MERRY CHRISTMAS LETS CELEBRATE WITH A CATERPILLAR
(Not a suckling caterpillar that would be gross)
I have found THE most adorable caterpillar ever. Meet Diadema charonda, the Japanese emperor moth! It’s also known as the great purple emperor, charonda emperor, purple crownfly, or oh-murasaki (オオムラサキ), which means "great purple" in Japanese.
And look at its little face!
They eat the flowers, leaves, and berries of the Jesso hackberry (Celtis jessoensis). They’re native to Japan (such as Hokkaido and Kyushu), Vietnam, Taiwan, China, and the Korean Peninsula. The adult males have a wingspan of 2 inches while the females top at 2.6.
And what beautiful butterflies they turn into...
Meet the absolutely amazing variable beautymark (Rhetus periander), also known as the periander metalmark. It’s lovely and beautiful and extremely colorful. It is from the Riodinidae family of butterflies.
The variable beautymark’s range is found in much of Central and South America, from Mexico down to Brazil and Argentina. Its habitat is lush, wet rainforests where it eats the rotting carcasses of dead tarantulas.
Wait. What was that last bit?
Yep. It’s true. Variable beautymarks absolutely guzzle dead tarantulas, which is extremely disgusting and depressing. :(
PS: 40th post already, and I published the 30th just four days ago. WHAT.
In the Amazon, weird phenomena take place—like this one. Butterflies drinkin’ tears.
These are butterflies from the genus Heliconius. They drink out of the eyes of turtles, crocodiles, birds, and HUMANS to get a specific amount of water and salt.
This is actually quite sensible because A) the butterflies are happy and salty and B) the butterflies on the face looks totally savvy.
The most common butterfly species to do this are postmen (Heliconius melpomene), numata longwings (H. numata), zebra heliconians (H. charithonia), and julias (H. julia).
