Indian House Cricket (Gryllodes supplicans)

Indian House Cricket (Gryllodes supplicans) also known as Tropical House Cricket or Decorated Field Cricket is a species of cricket in the family Gryllidae (True Crickets), subfamily Gryllinae (Field Crickets). Adult crickets are about 18-22 mm long, having pale color with dark markings on the thorax and abdomen. The young look similar to adults, but don't have wings. This species lives inside homes and is considered a nuisance pest. It feeds on leftover food, plants debris, small insects and insect remains. It also feeds on fabrics and papers.

Indian House Cricket Immature Female

Indian House Cricket Female

Indian House Cricket  Immature Male

Indian House Cricket Male

Onion Flowers

These onion flowers/seed heads pictures are taken at district Buner, NWFP. Onion is a major crop grown in district Buner. The people of Buner are more interested in growing onion seeds, rather then onion bulbs. The Onion seeds of district Buner (Charori) is popular through out Pakistan and consider as No.1 Onion seeds for its production.

Onion flower/Seed Heads

Onion Flower Field

Chikoo Fruit

The Chikoo Fruit (Manilkara zapota) which is known as Sapodilla Fruit in English, is a medium sized (2–4 inches in diameter) fruit. From outside the fruit is rusty brown like potato and from inside it's pale-yellow and pulpy, looks very similar to orange. I bought and taste this fruit for the first time in my life. It has a very unpleasant taste and that is why no member of my family was ready to eat it. I took some pictures to share on my blog and then put the fruits in a jar for fruit flies to feed and hatch on them.

Chikoo Fruit

Chikoo Fruit Seeds

Mohenjo Daro

Mohenjodaro (Mound of the Dead) was one of the largest city-settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization of South Asia situated in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BEC. The city was one of the early urban settlement in the world, existing at the same time as the civilization of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete. The archaeological ruins of the city as designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is sometime referred to as "An Ancient Indus Valley Metropolis.

Mohenjo Daro

Moenjodaro was built around 2600 BCE and abandoned around 1900 BCE. It was rediscovered in 1922 by Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay,an officer of the Archaeological Survey of India. He was led to the mound by a Buddhist monk, who believed it to be a stupa. In the 1930s, massive excavations were conducted under the leadership of John Marshall, K.N. Dikshit, Ernest Mackay and Further excavations were carried out in 1945 by Ahmad Hassa Dani and Mortimer Wheeler.
Mohenjodaro was created as a very well planned city. Its original purpose was to serve as a major trading spot and for farming. In ancient times Moenjodaro was most likely one of the administrative centers of the ancient Indus Vally Civilization. It was the most developed and advanced city in South Asia and perhaps the world, during its peak. The planning and engineering showed the importance of the city to the people of the Indus valley.
The Mohenjodaro ruins were one of the major centers of this ancient society. At its peak, some archaeologists opine that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million.
Seals have been found at Mohenjodaro depicting a figure standing on its head and another sitting cross-legged in what some call a yoga-like pose.
The Indus Civilization's economy appears to have depended significantly on trade, which was facilitated by major advances in transport technology. These advances included bullock carts that are identical to those seen throughout South Asia today, as well as boats.

Mohenjo Daro Ruins

Mohenjo Daro Ruins

Toy Bullock Carts

Toy Bullock Cart

Pottery

Small Milkweed Bug

Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii), is a True Bug (order Hemiptera), in the family Lygaeidae (Seed Bugs), Subfamily Lygaeinae. The adult is about 10-12 mm long and colored orange and black. The Nymph has red abdomen, which develops black spots with age; wingpads black; pronotum red with two black diagonal markings. They have a long rostrum which they use for piercing and feeding. Both adults and nymphs feed on milkweed seeds and milkweed plant juices. They also feed on nectar and Juices of other plants. I often observe them on my chilli and ashwagandha plants, but not sure about the damage they do.

Small Milkweed Bug

Small Milkweed Bugs Mating Pair

Small Milkweed Bug Eggs

Small Milkweed Bug Nymph

Lightning Bugs

The Lightning Bugs or Fireflies are small, luminescent, carnivorous beetles in the family Lampyridae. There are more than 2000 species of Lightning Bugs, worldwide. They are mostly found in tropical areas of the world around water resources such ponds, lakes, streams and rivers.
They produce heatless flashes of greenish-yellow light. Their glow has three main functions i.e. to attract prey, to discourage predators, and the most important is to attract mates.
According to an article in "The Time of India" The main reason of their decreasing population is the artificial light which makes fireflies' flashes less evident and they fail to communicate with their mate properly. Other reasons include loss of habitats and excessive use of pesticides.
The species exists in our area has orange color, with black tip on the wing case. It's commonly know as "Black-tipped Firefly". Most probably, it's a species in the genus Pteroptyx, subfamily Luciolinae. It's about 8 mm long. Both males and females are capable of flight. Their larvae feed on snails and slugs. In Urdu it's called "Jugnu" (جگنو).

Lightning Bugs (Pteroptyx sp.)

Female

Female

Female

Male

Male

Giant Water Scavenger Beetle

Giant Water Scavenger Beetle (Hydrophilus triangularis) is a species of semi-equatic beetles in the family Hydrophilidae.

Giant Water Scavenger Beetle

Common Water Hyacinth-Eichhornia crassipes

The Common Water Hyacinth (Scientific name: Eichhornia crassipes), is a floating aquatic plant in the family Pontederiaceae, that invade aquatic areas. It can grow up to 3 ft. tall.. The elliptical shaped, thick leaves grow up to 15 cm wide. Leaves curve inward at the edges. The leafstalks are waxy with spongy petioles, which keep the plant floating in the water. It has beautiful purple flowers, that grow on upright spikes. Each flower has six petals with the uppermost having a blue and yellow patch. It is used as an ornamental plant in pools and aquariums.
It invades lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, and other types of wetland habitats. Water hyacinth mate clog waterway, making boating, fishing and other water activities impossible. It also restrict sunlight and deplete the oxygen level in the water, which are necessary for underwater life.

Water Hyacinth