Some facts about owls

This is a cute little animation a teacher made for his fifth grade students to get them interested in owls. I think its great! Enjoy:

work in progress...

She is almost finished, I am still debating what to do about the colour of the cage. I might cover each bar with paper to add texture. I already have a tree to go inside the cage, although it needs an appropriate pot deep enough for the roots, and wide enough to serve as a base.

ink planet

3D fractals: The Unravelling of the Mandlebulb

The Formula from subBlue on Vimeo.

I'm in love with the world!: Hot-Air Balloons

The Evesham Balloon Festival 2010 is next weekend...sounds like a plan!

Enthomology

Why do swarming locusts grow giant brains?

Via io9, on an article from the Royal Society of Biological Sciences

During times of scarcity, locusts default to a solitary form, actively avoiding others of their species. However, when rain comes and plants bloom, the insects undergo a dramatic conversion.

Solitarious locusts invest more in low-level sensory processing, having disproportionally larger primary visual and olfactory neuropiles, possibly to gain sensitivity. The larger brains of gregarious locusts prioritize higher integration, which may support the behavioural demands of generalist foraging and living in dense and highly mobile swarms dominated by intense intraspecific competition.

What is 'bioluminescence'?

Via Wikipedia, and Ask Nature by the Biomimicry Institute

Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in the form of light emission. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is involved in most instances. The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the cell.

"Before a short adult life as a gnat, larvae in the genus Arachnocampa spend months as carnivorous glowworms in caves or sheltered areas using light as a lure…a hungry New Zealand glowworm,Arachnocampa luminosa, lays a trap. From its nest on a cave ceiling, the glowworm dangles several dozen 'fishing lines,' each studded with evenly spaced, sticky droplets of mucus. The worm then churns out bioluminescence from organs on its posterior, attracting passing insects. These duped bugs get snagged in the gummy threads, and the glowworm hauls in its catch." (Hadhazy 2009)