This cutie is named Putter, and she loves ice cream!
One day they saw Putter for the first time, and watched in amazement as she took to a customer’s ice cream cone! When the owners watched this, they decided to invest in their own ice cream cones to serve squirrel-sized ice cream to Putter.
About twice a day the couple only has to call Putter’s name, and she will come running down for her cone. Ensuring they don’t overload Putter, they give her sugar-free or vanilla ice cream.
Check out the scene yourself with this video:
Do you know any animals with a peculiar sweet tooth? Leave a comment below with your stories!
But eating bugs is looking like a new trend that will become a major source of protein as populations increase in the next 20 to 50 years. It turns out bugs are really good for you!
Papa Roach took on a challenge to try bugs raw, and to try them in dishes. They were given two dishes where one had bugs while the other did not, and asked to guess which one did have the bugs. Check it out!
If you’re still not into it, just think back to when you watched Lion King and how delicious the grubs looked (seriously, how did Timon and Pumbaa make eating bugs look so tasty??)
YES BEES! Scientists recently conducted a study on bee’s “cognitive flexibility” and “observed complex behavior”. Basically they wanted to see how well they could critically think and understand, as well as observe how they behaved in response. So they came up with a soccer experiment!
Here you can see exactly how they do this with a basic reward system. This type of experiment has been performed among several mammals to evaluate the same things: critical thinking and behavior. In this case they provide a pseudo bee to show other bees how to obtain the reward. You can see that the bees watch, experience, and learn from that bee and are capable of figuring out the reward system.
On top of this, they are able to teach other bees what they learn! This isn’t too surprising if you consider their waggle dance, a form of communication honey bees have to tell them where a new source of food is in relation to the sun. The excitement over this is really about being able to teach an unknown method to a bee, and watching those bees teach it to other bees, AND THEN seeing bees innovate better ways to obtain the reward.
Bees have been facing a rough time for a while now, so every bit of good news is exciting for these guys. If you’re interested in helping bees, the EPA has plenty of information on how the public can help. Check it out and help a bee today!
No, the title isn’t misspelled. There was a recent discovery of a moth which has been named the Neopalpa donaldtrumpi. Vazrick Nazari, a biologist and researcher from Ottawa, Canada, is the one who discovered this moth which seems to share Donald Trump’s signature hairstyle. The real reason why he named the moth after Donald Trump can be read from the article he wrote:
The new species is named in honor of Donald J. Trump, to be installed as the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017. The reason for this choice of name is to bring wider public attention to the need to continue protecting fragile habitats in the US that still contain many undescribed species. The specific epithet is selected because of the resemblance of the scales on the frons (head) of the moth to Mr. Trump’s hairstyle.
Wall Street Journal compiled this about the moth:
This isn’t the first time Donald Trump has honored a new species with his name. Not too long ago a species of caterpillar was discovered, and can be observed as Donald’s hair in motion:
There is now a bug that wears the same hair as Donald Trump, and a bug that simply is Donald Trump’s hair. Though Trump isn’t the first president to honor a newly discovered species. Barack Obama was the inspiration for a lichen fungus discovered in 2007. The fungus was officially published and named in 2009 as Caloplaca obamae, due to Obama’s “…support of science and scientific education.” Before that, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld were also honored with the discovery of several different Agathidium beetles. The names of those beetles are A. bushi, A. cheneyi and A. rumsfeldi. This type of beetle is known for it’s mold-diet, but was strictly named after these politicians as homage.
Know of any other bugs or species named in honor of presidents and famous people? Leave a comment about what you think!
Pokemon Go blew up with it’s release in July, but has since died down quite a bit. Despite the hype quieting down, Niantic hasn’t! You may have heard of a few recent updates and events happening starting around October. Well, Christmas is around the corner and there has been no exceptions made for this holiday weekend!
The Event!
These are the two loading screens that replaced the standard Gyarados hazard intro when starting up Pokemon Go. For the first time in October, Niantic launched an event for Halloween, which did much more than update the loading screen. For Halloween we witnessed standard pokemon spawns swapped out for special event pokemon. Rather than encountering rattata or pidgey, you would see gastly, cubone, meowth, and drowzee! The rate of spawns increased, the distance for walking pokemon eggs significantly decreased, and XP and Candy was doubled in every instance you could receive it.
They did the same thing with minor differences for Thanksgiving, but without a cool new loading screen. But we’re here to talk about the current event: Christmas! As indicated by the image on the left, Niantic is currently doing a Christmas Pokemon Go event. The most notable part? Santachus:
Despite the recent news of 2nd Generation baby pokemon, pichu is not included in this exclusive santachu pokemon. For the entire event, pikachus in santa hats have replaced your standard pikachu spawn, and when they evolve into raichu they keep the hat! These are exclusive to the holiday event, so while it’s going on be sure to look out for these Christmas cuties!
Rumor has it that there will be more to come for the Christmas event, which you can thank dataminers for discovering. 6 Presents have been found, unused, presumed to be used for Christmas Eve, Day, or both. There has been no official announcement from Niantic about a Christmas event, so we will just have to sit and wait patiently to see what Santachu brings us for Christmas.
We’ve covered the top video games featuring bugs, but that isn’t to say those games had the bugs! Wanna know our take on the best Monster Bugs media has to offer? Here is our top 5 Monster Bug list:
#5 Monster Hunter‘s Seltas Queen and Warrior
If you’re not familiar with the Monster Hunter series, it’s a CAPCOM game that made its debut on the PS2 in 2004. It has since made its way from Sony to Nintendo, with recent games being featured on the 3DS and one on the Wii U. The Seltas Queen and her Warrior were introduced in Monster Hunter 4 on the 3DS as the first major bug enemies you could encounter for a quest, and are considered to be based on beetles. The two work side by side, or at least until the Queen is hurting badly. Then she just grabs her handy warrior and uses him to increase her health by outright eating him. Though if you’re hoping this makes the battle easier fighting one target, don’t get too hopeful. She calls for another one each time there’s a lack of a warrior by her side.
#4Sandworms
The credit of first known Sandworm goes to Frank Herbert, author of Dune which was written in 1965. Sandworms are those creatures that turn your average harmless worm into a terrifying behemoth that can theoretically swallow cities if they’re big enough. You’ve seen them everywhere, but I think America’s most famous instance is in the movie Tremors. You may also know of the sandworm from Beetlejuice or Star Wars: Return of the Jedi.
#3 Every Giant Spider Ever
The only thing scarier than spiders is public speaking, until you consider possibility of giant spiders. These 8-legged giants are a video game enemy classic, as you’ll find them at some point as an enemy encounter (World of Warcraft, Gauntlet, Dark Souls, Monster Hunter, and Doom to name a few). The giant spiders have also made their way into several books and movies, earning it’s own spot as antagonist in films like the General Spider in Arachnophobia and Shelob in Lord of the Rings. Since there are so many giant spiders you can find in media, we just had to attribute our #3 spot to all of them.
#2 The entire Starship Troopers Struggle
If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly recommend it; however, it’s in no way for the light of heart or young children (I’m not kidding, this movie is rated R for graphic gore, intense and frightening scenes, mild profanity, and more). Starship Troopers features alien as the main antagonist, and several times throughout they refer to them as “bugs” and “insects.” Earth is being invaded by these alien bugs, and it has only been a downhill battle. You follow the space marines as they travel to the bug alien home planet and attempt to eradicate the pests once and for all. Also young Neil Patrick Harris is in it, and that’s always a plus.
#1 Mothra
The one and only Kaijū, Mothra makes our number one spot in our Monster Bug list. Mothra is an iconic Kaijū from Toho, the same company that brought us Godizilla. Toho is known for doing basically every well-acclaimed giant monster film in Japan. Mothra first appears in it’s own film in 1961 where it appears as the Infant Island’s deity that protects them from atomic testing. Mothra is always accompanied by two “fairies” which are always two women from the Infant island who are no taller than 12 inches. They have the ability to call Mothra with their song, which can be seen in Mothra’s own Mothra vs. Godzilla feature.
Graffiti can be found everywhere, from train sides, walls of buildings, sidewalks, wherever you find urbanization you don’t have to look hard for graffiti. In several places there are celebrated works that are part of the town, but for many the act of tagging is either overlooked or even frowned upon. People find graffiti more often to be a form of vandalism, and overall harmful to our environment from the aerosol can spray. Whether you’re environmentally conscious or looking to do something unique, this Eco-friendly way to do graffiti is for you!
The above is the work of artist Jennifer Ilett, who was requested by Sprout Guerrilla to team up and create works of moss graffiti. Biodegradable, none of the fumes that aerosol paint comes with, and completely sets your work apart from others. This stuff is great if you’re looking to just do straightforward painting, or if you want to work with a stencil. If this has caught your attention, it gets better: This stuff is completely DIY and easy to make!
As you can see, this stuff goes on straight like paint. Everything you need to make this stuff can be found in a local grocery store, save for actual moss. To make moss graffiti the challenge you’ll have to overcome is finding suitable moss that will stick to concrete walls. If you’re interested in making your own moss graffiti, this stuff is so easy there’s a simple wikiHow to help you out. It lists exact ingredients, how much you’ll need, and tips on what you’re looking for when scavenging for moss. You can also find tips on growing the moss, so that your art stays fresh and healthy for as long as you want.
What do you think? Comment with your thoughts on if this sort of thing could still be vandalism or just general thoughts on it!
Ever wondered if bugs were any good at video games? Well they’re not, but sometimes make great additions as part of them. From the main villains, to your player character, there are plenty of bug themed games. There are even old classic games that have been forgotten in time about being a pest exterminator, but those games will have to wait another day to be featured. Today we present:
Top 5 Video Games with Bugs
#5 SIM ANT
This game is originally a 1991 top down simulation game where you manage a colony of ants in a backyard. The game is old enough that its first appearance was as a DOS game, but it was popular enough that it was given releases on later machines, such as the Super NES, Mac OS, and later versions of Windows. It gets position number 5 as a timeless classic that many remember being able to play on school computers, but is overall repetitive and capable of playing itself after a certain amount of time.
#4 Mister Mosquito
If you have ever wanted to experience the life of a mosquito trying to survive in a household, that’s exactly what Mister Mosquito does. It ranks number 4 on our list simply because it’s one of the few games that is simulation and action based as a bug. It was released June of 2001 on the PlayStation 2, and it’s ratings are overall mediocre. The controls are difficult to manage, but if you’re into a first person flight experience, isn’t hard to grasp with practice.
#3 MARIO PAINT’S GNAT ATTACK
If this were its own game, it could arguably be higher on this top 5 list. Gnat Attack, or also known as Coffee Break, is a mini game you can find in the Mario Paint game by clicking an icon featuring a coffee mug. It’s concept and controls are very basic, move the cursor over the fly and press to swat it. You’ll see various bugs, with the final boss of each level being some intense robot bug. This game was so well-received as a mini game that it was re-released as a mini game for Mario Maker on the Wii U. It’s important to note the above video is a speed run, and the game itself can easily last 20 minutes or longer to fully beat.
#2 WORMs ARMAGEDDON
Worms Armageddon is a full multiplayer game featuring worms as the player characters. It’s a strategy game among friends or online players where you are trying to be the last worm standing. You’re given a team of worms placed on a map and take turns shooting rockets that cause terrain damage and attack the other player worms. It ranks #2 as a solid funny and enjoyable game to play with friends, and also you’re a worm just because. To get to the review part of the featured YouTube video, skip to 25 seconds in.
#1 EARTH DEFENSE FORCE
If you’re aware of the movie Starship Troopers, that’s the easiest way to describe this game. You chose a character class to play and essentially fight giant insects that are attacking planet earth. It has traditionally been a PlayStation 2 game, but a recent version called Earth Defense Force 4.1 was released for PC and is available on the online Steam Store. The most recent version gives you 3 class options, and has you facing off against giant ants, wasps, spiders, and eventually giant monsters as you progress through the levels. This ranks number one as it’s just the best action packed game with multiplayer abilities that features buggy aliens as a main enemy.
Agree or disagree with this ranking? Tell us how you’d rank your favorite bug games in the comments!
So maybe you’ve heard of this show on BBC called Planet Earth II. The show is a nature documentary, and actually a sequel to Planet Earth. It’s most likely you heard about it due to the first episode airing, and the intense scene between a baby iguana and a hoard of snakes.
An interview with the show’s producer Elizabeth White reveals the filming was much more graphic than was revealed. To quote, “Some of it was quite horrific. Because actually the snakes are not pack hunting – for the snakes, it’s very much every snake for themselves. We did see snakes eating other snakes and all fighting. We were like nah, that can’t go in. It’s too horrific!” Nope, no thank you. Not about this snake eat snake world.
However what they did release of the scene has gone viral, as watching the struggle between lizard and snake is probably more relatable than we thought. How often do we feel as though we’re barely escaping the clutches of several snakes wrapping around us in a ball? Maybe it’s just me, but if you want to know what that looks like you should definitely check out the video:
I would like to think that the zoo officials were sitting around a table during their morning meeting, brainstorming on their lion dilemma, when the janitor walks in. They then turn and look at him and say, “hey Carl, do you still have that dog?“
2.
After further research, because we didn’t believe it at first, this is in fact a REAL thing. The geckos were apparently part of a Russian experiment where they sent fruit flies, mushrooms, and geckos into space. What’s even better is that the Russian’s are continually losing control of this satellite. As a result, when they intermittently do receive a signal from the satellite, they’ve mostly seen geckos…having sex. One small step…?
3.
Just what exactly happened at that McDonald’s? I just hope that it involved a kangaroo running around, socking people in the face while Chicken McNuggets and french fries rained from the skies.
4.
Belligerent squirrel? Do those two words even go together? I hope that the film crew of Cops was there and showed up to a drunken squirrel, throwing beer bottles and yelling derogatory remarks. Meanwhile, this poor helpless man is wailing in the corner, crying, “he only gets like this when he drinks! Don’t arrest him!“
5.
Just a poor Florida man, fighting the good fight.
6.
I feel like if this happens to you, you deserved it. Plain and simple. I also love the background photo of the assailant, simply because he looks like if there were a speech bubble coming out of his mouth it would be saying, “Come at me, bro.“
7.
What? Why? This headline sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, “A horse walks into a liquor store…”
8.
Is this headline even real?! Do wallabies know geometry? Is there something they’re not telling us?! Where did they get access to drugs? SO MANY QUESTIONS!
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