PASSION FRUIT FLOWER

Passiflora edulis is a vine species of passion flower that is native to Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina. Its common names include passion fruit, passionfruit, and purple granadilla, Maracujá and Lilikoʻi.

Scientific name: Passiflora edulis

Higher classification: Passion Flower

Rank: Species

Nutrition Facts

Passion fruitPassion fruit

Amount Per 1 fruit without refuse (18 g)100 grams1 cup (236 g)100 grams

Calories 97

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0.7 g	1%
Saturated fat 0.1 g	0%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.4 g
Monounsaturated fat 0.1 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0%
Sodium 28 mg	1%
Potassium 348 mg	9%
Total Carbohydrate 23 g	7%
Dietary fiber 10 g	40%
Sugar 11 g
Protein 2.2 g	4%

Vitamin A	25%	Vitamin C	50%
Calcium	1%	Iron	8%
Vitamin D	0%	Vitamin B-6	5%
Vitamin B-12	0%	Magnesium	7%

*Per cent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

A FIRE FLY is being eaten by a spider

Firefly

Photuris lucicrescens[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Elateriformia
Superfamily:	Elateroidea
Family:	Lampyridae Latreille, 1817
Subfamilies
Cyphonocerinae Lampyrinae Luciolinae Ototretinae (disputed) Photurinae and see below Genera incertae sedis: Oculogryphus Pterotus LeConte, 1859

A FIRE FLY is being eaten by a spider

The Lampyridae are a family of insects in thebeetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous use ofbioluminescence during twilight to attract mates or prey. Fireflies produce a "cold light", with no infrared or ultraviolet frequencies. This chemically produced light from the lower abdomen may be yellow, green, or pale red, with wavelengths from 510 to 670 nanometers.^[2]

About 2,000 species of fireflies are found intemperate and tropical climates. Many are inmarshes or in wet, wooded areas where theirlarvae have abundant sources of food. Their larvae emit light and often are called "glowworms" in Eurasia and elsewhere. In the Americas, "glow worm" also refers to the related Phengodidae. In many species, both male and female fireflies have the ability to fly, but in some species, the females are flightless.

HOW A SPIDER MAKES WEB TRAP

Spun from silk, with the strength of steel but with extraordinary elasticity, a spider's web has long been regarded as one of Mother Nature's most amazing feats. Now scientists at Oxford University have revealed another unique quality – webs actively spring towards prey thanks to electrically conductive glue spread across their surface.

Researchers discovered that the electrical properties of a glue that coats spider webs causes them to reach out to grab all charged particles, from pollen and pollutants to flying insects.

The study, published in Naturwissenschaften journal, shows how a quirk of physics causes webs to move towards all airborne objects, regardless of whether they are positively or negatively charged. This explains why webs are able to spring towards prey and how they collect small airborne particles so efficiently.

Spider webs could, according to researchers, be used for environmental monitoring as they actively filter airborne pollutants with the same accuracy as expensive industrial sensors.

"Electrical attraction drags airborne pollutants including aerosols and pesticides to the webs, so you could harvest and test webs to monitor pollution levels – for example, to check for pesticides that might be harming bee populations," said Professor Fritz Vollrath of Oxford University's department of zoology, who led the study.

"What's fascinating is that you can detect some airborne chemicals just by looking at the shape of the webs. Many spiders clear particles from their webs by eating them, including chemicals that are electrically drawn to the web."

In tests spiders are known to create different qualities of web depending on their drug consumption, Professor Vollrath said. "We already know that spiders spin different webs on different drugs, for example creating beautiful webs on LSD and terrible webs on caffeine. As a result, the web shapes alone can tell us if any airborne chemicals have psychological effects."

The researchers showed that the webs also cause local distortions in the Earth's electric field since they behave like conducting discs. Many insects are able to detect small electrical disturbances, including bees, that can sense the electric fields of different flowers and other bees.

Electrical disturbances caused by spider webs are extremely short-ranged, so it is not yet clear whether insects would be able to sense them before the web snaps out to grab them. Professor Vollrath added that spider webs make use of the static charge developed by moving insects to "actively catch prey".

The latest revelation will add to the fascination with spiders' webs, the structures of which are already under investigation for potential applications in industry, including in bullet-proof vests and even in artificial tendons.

HOW A SPIDER MAKES WEB TRAP

Spun from silk, with the strength of steel but with extraordinary elasticity, a spider's web has long been regarded as one of Mother Nature's most amazing feats. Now scientists at Oxford University have revealed another unique quality – webs actively spring towards prey thanks to electrically conductive glue spread across their surface.

Researchers discovered that the electrical properties of a glue that coats spider webs causes them to reach out to grab all charged particles, from pollen and pollutants to flying insects.

The study, published in Naturwissenschaften journal, shows how a quirk of physics causes webs to move towards all airborne objects, regardless of whether they are positively or negatively charged. This explains why webs are able to spring towards prey and how they collect small airborne particles so efficiently.

Spider webs could, according to researchers, be used for environmental monitoring as they actively filter airborne pollutants with the same accuracy as expensive industrial sensors.

"Electrical attraction drags airborne pollutants including aerosols and pesticides to the webs, so you could harvest and test webs to monitor pollution levels – for example, to check for pesticides that might be harming bee populations," said Professor Fritz Vollrath of Oxford University's department of zoology, who led the study.

"What's fascinating is that you can detect some airborne chemicals just by looking at the shape of the webs. Many spiders clear particles from their webs by eating them, including chemicals that are electrically drawn to the web."

In tests spiders are known to create different qualities of web depending on their drug consumption, Professor Vollrath said. "We already know that spiders spin different webs on different drugs, for example creating beautiful webs on LSD and terrible webs on caffeine. As a result, the web shapes alone can tell us if any airborne chemicals have psychological effects."

The researchers showed that the webs also cause local distortions in the Earth's electric field since they behave like conducting discs. Many insects are able to detect small electrical disturbances, including bees, that can sense the electric fields of different flowers and other bees.

Electrical disturbances caused by spider webs are extremely short-ranged, so it is not yet clear whether insects would be able to sense them before the web snaps out to grab them. Professor Vollrath added that spider webs make use of the static charge developed by moving insects to "actively catch prey".

The latest revelation will add to the fascination with spiders' webs, the structures of which are already under investigation for potential applications in industry, including in bullet-proof vests and even in artificial tendons.

Ant Mimic Spider

The Ant Mimic Spider has a diabolically clever method for getting close to its next meal without having to wait.

Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicryof ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and predatorsthat rely on vision to identify their prey such as birds and wasps normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation (protective mimicry), while others mimic ants anatomically and behaviourally to hunt ants (aggressive mimicry).^[1]

To overcome ants' powerful defences, mimics may imitate ants chemically (Wasmannian mimicry) with ant-like pheromones, visually (as in Batesian mimicry, though the purpose may also be aggressive mimicry), or by copying microstructure for tactile mimicry.

DRAGONFLY

A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the orderOdonata, suborder Anisoptera (from Greekἄνισος anisos "uneven" and πτερόν pteron, "wing", because the hindwing is broader than the forewing). 

Adult dragonflies are characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, sometimes with coloured patches and an elongated body. Dragonflies can be mistaken for the related group, damselflies (Zygoptera), which are similar in structure, though usually lighter in build; however, the wings of most dragonflies are held flat and away from the body, while damselflies hold the wings folded at rest, along or above the abdomen. Dragonflies are agile fliers, while damselflies have a weaker, fluttery flight. Many dragonflies have brilliant iridescent or metallic colours produced bystructural coloration, making them conspicuous in flight. An adult dragonfly eye has nearly 24,000 ommatidia.

Fossils of very large dragonfly ancestors in the Protodonata are found from 325 million years ago (Mya) in Upper Carboniferousrocks; these had wingspans up to about 750 mm (30 in). About 3000 species of Anisoptera are in the world today. Most aretropical, with fewer species in temperate regions.

Dragonflies are predators, both in their aquatic larval stage, when they are known asnymphs or naiads, and as adults. Several years of their lives are spent as nymphs living in fresh water; the adults may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks. They are fast, agile fliers, sometimes migrating across oceans, and are often found near water. They have a uniquely complex mode of reproduction involving indirect insemination, delayed fertilization, and sperm competition. During mating, the male grasps the female at the back of the head or on the prothorax, and the female curls her abdomen under her body to pick up sperm from the male's secondary genitalia at the front of his abdomen, forming the "heart" or "wheel" posture.

Loss of wetland habitat threatens dragonfly populations around the world. Dragonflies are represented in human culture on artifacts such as pottery, rock paintings, and Art Nouveau jewellery. They are used in traditional medicine in Japan and China, and caught for food in Indonesia. They are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness in Japan, but seen as sinister in European folklore.

TADPOLES

Frogs typically lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae called tadpolesthat have tails and internal gills. 

They have highly specialized rasping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorous orplanktivorous diets. The life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. 

A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on fruit. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass. They are an important food source for predators and part of the food web dynamics of many of the world'secosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of vocalizations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many different kinds of complexbehaviours to attract mates, to fend off predators and to generally survive.