Showing posts with label Animal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animal. Show all posts

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Wasp comb

I noticed this under-constructed wasp comb two weeks ago. At that time, there was only one wasp worked. Now, there are four of them work together. They belong to social wasp becasue solitery wasp does not build nest at all. I guess they are either hornet or paper wasp in terms of the nest appearance.

Normally, social wasp colony is built by wood pulp or soil, which mixed with saliva. The very first wasp is queen. It built a canopy with cell and then laid egg in each cell. That's why the number of worker increases gradually. After enough female workers are born, queen focus on reproduction. And then, workers add new tier on old one to form a big comb eventually.
Interesting, a old nest (on lamp) was abandoned without completion. I think heat from the light dry it quickly and make it unsuitable to live.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

A true fox spirit (狐狸精)in real world?

An anecdote on China Daily arouse my interest today: A vixen stole over 100 pairs of shoes in German town of Foehren. Is she a Fox Spirit (Huli Jing, 狐狸精) in love with high-heeled shoes? J

Fox Spirit is a well-known character in Chinese mythology. They are beautiful, enchanting and capable of acquiring human forms. It is a common role in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异), authored by Pu Songling of Qing dynasty . Normally, the Fox spirits are seen as dangerous, who seduce male for purposes. “Fox sprits” is used as a negative term to describe bad women seduce married man. The judgment for this character is controversial. Male have mixed feeling of hate and affection.

In Germany, the vixen stole shoes for her cubs to play with.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Canada Goose

Goslings and their parent...They are fleeing from me...  

Canada Goose is a common waterfowl in the North America. Its name clearly cue its original living place.  Spring is breeding season. I happened to see a goose is hatching in its nest.