Spiders Mating

The spiders mating is different from other insects as the male spiders do not produce ready-made packages of sperm to insert in the females by their genitals. The male spiders use their pedipalps to transfer sperms into the female's epigyne (genital opening). They spin small sperm webs onto which they ejaculate and then transfer the sperm into syringe like structures on the tips of their pedipalps, which is then inject into the female's genital opening on the underside of her abdomen.

Spiders Mating Pictures

Spiders Mating

Spiders Mating

Male Spider Pedipalps

Female Spider Epigyne (Genital Opening)

Nawanshehr Abbottabad

Nawanshehr or Nawan Shehr (The New City) is a beautiful town in District Abbottabad, Khyber Pakthunkhwa of Pakistan. The historical and famous mosque of Abbottabad, Ilyasi Masjid is situated in Nawanshehr. The weather of Nawanshehr is moderate, particularly the pleasant weather in summer makes it an attractive tourists spot in the region. Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education of Abbottabad is also in Nawanshehr. Nawanshehr has its own old bazaar which is famous for its Chapli Kebab.

Nawanshehr Abbottabad

House Crow-Corvus splendens

The House Crow (Corvus splendens), also known as the Colombo Crow is a common bird of the family Corvidae (Crow family). It's about 40 cm long and weigh about 250-350 gm. Breast forehead, crown, throat and upper are a richly glossed black, while the neck and breast are a lighter gray-brown. The wings, tail, bill and feet are black. They are omnivores, feeds on a variety of things including seeds, fruit, bird’s eggs, nestlings, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects and carrion. Adverse impacts include food theft, crop-raiding and damage to livestock

House Crow

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower Seeds Pictures

Baby Praying Mantis

It seems that the weather this year was very favorable for praying mantises and that is why there are a lot of baby praying mantises every where. It's very difficult to recognize the correct species of praying mantis by seeing their babies, as the babies may have different color or pattern from their parents. The baby praying mantis look very similar to adult praying mantis, but is small and wingless.

Baby Praying Mantis

Green Lacewing Larvae

The Lacewing Larvae, called "Aphid Lions", are important biological control agents against many soft-bodied insects including aphids and mites. Other things the lacewing larvae feed on include insect eggs, thrips, whiteflies, mealybugs, small caterpillars and beetle larvae.

Green Lacewing Larvae

Orange Crab Spider

Crab Spiders or Flower Spiders are perhaps the most beautiful species of spiders on the earth. Crab spiders belong to family Thomisidae. So far, I have captured and shared a variety of crab spiders including, white, with with patterns, yellow and green. Today I'm going to share a picture of orange crab spider, I captured yesterday. Actually it's a baby orange crab spider. I will try to observe and capture as it grows.

Orange Crab Spider

Opium Poppy Pods

The Opium Poppy Pod is the most important part of the opium poppy pant, from which the opium (lachryma papaveris) is extracted. The latex obtained from poppy pods contains morphine, codeine, papaverine, thebaine and noscapine. The morphine is converted into heroin, an opiate drug. To obtain the latex the immature seed pods is scratched in the result of which the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off.

Opium Poppy Pods

Insect Pollinators

Biodiversity associated with crops is due to an element i.e., pollinators. Pollinators plays an important role in agricultural and natural ecosystem. Pollination is an essential phenomenon for plants for reproduction hence pollinators i.e., to ensure reproduction, help the plant in fruit development and very widely helps in dispersal. In agricultural field, pollinators and pollination is important to maximize the crop yield or improve crop both as qualitatively and quantitatively. Hybrids are being formed using conventional and genetic techniques to bring improvement in plant quality and quantity, but pollination is at its back without which no hybrid formation can occurs. In response of pollinators, plant provide them nesting and food resources. Insects and other animals are approximately 80% of plants pollinators. Honey bees, managed bumble bees and solitary bees are also pollinators of certain crops, in spite of these, while wild bees are also there to pollinate the crops. With special reference of Asia, the domesticated honey bees and Apis mellifera are considered best pollinators, but, honey bees up to some extent are not effective pollinators for many crops here. Bees can easily pass pollen from one plant to the other but they are not always useful to mankind and become a cause of invasive weeds spreading. Bees can also exploit agents that help in biological control of pests. So, pollination is considered a very important process for the production of native plants, which can be used for restoration of wild lands and also in the development of interspecific and intraspecific hybrids and without the help of pollinators these outcomes can never be achieved.
Article credit: Hina Waheed M.Sc Genetics

Insect Pollinators

Scorpion Stinger

Scorpion Stinger

Potter Wasps

Potter wasps also known as mason wasps are a cosmopolitan wasp group in the subfamily Eumeninae, family Vespidae. The potter wasp derives its name from the mud made potter like nest it builds.

Potter Wasps

This is how the Potter Wasp Nest look like.

Potter Wasp Nest

Potter Wasp Nest