Nature, Cultural, and Travel Photography Blog: 7/1/09

Assassin Bugs

Assassin Bugs belong to family Reduviidae. They hunt smaller insects and use their long proboscis to suck the prey juices. Assassin bugs also use proboscis to bite humans, if disturbed. They have very painful bites. Here are some pictures of assassin bugs enjoying sucking their prey juice.

Assassin Bugs

Assassin Bug Nymph With Prey

Assassin Bug Nymphs

Bagworm Moth Bag

This sticks case is a bagworm moth bag, constructed by bagworm larva from silk and bits of needles to live in. It is also used as a molt and pupal case. These type of cases are generally found in hilly areas, particularly in wild berries plants . The bagworm larvae live in these bags over winter and only emerge to eat. In the coming spring the male emerges as moth having wings, while the wingless female moth remains inside the bag her entire life. After mating the female lays eggs in her bag and then falls to the earth and dies.

Bagworm Moth Bag

Bagworm Moth Larvae

Ladybugs Mating

Ladybugs Mating Pictures

Milk Thistle Seeds

In spite of its important medicinal properties, milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is an unwanted plant for us that grow wildly on empty fields, fields borders and road sides. Milk thistle seeds extract contains active compound flavonolignans known as silymarin, which contain silybinin, isosilybinin, silychristin and silydianin. The seeds extract is used internally for liver cirrhosis and damage, dyspeptic complaints, jaundice, hepatitis and gallbladder disorders.

Milk Thistle Seeds

Wazir Khan Mosque Lahore

Wazir Khan Mosque (Masjid Wazir Khan) Lahore, Pakistan, was built during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, by Hakim Ali-ud-Din Ansari (known as Wazir Khan), a Governor of Lahore. The construction of the mosque started in 1634 and completed in seven years. It is famous for its faience tiles work. It has been described as 'a mole on the cheek of Lahore'. The mosque is located inside the inner city and is easily accessed from Delhi Gate.

Wazir Khan Mosque Lahore

Red-vented Bulbul Nest

Today I have the nest pictures of Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer). The Red-vented Bulbul is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is commonly found in Pakistan. Some people used to keep it as a pet bird. It is a human friendly and loyal bird and returns the owner home after several hours of flight. They feed on fruits and that is why they are considered serious garden pests. Besides fruits they also feed on nectar and insects. They breed from May to September. They lay three or four eggs in cup like nest, made of small twigs. The eggs are pale pink with darker red spots/splashes. The eggs take about 12 days to hatch.

Red-vented Bulbul Nest Pictures

Ladybugs Photos

Ladybugs (Coccinellidae) is a family of beetles, also known as ladybirds or lady beetles. They are beneficial insects for gardeners, as they are used as biological pest control agents. Ladybugs generally feed on aphids, scale insects, mealybugs and mites and thus help to control these pests. Here are some pictures of different varieties of ladybugs I shot locally. It'd be more suitable to call them ladybugs of Pakistan.

Different Types of Ladybugs

I found these unusual ladybugs among the seven spotted ladybugs. I,m not sure whether they are certain species or just disfigured form of seven spotted ladybugs.

Hybrid Ladybugs

Scorpions Facts

Scorpions belong to the order Scorpionida in the class Arachnida. They are easily recognized by their characteristic shape. They possess 4 pairs of walking legs and have two large pedipalps (claws) which terminate with pincers. They have a long five-segmented tail with an additional telson that bears the venomous stinger. The number of eyes of scorpions varies from 6 to 12, but they have very poor or almost no eyesight. Unlike the majority of arachnid species, scorpions are viviparous (Producing eggs that hatch within the female's body). In simple words scorpion didn't lay eggs, but give birth to babies like mammals. After all babies are born, they are placed on its mother's back until the they are big and strong enough to live alone. The scorpions occur in our area are brown in color and have very painful sting.

Scorpion Pictures