Wayne's Word Index Noteworthy Plants Trivia Lemnaceae Biology 101 Botany Scenic Wildflowers Trains Spiders & Insects Search  Wayne's Trivia Notes Index   Wayne's Alien Species Index   Wayne's Remember When Index   Wayne's Trivia Notes #22   © W.P. Armstrong    All Facebook Notes & Images    Published Occasionally On Facebook Go To Latest Trivia Note On This Page Wayne's Trivia Note #509 (9 May 2018) My largest solpugid encounter so far was in this morning's ant trap at my home. It's body was almost an inch long. Larger ones called "camel spiders" occur in the Middle East. True spiders actually belong to a different arthropod order. Honeypot Ants Attacking Solpugid In Arizona Wayne's Trivia Note #510 (12 May 2018) If you are an aphid, this terrifying creature "lilliputian velociraptor" has to be your worst nightmare! It was in my ant trap last Thursday (10 May 2018). Often camouflaged with particles & debris, they are not commonly seen. They belong to The Amazing Insect Order Neuroptera Wayne's Trivia Note #511 (28 May 2018) A nesting Cooper's Hawk in a distant tree at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. It was barely visible with the naked eye. I took this image with a 30X Sony HX60V point & shoot pocket camera with maximum zoom. Wayne's Trivia Note #512 (29 May 2018) Spilling coffee on your laptop causes great anguish if it runs into keyboard. Luckily for me this spill was a prank meant to cheer me up! Wayne's Trivia Note #513 (1 June 2018) Mystery solved! I finally confirmed the ID of light-colored slimy mass in my bathroom drain: A fast-growing, filamentous fungus in the genus Fusarium that includes many species of plant pathogens and some that can infect people. [Note: This is not the typical black gunk in filthy drains.] Wayne's Trivia Note #514 (5 June 2018) Most of the CA brodiaea corms I collected years ago for DNA research did not survive at my home; however, this June (2018) a rare species from the Santa Rosa Plateau that I coauthored with Tom Chester is in full bloom at my garden in Twin Oaks Valley. Santa Rosa Basalt Brodaea Wayne's Trivia Note #515 (10 June 2018) The rare T-Rex ant found alive in 2016 fails to live up to its fearsome namesake! Live T-Rex Ant in Singapore. I might add that many fierce, predatory ants with enormous jaws for their size have been named, but none with the name of a terrifying dinosaur. Fierce Predatory Ants With Teeth (scroll down)! Wayne's Trivia Note #516 (17 June 2018) Big event in Tran's life--he molted! New World tarantulas have barbed, microscopic hairs that are rubbed off abdomen with hind legs in the face of danger and released in direction of a would-be predator. They are very painful if they lodge in the eyes. Wayne's Trivia Note #517 (20 June 2018) Background Information for new movie "Ant-Man & The Wasp." Ants evolved from a wasp-like ancestor during the early Cretaceous period (130 million years ago) and diversified with the rise of flowering plants. They survived the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction 65 million years ago when a giant asteroid collided with Earth. I have been very fond of them since the year 1951 of 2nd millennium when I was 10. Wayne's Trivia Note #518 (30 June 2018) Ant Man Gee-Whiz Note #2: The basket of hairs (psammophore) around & below mandibles helps this queen carry mouthfuls of dry, loose sand without spilling out. Although she is quite attractive, it is not for looks! Wayne's Trivia Note #519 (2 July 2018) My latest discovery in Twin Oaks Valley: The derivation of common name "Big Headed Ant" is not readily apparent until you see your 1st major worker. One of the largest ant genera with about 900 described species worldwide (and an estimated 1500 species)! Wayne's Trivia Note #520 (12 July 2018) Ant-Man and the Wasp's latest journey into the "Quantum Realm" passes through a "Tardigrade Field." Here is a Tardigrade Field at my home in Twin Oaks Valley! Do Tardigrades Defy Natural Selection? Wayne's Trivia Note #521 (14 July 2018) A Cooper's Hawk about to leap out of my tangelo tree onto an unsuspecting dove at the nearby bird feeder. Our bird-feeder has become a popular "snack bar" for Cooper's Hawks! Wayne's Trivia Note #522 (26 July 2018) Official Wayne's Word Botany Quiz1. Relative sizes of root and fruit not altered or falsified with Photoshop. CLICK HERE FOR ANSWER All text material & images on these pages copyright © W.P. Armstrong