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Hibernaculum (zoology)
A hibernaculum ''plural form: hibernacula'' (Latin, "tent for winter quarters") is a place in which a creature seeks refuge, such as a bear using a cave to overwinter. The word can be used to describe a variety of shelters used by many kinds of animals, including insects, toads, lizards, snakes, bats, rodents, and primates of various species. Insects Insects range in their size, structure, and general appearance but most use hibernacula. All insects are primarily exothermic. For this reason, extremely cold temperatures, such as those experienced in the winter, outside of tropical locations, cause their metabolic systems to shut down; long exposure may lead to death. Insects survive colder winters through the process of overwintering, which occurs at all stages of development and may include migration or hibernation for different insects, the latter of which must be done in hibernacula. Insects that do not migrate must halt their growth to avoid freezing to death, in a process ...
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Toad - Geograph
Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientific taxonomy, but is common in popular culture (folk taxonomy), in which toads are associated with drier, rougher skin and more terrestrial habitats. List of toad families In scientific taxonomy, toads include the true toads (Bufonidae) and various other terrestrial or warty-skinned frogs. Non-bufonid "toads" can be found in the families: * Bombinatoridae ( fire-bellied toads and jungle toads) * Calyptocephalellidae (helmeted water toad and false toads) * Discoglossidae ( midwife toads) * Myobatrachidae (Australian toadlets) * Pelobatidae ( European spadefoot toad) * Rhinophrynidae ( burrowing toads) * Scaphiopodidae (American spadefoot toads) * Microhylidae ( narrowmouth toads) Biology Usually the largest of the bumps on the ski ...
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Corn Borer
''Ostrinia'' is a genus of moths in the family Crambidae described by Jacob Hübner in 1825. Several of them, including the European corn borer, are agricultural pests. Species *'' Ostrinia avarialis'' Amsel, 1970 *'' Ostrinia dorsivittata'' (Moore, 1888) *'' Ostrinia erythrialis'' (Hampson, 1913) *''Ostrinia furnacalis'' (Guenée, 1854) - Asian corn borer, Asian corn worm Cites *''Ostrinia kasmirica'' (Moore, 1888) *'' Ostrinia kurentzovi'' Mutuura & Munroe, 1970 *''Ostrinia latipennis'' (Warren, 1892) *'' Ostrinia marginalis'' (Walker, 1866) *''Ostrinia nubilalis'' (Hübner, 1796) - European corn borer, European corn worm *'' Ostrinia obumbratalis'' (Lederer, 1863) - smartweed borer *''Ostrinia ovalipennis'' Ohno, 2003 *''Ostrinia palustralis'' (Hübner, 1796) *''Ostrinia penitalis'' (Grote, 1876) - American lotus borer *'' Ostrinia peregrinalis'' (Eversmann, 1852) *'' Ostrinia putzufangensis'' Mutuura & Munroe, 1970 *'' Ostrinia quadripunctalis'' (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 ...
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Snapping Turtle In Mud
Snapping (or clicking) one's fingers is the act of creating a snapping or clicking sound with one's fingers. Primarily this is done by building tension between the thumb and another ( middle, index, or ring) finger and then moving the other finger forcefully downward, so it hits the palm of the same hand at a high speed. A Georgia Institute of Technology study in 2021 analyzed finger snapping, and found that a given audible snap sound occurs in just seven milliseconds. For reference, the blink of an eye takes place in 150 milliseconds. In culture In Ancient Greece, snapping of fingers was used by musicians and dancers as a way to keep the rhythm and it was known with the words "ἀποληκέω" (''apolekeo''), "ἀποκρότημα" (''apokrotema'') (from the verb "ἀποκροτέω" - ''apokroteo'', "to snap the fingers") and "ἐπίπταισμα" (''epiptaisma''). Finger snapping is still common in modern Greece. Finger snapping may be used as a substitute fo ...
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Ectotherm
An ectotherm (from the Greek () "outside" and () "heat") is an organism in which internal physiological sources of heat are of relatively small or of quite negligible importance in controlling body temperature.Davenport, John. Animal Life at Low Temperature. Publisher: Springer 1991. Such organisms (for example frogs) rely on environmental heat sources, which permit them to operate at very economical metabolic rates. Some of these animals live in environments where temperatures are practically constant, as is typical of regions of the abyssal ocean and hence can be regarded as homeothermic ectotherms. In contrast, in places where temperature varies so widely as to limit the physiological activities of other kinds of ectotherms, many species habitually seek out external sources of heat or shelter from heat; for example, many reptiles regulate their body temperature by basking in the sun, or seeking shade when necessary in addition to a whole host of other behavioral thermo ...
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Brumation
Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps an organism to conserve energy. Dormancy tends to be closely associated with environmental conditions. Organisms can synchronize entry to a dormant phase with their environment through predictive or consequential means. Predictive dormancy occurs when an organism enters a dormant phase ''before'' the onset of adverse conditions. For example, photoperiod and decreasing temperature are used by many plants to predict the onset of winter. Consequential dormancy occurs when organisms enter a dormant phase ''after'' adverse conditions have arisen. This is commonly found in areas with an unpredictable climate. While very sudden changes in conditions may lead to a high mortality rate among animals relying on consequential dormancy, its use can be advantageous, as organisms remain active longer and are t ...
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Northern Crested Newt
The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to long. Its back and sides are dark brown, while the belly is yellow to orange with dark blotches. Males develop a conspicuous jagged crest on their back and tail during the breeding season. The northern crested newt spends most of the year on land, mainly in forested areas in lowlands. It moves to aquatic breeding sites, mainly larger fish-free ponds, in spring. Males court females with a ritualised display and deposit a spermatophore on the ground, which the female then picks up with her cloaca. After fertilisation, a female lays around 200 eggs, folding them into water plants. The larvae develop over two to four months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juveniles (efts). Both larvae and land-dwelling newts mainly feed on different ...
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Alpine Newt (Ichthyosaura Alpestris) Hibernating In Dead Wood (13537518605)
The alpine newt (''Ichthyosaura alpestris'') is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. Males are more conspicuously coloured than the drab females, especially during breeding season. The alpine newt occurs at high altitude as well as in the lowlands. Living mainly in forested land habitats for most of the year, the adults migrate to puddles, ponds, lakes or similar water bodies for breeding. Males court females with a ritualised display and deposit a spermatophore. After fertilisation, females usually fold their eggs into leaves of water plants. The aquatic larvae grow up to in around three months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juvenile efts, which mature into adults at around three years. In the southern range, the newts sometimes do not metamorphose but keep their gills and stay aquatic as paedomorphic adults ...
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Cricket Frog
Cricket frogs, genus ''Acris'', are small, North American frogs of the family Hylidae. They occur in northern Mexico ( Coahuila), the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and in southern Ontario, Canada. They are more aquatic than other members of the family, and are generally associated with permanent bodies of water with surface vegetation. This is a quite important aspect of their survival, as adult cricket frogs suffer high mortality rates when submerged in poorly oxygenated water (typically less than 24 hours on average in water that is ~1.2 mg/L). The common and scientific names refer to their call, which resembles that of a cricket. The two common species are ''A. crepitans'' and ''A. gryllus''. ''A. crepitans'' are found in mesic woodlands as well as xeric grasslands, whereas ''A. gryllus'' are concentrated in mesic woodlands. Cricket frogs are able to communicate and attract each other using a specific frequency of their mating call, that sounds like a cricket ...
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Frogs Wintering Under A Habitat Mat
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock, molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 Myr, million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy or evolutionary history. An adult frog has a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limb ...
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Limenitis Arthemis
''Limenitis arthemis,'' the red-spotted purple or white admiral, is a North American butterfly species in the cosmopolitan genus ''Limenitis''. It has been studied for its evolution of mimicry, and for the several stable hybrid wing patterns within this nominal species; it is one of the most dramatic examples of hybridization between non-mimetic and mimetic populations. ''Limenitis arthemis'' can be split into two major groups, mainly based on one physical characteristic: the presence of a white band along the wings. Individuals of the northern group, called white admirals, have a conspicuous white band that traverse both the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the wing, while those of the southern group, called red-spotted purples, lack that trait as they have evolved to mimic the poisonous pipevine swallowtail (''Battus philenor''). Due to overlap in distribution among the two major groups, intermediates are numerous as hybridization occurs frequently. Taxonomy and phylogenetic ...
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Isabella Tiger Moth
''Pyrrharctia isabella'', the isabella tiger moth, whose larval form is called the banded woolly bear, woolly bear, or woolly worm, occurs in the United States and southern Canada. It was first formally named by James Edward Smith in 1797. Description The thirteen-segment larvae are usually covered with brown hair in their mid-regions and black hair in their anterior and posterior areas. In direct sunlight, the brown hair looks bright reddish brown. Adults are generally dull yellowish through orangish and have robust, scaly thoraces; small heads; and bright reddish-orange forelegs. Wings have sparse black spotting. The isabella tiger moth can be found in many cold regions, including the Arctic. The banded woolly bear larva emerges from the egg in the fall and overwinters in its caterpillar form, when it literally freezes solid. First its heart stops beating, then its gut freezes, then its blood, followed by the rest of the body. It survives being frozen by producing a cryopro ...
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Choristoneura Fumiferana
''Choristoneura fumiferana'', the eastern spruce budworm, is a species of moth of the family Tortricidae native to the eastern United States and Canada. The caterpillars feed on the needles of spruce and fir trees. Eastern spruce budworm populations can experience significant oscillations, with large outbreaks sometimes resulting in wide scale tree mortality. The first recorded outbreaks of the spruce budworm in the United States occurred in about 1807, and since 1909 there have been waves of budworm outbreaks throughout the eastern United States and Canada. In Canada, the major outbreaks occurred in periods circa 1910–20, c. 1940–50, and c. 1970–80, each of which impacted millions of hectares of forest. Longer-term tree-ring studies suggest that spruce budworm outbreaks have been recurring approximately every three decades since the 16th century, and paleoecological studies suggest the spruce budworm has been breaking out in eastern North America for thousands of years. ...
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