THE SMALL CRABS INTO THE SAME BUCKET AS THE BIG SWIMMER CRAB," because I looked into the bucket with the swimmer crab to see a bunch of drifting legs and chelae (crab claws), and the swimmer crab himself holding half a small crab in its own gigantic chelae and happily pulling off small pieces of meat with its mouthparts. If you want a very fat, happy swimmer crab, that's fine, but if what you want is an accurate assessment of the crustacean diversity and abundance, it's sub-optimal.

Those are some of my favourite lessons and the ones I remember best, and we mostly got very large catches. We had one titanic catch which had tonnes of sponge all over the back deck (literally tonnes, I'm not joking, our Sponge Sorceress had to weigh them).

On this voyage, we will mostly be sampling much deeper sites overall, which - as I said in my previous post - means we will probably get more downtime (due to how long it takes to winch the trawl down and winch it back up again), and does mean we tend to get smaller catches. The truly mammoth samples come from areas where there is plenty of sunlight still able to reach the bottom. Corals need sunlight. Algae needs sunlight (we don't usually get much algae).

Odds are good that I won't need the same array of buckets that I had last time, but there is at least one pretty shallow site, and I would rather be over-prepared than under-prepared.

As such: I am once again leaning into my role as Bucket Queen.

BEHOLD.

It could be overkill, for sure. Still, if it's a small catch, we can use the labelled buckets for the rough sorting regardless. I'll just keep them in the dirty wet lab, in that case, and we'll bring the invertebrate catch into the lab using nelly bins and sort it there, out of the heat.

As for the lab itself: yes, it is called the Dirty Wet Lab; the next lab is the Clean Wet Lab; and the one after that is the Clean Dry Lab. Each is used for a different set of tasks. My work is entirely in the Dirty Wet Lab, which does tend to get quite humid.

This picture shows the space where I will probably be doing most of my work. That mesh rack suspended from the ceiling is designed to keep power boards and cables dry and out of the way. One of the WA Museum scientists brought those clipping hooks that we're using to hang up gloves above our stations, and I swear to fucking god, that is genius.

I found a brace that I could hang my hard hat from, and as you can see I've also flipped my high viz vest and long-sleeved jacket over it, high enough that it won't fall off, low enough that I can grab it easily (that also goes for the really thick gloves).

Throughout the lab, that rack also has boxes of nitrile gloves facing downwards, so you can just reach up and grab one at a time. We're also considering putting the rolls of barcodes up there, with one end poking out, so that we can just grab another barcode like we're taking a number at the supermarket deli.

The other reason it's good to put things up there is that, well, boats move. Yesterday, as we were putting the finishing touches on the lab, the vessel came about into a wave (I presume), and we all looked up to see two large nelly bins of equipment sliding down the lab.

(they didn't go far, I promise, and they were pushed back and then secured in short order.)

Brief note here, in case anyone is unaware: research vessels of this size are generally 24 hour vessels. There are no days off at sea, because these ships are incredibly expensive to run. They require a significant complement of crew, and to get the most bang for the science buck (and look: the science buck is always, always limited), all the scientists have to be ready to go.

Shifts for most scientists run 2 til 2. I'm on the 2am to 2pm shift. We've had a significant transit period, we've done a deep camera tow, and we should be putting out our first trawl later today. The shifts have obviously been very slow as we all try to sort out our sleep patterns and set up the labs, but when we get stuck into it, it's going to be intense four weeks of 12 hour shifts, with no days off.

But it's an adventure - it's stimulating, challenging, and interesting. When you're covered in itchy fish secretions, achey from being on your feet all day, muscles screaming fatigue as you manage handover to your opposite number on the next shift, that's the knowledge that gets you through: the knowledge of the adventure, the excitement of discovery, all the wonderful questions and hypotheses that pop into your mind as you sort through the material, and the support and gestalt enthusiasm of your colleagues.

That's what gets you through.

Well, that, and the hot shower you get to have when you get back to your cabin.

[gsirvitor]

Baby I want you to lore dump everything you know about skell daddy trazyn because that would turn me the fuck on so hard

Trazyn the Infinite? Oh God.

Prior to Bio-Transference Trazyn was a simple Necrontyr scribe and Chief Archivist who oversaw the mummification of the Necrontyr Phaerons.

According to the lore he can't remember mostd of his past life due to self-installed protection protocols, most likely to prevent him from going insane.

He often misremembers much of his past, such as the fact he insists he was physically forced into Biotransference when others, such as Orikan, claim he embraced it.

He awoke from the Great Sleep prematurely and during that same time sought to expand his collection, he claimed that he would share it with the rest of his race when they awoke, hint, he didn't.

While he is officially a member of the Nihilakh Dynasty he operates independently, having alienated himself from other Necrons and is known to be persona non grata to the Sautekh Dynasty.

Even then he is barely tolerated by the Nekthyst Dynasty due to the services he is capable of providing, personally I wouldn't trust him farther than I could huck him.

Trazyn's philosophy of preserving the past is most likely due to his past as an archivist, a quite devoted one, but due to his protection protocols on his memory the need to preserve the past became something far more, well, all I can say is he's the best Pokémon trainer in the 41st millennium.

Trazyn is by nature what the Blood Ravens wish they were, a true Magpie, he is known to hold many technologies and relics that are so rare to say they are priceless is an understatement.

His nature also means that while he hates exploring the galaxy, his desire to gather artifacts forces him to go out among the riffraff.

However, like the true neet he is, he often sends copies of himself to do his work for him, which annoys Trazyn's enemies to no end as they discover the Necron they've slain is not him but a body double.

Best part is, when his enemies do find these body doubles it is most often a trap laid by Trazyn, so he can break in and steal their shit.

For instance, he has tried on two occasions to swipe the Spear of Vulkan from the Salamanders Forgefather, he failed miserably both times.

See, the cool thing about Trazyn, is that his collection is perfectly preserved, using Necron time bases technology he stops, or rather slows his exhibits aging, many of his displays are very much alive, simply trapped in time.

Let us go over what he has stolen;

The last high council of Idharae Craftworld

An exhibit showcasing the massacres on Tragus

A warband of orks attacking an unknown blue-shelled invertebrate xenos species

The catacombs of Calth during the Underground War

An exhibit labeled the “Death of Lord Solar Macharius” which is one-tenth composed of Imperial Guardsmen who are 300 years from the wrong time period

A C’Tan shard that Trayzn has called the “source” of his power and the crown jewel of his collection Wraithbone choir of Altansar Preserved head of Sebastian Thor Ossified husk of an Enslaver A giant man wearing baroque Power Armour Brother Cassiel of the Blood Angels, seconded to the Deathwatch. His face was frozen in a moment of fear Carnac World Spirit shrine Acabrius War Catachan regiments A temporal device containing the Tyranid invasion of Vuros, which had been sparked by Trayzn himself (Disposed of after several full-scale battles caused by Tyranid breakouts) Horus Heresy-era Ultramarines Vostroyan Firstborn Regiments Lost Tanith Regiments Salamanders thought lost during the Klovian disaster A Custodes

Inquisitor Greyfax and her retinue (escaped)

The Bell of Saint Gersthal (disposed of after causing irreparable damage to his forces and collection)

A twelve foot tall Krork in power armor more advanced than Astartes Power Armor A damaged but still functioning Webway portal A troupe of Harlequins A massive stock of uncorrupted Emperor’s Children geneseed (traded to Fabius Bile) A perfect clone of the Primarch Fulgrim prior to his chaos corruption

And much more.

Hell during the 13th black Crusade Trazyn helped Cadia fight off Chaos, not out of wanting to aide humanity but because a Chaos outbreak would impede his collect-a-thon.

He stuck a Tau diplomat in a jar because he'd never had a species send a diplomat before, so it was unique.

Point is, if you have a unique coin, never again minted, he will most likely torch your planet, or sector of the galaxy, if you don't hand it over.

[hook-line-and-sinker]

hey so hi so i may or may not have gone insane abt mollusc blood/hemocyanin a while ago.

so. squid blood transfusions. could it happen????? they dont have blood types to complicate it because they dont have red blood cells or a hemocyanin equivalent (blue blood cells?) cause their blood protein is just dissolved in the blood. so like. could you hypothetically do a blood transfusion between squids. the world needs to know.

You have gone insane. And I did not give you permission to take me with you dammit! >:(

So, Squid Blood Transfusions, huh?

I fell down a research rabbit hole so lemme take this from the start.

1. What 'bout them blood transfusions?

So in order to take blood from a donor your blood types have to be compatible. Your blood type depends on the antigens displayed on the surface of your red bloodcells. The antigen receptors in you blood are located on the surface of B-Cells and T-Cells. If they recognise antigens not present on your own red bloodcells they trigger an immuno response (as to why a blood transfusion with a non-compatible blood type is so dangerous for you)

There are 36 different systems in which you have a blood type, the ones most relevant being the ABO and Rh Systems, these make up the blood types you know like A-, O+, AB-, ect.

Source

Interestingly, in fish only 3 Systems of blood types have been found, for example Tuna's blood can be sorted into the Tg System.

Source

2. What the fuck is wrong with squid blood???

The blood of most invertebrates is not red, they don't have red bloodcells and transport the oxygen through their body in different ways than us. Notably, Octopi, squids and cuttlefish use blue haemocyanin. This has lead to their blood often being falsely labelled as blue, even though its more translucent.

Source

Their blood also lacks an equivalent to T-Cells and B-Cells so it lacks the receptors as well.

So Squids don't have blood types.

Source

3. But what if they get sick???

Cephalopods have a very efficient immune system, it's just very different to ours and barely understood. Research is still ongoing, but from what I've understood they have many different responses to health threats.

Source

4. So Squids can do blood transfusions?

Technically yes. From what I've figured. Though obviously theres other factors of complication that I might have overlooked/misunderstood and as I said the field is still very much left unexplored.

I'm very much not an expert in cephalopods (when I set my ask button to 'ask me about squid' It was more a shits and giggles thing, Im so sorry anon lol) but ive dedicated an evening to researching this and discussed it with my mum who studied medicine for what thats worth.

I hope I could affirm your theory, researching this was really fun. Also Anon u wanna be friends I don't think I can be normal anymore haha. \hj TT.TT

[misculenica]

Spirits + Demons - a (messy) speculative short essay.

Spirits are the more benevolent forms of abstract sentient concepts;

eg. Compassion, Wisdom, Hope, Faith, etc

Demons are the more malevolent forms of abstract sentient concepts;

eg. Pride, Envy, Hunger, Rage, etc.

But we already know there concepts/beings can be subcategorized into even more specific concepts.

For example; in DA: Absolution - there is a spirit of wisdom called Memory. And in DA:2 there is a pride demon called Audacity.

From this, we can gather that there is more to spirits and demons than a simple label of 'benevolent/malevolent' or even a further domain of being, it goes deeper than that.

Now, does that mean every spirit is unique in that sense? Perhaps. That's all there can be said on the matter, given that there aren't enough instances of prolonged interaction with spirits and demons.

So to summarise;

there are 2 types of being that inhabit the Fade; benevolent Spirits, and malevolent Demons. (along with wisps, wraiths, etc - additionally, classifying them as 'good' and 'bad' is just a generalisation for the sake of simplicity here - it's complicated).

And there are several types of benevolent Spirits;

Compassion, Love, Valor, Justice, Wisdom, Faith and Hope.

And there are several types of malevolent Demons;

Pride, Desire, Sloth, Hunger, Envy, Rage, Fear, and Despair.

Now, there are likely very many more, but I like to think these are the most basic categories down from the 2 types. For example; Vertebrate + Invertebrate (creatures), goes further down to mammals, reptiles, birds, etc, and arthropods, mollusks, annelids, etc. But it goes further than that, doesn't it? Mammals - rodents, primates, carnivora, etc, and Arthropods - crustaceans, arachnids, insects, etc. And so on it goes until you have a goat named Banjo. So how about spirits and demons?

So, given this train of thought, perhaps we can speculate further on further categories?

Demon --> Pride --> Audacity/Hubris/Vanity?

Spirit --> Wisdom --> Memory/Judgement/Study?

Now, I deliberately put pride and wisdom together to dovetail into my next point.

Opposite/antithesis and the downfalls of the abstract.

Here's where things get complicated.

Wisdom and pride are one and the same, we've been given many examples of spirits of wisdom changing into pride demons. So it implies that they are strongly connected/2 sides of the same coin.

But here's the interesting thing; what does that say about every spirit/demon? We know that a spirit can shift into a demon, and it is possible for a demon to shift into a spirit. How do we then categorise pride demons and wisdom spirits?

Here's an example I like going back to;

Mouse, from DAO - a pride demon you encounter during the circle mage origin. He is a pride demon, yes, but he is not merely pride - he's quite the complicated guy. He's cautious, he's a bad liar (senior enchanter robes do not match your story, man, and that story changes repeatedly), he's contemplative, judgemental, and he's wistful. That's a lot for a single spirit to be. Granted, he is a pride demon, the most intelligent (and powerful) 'category' of demon. But there's a lot more going on with him, you would have noticed. If you work out that he's a demon, he seems rather proud of you, and even offers advice. So... What the hell do we do with that? Perhaps we could call him Pride, or Wisdom - but I would prefer to call him Judgement (given how he seems to be judging your abilities, constantly weighing the merit of the spirits/demons you meet as well as the templars/chantry/other mages). And from Judgement, to Mouse. (Is that, then, the next line of category?)

Demon --> Pride --> Judgement --> Mouse? (do spirits that are conscious/sentient enough give themselves names that are more metaphorical/personal choices?).

Do we then, even judge someone like Mouse as a demon? Perhaps we could still call him a spirit?

Spirit --> Wisdom --> Judgement --> Mouse?

Where is the line between the 2?

Perhaps it is based on the level of sentience/consciousness?

Spirits seem to be limited by their desire to remain where they are (emotionally/mentally). They have a very live and let live attitude typically, some going so far as to help/encourage mortals/physical beings. They are classified by rarity.

Demons come across as beings looking beyond the live and let live, they want, they need, they are not content where they are. And I think this is the reason why demons 9/10 will be more like people, especially desire and pride demons.

Let's look at another one who is damn near close to being a 'person'; Imshael - a desire demon choice spirit. At this point, I have no idea what the hell is going on with him, we know he's at a higher level of being - he can shapeshift, and reason, and bargain. As messed up as the things he does are, it's very interesting that he makes other people choose, purely because he's curious about what each person will do if put between a rock and a hard place.

But here's the thing, what I want to get across is this; once a spirit/demon (usually demon) reaches a point of cognition that it goes so far as to appoint a name with more personality/personhood (Imshael, Mouse, Cole, Audric Felhausen), that is when the line becomes.... smudged. They become 'people' as we would recognise them. I would also like to note that demons seem to retain a sense of themselves, whilst spirits tend to replicate/attach themselves with another's being.

A better way I would describe spirits and demons is this;

Demons work to forge/reaffirm their own identities as a point of some sort of discontent they experience. It's defiance, put plainly.

Spirits work to connect with others as a way of making themselves feel more real/validated in their sense of self. Contentedness, or harmony.

Thank you for reading, I may have more to say on this, but that'll be in another post!

[inbarfink]

Bug Witch

Sometimes they are high-strung entomologists with a sharp but incredibly one-track mind, sometimes they are wilderness-dwelling hermits who can only really tolerate the company of arthropods, sometimes they are elegant wanderers dressed in the finest beetlewing garb - who will reveal themselves as the world’s most obnoxious tricksters at the drop of a hat. Whoever they are, Bug Witches are the friends and masters of all small invertebrates that have ever been considered pests. And yet the true pest is always the Witch themself.

Bug Witches' Emotional Focus is the emotion of Annoyance. They are the absolute experts in getting under your skin in the most petty and obnoxious of ways. They do not do grand gestures or large-scale attacks. They live in the world of tiny creatures, and as such they have a talent for focusing on the little details. Every one of the Bug Witch’s attacks is as small and seemingly as insignificant as a fly, and also just as capable of driving one absolutely mad.

To have drawn the ire of a Bug Witch is much like being caught in a swarm of insects. Each attack or bite is meaningless on its own, but the constant stream of little Annoyances can be truly overwhelming. And drawing this ire is not an uncommon occurrence or a difficult achievement. As much as Bug Witches are experts at Annoying people, they have famously short-tempers and big egos of their own. Bug Witches are very easily Annoyed - often it is the seemingly smallest and oddest little things that set them off. This unpredictability only serves to make them more annoying to deal with.

Some have picked up the tradition of Bug Witchcraft because they were always the high strung, quick to anger types and sought to use witchcraft as a way to get back at the world for every tiny obnoxious grievances they ever had. Others have always enjoyed being Annoying because they found it funny, and took up Bug Witchcraft as a way to maximise their ability to be pesky and irritating. And others have instead suffered through being labelled as Annoying, having their opinions and needs always dismissed as tiresome and pointless things. These Bug Witches picked up the craft to try and make lemonade out of very bitter lemons.

And just as bugs’ reputation as harmful pests is often undeserved, Bug Witches are usually a lot more beneficial than their Annoying Reputation suggests - with a wide array of helpful spells and skills in addition to the nasty obnoxious pranks. Even the truly malevolent Bug Witches will often offer enough beneficial magical services to make themselves a vital part of the community, despite also going out of their way to spread Annoyance to people. The status of “can’t live with them, can’t live without them” only makes them more Annoying.

Most Bug Witchcraft Spells tend to be variations of mundane Utility Magic, small and seemingly insignificant magical effects that can relieve or cause great annoyances. Their Emotional Focus is also very potent with most minor Curses - and they are skilled in both casting and breaking Curses. They also tend to be well-versed in nature-related mundane skills, especially entomology, but also stuff such as botany, agriculture, toxicology and medicine.

[priestessofspiders]

My Grandfather Loved Beetles

My grandfather was a retired entomologist, so it makes sense that he would retain at least a passing interest in insects, but even after he cashed in his 401k and decided to live out the rest of his days on saved money, his love of bugs seemed only to increase. After my grandmother died, his passion for insects became nearly all-consuming.

As old age set in and he became unable to properly maintain his extensive collection of live specimens, he recruited my help to assist with their removal. My parents passed away a few years ago, so whenever my grandfather needed assistance he would often turn to me. The dozens of cockroaches, stickbugs, mantises, ant colonies, waterbugs, and crickets were all to be donated to various zoos and other institutions. As we had nearly finished packaging up the bugs into padded boxes labeled “LIVE INVERTEBRATE”, I noticed a section of his collection that was left untouched. “Grandpa”, I asked, leaning in to get a closer look at the terrariums, “what about these?” “No, I’ve decided to keep those Alexan- I mean, Anastasia”, he winced at the mistake. My grandfather has always been supportive of my transition, and managed to get my new name and pronouns correct long before my parents, but in his old age he had begun to slip up from time to time, his memory not being what it used to be. “It’s fine grandpa”, I said, smiling at him, “go on with what you were saying.” He looked grateful, and shuffled over to the cages, resting a hand upon one on the lids like he was patting a dog.  “I’ve decided to keep these ones. These are all my beetles don’t you know. Not particularly difficult to maintain, and there are only a handful of them to worry about. They’ve always been my favorites after all.” I nodded, taking a look inside one of them to see some half-inch long blue insects meandering about a miniature desert town. Though many hobbyists and fellow scientists would scoff, my grandfather always enjoyed making little bug-scale dioramas for his specimens. As a child, he got his start with his insect obsession by watching various B-grade horror films from the 1950s, and the concept of enormous insects held a bit of nostalgia for him. I watched, amused as one of the beetles knocked over a tiny plastic army man. With some effort, my grandfather bent down to look at them next to me. “Asbolus verrucosus, better known as Blue Death-Feigning Beetles” he said, smiling as he gazed with contentedness upon his pets. “Very fascinating creatures.” “Why are they called ‘death-feigning’ grandpa?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. Opening up the lid, he reached inside, plucking up one of the beetles like it was a grape from a vine. The instant it lay in his hand, it fell on to its back, legs outstretched into the air. Chuckling slightly, my grandfather placed the beetle back into the enclosure, and within a few moments the insect righted itself, continuing to trundle aimlessly about the terrarium. Amused, I remarked “Well that explains it! Perhaps they should have named it the possum beetle.”

He chuckled at my suggestion, staring wistfully off into space for a moment. “You know Anastasia, I think that if there is a God, He most certainly has more love for those beetles than for us.” I didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so I simply cocked an eyebrow and said “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.” My grandfather sighed slightly, scratching at his head in thought as he replied. “Well, think of it this way; out of all of the known animal species on Earth, beetles make up around twenty five percent of them. In terms of sheer quantity of individuals, beetles surely outnumber us at least a hundred thousand to one. And they are far, far older than we are, with some of the earliest fossils dating back almost 300 million years ago. What with global warming and microplastics poisoning everything, it wouldn’t surprise me if the beetles outlive us. Some species are even able to eat plastic, did you know that? Anyway, if there is a God, why would He spend so much more time and energy on beetles than humanity, if He is supposed to love us above all other animals?” He smirked a little. “Can you imagine going up to the gates of Heaven, only to find the being standing guard at the pearly gates was simply a large darkling beetle with a halo and robe? That would certainly throw the Christians for a loop wouldn’t it!” I couldn’t help but laugh at this little diatribe before getting back to work helping him pack up the few remaining bugs that were left to be donated. At the time I thought my grandfather’s brief theological tangent was just the idle wanderings of a tired mind, but given recent events I’m no longer so sure.

It was a couple weeks later when he next said something which, in retrospect, hinted at the strangeness to come. This time around there wasn’t any special reason for my visit, I simply enjoyed spending time with my grandfather. We watched an old film, I believe it was 1957’s The Deadly Mantis, and I cooked a dinner of shrimp fried rice for him. After we had finished eating, my grandfather looked at me and said, “You know Anastasia, I must say your transformation has been most impressive. Less than a year and you hardly even resemble the person you once were. An almost complete metamorphosis. At times I envy your ability to completely reinvent yourself, to become someone new.” At that I laughed slightly. “Is this your way of coming out to me grandpa?” I asked, smiling. His face flushed, a flash of mild frustration and embarrassment crossing his face for a moment. “No, no that’s not what I meant at all. I didn’t mean- you don’t really think-” I cut him off, still chuckling. “I’m just teasing grandpa, I know you’re not transgender. I am curious though, what is it you’d like to change about yourself? It’s never too late to change who you are.” Standing up from his chair, he waddled over to the wall of beetles, pulling out a terrarium of what seemed to just be empty dirt. Digging through it for a moment, he pulled out an unusual object. It was brown, with a texture that looked almost like that of a tuberous plant. Two long protrusions extended out from one end of the vaguely potato-shaped object, and as I watched the other end wiggled spasmodically. “This”, my grandfather said, proudly, “is the pupa of dynastes hercules, a kind of rhinoceros beetle. In a couple weeks it will emerge as a fully formed beetle, those structures you see on the end will be its horns. Yet less than a month ago, it was a fat, soft-bodied worm-like creature.” He reverently placed the bizarre pupa back into the dirt, and began covering it gently with soil. “Very interesting grandpa but, er, what exactly does that have to do with how you’d like to change yourself?” I asked. My grandfather looked at me, puzzled. “I don’t think I understand, what’s this about me wanting to change?” I sighed a little before beginning to gather up the plates and utensils to put in the dishwasher. “It’s nothing grandpa, don’t worry about it.” He’d been doing this more and more often, just forgetting his train of thought entirely mid-conversation. I didn’t want to accept it, but it was rapidly becoming clear he was going senile. I made a mental note to look into good nursing homes in the area. As much as I loved my grandfather, I didn’t have the time or energy to take care of him full time if he eventually deteriorated to the point where he could no longer take care of himself. As time wore on, the mental decay became more and more evident. He frequently used my deadname and old pronouns, and I didn’t have the heart to correct him. Once he didn’t even recognize me, asking where his grandson was. Still, even as he descended further into senility, he managed to remain somewhat active and did his best to remain intellectually stimulated. During one of my later visits I walked in on him reading a copy of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, a story which had always been a favorite of his for obvious reasons. I sat down in a cushy recliner across from him and read from a book of my own that I had brought, and we sat in comfortable silence for several minutes. After a while, however, my grandfather scoffed and set aside the book, face down. “What is it grandpa?” I asked politely, setting down my own book. “Oh it’s nothing Alexander,” he said. I winced, but he didn’t seem to notice, and just kept carrying on talking. “It’s just, this story seems a bit ridiculous now. Gregor should be happy for his transformation!” “What do you mean?” I inquired gently. “Well, think about it. He has to work as a traveling salesman, with a cruel boss, and all the while he needs to worry about caring for his family! But a beetle doesn’t need to worry about that, does it? No, all a beetle has to worry about is its next meal. It isn’t Gregor’s transformation that brings him pain, but his foolish desire to retain his humanity.” My grandfather seemed agitated slightly, perhaps a bit more than should be reasonable. “I thought Gregor became a cockroach grandpa, not a beetle.” I said, gently. At this my grandfather seemed to get more frustrated. “Bah, that’s just a misconception based on an idiotic mistranslation. Based on what is described, Gregor Samsa clearly becomes a beetle of some kind. Besides, it’s not as if cockroaches go through much of a metamorphosis at all, the transition from nymph to adult is fairly minor compared to the change beetles go through.” After this outburst, he slumped back down slightly and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, they seemed slightly cloudy, not the piercing blue I was used to. “I’m sorry, I lost my train of thought, what were we talking about?” he said, confused. I got up and gave him a gentle hug. “Nothing grandpa, just a silly old story. I’ll go and get you some tea.” I remember the rest of that day fondly. After drinking our tea, we watched the movie Them! on his ancient VCR, and I ordered takeout Chinese food for dinner. Despite his outburst earlier, he seemed peaceful, tired, and content. After he went to bed, I cleaned up the dishes and took a look over at the terrarium marked dynastes hercules. Inside, I saw the once bare enclosure was now a reproduction of a tiny jungle, and waddling amongst the fake trees I saw a huge insect, as large as my hand. It had two long horns and a shiny amber colored abdomen. As I watched it crawled over a toy tank positioned between two miniature boulders. For some reason I couldn’t quite explain, I started to cry a little when I saw it, thinking about my grandfather’s long life and how much he cared for these strange, often hated animals. The enormous beetle didn’t notice, it just wiggled its antennae a little and continued to trundle along. After pulling myself together somewhat, I got in my car and headed back home. That evening was the last time I ever saw my grandfather in a state in which I could still recognize him.

It was about a week later when I next visited my grandfather’s house. I had called him multiple times throughout the day, but he hadn’t picked up, so I was getting a bit worried. Upon arriving outside his house, I used the spare key he had given me and stepped inside, calling out for him. There was no response. Fearing the worst, I began to search the house. Passing by the beetles, I noticed some of the cages seemed too dry, as if nobody had misted them down in days. I even noticed a couple dead ones. That scared me, because even on his worst days my grandfather made sure to take care of his precious pets. Something was horribly wrong. Eventually I had combed the whole house and even checked the backyard, all except for the bedroom. I opened the door slowly, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. What I saw made me vomit on the spot. Wiping off my mouth with my sleeve, I looked again, praying that it was just a trick of the light, but there it was. A pile of dry, wrinkly skin, lying on the floor like old clothes. I could see my grandfather’s eyeless face peeking out from the folds. I couldn’t help it, I vomited a second time. I was about to call the police when I saw movement on the bed, under the covers. Dear God, I thought to myself, is he still alive? Moving over to the bed, I pulled off the blankets gently and gasped. Lying on the bed was a strange, half-formed shape. It was about 6 feet long and 2 feet wide, dark brown in color. As I watched, its back end wiggled spasmodically. It was an enormous pupa. I staggered out of the room and fixed myself a drink. I’m not normally one for liquor but I needed it. I had no idea what to do. Should I call the cops? The FBI? Would they even show up? After downing several more gin and tonics than I should have, I began to formulate an idea. Moving carefully, I took out all of the furniture in the bedroom except for the bed. I made sure to cover up the pupa again, which seemed to stop the worst of its thrashing. I couldn’t bring myself to touch my grandfather’s shed skin, so I just pushed it under the bed with a broom. It felt disrespectful, but with the gin in my system I knew that just touching it would be enough to make me retch again. Using a hole saw I cut a small peephole in the door, taping a piece of cardboard over it that I could remove to get a look when needed. I took the bolt and chain off the front door and attached them to the bedroom door. Finally, I cut a small rectangular hole at the bottom of the door and blocked it on my side with an old heavy toolbox. That way I could move it out of the way when needed to provide food and water, if whatever emerged from pupation survived. Two months passed. I moved into my grandfather’s house, maintaining his collection of beetles and everyday checking through the peephole to see if anything had happened. I lost contact with friends, and became something of a recluse. It was fortunate that I worked remotely, otherwise I’m certain I would have lost my job. I only ever left the house to pick up groceries. One day I awoke to the sound of scratching at the bedroom door. Getting off of the sofa, I crept carefully over to the door. After the scratching stopped, I took off the cardboard that covered the peephole and looked through. Clinging to the wall I saw an enormous beetle, at least six feet long. Long antennae gently probed its surroundings as its six powerful claws dug into the drywall. Its exoskeleton was still soft and pale, it was clear the thing had only recently emerged. As I pressed in to get a closer look, I stumbled, cursing softly. The beetle turned its head towards me and I screamed. It was monstrous, a horrific parody of a human face, with vestigial teeth pointing out at odd angles and the faint outline of a skull visible in the exoskeleton’s form. The eyes were disturbingly human, and, like my grandfather’s, a distinctive piercing blue. The enormous, sharp mandibles destroyed any illusion of humanity however.

It charged towards the door at the sound of my scream, scuttling awkwardly. I guess it needed to figure out how to use six legs effectively. I ran into the living room and sobbed, praying that I would just wake up from this nightmare as I heard the insectile form of what was once my grandfather slam repeatedly against the door. After about fifteen minutes the pounding stopped, and I managed to calm down a bit. I waited a few hours before checking in on it again. The exoskeleton had hardened, turning a shiny black, and I could hear a clicking sound as it moved about the room, observing its surroundings. I took note of the thing’s appearance, and hurried to my grandfather’s bookshelf to search through his various insect identification guides. After several minutes of looking, I thought I got a rough idea of what my grandfather had become. While I could not determine the exact species, and I doubt if it even really mattered under the circumstances, it seemed to be some sort of carabid beetle, better known as ground beetles. Most species are carnivorous, so I figured giving it some raw meat would be the best way to satiate its appetite. I grabbed some pork from the freezer and, moving aside the toolbox that covered the feeding hole, pushed it in on a plate using a broom. Quickly the beast moved in, hungrily devouring the entire platter of meat. I was able to get a closer look at its rending jaws up close, and it filled me with dread. That was a few hours ago. The beetle, the thing that was once my grandfather, is quiet now. I don’t know if it sleeps or not, but I hope so. I don’t know what to do. I can’t just kill it, not unless I know for certain that there isn’t still a part of my grandfather in there. But at the same time I dare not release it into the wild. For one thing I have no idea how I’d transport it, and for another I don’t relish the thought of a six foot long carnivorous beetle being let loose upon the world.

I have no idea what I’m going to do next, and I miss my grandfather now more than ever.

[elasmobranch-enthusiast]

i saw a little branch from a pine tree on the ground as i wandered my yard on my daily snail hunt. it must have been blown in by the same storm that comforted me as i cried the night before. the needles were still green, my favorite green. as i ran my fingers through them, the smell of pine sap wafted through the air. the stickiness hardly bothered me through the sensory bliss of the piney scent and texture of the needles. birds sang in the background, as if serenading my stimming. i was a part of nature, in tune with the universe. i felt at peace for the first time in a while.

it’s no wonder autistic people often identify with fairies and other magical, not-quite-human creatures. the feeling i get when i’m immersed in nature is indescribable. if i had to label it, i think i’d say it’s one of belonging. it makes sense that i’d be unfamiliar with that feeling, given my life experiences.

i continued my snail hunt, my hands still sticky with pine sap that i continued to smell as i traipsed through the grass, wet with morning dew. i crouched awkwardly in the mud and mulch, patiently watching the slowest slugs and snails make their way through the forest of tiny weeds, smiling widely the entire time. this snail hunt is a part of my routine, an integral part that reminds me of who i am, why i’m here, and of the magic and wonder that flows through me.

autism makes my life difficult. this is an undeniable truth. it has been especially hard these past few weeks. my sensory issues are agonizing. change is devastating. trouble communicating leaves me isolated into my own head. but autism also makes me see the world differently than most. i’m not interested in the big picture, but so invested in the tiniest details. i find joy in invertebrates smaller than my thumb nail. i find peace in the broken branch of a pine tree. i find solace in the chirping birds of the morning.

my autism can be awful.

but there are times like this where i see the magic in it. i see how it enriches my life. i see how it has built me into the person i am.

and it is in times like this where i am grateful for it. grateful to see the world the way i do. grateful to be strange, weird. grateful to be “bug girl”. grateful to be me.

i can say a lot about my autism. it affects me in many different ways. a lot of them are good, plenty are neutral, and some are terrible.

but for now, through this difficult time, i will focus on the magic it weaves into my everyday life. i am so grateful for that magic.

[o-craven-canto]

Taxonomy 0: Introduction

Part 1 (Biota) →

This is the introductory post for a series on taxonomy, i.e. the classification of living organisms, that I’m planning. It will be an overview of the whole tree of Life on Earth with examples and simple descriptions of the most important groups. This post contains definitions of a few key terms and notes on the writing conventions I will use.

First of all, an example of phylogenetic tree with 11 members, of which 5, written in black, are living and 6, written in gray, are extinct (full explanation under the cut):

Original post

Such a tree is organized around nodes connected by branches.  Look at the node labeled “Aves”, in the red box: that one represents the origin of modern birds, and it gives off two branches, ending in the nodes labeled “Paleognathae” and “Neognathae” -- the two main groups into which modern birds are divided.

As a natural consequence of evolution, species and groups of species form a pattern called a nested hierarchy: in brief, its sets within sets within sets. The group “Aves” nests inside “Theropoda”, which nests inside “Saurischia”, which nests inside “Dinosauria”, and so on until the root of this particular tree, which is labeled “Amniota”, and contains all reptiles, birds, and mammals. All the branches splitting from the node labeled “Aves” belong to that group, so all birds are Aves. Similarly, all groups named in this diagram are Amniota, because they all branch forth from the node labeled “Amniota”. A sub-group that branches away early, near the root (such as Sphenacodontia within Synapsida), is said to be basal.

Each node other than the terminal ones represents the Last Common Ancestor (LCA, or “concestor” in Dawkins’ terminology) of a particular set of species. For example, the node labeled “Aves” corresponds to the Last Common Ancestor of all living birds, that is, the most recent species that is a direct ancestor of all bird species living today.

Whenever a node gives off two branches (which represents an ancestral species giving rise to two distinct descendants), we say these branches are sister groups, which simply means that they’re each other closest relation. In this diagram, Synapsida and Sauropsida, marked by red dots, are each other’s sister group, as are for example Saurischia and Ornitischia, or Neognathae and Paleognathae.

From Wikipedia. Charles Darwin’s first sketch of an evolutionary tree diagram (1837).

Any group of species linked by evolutionary relations is called a taxon (plural taxa). Now, there are many ways to define taxa, but the gold standard is the monophyletic group or clade. Such a group, the only kind held to be valid in cladistics, is composed of the LCA of a certain set of species, all the LCA’s descendants, and nothing else. (See the purple, solid-lined box in the diagram, corresponding to the clade Synapsida, which contains all and only the descendants of the ancestral synapsid.)

Sometimes you want to exclude some of the LCA’s descendants for the purpose of classification. A paraphyletic group is composed of the LCA of a certain set of species and some, but not all, its descendants. The concept of “reptile” is an example: birds are also descendants of the LCA of all reptiles, but they are left out of the group. This is not admitted in cladistics, but it’s not necessarily meaningless: it’s possible for a paraphyletic group to share features that are lacked by the excluded sub-group. For example, “reptiles” generally have scaly skins, teeth, and lack feathers, which is not the case for birds. In such a case, a paraphyletic group can be called a grade. (Other examples of grades are “invertebrates”, “green algae”, “fish”, and “crustaceans”, which exclude vertebrates, land plants, tetrapods, and insects, respectively; or the cyan dashed-lines “mammal-like reptile” box in the diagram, which excludes mammals.)

Finally, we have polyphyletic groups. These are effectively groups with multiple independent origins: they are composed of a certain set of species, but not their LCA. Descriptive terms such as “trees” or “warm-blooded animals” (blue, dotted-line box in the diagram) represent polyphyletic groups. They can be useful, but they do not receive formal names in taxonomy as they do not have definite origins.

From Wikipedia. The blue and red group are monophyletic and clades, as is the blue + green supergroup; however, the green group on its own is paraphyletic, and may be a grade.

There are two ways to define a clade: an exclusive approach (“the narrowest/most exclusive clade including both the species A and B”) and an inclusive approach (“the broadest/most inclusive clade including the species A but not B”).

A exclusive clade in which the species A and B are both currently living is called a crown group. Aves is such a group (look at the red zone in the diagram), as all the sub-groups that branch from its roots have living members; there is no fully extinct sub-group that is a sister to the rest. It could be defined as “the narrowest possible clade including both ostriches and sparrows”, for example. (In reality, Aves is not a crown group as it includes some basal extinct species, but let’s pretend it does not.)

A total group or pan-group is an extension of a crown group that also includes all extinct species that are closer to it than to any other living species. We could expand Aves to Pan-Aves (the orange zone in the diagram) by defining it as “the broadest possible clade that includes birds but not crocodiles”, crocodiles being the closest still-living relatives of birds.

A stem group is simply the difference of a total group and a crown group: stem-Aves (the yellow zone in the diagram) is the set of all members of Pan-Aves that are not members of Aves, that is, everything that is not a bird whose closest living relative is a bird. “Mammal-like reptiles” could also be described as stem-Mammalia. While crown groups and total groups are monophyletic, stem groups are of course paraphyletic.

From Wikipedia. Red dots are living species, yellow dots extinct species. C1 and C2 are crown groups; T1 is C1's total group, while S1 is C1's stem group.

Now, symbols I will use to write about present and past taxa. Paraphyletic groups are preceded by an asterisk, e.g. *Nautiloidea. Sometimes I write (*?) or such when the paraphyletic status of a group is uncertain.

Sometimes I provide more than a name for a given group, separated by a slash, e.g. Magnoliophyta/Angiospermae. In some cases the two names are not exactly synonyms, and one might be very slighty more restrictive than the other, but choosing one over the other would not change the scheme I’m showing here.

Quotes surround a name that is no longer used, e.g. “Heliozoa”. I also use quotes to provide translations for some names, e.g. Cyclostomi (“circular mouth”).

As is standard use in taxonomy, the cross-like dagger mark (†) is used to indicate extinct groups, e.g. † Ornithischia. When applied to a paraphyletic group it does not exclude that some descendant species that are not included in it might still exist, e.g. † *Placodermi (which include the ancestors of every living cartilaginous and bony fishes).

[aquariuminfobureau]

Sewellia lineolata is one of the ballitorid hillstream fishes, that are endemic to Asia. They are not "plecos" or loricarids, nor suckers or catostomids, as they are often confusingly labelled in aquarium retail. Loricarids and catostomids are found in other parts of the world. Often they are called a loach, which is fair, because they nest deeply within the traditional, pre-cladistic assemblage, called Cobitidae. Historically, they were regarded as distinct from the loaches.

S. lineolata are collected from Southeast Asian upland waters, which must always be well oxygenated, though not neccessarily as fast moving assume sources indicate, because these fish are found in pools beside riffles, as, well as in the actual rapids. In the wild, they live on gravel, bedrock, and sand substrates, with few submerged plants. Sewellia make an excellent focus for a biotope setup.

This species grows to about 6 centimeters, or 2 and a 1/4 inches. The trade names for S. sewellia, are the reticulated, tiger, and gold ring hillstream fish. For all I know, other species may be traded under these names. Care for all the imported species and morphs of Sewellia sp , is believed to be the same.

S. lineolata have small mouths for fishes their size, and feed on algae, biofilm, and very small invertebrates. In the aquarium this species will eat algae wafers, micro pellets of the sort offered to shrimp, and defrosted invertebrate based foods. These are not considered difficult fishes to feed, and they have no ability nor inclination, to prey on ornamental tank cohabitants.

I don't know the water parameters where they are collected from the wilds, but in the aquarium, their proper care is well established. Their water ought to be moderately hard, and its pH should be about neutral, with the temperture a bit lower than is usual for a tropical tank, with somewhere between 20 to 23 degrees centigrade being a good temperture to maintain.

In the wild they are diurnal, and spend time grazing and foraging, in unshaded water, so I imagine some daytime temperture tolerance greater than that - but its important to know, they experience cooler tempertures by night, and should not be confused with tropical fishes. Permanent exposure to tempertures over 24 degrees, has been noted to lead to emaciation.

They also experience seasonality in the wild, not only of temperture but of rainfall, with run off depositing organics into the water during the rainy season, surely affecting the water chemistry they experience. My point is, these are hardy loaches that tolerate a range of tempertures and water chemistries, only if the needs of oxygenation are met.

But the ability of fish like Sewellia sp. to temporarily tolerate high tempertures, on a daily or seasonal basis, should not be willfully misunderstood and abused, by people who want yo treat them as though they were tropical fishes. These are "coldwater tropicals".