Mein "Konzentriertes Zusammenleben" im Garten Fortsetzung

[Rolfo]

Bluejays


Interesting Blue Jay Facts
•   Blue Jays aren't actually blue. In fact, the pigment in their feathers is brown. Scattering light in the structural parts of the feathers causes us to see the blue coloration.
•   The oldest known wild Blue Jay lived to be at least 17 years 6 months, which is nearly two years older than the oldest recorded Northern Cardinal. (Don't show this to Donald Trump who is a Cardinal person or he may change his "natural" color) 
•   Blue Jays are omnivores, but they mainly stick to vegetation, berries, acorns and more. While they are infamous and sometimes loathed for eating the eggs of other birds, this behavior is actually quite rare.
•   With the ability to mimic the calls of hawks, like the Red-shouldered Hawk, it's believed that Blue Jays use the calls as a warning or to trick other species.
•   Blue Jays are very aggressive and territorial, but they have been known to get bullied by squirrels, grackles and Florida Scrub-Jays at some feeders.
•   Sometimes, Blue Jays take ants and wipe them across their feathers—a practice known as "anting." Scientists believe they do this to make certain ants secrete their harmful spray, so they're fit for digestion.
•   The birds are found extensively across the eastern and central portions of the United States, but they are very slowly expanding their range into the Northwest.
•   The Blue Jay is in the same family as the crow.
•   Blue Jays form monogamous relationships that can outlast multiple breeding cycles. A pair will usually stay together until one of them dies. (Somehow, I have a feeling that Donald Trump could not be a Bluejay person).
•   Blue Jays are known to mob potential predators. A Blue Jay or a group of jays that finds a predator, like a bird of prey or a snake, will call out a warning to other birds. They will also chase or dive-bomb predators to get them to leave the area.





Turkey Vultures


Interesting Facts about Turkey Vultures
•   The Turkey Vulture is also known as the turkey buzzard.
•   The olfactory lobe of its brain, responsible for processing smells, is particularly large compared to that of other animals. This heightened ability to detect odors allows it to search for carrion below the forest canopy.
•   Turkey Vultures and Donald Trump both share something in in common, they both like to fluff their "feathers" and "regurgitating" the same "foul" stuff.
•   Courtship rituals of the Turkey Vulture involve several individuals gathering in a circle, where they perform hopping movements around the perimeter of the circle with wings partially spread. In the air, one bird closely follows another while flapping and diving.
•   The Turkey Vulture lacks a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses.
•   The Turkey Vulture is gregarious and roosts in large community groups, breaking away to forage independently during the day. Several hundred vultures may roost communally in groups which sometimes even include Black Vultures.
•   The Turkey Vulture lowers its night-time body temperature by about 6 degrees Celsius to 34 °C (93 °F), becoming slightly hypothermic.
•   The Turkey Vulture is often seen standing in a spread-winged stance. The stance is believed to serve multiple functions: drying the wings, warming the body, and baking off bacteria. It's practiced more often following damp or rainy nights.
•   The Turkey Vulture's primary form of defense is regurgitating semi-digested meat, a foul-smelling substance which deters most creatures intent on raiding a vulture nest. It will also sting the predator's eyes if the predator is close enough to get the vomit in its face or eyes.
•   The Turkey Vulture's life expectancy in the wild ranges upward of 16 years. A captive life span of over 30 years being possible
•   The Turkey Vultures sustain flight for long periods without flapping their wings. (They are frequent visitors to Pheasant Walk and fun to watch) They make use of rising columns of warm air called "thermals." Vultures stay within thermals by flying slowly in tight circles. They have short, broad wings and a low wing loading (ratio of bird weight to wing area) that allows them to remain aloft and to be highly maneuverable at slow speeds.










 
Dragon Flies




Interesting facts about Dragon flies:
•   Dragonflies were some of the first winged insects to evolve, some 300 million years ago. Modern dragonflies have wingspans of only two to five inches, but fossil dragonflies have been found with wingspans of up to two feet.
•   Some scientists theorize that high oxygen levels during the Paleozoic era allowed dragonflies to grow to monster size.
•   There are more than 5,000 known species of dragonflies, all of which (along with damselflies) belong to the order Odonata, which means "toothed one" in Greek and refers to the dragonfly's serrated teeth.
•   In their larval stage, which can last up to two years, dragonflies are aquatic and eat just about anything—tadpoles, mosquitoes, fish, other insect larvae and even each other.
•   At the end of its larval stage, the dragonfly crawls out of the water, then its exoskeleton cracks open and releases the insect's abdomen, which had been packed in like a telescope. Its four wings come out, and they dry and harden over the next several hours to days.
•   Dragonflies are expert fliers. They can fly straight up and down, hover like a helicopter and even mate mid-air. If they can't fly, they'll starve because they only eat prey they catch while flying.
•   Dragonflies catch their insect prey by grabbing it with their feet. They're so efficient in their hunting that, in one Harvard University study, the dragonflies caught 90 to 95 percent of the prey released into their enclosure.
•   The flight of the dragonfly is so special that it has inspired engineers who dream of making robots that fly like dragonflies.
•   Some adult dragonflies live for only a few weeks while others live up to a year.  (So if you believe in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism and believe in Reincarnation, an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each biological death. Pick a koi not a Dragonfly).
•   Nearly all of the dragonfly's head is eye, so they have incredible vision (they can read the small print in the paper without glasses) that encompasses almost every angle except right behind them.
•   Dragonflies, which eat insects as adults, are a great control on the mosquito population. A single dragonfly can eat 30 to hundreds of mosquitoes per day.
•   It's easy to be fascinated by dragonflies. I usually can observe them hovering over my pool and frequently resting on of the new branches of my Eureka trees surrounding the pool digesting their daily Mosquito allowance).








Florida Backyard Spiders
I usually get entangled into their webs when I work under our trees and between our bushes.
Spiny Orb Weaver


Interesting facts about spiders:
•   The orb web is the pretty creation that most people think of when asked to describe a spider web.  The shape is like the wheel on a bicycle with all the spokes connected.
•   The Orb-weaver spiders, such as the common Garden Spider, will usually spin their webs early in the morning so as to catch insects as they start their day.  Their webs are found on plants, grass and on houses and windows.
•   There is a Greek myth about a country girl named Arachne.  She was a wonderful spinner of threads.  As the myth goes, the Greek goddess Athena was very jealous of Arachne.  Arachne bragged that she was a much more talented weaver than Athena, and challenged the goddess to a weaving contest.  Arachne was quite arrogant and again insulted the goddess by weaving pictures that made the gods (titans) look bad.  Athena became so angry that she turned Arachne into a spider and forced her to live the rest of her life weaving webs.
•   A fear of spiders is called Arachnophobia
•   Spider silk is possibly the strongest material in the world!  Scientists believe that if they gathered the same weight of spider web as a piece of steel, the web would be much stronger than the steel!





•   Spiny orb weaver spiders are one of the most easily recognized spiders in Florida.  This tiny, 1/8" to 1/4" spider is wider than it is tall and has an obvious oval white shell on their back with red and black markings.  They are sometimes referred to as crab spiders because of their crab-like shape.
•   Spiny orb weaver spiders eat small insects that they catch in their webs, so they are attracted to trees and bushes, where insects are readily available. Spiny orb weaver spiders are not dangerous or destructive.
Banana Spiders






•   Banana spiders are beneficial to have in the garden or even in your backyard. These spiders catch pests that most of us try to get rid of, like mosquitoes, moths, wasps and large centipede-like insects.
•   Nephila is an extremely venomous spider, but its venom isn't potent enough to kill a human. It does have a neurotoxic effect like the black widow spider, but it's not strong enough to be dangerous to human beings.
•   With that said, a bite from a banana spider will cause local pain, redness, and blisters. The bite and its side effects usually disappears in 24 hours. Some people are allergic to the venom, and that can cause more serious respiratory reactions and muscle cramps.
•   This spider has the distinction of being one of the largest web weavers in the United States. 
•   The banana spider is a flat brown spider that can be 1/4" to 1-1/2" in length. Banana spiders are nocturnal and do the majority of their activities at night.
•   Banana spiders are insect eaters so they are attracted to areas with a slight breeze that brings in a constant flow of food to their web.
•   Banana spiders are neither dangerous nor destructive but they do bite...and it hurts.





Black Widow Spider




•   The black widow spider (and the other species known as widow spiders) is not uncommon in Florida. It is usually found in undisturbed places around the house. Common sites include wood piles, in and around downspouts, and in sheds.
•   Black widows, named for their deadly courtship practices, are venomous spiders that are found all over Florida. The easiest way to tell if a spider is a black widow is to look for the shiny black coloring and distinctive crimson markings on the abdomen of the females. 

Butterflies
•   Ria has three different plants planted in our yard to which they are attracted too.
•   These host plants are amazing sources of nectar and other flowers that provide food for those winged beauties.
Host Plants - Plumbago


Host Plants - Red Penta


Host Plants - Firebush


Buttgerfly - Zebra Longwind


Interesting facts about butterflies:
•   Butterflies are insects.
•   A butterfly's lifecycle is made up of four parts, egg, larva (caterpillars), pupa (chrysalis) and adult.
•   Butterflies attach their eggs to leaves with a special glue.
•   Most caterpillars are plant eaters (herbivores).
•   Fully grown caterpillars attach themselves to a suitable twig or leaf before shedding their outside layer of skin to reveal a hard skin underneath known as a chrysalis.
•   An adult butterfly will eventually emerge from the chrysalis where it will wait a few hours for its wings to fill with blood and dry, before flying for the first time.
•   Butterflies can live in the adult stage from anywhere between a week and a year, depending on the species.
•   Butterflies have four wings.
•   Butterflies often have brightly colored wings with unique patterns made up of tiny scales.
•   Most butterflies feed on nectar from flowers.
•   Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet.
•   Scientists estimate that there are between 15000 and 20000 different species of butterfly.
•   Monarch butterflies are known for their long migration. Every year monarch butterflies will travel a great distance (sometimes over 4000 km), females will lay eggs and a new generation of monarchs will travel back, completing the cycle.
•   Butterfly generally lives from six to 14 days while a monarch butterfly can live from seven to nine months. The longest-living butterfly species in North America is believed to be the mourning cloak, with some living up to 11 months as adults







•   The zebra longwing butterfly was designated the official state butterfly of Florida in 1996.
•   The zebra longwing butterfly is found throughout Florida in hardwood hammocks, thickets, gardens, and particularly in the Everglades National Park.
•   The zebra longwing butterfly is characterized by long black wings with distinctive thin stripes and a slow, graceful flight. It makes a creaking sound when alarmed.
•   Zebra longwings feed on nectar and pollen. They are the only butterflies known to eat pollen, which is probably why they have a long lifespan (about six months, as compared to a more usual one month for other butterfly species). Adult individuals often form small communal roosts at night.
•   The zebra longwing butterfly lays its eggs on passion vine leaves. Passion vines contain toxins that are consumed by the caterpillars, which make the adult butterflies poisonous to predators.



Black Swallowtail




•   Florida is home to 10 swallowtail butterfly varieties, more than any other state. They are very easy to identify because of their strikingly large size and their ability to glide long distances between wing flaps. Much larger than other Florida butterflies, most swallowtails have distinctive tails on their hind wings.
•   Giant swallowtails are dark in color — some say brown, others say black — with yellow spots across their fore and hind wings. These distinctive spots serve as protection against predators, as they mimic sunlight shining on dark-colored leaves.
•   Swallowtail larvae feed on aristolochia (Dutchman's pipe), which is very abundant here in southern Florida.
•   In the larvae stage (all five), all swallowtail larvae resemble bird droppings.
•   I've also noticed that the black swallowtails, when their larvae pupate into a chrysalis near a green leaf, the chrysalis will be green, and when they pupate near a dead brown leaf, the chrysalis is, of course, brown.
•   These clever disguises render them almost invisible to the naked eye, as well as hungry predators.


Another unique characteristic of swallowtails is the osmeterium (tiny orange or reddish Y-shaped glands or horns that protrude from their head). When predators harass them, they emit a pungent odor that resembles old cheese.
 
Bees






Interesting facts about Bees:
•   Their sting has some benefits. A toxin in bee venom called melittin may prevent HIV. Melittin can kill HIV by poking holes into the virus's protective envelope. (Meanwhile, when mellitin hitches a ride on certain nanoparticles, it will just bounce off normal cells and leave them unharmed.)
•   They work harder than you, during chillier seasons, worker bees can live for nine months. But in the summer, they rarely last longer than six weeks—they literally work themselves to death.
•   When they change jobs, they change their brain chemistry. Bees are hardwired to do certain jobs. Scout bees, which search for new sources of food, are wired for adventure. Soldier bees, discovered in 2012, work as security guards their whole life. One percent of all middle-aged bees become undertakers—a genetic brain pattern compels them to remove dead bees from the hive. But most amazingly, regular honeybees—which perform multiple jobs in their lifetime.
•   Their brains defy time. When aging bees do jobs usually reserved for younger members, their brain stops aging. In fact, their brain ages in reverse. (Imagine if riding a tricycle didn't just make you feel young—it actually made your brain tick like a younger person's.) 
•   They're changing medicine. To reinforce their hives, bees use a resin from poplar and evergreen trees called propolis. It's basically beehive glue. Although bees use it as caulk, humans use it to fight off bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Research shows that propolis taken from a beehive may relieve cold sores, canker sores, herpes, sore throat, cavities, and even eczema.
•   They can recognize human faces. Honeybees make out faces the same way we do. They take parts—like eyebrows, lips, and ears—and cobble them together to make out the whole face. It's called "configular processing," and it might help computer scientists improve face recognition technology.
•   They have personalities. Even in beehives, there are workers and shirkers. Researchers at the University of Illinois found that not all bees are interchangeable drones. Some bees are thrill-seekers. Others are a bit more timid. A 2011 study even found that agitated honeybees can be pessimistic, showing that, to some extent, bees might have feelings
•   They get buzzed from caffeine and cocaine. Nature didn't intend caffeine to be trapped inside an orange mocha frappucino. It's actually a plant defense chemical that shoos harmful insects away and lures pollinators in. Scientists at Newcastle University found that nectar laced with caffeine helps bees remember where the flower is, increasing the chances of a return visit.
•   They have Viking-like supervision.  Bees use the sun as a compass. But when it's cloudy, there's a backup—they navigate by polarized light, using special photoreceptors to find the sun's place in the sky. The Vikings may have used a similar system: On sunny days, they navigated with sundials, but on cloudy days, sunstones—chunks of calcite that act like a Polaroid filter—helped them stay on course.
•   They can solve hairy mathematical problems.  Pretend it's the weekend, and it's time to do errands. You have to visit six stores and they're all at six separate locations. What's the shortest distance you can travel while visiting all six? Mathematicians call this "traveling salesman problem," and it can even stump some computers. But for bumblebees, it's a snap. 
•   They're nature's most economical builders. In 36 BC, Marcus Terentius Varro argued that honeycombs were the most practical structures around. Centuries later, Greek mathematician Pappus solidified the "honeycomb conjecture" by making the same claim. Almost 2000 years later, Thomas Hales wrote a 19-page mathematical proof showing that, of all the possible structures, honeycombs use the least amount of wax. And not only are honeycombs the most efficient structures in nature—the walls meet at a precise 120-degree angle, a perfect hexagon.
•   They can help us catch serial killers. Serial killers behave like bees. They commit their crimes close to home, but far away enough that the neighbors don't get suspicious. Similarly, bees collect pollen near their hive, but far enough that predators can't find the hive. To understand how this "buffer zone" works, scientists studied bee behavior and wrote up a few algorithms. Their findings improved computer models police use to find felon.
•   They're job creators. Americans consume about 285 million pounds of honey each year. On of that, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that honeybees pollinate 80 percent of the country's insect crops—meaning bees pollinate over $20 billion worth of crops each year.
So far so good, but for the past two years they started a bee-hive under the eve of our house. Not good, I have to pay a beekeeper to remove the hive.








Permanent Residents in our Back yard
Koi's and Goldfish


Interesting Facts about Koi's
•   Koi fish is a large fish. It can reach up to 3 feet in length. Size of the fish depends on the living conditions. Adequate amount of food and oxygen and appropriate temperature are essential for the growth of fish.
•   Color of the koi fish depends on the variety. They can be white, black, blue, red, cream and yellow in color. Koi fish are covered with different spots.
•   People in Japan believe that koi fish symbolizes wealth, prosperity, love, successful career and good fortune. Each variety is associated with one of those values. (For people with a Swabian accent their belief list is much shorter).
•   Koi fish and goldfish have the same ancestor. Although they share similarities in appearance, koi fish can be recognized by barbels on the upper lip.
•   Koi fish is an omnivore (consumes both plants and animals). It eats different kind of fish and their eggs, lettuce, watermelon and peas.
•   Koi fish can recognize the person which feeds them and they can be trained to eat from his/her hand.
•   Koi fish have several predators, such as raccoons, otters, badgers, birds of prey, snakes, cats and dogs.
•   Koi fish prefers water temperature that ranges from 15 to 25 degrees of Celsius. It doesn't tolerate drastic or rapid changes in temperature.
•   Koi fish are sensitive to the sun. They may get sunburns if they live in the ponds that do not provide enough shadow. (Rather than providing them with sun tan lotion we build a canopy for them)


•   Koi fish release ammonia in the water. When large number of koi fish inhabit same pond, level of ammonia can increase rapidly and induce poisoning of fish.
•   Although life in community can be dangerous, koi fish enjoy company of other koi fish.
•   During the mating season, female produces thousands of eggs that will be fertilized by male's sperm in the water. Only 50% of fertilized eggs will survive.
•   Koi fish can mate with goldfish because they are closely related. However, they produce sterile offspring.
•   Koi fish usually live between 25 and 30 years. But when kept under good conditions, koi fish can survive for more than 100 years.  (Maybe if our kid's do not put us into a home for old folks we will get to live just as long)