Let me start by saying that I finally was able to use the Classic Editor. Now I just hope it is always available.
I went to Mount Pollux this morning to photograph the Holyoke Range in fog. But I also saw some milkweed with nice seed floss and one pod in particular that, although not flossy, was interesting.
Large Milkweed Bug nymphs- Oncopeltus fasciatus emerging and dining on milkweed seeds. The mother lays her eggs in the pod and when they hatch, dinner is served…the milkweed sap. Like some other insects, the young hatch looking very much like the adults and go through instar stages until fully mature.
Adults making more nymphs earlier this summer.
Remarkable. I had nary a clue.
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There’s a surprise every day it seems. I’ve seen a pod crawling with them before but this was the first time with them inside.
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In the first picture I imagined aliens at a flying saucer.
We have the same species of milkweed bug in Austin.
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A fair imagine image as, I believe, there was some science fiction based on aliens coming out of a pod although the film’s title eludes me.
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You may be thinking of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Body_Snatchers
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That’s the one. Thanks.
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It was the original podcast.
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WordPress has switched me to the new format. Luckily, I had my IT crew (kids) with me when they did it.
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Yeah, kids are quite the good geeks. I’ve finally got what I need to keep doing things the old way, thanks to the help of a couple of fellow bloggers, but who knows for how long it will be available.
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I once found a green milkweed pod covered with this same insect — and every generation was present. It was a party on the pod, believe me.
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Pod parties can be a lot of fun. Of course, I am referring to the college living situation but I bet those bugs have fun too.
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Fascinating, Steve. I have never witnessed this, but will keep an eye out for this kind of nursery.
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I hope you get to witness it, Tanja. It was a lot of fun watching them scurry about.
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I hope so, too, Steve!
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WP switched me to the default Block Editor today, to my dismay. I am learning to work around it, though, and will continue to use the Classic as long as I am able. They should, at the very least, provide a detailed tutorial on how to use the new platform before imposing it on us. But apart from that, I applaud the other Steve’s comparison with a flying saucer–that was one of my first thoughts.
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There is this that WP offers for beginners which has a lot of information. I haven’t actually explored it much. If you review the comments in my post “one year ago today” Steve and Linda offer some help figuring the block editor and how to get back to classic. Steve links to some tutorial help.
Reference to an alien craft make me think of “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. The original version. I rarely watch remakes.
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Klatu verada nikto.
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Thanks, I’ll save this link for when I have a free day (yes, I’m a dreamer) to try to figure it out. In the meantime, I seem to be able to get back to classic when I put my mind to it.
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Hmmm…interesting concept that “free day”.
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What a convenient nursery! (But it does indeed look like an alien invasion!)
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Attack of the Red and Black Milkweed devils from the distant bug nebula. 🙂
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Hehe! Science fiction in miniature! 🙂
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I know it’s silly, but my reaction is “Ew!” when I see the nymphs, and “Cool!” when I see the adults. Kind of the opposite of lots of other species I guess, humans included, at least sometimes. 😉
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Some nymphs are a little unattractive to us…their mom thinks they are beautiful although in most cases mom never sees her offspring. In this cases they fairly resemble an adult. Yeah we start out cute as a button but that doesn’t last for most of us. 🙂
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