This is a beautiful species of Tussock Moth. It seems to be their season as there was an explosion of these moths. They emerged in great numbers just before sunset in a small area, probably just emerged from their pupa. Fuzzy, light orange color with a large brownish grey mark. Wing length : 26mm (female) 17mm(male). This species may be confused with N. javanoides and N. javana.
Builds its cocoon inside the rolled leaf it is perched on. This species has never been documented in the Philippines.
This day-flying toxic moth contains hydrogen cyanide (HCN) throughout all stages of their lifecycle. Unlike most insects with such toxins, they obtain glucosides from feeding on birds-foot trefoil (Lotus) so they can use HCN as a defence. However, they are capable of making HCN themselves, and when in an environment poor in cyanide-producing plants, synthesize it themselves. - wikipedia
The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 175 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often applied to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other species of spiders. Among the Thomisidae, "crab spider" refers most often to the familiar species of "flower crab spiders", though not all members of the family are limited to ambush hunting in flowers.
Mapping Nature on Your Smartphone
For the developers at New York start-up Networked Organisms, smartphones are the butterfly nets of the 21st Century. Their tool, Project Noah, lets people upload photos of plants and wildlife around them, creating a map of the natural world and contributing to scientific research in the process.
What kind of beetle? This app knows
Bespectacled scientists of yore would carry around hefty field guides, made up of hundreds of pages of text and photos. But these days, smartphone owners have a lighter option: an app called Project Noah, which aims to help people identify plants and animals as well as collect data from "citizen scientists" about where certain species are located.
Designing ecosystems for talent development
Project Noah enables us to be part of a more focused online community where we can learn more about wildlife around us and contribute to scientific research. It pulls participants into deeper, more meaningful engagement by enabling people to go on “missions” to collectively map changes based on sightings.
A smart way to save wildlife
A modern invention that may also hold the key to saving species in the future. Project Noah is a global study that encourages nature lovers to document the wildlife they encounter, using a purpose built phone app and web community. In addition to the virtual "collection" of species, Project Noah encourages citizen science by linking up with existing surveys including the International Spider Survey and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network.
Dial-a-Class
New mobile applications include a tool called NOAH that lets you take cellphone pictures of bugs and trees and then sends back an identification of the exact type in as little as 24 hours.