Wayne's Trivia Notes #9
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Wayne's Trivia Note #300 (26 July 2015)

Basic anatomy of Ant-Man's face! Detailed Illustration Of Insect Head!

Wayne's Trivia Note #301 (28 July 2015)

This shiny, South American fire ant was brought back to the Wayne's Word headquarters on Elaine's recent trip to Florida. Although deceased, it shows the typical stinging position on my arm. It is much darker than our native fire ants (Solenopsis xyloni). Imported Fire Ants Vs. Argentine Ants   See Native Southern Fire Ants On Owens Peak.

Wayne's Trivia Note #302 (29 July 2015)

Testing macro capability of Sony HX50V. Not bad for point & shoot pocket camera, but not as good as SLRs. Best insect photographer on Internet is entomologist Alex Wild at University of Texas. His ant images are amazing!   See Alex Wild Photography.

Wayne's Trivia Note #303(30 July 2015)

Several ant species are featured in the entertaining movie Ant Man. "Anthony," the large winged ant that Ant Man rides is a carpenter ant virgin Queen. The movie even mentions the Schmidt Sting Pain Index.

Wayne's Trivia Note #304 (31 July 2015)

Once in a blue moon: Images of a true "Blue Moon" over Twin Oaks Valley on Friday night 31 July 2015! More Information about the Blue Moon.

Wayne's Trivia Note #305 (15 August 2015)

This is either a very small scorpion or a very large penny, or both of these things.

Wayne's Trivia Note #306 (16 August 2015)

Solution to previous question regarding very small scorpion & penny: Here is the same scorpion on a real U.S. penny. The tiny scorpion was in one of my ant pitfall traps. There is no Photoshop trickery here! See Photo Image Of Real & Oversized Penny Compared

Wayne's Trivia Note #307 (17 August 2015)

To all of my 1966 biology students (who are now grandparents), please update your population growth notes! When I began teaching at Palomar College the world population was almost 4 billion with a growth rate of 2% and doubling time of 35 years. 49 years later (August 2015) the population is 7.3 billion. The growth rate has declined to 1.13%, so my prediction of 8 billion people by 2001 was incorrect. Sorry. Wayne's Word Population Growth   Real Time Population Growth-A FASCINATING WEBSITE!

Wayne's Trivia Note #308 (22 August 2015)

Why I love Canada: Canada is the 2nd largest country, and yet its population is less than California! It even has 6 time zones, from British Columbia to Newfoundland. Canada has 40% of the world's lakes & Ontario alone has about 1/3 of the world's fresh water. The Canadian Rockies are without a doubt the most beautiful place I have ever been. Even the large cities like Vancouver are beautiful!

Wayne's Trivia Note #309 (2 September 2015)

After more than a century, the rightful, official name of Mt. Denali will finally be given to this great mountain. It was originally known as Denali, meaning "the high one," in the Athabaskan language of native Alaskans living around the mountain.

Wayne's Trivia Note #310 (7 September 2015)

It's orb weaver season again at the Wayne's Word headquarters in Twin Oaks Valley. What a surprise to walk into one of these large Neoscona spiders on a dark night in late summer!

Wayne's Trivia Note #311 (12 September 2015)

In my current survey of the "Ants of Daley Ranch" north of Escondido, this is unquestionably the biggest ant: A carpenter ant major worker (Camponotus semitestaceus). Although she has large mandibles capable of biting, she was very docile and seemed perfectly content resting on my left thumb. See Ants Of Daley Ranch

Wayne's Trivia Note #312 (17 September 2015)

The latest spider in our house (Desdera crocata). Although it can bite, it is condidered beneficial in your garden. Its large jaws and fangs are used to crunch sow bugs which are not plentiful in our house.

Wayne's Trivia Note #313 (21 September 2015)

Stopped for hiking break at Daley Ranch and to share my Werther's with Myrmecocystus mimicus colony. Honeypot ants store sugar solution in special workers called repletes--a favorite treat for indigenous people. See M. mexicanus & Werther's At Joshua Tree N.P. Note: Replete image posted on Facebook without attribution.

Wayne's Trivia Note #314 (25 September 2015)

The results are in: This is definitely the fastest & most common spider in my house during September in Twin Oaks Valley. See Derivation Of Name Ecclesiasticus

Wayne's Trivia Note #315 (27 September 2015)

Last night's lunar eclipse from summit of Owens Peak. April 2014 Lunar Eclipse

Wayne's Trivia Note #316 (28 September 2015)

Standing on Owens Peak last night at 8:00 PM: 24 hours after total eclipse & blood moon.
Mamiya 645 Medium Format 500 mm lens on Nikon body   More Moon Images

Wayne's Trivia Note #317 (14 October 2015)

After Sarah & Zach's wedding, I finally found the red-headed wood ant (Formica oreas) in a Jeffrey pine forest at west end of Truckee! More Truckee Ant Images

Wayne's Trivia Note #318 (30 October 2015)

A sugar-rich diet is bad for humans, but may be good for honeypot ants! In fact, ants that appear to be "obese" may actually help the colony survive extended periods of drought. Trophallaxis On Owens Peak

Wayne's Trivia Note #319 (2 November 2015)

Imagine the following scenario: You are running as fast as you can, following a pheromone scent trail with your sisters. For some reason your group becomes separated from the main foraging trail. You are blind and must rely on the recognition scent of the sister in front of you. Eventually a new pheromone trail is laid down, but you are running in a continuously rotating circle. Your situation is critical because you are in an endless loop and will eventually die of exhaustion. This is precisely what happens to army ants in tropical America. See YouTube Video Of "Ant Mill" In Costa Rica.

Wayne's Trivia Note #320 (4 November 2015)

More about army ants (subfamily Dorylinae): Because of their reduced or nonexistent eyes, army ants are blind, and follow closely behind the ant in front of them. This is like driving close to the taillights in front of you in dense, zero visibility Fresno fog! (Thanks to professor David Boyajian for analogy).

Wayne's Trivia Note #321 (10 November 2015)

To all my sea bean friends from the Gulf & Atlantic coasts--check out the eyes on this gourd mask from Brazil. Sea Bean Images

Wayne's Trivia Note #322 (15 November 2015)

I'm glad I switched to ants during my retirement years as a biologist. Their incredible diversity will challenge me for the rest of my days on this planet. My Answer To The Question: What Good Are Ants?

Wayne's Trivia Note #323 (8 December 2015)

An iPhone image at Ralphs Supermarket: Different stages of ripeness in bell peppers. You actually get different vitamins as your bell peppers change color! In addition to their unique colors, each differently hued bell pepper has a unique array of nutritional benefits. Green peppers feature an abundance of chlorophyll. Yellow peppers have more of the lutein and zeaxanthin carotenoids. Orange peppers have more alpha-, beta-, and gamma-carotene. Red peppers have more lycopene and astaxanthin, two other important carotenoids.

Wayne's Trivia Note #324 (15 December 2015)

Last night's sunset (14 Dec 2015) from the beach in front of the Hotel del Coronado.

Wayne's Trivia Note #325 (20 December 2015)

I recently found this unusual stem ant queen inside a swollen coyote brush stem on Owens Peak. It is related to the acacia ants of Central America that live inside Acacia thorns. Little-known species like this is another reason why we need to protect our vanishing hillsides of coastal sage scrub in San Marcos. See Acacia Ant (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea) In Costa Rica.

Wayne's Trivia Note #326 (24 December 2015)

Tonight's full moon on Christmas Eve 2015 is a rare event in a human lifetime. It won't happen again until 2034! If your sky is clear enjoy this beautiful event.

Wayne's Trivia Note #327 (24 December 2015)

Sitting in the dark on Owens Peak (Christmas Eve 2015) . The next full moon on Christmas Eve will be in the year 2034.

Wayne's Trivia Note #328 (25 December 2015)

My last glimpse of Christmas moon 2015 before it dropped below the horizon. The next Christmas moon will occur in 2034. The reddish glow is caused by atmospheric particles. I did not fake this with Photoshop! This full moon is called the "Cold Moon" because it appears at the onset of cold weather when the nights are long. [Sony HX20V Hand-Held Twilight]

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