Hello folks who wonder if Californians deserve perfect weather all year round as compensation for their sky-high taxes,

Let's say you hate the Texas football team since they always beat the California Football team in the playoffs. So when the Texas football team is in the Superbowl, do you support the team that is playing against it, say Montana football team in this example?

Let's say you do, would you still support the Montana football team when they are playing against the California Football team? The fluid nature of competition mean that such loyalty is often superficial and fleeting. Look below at the losers celebrating their team scoring a goal or something. Look carefully at the crazy lady behind the couch who is celebrating by herself. Who even invited her to this watch party? Also, why has no one touched the snacks or taken a sip of the drinks. There are more questions than answers here.


The same can be said about the ecology of the habitats around us. Case in point in California is the Tasmanian Blue Gum tree (Eucalyptus). People love to hate this tree since that tree loves to eat Vegemite on toast for brekky(that's breakfast for Americans) and it says "Barbie" to refer to Barbeque. And, that is simply not American.


So, when a foe of this tree was discovered within California in the early 2000s, ecologists started to cheer from the sidelines. This foe was the Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle.


Not the best introductory shot I admit, but what was I supposed to do with that video clip, since I spent over 5 mins standing there with my camera and all the male could do was suffer from performance anxiety. 

Karan, let bygones be bygones. Just start from the top.

*exhales deeply

If you ever ran into a Eucalyptus tree and saw its notched leaves indicating someone was eating it for brekky, you should look around for the culprit.


Chances are you might stumble upon the eggs of the culprit.


If you wait a bit longer, you might see this little army hatch from its eggs.


After munching on some young foliage of the Eucalyptus tree, they will turn green in color. Look at its cute little face.


Since it is not watching how much it eats, it can't fit into its clothes i.e. exoskeleton and will molt to shed the older and tighter exoskeleton. Here is one that was caught in the act of undressing. Use caution. The video below might be NSFW.


And then, a few days later, they will turn into mature adults...


...mature adults who will struggle to perform when the camera is pointed towards them. I took a 5 minute video hoping to capture some action. So yeah, I am pissed. #sorrynotsorry


In the next post, we'll be heading to the Farallon Islands, where I spent a week earlier this year.


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