Hello folks who wonder if mugging while crossing a dark alley in the future will involve transfer of bitcoins,
Why do we roll things up?
- We roll sleeping bags (or at least we used to) since that makes it easier to store and carry around.
- We roll our sushi since it helps hold all the ingredients in place while you wolf those rolls down.
- A roly-poly rolls up to protect itself from predators or an enthusiastic kid who clearly does not have access to smartphones.
- A freshman rolls up their joint so they can carry around their mental therapist wherever they go.
So, why does a butterfly not reap the benefits of rolling?
Next time you spot a butterfly feeding on a flower, observe how it uses its mouth parts to suck the nectar. Let's take a look at this skipper butterfly doing its thing. (What are skipper butterflies you ask? Read about them over here)
You see a flexible straw like apparatus (called the proboscis) that it is using to suck the nectar from these flowers. Rather than sucking up the nectar as a straw, they soak up the nectar like a sponge using their proboscis. Below is how the proboscis would work on a flower. (Note: no flowers or butterflies were harmed in the making of the video)
And once they are done feeding and it's time to pack up, you will see them neatly coil the proboscis for easy storage. Below is a Gray Hairstreak showing us the ropes.
I remember all the milk cartons I have seen till now show all cows always happy and dancing which makes me wonder if cows truly enjoy getting milked?
Now, despite how exciting it might sound to crouch under these massive animals and yank at their sensitive parts, there are no cows roaming around in my backyard. Due to the lack of access, my hopes of milking a cow seemed like a distant dream. That is till the day I stumbled across this False Widow spider.
False Widow spiders look similar to Black Widow spiders but they lack the distinctive red hourglass shape on the underside of their abdomens and the toxic venom. These spiders have a body shape which kids would refer to as "Thicc". Having such round abdomens, I knew I could live my long-lost dream. So, I held this false widow spider by its abdomen and began milking.
For silk.
Observe the organ at the end of the abdomen called the spinneret opening and closing when I keep tugging at the silk.
We all live our entire lives constantly fearing about getting stung by a honey bee but fail to appreciate how it neatly stores its stinger and only removes it as the last defense. To see that let's first collect an unsuspecting honey bee.
Psst... Hey, want some free nectar? I have lots of nectar in the van over there.
This Western honey bee just accepted the invitation without any protest. If you observe its abdomen, you will see no signs of a stinger present.
After grilling it for 2 hours on why honey bees sell their honey in bear shaped bottles, this honey bee starts to lose its cool and out comes the stinger.
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