I found a firefly in my yard

It seems to be a larvae and every night I find her in the same place. After looking around in the vicinity I have found a few more. But this is the first year they appeared, I have no idea why or where they came from. Anyway, it's very nice to have them around.

Baby birds I found today (Red backed shrikes - Lanius collurio)

 

I have found this nest today. I'm not sure what species of bird is it, I'll have to spy for their parents. I'm very concerned a cat might notice this, because it's very close to the ground.

[UPDATE]: After only a dozen of minutes, the parents came to feed them, so here they are:

It seems they are Red backed shrikes (Lanius collurio).

The most efficient and simple homemade wasp trap

There are many guides to teach you how to build wasp traps from plastic bottles. After trying out everything, I realised the key is in the lure and not in the way you build the trap. And the most efficient is radler beer! Yes, you can simply put 1/4 of a jar with radler and it will catch more wasps then any other honey or vinegar trap.

Cricket or Grasshopper? Stop the confusion!

Cricket definition
Insect having long antennae and, in the males, the ability to produce a chirping sound (stridulation) by rubbing together the leathery forewings. It's commonly found in pastures and meadows (field cricket) or on trees and shrubs (tree cricket). A cricket sounds like this.




Grasshopper definition
Herbivorous insect with the hind legs adapted for leaping and having chewing mouth parts, some species being highly destructive to vegetation. They also make easily heard noises by rubbing the hind femurs against the forewings or abdomen. Grasshoppers sound like this.

How to differentiate (this applies only to common species):

• Most crickets are black or dark brown while most grasshoppers are green or light brown.
• Field crickets have very limited jumping ability while grasshoppers can jump very high.
• The crickets sound is very calming, like "cri-cri-cri".
• The cricket head is round like a ball, the grasshopper head is somewhere between egg-shaped and triangular.
• Most common cricket species cannot fly, while most of grasshoppers are pretty good flyers on short distances.

How to buy and raise baby mantis

I am writing this so you can learn from my mistakes.

1. If you buy mantis egg cases from Ebay, tell the seller to put them in a box and not directly in the envelope. I have received them in an envelope and more than half were dead, because they hatched during transportation and they got smashed.

2. Be very careful where you place the terrarium. If you let it in a sunny place, the mantis babies will die. Only spray a little of water, they are very fragile and too much water will kill them.

3. Make sure the terrarium is well ventilated, otherwise the mold will invade it, especially if it has soil.

4. Give them food and water once every two days. The best food when they are little are aphids, then when they get bigger, flies are a good meal. Keep in mind they are predators, so they like to catch the food alive.

5. Before a mantis reaches adulthood, it has to molt 6 times. Sometimes they get stuck and you have to help them. If a couple of hours passed and they are still trapped in the old exoskeleton, you have to help them. Very gently!

6. Try to manipulate inside the terrarium as rare as possible. They are so delicate, even a touch could kill them.

UFO X-COM: Terror from the Deep is going to happen

Take a look at these creatures, they are recently discovered but it seems like the guys who made X-COM 2, foreseen them. You can see more here.

True Fire Snapshot

Antworks

I recently read about Antworks and found some sites who sell them, so I
bought one. The idea seemed very interesting and maybe entertaining.
After I received the package, I was a little disappointed because it was
made of plastics. Then I went near a forest to pick up some ants. I
managed to get 5 big ones, but they started to fight so I dismissed them
and looked for smaller ones. I found small ants and surprisingly they
were escaping through the air holes, which I had to fill up. By the next
day, some of the little ants were dead and the rest were very lethargic.
I released them and looked for medium sized ants. I found a couple,
about 11. The next day, there was a little digging but the ants started
to fight, some died and the rest were weak. So the antworks was a total
failure, it is now sitting empty and I don't know if I should try
another type of ants or just give up.

Not a Photoshop effect, but a natural leaf

It's not a Photoshop special effect, it's just a natural leaf, picture taken with my Canon cam.

Mars Temperature

Although Mars is the next planet from the Sun - Terra is the third in our solar system, Mars is the fourth -, it's nothing like our home Earth. Its common temperatures range in the -30 degrees Celsius, it's very dry, with only traces of water present, with very little oxygen in the atmosphere (there is more than 90% carbon dioxide and about 0,13% oxygen) there are very unfriendly conditions for human life. Even so, in a very optimistic perspective, humans could transform it in a second home, but I think the effort that would be required would be much more than the one needed to preserve Earth in a life sustaining state. Let's say that Mars's temperature is the least of rhe problems, what could we do about the low concentration of oxigen? Colonize the planet with plants an transport the water needed for them to grow? At -30 degrees?...Maybe some lichens? And the water we'd need? Hmm, it really makes me wonder. For now, it seems like humanity is in the scouting stage, but maybe if the nations could really cooperate...That's the hardest part, I think. We haven't earned that much form history, and the international conflicts are still there, and as long as humans are divided, they cannot conquer the skies...

Air Pollution

The Earth is changing permanently, it has always been changing, but no matter the reasons we, humans, must be really stupid not to see that the way it's changing now it's not for our benefit. The skeptics may argue it's not entirely our fault for the way things are going, that the pollution it's not the main cause, and the human factor isn't decisive for the future of our planet, but after all, it's pretty simple: do something about it or die. The human race can't live in a too unpredictable environment, although its success as a race has been determined by its adaptability too, so I think it's obvious that something must be done. And, as a matter of fact, if we are responsible for the climate changing, through pollution, it would be easier - so to say - to reduce it and find alternative ways of living without damaging the complex system that it's our home, than interfering with a natural process that we didn't cause and we are way to limited in technology to handle. So, I hope it's clear that denial isn't the right reaction to this problem we face. And if there are some people thinking that they'd never face those horrible predictions in their lifetime anyway, I must point that this isn't about the future only, it's a health problem, a money problem, even a life and death problem for those jeopardized by the floods, the increasing number of hurricanes, cyclones and all kind of storms, droughts and other natural phenomena that are intensified or created indirectly by human actions. In short, we are affecting planet Earth and it bounces back at us. It's not good for us now, it won't be in the future. We can stop it by reducing pollution - it's the most immediate way for us, as simple citizens, to avoid a grim outcome of our civilization development.
What to do? Petition the government to take measures, save as much fuel as you can by walking instead of driving (if it's a 2 miles distance, I'm sure you can do that) or by buying a smaller car, with a not-so powerful engine - not all people live at a ranch! there are hundreds of car models for different purposes, use every one of them as designed! What else? recycle, turn off the light when nobody's in that room, use the AC rationally (this will contribute to avoid the power cuts under heavy usage too), use green energy if possible - consider installing some solar panels for your home, they're not only Earth friendly, they make energy cheaper too! Etc., etc.
All I want to happen in the near future is, after all, for people to start caring. Not just a bunch of Greenpeace people, but all! The air pollution affects everybody, and all the future generations will suffer if we do nothing. Acknowledge this, before it's too late!