Happy Valentine's Day!

Dung beetles belong to the family Scarabaeoidea or Scarab Beetles. The are called so because of their habit of rolling animal dung into balls which are used as food or brooding chambers. Their role in agriculture is of remarkable importance as the burying and consumption of dung by the beetles improves nutrient recycling and soil structure. Currently, these are the only insects known to navigate and orient themselves using the Milky Way! The proportion of their body weights to the loads they carry is about the same as that of a human being and a truck!

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Atlas and Climate Change

Ever wondred how Atlas must be coping with climate change?!

BTW, You can now read some Green Humour cartoons in the latest issues of Current Conservation magazine http://www.currentconservation.org/ . The magazine has great content and coverage, and the design studio, Pencil Sauce has made it one of the best looking magazines on the theme, with extremely creative and exquisite illustrations.

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Did he do it?

Red-wattled Lapwings (Vanellus indicus) are ground-dwelling waders. They utter a "did-hee-doo-it" call that is extremely familiar with bird-watchers in India. They are beautiful and very noisy birds, more so when agitated. They make ground nests and are very protective of them, dive-bombing and distracting potential predators.

Some of Green Humour cartoons on birds are also up on the bird website Kolkatabirds.com. You can see them here- http://www.kolkatabirds.com/toons.htm

Read more about this member of the Plover family on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-wattled_Lapwing

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Wader Dates

2nd Feb is celebrated as the World Wetland Day. Here's wishing a very happy Wetland Day to all wildlife enthusiasts!

Waders or shorebirds perform a very important role in maintaining the health of wetlands. They feed on aquatic insects, crustaceans and mollusks and help regulate invertebrate populations, while themselves serving as prey for carnivores such as falcons, mongooses and wild cats. Owing to the minute differences between most wader species, these birds often pose an identification challenge to amateur birders like me!

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.