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100 more species #87: Rugosana querci
Jul. 9th, 2013 05:52 pm
EDITED 7/11/13 on account of some smartypants on Bugguide.net identified it more precisely.
This enterprising young insect hitched a ride in Alexis' car at some point and disembarked in our yard. I wouldn't count a scarlet macaw or an Indian elephant on the list if it made it into the yard that way, but the chances are close to 100% that there are already other leafhoppers on the property. There are about 50 species in the genus Gyponana, all well-camouflaged plant-sucking bugs. Recently the subgenus Rugosana was elevated to its own genus out of Gyponana. This one is wingless because it is sexually immature, but adults jump/fly their way from plant to plant. This one better start crawling to the back corner of the yard to get to the neighbor's oak trees, since that's all they eat and we don't have any.
The last time I posted a leafhopper on this blog a scientist friend was inspired to respond with a much more interesting blog post. The short of it, as I understand it, is that leafhoppers have symbiotic bacteria that help them derive nutrients from their diet of plant juice. Nothing too weird there, all of us animal-type organisms pretty much have the same deal. However in leafhoppers (and one assumes other insects that suck phloem for a living) the symbionts are somehow transmitted from mother to egg, insect and bacterium coevolving for eons into inseparable partners, the bacteria become in essence organs of the insect.
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New Pantheist Website
Aug. 1st, 2011 03:24 pmThe owner/designer of a new website for pantheist families emailed me asking if I would share the link:
http://pantheistkids.weebly.com/
It's clearly a work in progress but is a good start. Mixture of kid-friendly science-positive stuff and kid-friendly eco/enviro stuff. Check it out.
http://pantheistkids.weebly.com/
It's clearly a work in progress but is a good start. Mixture of kid-friendly science-positive stuff and kid-friendly eco/enviro stuff. Check it out.
10 books recommendation meme
Feb. 14th, 2009 03:47 pmSince I'm a posting fool today, I may as well share these book recommendations from a facebook meme. They are more interesting to the people who read this journal than to my facebook friends anyway. I've already written about most of these in this journal, but it might be nice to have them all in one place. The rules of the meme state that your first entry has to be the book you are currently reading.
Most of these are sciencey books but are written for the digestion of laypersons. No degree is needed to appreciate them.
1. The Ghosts of Evolution / I wasn't going to recommend it, but it is what I'm reading now. It's about the very fascinating subject of plants that evolved alongside seed-dispersing animals such as giant sloths and mastodons which are now extinct. It's not very well written, however, I like the subject enough that I'm digging through it. It's by Connie Barlow.
2. I'm also reading The New Kings of Non-Fiction, edited by Ira Glass. I got it when I donated to NPR. It has short pieces by lots of different people, including many of the authors on this list, and famous New Yorker essayists.
3. Song of the Dodo / Rather tomelike but entertaining piece on island biogeography, and how all biology is becoming similar to it, by David Quammen. I would recommend reading anything by Quammen, who recently has been writing stuff about Darwin for National Geographic. Let me take this opportunity to link to his essay Planet of Weeds, again.
4. Beast in the Garden / A natural history book that reads like a pulp crime novel, about the way the world is has changed in such a way as to put mountain lions into dangerous proximity to humans, by David Baron.
5. Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution / A sensible and pragmatic approach to understanding dogs, based on a much more likely alternative to the "cavemen stealing wolf puppies" origin of domestic dogs. By Ray and Lorna Coppinger.
6. Parasite Rex / About the vital role parasites have played in the evolution of other animals, and how parasites can manipulate the behavior of other animals. By Carl Zimmer.
7. The Omnivore's Dilemma / Hard to imagine that anyone who has heard of this book hasn't already committed to reading it or to avoiding it, but I heartily recommend it. Utterly compelling, and very important; by Michael Pollan (I also recommend The Botany of Desire by the same author.)
8. A Short History of Nearly Everything / Best introduction to the natural sciences ever written. Fully integrates Cosmology, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, with a bit of gossiping about the personalities involved in developing these sciences. By Bill Bryson, who has written a bunch of stuff that people have recommended to me that I haven't read yet.
9. When You are Engulfed in Flames / The latest book by the 21st century Mark Twain, David Sedaris. I've read everything he's written (I prefer the semi-fictionalfamily memoirs to the fully fictional plays and stories with animal characters) and have the laugh lines and split sides to prove it.
10. Dear Mr. Mackin and Thank You for your Continued Interest / Two collections of letters to and responses from corporations, by my former classmate Rich Mackin. These letters highlight the absurdity of modern consumerist culture; he's speaking truth to power, and power's response is pretty hilarious.
Most of these are sciencey books but are written for the digestion of laypersons. No degree is needed to appreciate them.
1. The Ghosts of Evolution / I wasn't going to recommend it, but it is what I'm reading now. It's about the very fascinating subject of plants that evolved alongside seed-dispersing animals such as giant sloths and mastodons which are now extinct. It's not very well written, however, I like the subject enough that I'm digging through it. It's by Connie Barlow.
2. I'm also reading The New Kings of Non-Fiction, edited by Ira Glass. I got it when I donated to NPR. It has short pieces by lots of different people, including many of the authors on this list, and famous New Yorker essayists.
3. Song of the Dodo / Rather tomelike but entertaining piece on island biogeography, and how all biology is becoming similar to it, by David Quammen. I would recommend reading anything by Quammen, who recently has been writing stuff about Darwin for National Geographic. Let me take this opportunity to link to his essay Planet of Weeds, again.
4. Beast in the Garden / A natural history book that reads like a pulp crime novel, about the way the world is has changed in such a way as to put mountain lions into dangerous proximity to humans, by David Baron.
5. Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution / A sensible and pragmatic approach to understanding dogs, based on a much more likely alternative to the "cavemen stealing wolf puppies" origin of domestic dogs. By Ray and Lorna Coppinger.
6. Parasite Rex / About the vital role parasites have played in the evolution of other animals, and how parasites can manipulate the behavior of other animals. By Carl Zimmer.
7. The Omnivore's Dilemma / Hard to imagine that anyone who has heard of this book hasn't already committed to reading it or to avoiding it, but I heartily recommend it. Utterly compelling, and very important; by Michael Pollan (I also recommend The Botany of Desire by the same author.)
8. A Short History of Nearly Everything / Best introduction to the natural sciences ever written. Fully integrates Cosmology, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, with a bit of gossiping about the personalities involved in developing these sciences. By Bill Bryson, who has written a bunch of stuff that people have recommended to me that I haven't read yet.
9. When You are Engulfed in Flames / The latest book by the 21st century Mark Twain, David Sedaris. I've read everything he's written (I prefer the semi-fictionalfamily memoirs to the fully fictional plays and stories with animal characters) and have the laugh lines and split sides to prove it.
10. Dear Mr. Mackin and Thank You for your Continued Interest / Two collections of letters to and responses from corporations, by my former classmate Rich Mackin. These letters highlight the absurdity of modern consumerist culture; he's speaking truth to power, and power's response is pretty hilarious.
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Darwin Day!
Feb. 12th, 2009 12:47 pmThe more I think about it, the more it bothers me that there isn't a bigger celebration going on about Darwin. He did have the misfortune to be born on the same day as the Greatest American President, so he's suffering from some eclipse. But that doesn't exempt the scientific and natural history community from my scorn. There should be huge parties, Darwin Days at all science museums and zoos with free admission and lots of discussion of Darwin's influence on the subject of Biology, and how his work led to VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING we know about living things today.
As important as Lincoln was, in 5000 years there's a good chance that the United States will no longer exist and will be remembered as a weird place that dominated the 20th century and was the last place that had a major slave industry. If America is remembered, Lincoln should be remembered for his role in emancipation. If not, he will be remembered as a mysterious bearded face on a tiny copper colored coin.
Darwin on the other hand, is a much more important figure, as important as Archimedes, Newton, Curie, and so on. As long as there is a continuous thread of human knowledge, Darwin should be remembered for his vital contribution to the understanding of biology; he should be remembered for making it clear that all life on earth (which is still all the life that we know exists) came from a single lineage. All living things are derived from a common ancestor and are related to one another.
As important as Lincoln was, in 5000 years there's a good chance that the United States will no longer exist and will be remembered as a weird place that dominated the 20th century and was the last place that had a major slave industry. If America is remembered, Lincoln should be remembered for his role in emancipation. If not, he will be remembered as a mysterious bearded face on a tiny copper colored coin.
Darwin on the other hand, is a much more important figure, as important as Archimedes, Newton, Curie, and so on. As long as there is a continuous thread of human knowledge, Darwin should be remembered for his vital contribution to the understanding of biology; he should be remembered for making it clear that all life on earth (which is still all the life that we know exists) came from a single lineage. All living things are derived from a common ancestor and are related to one another.
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"Magic man done it" chronicles continue
Jun. 25th, 2007 06:11 pmGood news from our reasonable friends in the UK:
The [British] government has announced that it will publish guidance for schools on how creationism and intelligent design relate to science teaching, and has reiterated that it sees no place for either on the science curriculum.
If you're wondering what the heck the title of this post means, watch this video.
The [British] government has announced that it will publish guidance for schools on how creationism and intelligent design relate to science teaching, and has reiterated that it sees no place for either on the science curriculum.
If you're wondering what the heck the title of this post means, watch this video.
Magic man done it.
Mar. 27th, 2007 02:58 pmWell, truth be told, I didn't have any plans to visit Kentucky, but it just backed up behind Kansas and Mississippi in the "last states to visit--shortly after I die, maybe" competition. Hoo doggy! We're so proud of our dogmatic ignorance that we erected a museum to it!
Also, my 3:00 alarm just went off, and my camera is at home somewhere.
Also, my 3:00 alarm just went off, and my camera is at home somewhere.
Krulwich on Quammin on Darwin
Oct. 2nd, 2006 01:43 pmI just listened to the podcast of "Hmmmm..." the horribly named but otherwise pretty good science feature from NPR. In it I learned that David Quammen (my favorite science journalist) is writing a book about Darwin. I'm not sure if I should be excited about this or disappointed. I think Quammen's best writing is travel and experience based--the stuff he writes based on written research can be kind of dull. But anyway, the reason I bring it up is this quote, describing what the pre-Darwin theory of why living things live where they are (why there are only kangaroos in Australia for example):
"God created every species individually, and put them down wherever they are. I call that 'Special Creation, plus Special Delivery.'"
Cross-posted.
"God created every species individually, and put them down wherever they are. I call that 'Special Creation, plus Special Delivery.'"
Cross-posted.
