Happy New Year 2012

Wish You All a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2012.

No man is beaten until his hope is annihilated, his confidence gone. As long as a man faces life hopefully, confidently, triumphantly, he is not a failure; he is not beaten until he turns his back on life.

(Orison Swett Marden)

Dry Leaf

Green leaves are beautiful, but when they become dry, they look even more beautiful. Here is the proof.

Dry Leaf

White-banded Digger Bee

 The White-banded Digger Bee (Amegilla quadrifasciata) is a species of solitary bees belonging to the family Apidae, subfamily Apinae. They have a body length up to 12 mm long. The thorax is densely hairy, while the abdomen alternate black and white stripes. They have large bulging eyes, their long probosces allow them to sip nectar from a variety of flowers and the hairy hind legs facilitate the collection and transport of pollen. They excavate nest in loose soils. The nest is provisioned with pollen and nectar, as food for their larvae.

White-banded Digger Bee (Amegilla quadrifasciata)

Old Stairs

This Old Stair picture was taken at an archeological site named Rani Ghat Ruins ( Rani Ghat Kandarat). Rani Ghat is a Buddhist archeological site located in district Buner, near Swabi and Buner boundary.

Old Stairs

Painted Daisy

The Painted Daisy or Tricolor daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum) is an ornamental plant in the family Asteraceae (daisy family).

Painted Daisy-Chrysanthemum carinatum

Common Line-blue Butterfly

The Common Line-blue (Prosotas nora superdates) is a species of small tailed blue butterfly in the family Lycaenidae (The Gossamer-Winged Butterflies), subfamily Polyommatinae, found in Asia. It has a wingspan of about 20 to 25 mm.

Common Line-blue (Prosotas nora superdates)

Indus River Dolphin

The Indus River Dolphin or Bhulan (Platanista gangetica minor) is a member of the family Platanistidae. It is found only in Pakistan and lives in the lower portion of the Indus River system. It has a body length up to 2.5 m and maximum weight up to 90 kg. It has an estimated lifespan of about 20-28 years. It has tiny eyes, only able to detect light or dark, not details and that is why it's also known as "Blind Dolphin". It has a long and slender rostrum, used for catching shrimps, crabs and fish. It survives in muddy, silt-laden water and locates its prey by making high-pitched sounds and tracing the echoes. Indus River Dolphin is one of the most endangered members of the whale and dolphin family. According to a recent survey held in April 2011, there are 918 blind dolphins in the river Indus from Guddu to Sukkur.

Indus River Dolphin-Platanista gangetica minor

French marigold-Tagetes patula

The French Marigold (Tagetes patula) is a species of annual flowering plant  in the daisy family (Asteraceae). It's grown as ornamental plant. It's a low growing plant, which reaches a height of 20 inches. The flower is usually red with yellow color margin and splashes. French marigold is a companion plant of tomato and some other vegetables, which repel whiteflies, pests of economic importance. They produce a pesticidal chemical from their roots, which kill nematodes in the soil. This chemical lasts several years after the plants are gone. French marigolds together with other species of marigolds are grown commercially for its flowers. The flowers are used in wedding ceremonies, garlands, decoration and various traditional and religious rituals.

French Marigold-Tagetes patula

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Eclipse 10th December 2011

Damselflies Mating

Damselflies Mating

Pomegranate Seeds

Pomegranate Seeds

Stolen Pictures

From round about an year, in spite of my regular posting, I'm loosing my visitors. The main reason behind this is that a lot of people stole or hot linked images from my blog without any permission or even acknowledgement.  To combat this issue, I used the DMCA platform. Some time the complaint worked greatly by deleting the infringing post(s). But some time instead of infringing material they deleted my own work. Some host companies even don't bother to response. In some response they asked me to resolve the issue with concerned person manually. Now I decided to create a post, where I will hotlink the pictures, people stole from my blog and they are present on the net as my competitor.

Stolen Pictures

Infringing Post URL: https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bacp/supp_info/bed_bug_information.html/

Bed Bug

Infringing Post URL: http://hotels.about.com/od/hotelsecrets/ig/Bed-Bugs/Bed-Bug-On-White-Cloth.htm

Bed Bug

Poor Little Girl

Poor Little Girl

Clover Hay-worm Moth

The Clover Hay-worm Moth (Hypsopygia costalis) also  know as Gold Triangle is a species of moth of the family Pyralidae. It's a small moth with a wingspan of about 16–23 mm. It is known as gold triangle because of its golden color and one of the resting postures, which resembles triangle.

Clover Hay-worm Moth or Gold Triangle (Hypsopygia costalis)

White Rhinoceros

White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium Simum) is a herbivorous mammals of the family Rhinocerotidae. White Rhinoceros live singly or in small herds in the African savannah. There was once less than fifty white rhinos left in the world. However due to adequate protection measures they are now in thousands. They basically feed on grasses. They have an average lifespan of about 40-50 years. Their average weight rang from 1,800-2,700 kg. Their gestation period consist from 16-18 months. They are hunted illegally for their horns, which are used to make medicine, ornaments and dagger handles.

White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium Simum)

Black Mulberry-Morus nigra

The Black mulberry (Morus nigrais) is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae (mulberry family), tribe Moreae. It is a common tree grown in the plain areas of KPK. It's basically grown for shade and wood, which is mainly used in sports goods industry in Pakistan. The dark purple colored fruit is though edible, but is rarely eaten by the local people. The fruit and the root are used to cure many throat related ailments.

Black Mulberry Fruit

Common Four Ring Butterfly

The Common Four Ring (Ypthima huebneri) is a species of Satyrinae (Browns) butterfly in the family Nymphalidae found in Pakistan. They have a wingspan of about 30-35mm. They are weak flier and generally fly close to the ground. Because of their dull brown color, I always ignored to photograph them.

Common Four Ring Butterfly (Ypthima huebneri)

Common Four Ring Butterfly Mating Pair

Pottery Water Cooler

Pottery Water Cooler

Pehur Hydropower Project Spillway

The 18 MW Pehur Hydropower Project has been constructed by Sarhad Hydel Development organization. The construction work on the project was started in June-2006 and completed in 3 years. Pehur Hydropower Project Spillway is know as Abshar (Waterfall) by the local people. In summer a lot of people visit the site daily to enjoy the cool breeze produced by the spillway.

Pehur/Gadoon Hydropower Project Spillway

Indian Fritillary-Argynnis hyperbius

The Indian Fritillary (Argynnis hyperbius) is butterfly of the Nymphalid or brush-footed butterfly family. It has a wingspan of about 85 mm. It is found in the northern areas of Pakistan and migrate to plain areas in the early winter.

Indian Fritillary-Argynnis hyperbius (Female)

Indian Fritillary-Argynnis hyperbius (Male)