Wayne's Trivia Notes #10
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Wayne's Trivia Note #329 (1 January 2016)

2016 is a leap year with 366 days instead of the usual 365 (February has 29 days instead of the usual 28). A calendar year is slightly shorter than a solar year, or the time it takes the earth to orbit the sun (≈ 365 ¼ days). To correct this discrepancy, about every 4 years is a leap year. On my Wayne's Word millennium calendar, New Year's Day (1 January 2016) is actually Day 5479 of the 3rd Millennium. I prefer this method of dating but it doesn't fit very well on most forms. By the way, the 3rd Millennium & 21st Century Actually Began On January 1, 2001. More Detailed Explanation Of Leap Year

Wayne's Trivia Note #330 (5 January 2016)

Only in San Marcos, CA would a housing development be allowed with dirt drainage ditches between homes. As a biologist and not an engineer, was my concrete flood control channel overkill?

Wayne's Trivia Note #331 (6 January 2016)

This upscale San Marcos housing development was not designed to accommodate El Niño flood waters! The brown color is due to soil washed down from nearby hills and dirt drainage ditches.

Wayne's Trivia Note #332 (13 January 2016)

Sugar-loving ants attracted to sweet solution on facial tissue.
Wayne's Trivia Note #331: Ants helped in the discovery of diabetes! Almost 2,500 years ago ancient healers noticed that sugar-loving ants were attracted to the urine of some individuals with a strange, debilitating illness. In the 18th and 19th centuries the sweet taste of urine was used for diagnosis before chemical methods became available to detect sugars in the urine. Today we use serum blood sugar levels and the percentage of glycated hemoglobin (with attached glucose) in red blood cells (A1C test).

Wayne's Trivia Note #333 (18 January 2016)

Sony DSC-TX30 Waterproof Mini Camera.
Not a bad mini-camera for macro images if ..... (1) You only have $179. (2) You don't have a smart phone. (3) You take pictures in blowing sand or dust storms. (4) You take pictures in pouring rain. (5) You drop cameras a lot in dirt or water. (6) Your camera gets frozen in blizzards. (7) You like taking close-up images one centimeter from your subject. (8) You don't mind a touch screen with menu icons that are barely visible in bright sunlight. More Information About TX30

Wayne's Trivia Note #334 (22 January 2016)

I'm off on another Arizona road trip in search of the bizarre Arizona turtle ant (Cephalotes rohweri). Why make a doorway to your nest when the plate-like heads of soldiers have evolved into perfect circular doors! These ants nest in cavities in the stems of palo verde trees (Cercidium microphyllum = Parkinsonia microphylla) made by beetles.

A tropical species of turtle ant soldier (Cephalotes varians). Its northern range is the southern tip of Florida. Tropical species can fall from rain forest trees to avoid predators and then glide back to the main trunk and find their nest again. They are often called "gliding ants."

Wayne's Trivia Note #335 (26 January 2016)

Greetings from the Superstitions: My favorite ancient volcanic core! More Superstition Images

Wayne's Trivia Note #336 (27 January 2016)

This is why I love the Superstitions!

Wayne's Trivia Note #337 (29 January 2016)

My favorite pastime: Ant hunting along the Lower Salt River, Arizona.

Wayne's Trivia Note #338 (31 January 2016)

This curious roadrunner stood 10 feet away watching me photograph a colony of honeypot ants (Myrmecocystus) in the Lower Salt River. These ants are very fond of Werther's Butterscotch!

Wayne's Trivia Note #339 (6 February 2016)

I found my 1st army ant in the Superstitions! I now see why they follow so closely behind each other--like driving in dense fog. They have no eyes! Why Army Ants Run In A Circle

Wayne's Trivia Note #340 (7 February 2016)

Confusing trail sign at beautiful Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Arizona. I assume it means that the detrimental effects of humans on the biosphere will reduce the biodiversity of our planet. Does this mean that there will be more ants and trees (conifers) in the future? ☻ Boyce Thompson Arboretum

Wayne's Trivia Note #341 (26 February 2016)

In our southwest desert, tiny Pheidole ants have major workers to defend their nest against army ant raids. The major worker has an enormous head in proportion to its body. Some species actually block the nest entrance with their heads!

Wayne's Trivia Note #342 (2 March 2016)

I guess if you live underground you don't need eyes. My little ant is now in Arkansas awaiting indentification by an army ant authority!

Wayne's Trivia Note #343 (4 March 2016)

My 1st encounter with a rattlesnake in 2016. A large red diamondback while checking ant traps at Daley Ranch north of Escondido (4 March 2016).

Wayne's Trivia Note #344 (4 March 2016)

I found the stars of the BBC Film "Empire Of The Desert Ants" at Daley Ranch. The 2011 video about these remarkable ants is truly amazing. It was filmed in Horseshoe Canyon, southeastern Arizona.

  Watch Empire Of The Desert Ants  

Wayne's Trivia Note #345 (11 March 2016)

My latest project: Identifying a duckweed for the University of the Virgin Islands Aquaponic Systems. These requests are all the result of my website Wayne's Word.

  University of the Virgin Islands Aquaponic Systems  

Wayne's Trivia Note #346 (4 April 2016)

Today's colonoscopy results: I have something in common with about 50 percent of North Americans & Europeans over 60 years old!

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