A bit flora and fauna of the season in Germany:
"Maikäfer" or Maybug. You don't have these dudes in the US, have you? But the picture is enlarged, in reality it was about 1 inch long.
A walk in the park:
A bit flora and fauna of the season in Germany:
"Maikäfer" or Maybug. You don't have these dudes in the US, have you? But the picture is enlarged, in reality it was about 1 inch long.
A walk in the park:
Anybody into sport karate most likely knows who this is. These are pictures of Bill "Superfoot" Wallace from my photo album. Bill was a Professional Karate Association world full-contact champion and won 23 consecutive professional fights between 1974 and 1980, retiring undefeated.
I was able to train with him for 40 hours at a seminar, and we became friendly enough that I brought him onto the Marine base for a jacuzzi session and introduced him to the karate team I was a member of.
Bill was also personal trainer and close friend of both Elvis Presley and John Belushi, and he was the person who found Belushi's body after he overdosed and died. That happened not long before I met him, and he was understandably very upset about it.
Semper Fi, Marines!
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Even I know Bill "Superfoot" Wallace and I live in Germany. His left sidekick was very strong and fast. I read an article about him in the 80s in the "Karate Budo Journal". They asked him about nutrition. He replied, he eats lots of hamburgers.
Last edited by P30; 05-22-2021 at 02:16 PM.
That's what he told me too, saying that the grease makes his kicks faster!Originally Posted by P30
After an injury, he kicked with his left leg only, and even though his opponents knew that, they still couldn't block him or get out of the way. He would throw multiple roundhouse, sidekick, and hook kick combinations in a row without putting his foot down. He also used to say that he only used his hands to push opponents far enough away that he could kick them, but he was joking (as usual). He could punch well too, but his kicks were his main weapons.
That is super cool! My old taekwondo instructor was buddies with him but I never met him. I did not know that Superfoot was involved with Elvis and Belushi, thanks for the pics and info.
I was on my patio this evening, enjoying a cigar and a book, when this guy decided to hang out with me for a while.
That's awesome! Is it a Tiger? All caterpillars are amazing but swallowtails especially so with the mimicry and color changes. Their techniques to avoid predators are fascinating. I raised a ton of caterpillars as a kid but very few swallowtails, quite hard to find compared to say Monarchs or Painted Ladies that are everywhere. A potted tree is a GREAT idea!
I'm doing a bit of planting this year to attract some specific species, but the most recent caterpillars I raised last summer were a complete surprise. I was walking across my driveway one afternoon when I noticed this weathered beauty. A Zebra is extremely rare in these parts, in my entire childhood of chasing butterflies I only ever saw one.
Strangely though, I'd seen several this year. I followed her around for a while. She was flying low to the ground and touching down just briefly, very unusual. I noticed she wasn't landing on the grass, but on the leaves of short little weeds. Further investigation revealed a few eggs! They are the size of a pinhead.
I was concerned because I was planning to spray for weeds later that week, and besides these plants were only a few inches tall and couldn't support caterpillars. I looked it up and Zebra caterpillars eat exactly one thing: the leaves of pawpaw trees. Well I'm blessed to have a pawpaw tree, bet it's the only one for many miles. I'll spare you the details but with all the things my family has dealt with since buying this property, it's been a rough couple years. Maybe it was just luck that some crazy old guy planted this strangely delicious tree decades ago, but it felt like a sign from God that this is where I'm supposed to be. The little weeds mama was landing on were actually tiny seedlings sprouted from fallen fruit. It was very windy that day, and I don't think she felt up to fighting the wind to lay eggs on the mature tree.
Fully grown caterpillar...
...and chrysalis:
Most butterflies eclose in a couple weeks, but swallowtails are notoriously unpredictable. Two *months* later, we woke up to this -- the day had finally arrived! (btw one of its siblings decided to overwinter as a pupa, we kept it in the garage and it just emerged last week!)
A few hours later, freedom!
It's always incredible to watch the wings take shape, but in this case I was especially struck by how small the pupa was compared to the butterfly.
Almost finished...
Ready for takeoff!
And away it went...
@EricM
STUNNING reds and blues on that butterfly! Not to mention the National Geographic level pics you took. Great job. We're getting a pool built over the next handful of months, and seriously considering planting trees/bushes after its done that draw butterflies.
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