Cylindropuntia californica var. californica —  The autonymic subspecies. Found sparsely around San Diego, California and northern Baja California. Chromosome number 2n = 22
Cylindropuntia californica var. delgadilloana — Commonly known as the Delgadillo cholla. Endemic to Baja California, found growing on the eastern side of the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir in the San Felipe Desert.
Cylindropuntia californica var. rosarica — Commonly known as the El Rosario cholla. Endemic to Baja California, found growing on the western and southwestern foothills of the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir.
Formerly included:
Cylindropuntia californica var. parkeri —  700–1,900 metres (2,300–6,200 ft); Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, Colorado Desert-chaparral ecotone; northern Baja California. Now regarded by many sources as a separate species, Cylindropuntia bernardina, due to genetic analysis. It is more closely related to Cylindropuntia ganderi than to C. californica.


Cymbalaria muralis is native to south and southwest Europe, the Southern Alps, eastern Yugoslavia, southern Italy and Sicily. It has spread throughout the world as an invasive plant, including the United States, the British Isles, Australia and New Zealand.
It is said to have been introduced into England by accident when a shipment of sculptures was brought to Oxford. It was first introduced early in the 17th century  and was widely planted in the UK up to the 19th century.


The breeding populations of C. l. latirostris in the United States, Sonora and Nuevo León are all migratory. Not enough information is known about the migration but it's believed that the birds fly deeper south into Mexico, into Guerrero and Baja California Sur. Most populations in Mexico are resident, unless they reside in the extreme north. The Northern populations migrate south in the beginning of November, and return in early March. There have been rare sightings in the fall and winter months in Southern California, Texas and even rarely in Oregon, Idaho, Colorado and the East Coast. An abundance map of broad-bill hummingbirds has been produced on eBird.


The historic range of the black-tailed prairie dog was from southern Saskatchewan and Alberta to Chihuahua, Mexico, and included portions of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. As of 2007, black-tailed prairie dogs occur across most of their historic range, excluding Arizona; however, their occupied acreage and populations are well below historic levels.


Reasons for dispersal include new vegetative growth at colony peripheries, shortage of unrelated females in a coterie, harassment of females by juveniles, and probably an innate genetic mechanism responding to increased density within a colony. Males typically leave the natal territory 12 to 14 months after weaning, during May and June, but dispersal may occur throughout the year. Females generally remain in their natal coterie territories for their lifetimes. Intercolony dispersers moved an average distance of 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from their natal site. Roads and trails may facilitate black-tailed prairie dog dispersal.


Black-tailed prairie dogs are frequently exterminated from ranchland, being viewed as pests. Their habitat has been fragmented, and their numbers have been greatly reduced. Additionally, they are remarkably susceptible to plague. In 2006, all eight appearances of plague in black-tailed prairie dog colonies resulted in total colony loss. Studies in 1961 estimated only 364,000 acres (1,470 km²) of occupied black-tailed prairie dog habitat in the United States. A second study in 2000 showed 676,000 acres (2,740 km²). However, a comprehensive study between 10 states and various tribes in 2004 estimated 1,842,000 acres (7,450 km²) in the United States, plus an additional 51,589 acres (208.77 km²) in Mexico and Canada. Based on the 2004 studies, the US Fish and Wildlife Service removed the black-tailed prairie dog from the Endangered Species Act Candidate Species List in August 2004.


While spotted seatrout are caught by both commercial and recreational fishermen, recreational fishing represents the vast majority of the catch.  Almost all spotted seatrout are caught with hook and line, as many places have banned fishing for them with gillnets.
According to the NOAA, spotted seatrout are in the top ten species for recreational fishing in the United States.  From 1993 – 2003, recreational fishermen in Louisiana harvested more than 6 million spotted seatrout each year.  Along the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia, more than half a million speckled trout were caught by recreational fishermen each year between 2005 and 2008.   Nevertheless, because they reproduce so well, spotted seatrout is listed as a “best choice” for sustainable seafood in Louisiana and Florida by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch.


C. esculentus is extremely difficult to remove completely once established. This is due to the plant having a stratified and layered root system, with tubers and roots being interconnected to a depth of 36 cm or more. The tubers are connected by fragile roots that are prone to snapping when pulled, making the root system difficult to remove intact. Intermediate rhizomes can potentially reach a length of 60 cm. The plant can quickly regenerate if a single tuber is left in place. By competing for light, water and nutrients it can reduce the vigour of neighbouring plants. It can develop into a dense colony. Patch boundaries can increase by more than one meter per year. Tubers and seed disperse with agricultural activities, soil movement or by water and wind. They are often known as a contaminant in crop seeds. When plants are small they are hard to distinguish from other weeds such as Dactylis glomerata and Elytrigia repens. Thus it is hard to discover in an early stage and therefore hard to counteract. Once it is detected, mechanical removal, hand removal, grazing, damping, and herbicides can be used to inhibit C. esculentus.


Harvest usually occurs in November or December and the leaves are scorched during the harvest. With a combine harvester, the tiger nut is pulled out of the ground. Immediately after harvesting, the tiger nuts are washed with water in order to remove sand and small stones. The drying occurs usually in the sun and can take up to three months. The temperatures and humidity levels have to be monitored very carefully during this period. The tiger nuts have to be turned every day to ensure uniform drying. The drying process ensures a longer shelf life. This prevents rot or other bacterial infections, securing quality and high nutrition levels.
Disadvantages in the drying process are shrinkage, skin wrinkles and hard nut texture.


In Spain, the drink now known as horchata de chufa (also sometimes called horchata de chufas or, in West African countries such as Nigeria and Mali, kunun aya) is the original form of horchata. It is made from soaked, ground and sweetened tiger nuts mixed with sugar and water. According to researchers at the University of Ilorin, kunu made from tiger nuts is an inexpensive source of protein.
It remains popular in Spain, where a regulating council exists to ensure the quality and traceability of the product in relation to the designation of origin. There it is served ice-cold as a natural refreshment in the summer, often served with fartons. Horchata de chufa is also used instead of dairy milk by the lactose-intolerant.
The majority of the Spanish tiger nut crop is utilised in the production of horchata de chufa. Alboraya is the most important production centre.
The tubers can be roasted and ground into a coffee substitute.


Cyperus alternifolius, the umbrella papyrus, umbrella sedge or umbrella palm, is a grass-like plant in the very large genus Cyperus of the sedge family Cyperaceae. The plant is native to West Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula, but widely distributed throughout the world. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The subspecies Cyperus alternifolius ssp. flabelliformis is also known as Cyperus involucratus Rottb..


The sheepshead minnow or sheepshead pupfish (Cyprinodon variegatus) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinodontidae, the pupfishes. It is found in salt marsh and estuary environments and is native to the eastern coasts of North and Central America.


It has a widespread distribution from Europe east through Asia from Spain to the Pacific, including almost every country in Europe plus Russia (European Russia, Siberia, and the Russian Far East), northeastern China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol), Mongolia, Korea and Rebun Island in Japan.
It is typically found in open woodland on moist calcareous soils. In continental Europe it is also found growing in the decomposed humus of semi-shaded woodland cover on limestone. It has declined over much of the European part of its range, and as a result is legally protected in a number of countries. Its upper elevation limit is 2100m. According to growing instructions provided by Phytesia, it cannot survive waterlogging or direct midday sun.


Cypripedium candidum is found from western New York, across southern Ontario to North Dakota, and south to New Jersey and Missouri. There are isolated populations of Cypripedium candidum in Connecticut, Maryland, Manitoba, Virginia, Alabama, and (formerly) Saskatchewan. It is found in alkaline wetland and fens, often fragmented in rich, highly calcareous soils, sedge meadow edges, and calcareous ditches.


Cypripedium candidum is considered rare across Canada, endangered in Ontario, and protected under the Ontario Endangered Species Act. It is believed to be extirpated from Saskatchewan. In Ontario, this orchid has never been common due to limited occurrences of fens in its southern Ontario range. It is now known from only two sites in Ontario. It is threatened in the United States, extirpated from Pennsylvania, endangered in South Dakota and Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Michigan, and rare in Missouri and North Dakota. In Illinois, it was listed as endangered in 1980, downgraded to threatened in 1998, and delisted in 2014, when the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board considered it to be "recovered and/or more common than originally thought". It is listed in Canada as N2, or endangered. Globally, however, it is listed as G4 (apparently secure) because there are protected sites across its entire range.
Habitat loss due to fragmentation through agriculture and development, suppression of fire, incursions by invasive species, especially reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), dogwood (Cornus sp.), leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula), St. John's wort (Hypericum spp.), and buckthorn (Rhamnus spp.), changes in hydrology, loss of pollinators, hybridization and environmental challenges to the obligate mycorrhizae that support this species are all responsible for its decline. It also has a low seed set caused by often unpollinated flowers. Pollinators for this flower include andrenid and halictid bees. They are observed entering the lip of the flower from the opening to deposit pollen on the stigma while simultaneously brushing the anther to pick up more pollen.
Like many wild orchids, this species has been further endangered by collecting for generally futile attempts at cultivation. It is shade-intolerant and therefore requires substantial management for invasive and woody species as part of any species recovery strategies. Long-term monitoring of this species is being done through various scientific organizations, including the Chicago Botanic Garden's Plants of Concern program. Woody encroachment is considered the greatest modern threat to monitored small white lady's slipper populations in the Chicago region. The Plants of Concern program found significantly more lady's slipper plants when prescribed burning and brush removal were conducted compared to sites without the employment of these management tools.


Cypripedium macranthos, the large-flowered cypripedium, is a species of orchid. It is  native to Belarus, Russia (European Russia and Siberia), Mongolia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China (Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Shandong).


Cypripedium montanum can be found in the northwestern United States and western Canada. It is reported from California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and Alaska. It is usually found at high elevation in open woods and subalpine slopes. Meriwether Lewis noted this species during his expedition while in Western Montana near Lolo Creek.


The laughing kookaburra is native to eastern Australia and has a range that extends from the Cape York Peninsula in the north to Cape Otway in the south. It is present on both the eastern and the western sides of the Great Dividing Range. In the south the range extends westwards from Victoria to the Yorke Peninsula and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.
It has been introduced into many other areas probably because of its reputation for killing snakes. In December 1891, the Western Australian parliament included 'Laughing Jackass' in the schedule of strictly preserved Australian native birds in the Game Bill, moved by Horace Sholl, member for North District. He described it as native of the North West.  His nomination is, therefore, certainly a reference to the blue-winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii), not the laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae). The Game Act, 1892 (Western Australia), "An Act to provide for the preservation of imported birds and animals, and of native game," provided that proclaimed Australian native birds and animals listed in the First Schedule of the Act could be declared protected from taking. Laughing Jackass was one of 23 Australian native bird species named in the schedule. Laughing kookaburras from Eastern States were released near Mullewa in around 1896 and over the following decade hundreds of birds were imported from Victoria and released around Perth. By 1912 breeding populations had been established in a number of areas. The present range in Western Australia is southwest of a line joining Geraldton on the west coast and Hopetoun on the south coast. In Tasmania the laughing kookaburra was introduced at several locations beginning in 1906. It now mainly occurs northeast of a line joining Huonville, Lake Rowallan, Waratah and Marrawah. It was introduced on Flinders Island in around 1940, where it is now widespread, and on Kangaroo Island in 1926.
In the 1860s, during his second term as governor of New Zealand, George Grey arranged for the release of laughing kookaburras on Kawau Island. The island lies in the Hauraki Gulf, about 40 km (25 mi) north of Auckland on the North Island of New Zealand. It was thought that the introduction had been unsuccessful but in 1916 some birds were discovered on the adjacent mainland. It now breeds in a small region on the western side of the Hauraki Gulf between Leigh and Kumeu.
The usual habitat is open sclerophyll forest and woodland. It is more common where the understory is open and sparse or where the ground is covered with grass. Tree-holes are needed for nesting. It also occurs near wetlands and in partly cleared areas or farmland with trees along roads and fences. In urban areas it is found in parks and gardens. The range of the laughing kookaburra overlaps with that of the blue-winged kookaburra in an area of eastern Queensland that extends from the Cape York Peninsula south to near Brisbane. Around Cooktown the laughing kookaburra tends to favour areas near water while the blue-winged kookaburra keeps to drier habitats.


Prior to the arrival of humans in New Zealand around 75% of the country was covered in trees, and kahikatea dominated its own and once widespread kahikatea forest type. Even after the burning of many forests by early Māori, there still remained large remnant forests which European settlers came upon in the 18th and 19th centuries. Prospects for use as timber were accelerated by the vast numbers of straight and tall trees, but because the wood is soft and odourless, it was made into pulp, barrels and boxes–butter boxes in particular were made mostly out of kahikatea. The kahikatea's usually flat habitat, with its damp and fertile soil, was also a prime location for dairy farming. Together this led to the felling of much of the remaining forests in the North and South Islands during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today they are confined mostly to the South Westland region of the South Island, though small remnants still exist in some places.
Conservation efforts have focused on protecting and fencing kahikatea forests around the country. Riccarton Bush is one notable example of forest remnant protection. The near 16-acre (6.47 ha) reserve was held in the Deans family for 70 years before it was gifted to Christchurch by them in 1914, and subsequently formally protected in the Riccarton Bush Bill. It is the only surviving kahikatea forest remnant in the entire Canterbury Plains, and contains trees up to 600 years old. Reservation of stands may not totally protect kahikatea, however, because the alluvial plains that they favour are prone to upheaval and erosion and so trees may still become damaged. Forest remnants outside of South Westland face the threat of never returning to their natural states, as a result of their small size, threats from weed species, and grazing by livestock. Despite this, the kahikatea has been classified as Least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and "Not Threatened" by the New Zealand Threat Classification System, which gives it an estimated population of above 100,000.


Dactylis glomerata, also known as cock's-foot, orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its popularity for use with domestic cats) is a common species of grass in the genus Dactylis. It is a cool-season perennial C₃ bunchgrass native throughout most of Europe, temperate Asia, and northern Africa.


Dactylis glomerata occurs from sea level in the north of its range, to as high as 4,000 meters in altitude in the south of its range in Pakistan. It is widely used for hay and forage.
It is a principal species in the widespread National Vegetation Classification habitat community MG1 (Arrhenatherum elatius grassland) in the United Kingdom, and so can be found with Arrhenatherum elatius (false oat grass).
It can be found in meadows, pasture, roadsides, and rough grassland.
It has been introduced into North America, New Zealand and Australia, and is now widely naturalised. In some areas, it has become an invasive species.


Dactylorhiza maculata, known as the heath spotted-orchid or moorland spotted orchid, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Orchidaceae. It is widespread in mountainous regions across much of Europe from Portugal and Iceland east to Russia. It is also found in Algeria, Morocco, and western Siberia.


Coeloglossum is a genus of flowering plants in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It has long been considered to have only one species, Coeloglossum viride, the frog orchid. Some recent classifications regard Coeloglossum as part of the larger genus, Dactylorhiza, so that C. viride becomes Dactylorhiza viridis. Other sources continue to keep Coeloglossum viride separate.
Under either name, the species has a wide distribution across the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere, covering much of Europe, non-tropical Asia (Russia, Japan, China, the Himalayas, etc.), much of Canada and parts of the United States (Alaska, Northeast, the Appalachians, Great Lakes Region, Northern Great Plains, and Rocky Mountains). It is typically found growing in moist, rich soil in wet meadows, moist or wet deciduous woods and thickets, and is frequently found on steep slopes.


Danaus chrysippus, also known as the plain tiger, African queen, or African monarch, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia and Africa. It belongs to the Danainae subfamily of the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. Danainae primarily consume plants in the genus Asclepias, more commonly called milkweed. Milkweed contains toxic compounds, cardenolides, which are often consumed and stored by many butterflies. Because of their emetic properties, the plain tiger is unpalatable to most predators. As a result, its coloration is widely mimicked by other species of butterflies. The plain tiger inhabits a wide variety of habitats, although it is less likely to thrive in jungle-like conditions and is most often found in drier, wide-open areas.
D. chrysippus encompasses three main subspecies: D. c. alcippus, D. c. chrysippus, and D. c. orientis. These subspecies are found concentrated in specific regions within the larger range of the entire species.
The plain tiger is believed to be one of the first butterflies depicted in art. A 3,500-year-old ancient Egyptian fresco in Luxor features the oldest known illustration of this species.


The queen belongs to a family (Danaidae) that is common to both New and Old Worlds, specifically found throughout the tropics and into the temperate regions of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Stray specimens are found in Europe.
The queen is chiefly a tropical species. In the US, it is usually confined to the southern portion of the country. It can be found regularly in peninsular Florida and southern Georgia, as well as in the southern portions of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Occasionally, the subspecies of the queen can be found somewhat north, in Kansas, Colorado, and Utah. Periodically, a stray may be found in the Midwest, such as in Missouri. The berenice subspecies is found largely in the Southeast and the strigosus in the Southwest. The queen is also found in Cuba.
It is more common in southern Central America, with numbers beginning to rise in Mexico. The queen can be found as far south as Argentina.
Although the queen does not undertake dramatic migrations like the monarch, most undertake short-distance travel at tropical latitudes in areas that have a distinct dry season. During those periods, the queen will fly from lowlands to high elevations.
Throughout its distribution, the queen can be found on open land, in meadows, fields, and marshes. It displays a more xeric preference in Hispaniola and will fly to the edge of, but seldom penetrate, hammocks and forests. In the southern US, the queen prefers open woodland, fields, and desert.


As an adult, its feeding habits are less specific. The butterfly feeds predominantly on nectar from flowers and dead foliage, but can also feed on rotting fruit, sweat, and dry or wet dung, among other substances.
Even as an adult, the queen is drawn to milkweeds (Apocynaceae). However, the butterfly is also attracted to the Nerium, Funastrum, Vincetoxicum, Philabertia, Stapelia.
In addition to the above food sources, males are attracted to Heliotropium, Eupatorium, Senecio, and Crotalaria, plants known to contain the alkaloid lycopsamine. The alkaloid and other precursor compounds from these plants are used to create pheromones used to attract mates. Pheromone precursors are predominantly obtained from Boraginaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae.


Dasylirion wheeleri (desert spoon, spoon flower, sotol, or common sotol) is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to arid environments of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.


The nine-banded armadillo has been rapidly expanding its range both north and east within the United States, where it is the only regularly occurring species of armadillo. The armadillo crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in the late 19th century, and was introduced in Florida at about the same time by humans. By 1995, the species had become well established in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, and had been sighted as far afield as Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina. A decade later, the armadillo had become established in all of those areas and continued its migration, being sighted as far north as southern Nebraska, southern Illinois, and southern Indiana.
The primary cause of this rapid expansion is explained simply by the species having few natural predators within the United States, little desire on the part of Americans to hunt or eat the armadillo, and the animals' high reproductive rate. The northern expansion of the armadillo is expected to continue until the species reaches as far north as Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut, and all points southward on the East Coast of the United States. Further northward and westward expansion will probably be limited by the armadillo's poor tolerance of harsh winters, due to its lack of insulating fat and its inability to hibernate.
As of 2009, newspaper reports indicated the nine-banded armadillo seems to have expanded its range northward as far as Omaha, Nebraska in the west, and Kentucky Dam and Evansville, Indiana, in the east.  In 1995, armadillos were only seen in the southern tip of South Carolina, and within two to three years, they had swept across most of the state. In late 2009, North Carolina began considering the establishment of a hunting season for armadillo, following reports that the species has been moving into the southern reaches of the state (roughly between the areas of Charlotte and Wilmington).
Outside the United States, the nine-banded armadillo ranges southward through Central and South America into northern Argentina and Uruguay, where it is still expanding its range.


In Australia, it has been recorded as a garden escapee in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.


Southern California has been the site of various toloache (datura) based religions. Datura wrightii is sacred to some Native Americans and has been used in ceremonies and rites of passage by Chumash, Tongva, and others. Among the Chumash, when a boy was 8 years old, his mother gave him a preparation of momoy to drink. This was supposed to be a spiritual challenge to the boy to help him develop the spiritual well being required to become a man. Not all of the boys survived. The Zuni people also use the plant for ceremonial, magical, and divinatory purposes. The root pieces are chewed by a robbery victim to determine the identity of the thief. The powdered root is also used by rain priests in a number of ways to ensure fruitful rains.


This species occurs throughout continental Europe, except the extreme south, ranging from southern Scandinavia to Portugal,  Spain, Italy, and Greece. It is also found in temperate Asia, as far east as China. Geographic features such as mountains have fragmented the species, leading to a wide range of forms and numerous subspecies.
In Britain, the wart-biter is confined to five sites, two in East Sussex, and one each in Wiltshire, Essex, Dorset and Kent.


Delias hyparete, the painted Jezebel, is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, found in South Asia and Southeast Asia.


This species closely resembles Delias eucharis but can be distinguished as follows: Male upper forewing has the black margins to the veins more diffuse; the transverse postdiscal band diffuse, ill-defined, oblique, not parallel to termen in its lower portion but terminated at apex of vein 2; the apical portion of the wing beyond the fascia more or less so thickly shaded with black scales as to leave the white lanceolate (lance-shaped) spaces between the veins (so prominent in D. eucharis) ill-defined and obscure. Hindwing white, the black venation and terminal narrow black border as well as the sub-terminal vermilion-red spots between the veins on the underside
show through by transparency. Underside: forewing as in D. eucharis, but the black margins to the veins much broader and the postdiscal transverse fascia as on the upperside oblique but broader. Hindwing differs from that of D. eucharis in the much deeper chrome-yellow tint of the ground colour, the postdiscal black curved band that in D. eucharis separates the yellow from the subterminal vermilion-red spots entirely wanting, the red spots themselves pointed inwardly, not subcordate, they conspicuously increase in size posteriorly. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen similar to those of D. eucharis. Female differs from the female of D. eucharis on the upperside by the very much darker shading, especially on the forewing, and by the postdiscal transverse band which is as in the D. eucharis oblique but broader. Hindwing also more darkly shaded, the postdiscal transverse curved black baud entirely absent. Underside as in the female but darker, the forewing especially more thickly shaded with black scaling, the preapical interspaces tinged with yellow. Antennae, thorax and abdomen similar to those in D. eucharis.
Subspecies D. h. metarete, Butler (Southern Myanmar; extending to Java and Sumatra) differs from D. h. hierta as follows: Male upperside has the ground colour a much purer white; apical half of forewing in contrast with the white on basal half densely shaded with black scales. Underside: the colours clearer and purer, the chrome yellow on the hindwing confined to the base and posterior half of the wing, the apical half of the cell and the anterior interspaces within the line of the vermilion-red spots pure white; the anterior two or three subterminal red spots margined interiorly with diffuse black scaling. Female differs less from the 2 of D. h. hierta, but on the underside of the hindwing the yellow colour is as restricted as it is in the male; the subterminal red spots are of a richer vermilion than in D. h. hierta, and the anterior two or three as in the d have an interior narrow margin of diffuse black scales. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in D. h. hierta, but the thorax and abdomen shaded slightly darker with a bluish-grey appearance.
Subspecies D. h. ethire, Doherty (Madras; Orissa; Lower Bengal) differs from typical D. h. hierta as follows: Male upperside very pure white. Forewing has the black margins to the veins very narrow, the oblique postdiscal band ill-defined, scarcely any irroration of black scales on the apical half of the wing. Hindwing pure white, the colours of the underside seen through by transparency as in D. h. hierta. Underside differs from D. h. hierta principally in the brighter tint of the yellow on the hindwing, and in the more clearly defined, less diffuse black margins of the veins. Female differs less from female D. h. hierta than does the male from the corresponding sex of the same insect. Upperside has the interspaces beyond the postdiscal oblique band on forewing and the cell and basal halves of the interspaces beyond the cell on the hindwing distinctly tinged with yellow. Underside: all the markings more neatly and clearly defined than in D. h. hierta, the interspaces beyond the oblique postdiscal band on the forewing bright lemon-yellow. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen in both sexes as in D. h. hierta.
The 2.5cm pupa has a short black ridge  anteriorly and spike-like dorsal processes across most body segments and spike-like lateral black processes in the early abdominal segments. A few  black streaks are located in the wing pad.


The common house martin was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Hirundo urbica, but was placed in its current genus, Delichon, by Thomas Horsfield and Frederic Moore in 1854. Delichon is an anagram of the ancient Greek term χελιδών (chelīdōn), meaning "swallow", and the species name urbicum (urbica until 2004, due to a misunderstanding of Latin grammar) means "of the town" in Latin.
The genus Delichon is a recent divergence from the barn swallow genus Hirundo, and its three members are similar in appearance with blue upperparts, a contrasting white-rump, and whitish underparts. In the past, the common house martin was sometimes considered to be conspecific with the Asian house martin (D. dasypus), which breeds in the mountains of central and eastern Asia and winters in Southeast Asia, and it also closely resembles the Nepal house martin (D. nipalense), a resident in the mountains of southern Asia. Although the three Delichon martins are similar in appearance, only D. urbicum has a pure white rump and underparts.
The common house martin was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Siberian house martin (Delichon lagopodum) that breeds eastwards of the Yenisei to Kolyma and south to northern Mongolia and northern China; it winters in southern China and Southeast Asia. The two species were split based on morphological and vocal differences. Other races, like meridionalis from around the Mediterranean have been described, but the claimed differences from the nominate race are clinal, and therefore probably invalid.


The common house martin breeds across temperate Eurosiberia east to central Mongolia and the Yenisei River, and in Morocco, Tunisia and northern Algeria, and migrates on a broad front to winter in sub-Saharan Africa.
The preferred habitat of the common house martin is open country with low vegetation, such as pasture, meadows and farmland, and preferably near water, although it is also found in mountains up to at least 2,200 m (7,200 ft) elevation. It is much more urban than the barn swallow, and will nest even in city centres if the air is clean enough. It is more likely to be found near trees than other Eurasian swallows, since they provide insect food and also roosting sites. This species does not normally use the reed-bed roosts favoured by migrating barn swallows.
It uses similar open habitats on the wintering grounds, but the common house martin is less conspicuous than wintering barn swallows, tending to fly higher and be more nomadic. In the tropical parts of its wintering range, like East Africa, it appears to be mainly found in the higher areas.
The common house martin is a migrant which moves on a broad front (i.e., European birds are not funnelled through the short sea crossings used by large soaring birds, but cross the Mediterranean and Sahara). While migrating they feed in the air on insects, and they usually travel in daylight. Migration brings its own hazards; in 1974, several hundred thousand birds of this species were found dead or dying in the Swiss Alps and surrounding areas, caught by heavy snowfall and low temperatures. Adult survival on autumn migration depends mainly on temperature, with precipitation another major factor, but for juveniles low temperatures during the breeding season are more critical. It is anticipated that since extreme weather is predicted to become more frequent with climate change, future survival rates will depend more on adverse weather conditions than at present.
The common house martin returns to the breeding grounds a few days after the first barn swallows; and like that species, particularly when the weather is poor, it seldom goes straight to the nesting sites, but hunts for food over large fresh water bodies. There are records of migrant house martins staying to breed in Namibia and South Africa instead of returning north. As would be expected for a long-distance migrant, it has occurred as a vagrant eastwards to Alaska and west to Newfoundland, Bermuda and the Azores.


Deloyala guttata, the mottled tortoise beetle, is a species of tortoise beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is found in the Caribbean, Central America, North America, and South America.
 Larva carry shields made from exuviae and frass on their abdomen that they lift to shield their dorsum from predators.


Despite the historic practice of lumping the entire genus Delphinus into a single species, these widely distributed dolphins exhibit a wide variety of sizes, shapes and colors. Indeed, over the past few decades, over 20 distinct species in the genus have been proposed. Scientists in California in the 1960s concluded there were two species — the long-beaked and short-beaked. The long-beaked common dolphin was thought to have a disjointed range in coastal areas in tropical and warmer temperate oceans.  The range included parts of western and southern Africa, much of western South America, central California to central Mexico, coastal Peru, areas around Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and possibly near Oman. Vagrants have been recorded as far north as Vancouver Island.
This analysis was seemingly confirmed by a more in-depth genetic study in the 1990s. This study also suggested a third species (D. tropicalis, common name usually Arabian common dolphin or Indo-Pacific common dolphin), characterized by an extremely long and thin beak and found in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, might be distinguished from the long-beaked species. The current standard taxonomic works recognize this as a subspecies of D. delphis rather than a separate species.
Recent evidence has demonstrated that different populations of long-beaked common dolphins around the world are not closely related to one another and are often derived from a short-beaked ancestor (as well as not sharing common derived characters). Therefore, long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins are now listed  as the same species under the scientific name of Delphinus delphis. Currently, the common dolphin is divided into four subspecies:
D. d. delphis, the nominate subspecies
D. d. bairdii, the  Eastern North Pacific long-beaked common dolphin
D. d. ponticus, the Black Sea common dolphin
D. d. tropicalis, the Indo-Pacific common dolphin


Common dolphins live in both warm-temperate and tropical waters ranging from 40–60°N to 50°S. Long-beaked common dolphins mostly inhabit shallow, warm coastal water. Short-beaked common dolphins are common "along shelf edges and in areas with sharp bottom relief such as seamounts and escarpments". Common dolphins have a varied diet consisting of many species of fish and squid. This includes both mesopelagic species and epipelagic schooling species. They have been recorded to make dives up to 200 metres (660 ft) deep.
Common dolphins are a widely distributed species. They can be found around the world in both offshore and coastal waters. In the Northwest Atlantic, they can be found from Cape Hatteras North Carolina, to Newfoundland and are strongly associated with the Gulf Stream. Dolphins in this region can often be found in areas that have certain geological factors like underwater canyons and ridges because this is where up-welling occurs which result in greater nutrients. In the Eastern Pacific, common dolphins are found along the coast of California and are associated with the California current. Short-beaked Common dolphins can also be found in Europe, particularly the Scotian shelf, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. In the Southern Hemisphere, they are abundant in the southwestern Pacific, around New Zealand and southern Australia. They are generally a pelagic species that are often found in waters 650–6,500 feet deep, with the short-beaked type preferring deeper waters than the long-beaked type Temperature also plays a large role in the congregation of dolphins. For example, in the Western North Atlantic, almost all sightings of Common dolphins took place in waters from 16 to 20 °C. However, there were common dolphin sightings in waters as low as 5 °C.
Common dolphins can live in aggregations of hundreds or even thousands of dolphins. Common dolphins are often seen in groups numbering several hundred individuals (with subgroups consisting of 20-30 individuals). Occasionally, different groups will come together to form mega-pods which can consist of over 10,000 dolphins. Genetic studies in the Northeast Atlantic suggest that common dolphin pods generally do not consist of close kin, but rather of members that are not closely related. Unlike many delphinids, common dolphins do not live in a matriarchal society. That being said, closely related individuals are usually found in similar geographical locations fairly consistently, providing evidence that this species displays site fidelity (at least in the Northeastern Atlantic). Male common dolphins display greater site fidelity in relation to their kin than females. Common dolphin pod structure often consists of nursery pods (which includes females and calves), bachelor pods (consisting of all males) and mixed groups of males and females, including sub-adults and calves. Genetic evidence seems to indicate that common dolphins live in fission-fusion societies, where dolphins form pods that are not necessarily stable and do not necessarily consist of related individuals. It is not known if common dolphins form lifelong bonds with other individuals  like the long-term male alliances seen in bottlenose dolphins.
There is some evidence that common dolphins use signature whistles, similar to that of the bottlenose dolphin. These whistles are believed to serve as an acoustic label, and provide identification information similar to that of a name.  It takes approximately 1 year for a calf to learn its signature whistle after which it remains stable for the rest of a dolphin's life. In South Africa, as many as 29 common dolphin signature whistle types were detected. However, it was difficult to determine if each dolphin had its own signature whistle due to the vast number of dolphins present (over 1,000) and anthropogenic background noise. Additionally, considering the vast number of dolphins present and  taking into account their feeding and diving behavior, it appears that common dolphin signature whistles are also used for group cohesion. Another hypothesis for the function of signature whistles, is that they serve as a beacon for lost individuals.
Common dolphins sometimes associate with other dolphin species, such as pilot whales.  In the Gulf of Corinth, common dolphins frequently display mixed species association, especially with striped and Rissos’ dolphins. Over one third of all dolphin sightings in the gulf consisted of mixed species associations that partially consisted of common dolphins. In mixed species associations, the ratio of striped to common dolphins ranged from 6-11:1. When Rissos’ dolphins were present (there would usually be only one or two individuals), it appeared that much of their scars were the result of interactions between striped and spinner dolphins. In much of the interactions, the Rissos’ dolphins would chase and herd the common dolphins toward the boat, while the common dolphins would try and swim under the Rissos’ dolphin. When groups of common and striped dolphins would charge at each other, the Rissos’ dolphin would chase the striped dolphins. Sometimes these interactions appeared to be playful, and at other times aggressive. Synchronized swimming and surfacing was commonly observed. These interactions take place in the deepest part of the Gulf, furthest from shore and usually consist of a total of 60 dolphins from all three species.
There have been confirmed cases of hybridization between striped and common dolphins in this region. There have been 15 cases of common dolphin and striped dolphin hybrids. Genetic and observational evidence has demonstrated that the hybrids are fertile and are capable of not only reproducing with other hybrids, but are capable of reproducing with each of the parent species. Striped dolphins have been known to mate with other dolphins, as the Clymene dolphin is the result of hybrid speciation between striped and spinner dolphins. However, this is unlikely to happen with common dolphins, as their population in the Gulf of Corinth is too low. Common dolphins and bottlenose dolphins have been known to interbreed in captivity. There is one confirmed case of a hybrid between a bottlenose and common dolphin in Southern Spain, an important feeding ground for both species. The mother was a female bottlenose dolphin (dubbed as Billie) who has spent 10 years within a common dolphin pod. Billie was observed assisting common calves reach the surface at three different intervals and would babysit the calves after the mother went through labor. The length of the calf was similar to a bottlenose dolphin calf, with the lateral stripes and coloration of a common dolphin. The calf was spotted with its mother, almost daily on dolphin watching tours among a nursery pod of common dolphins which also contained some immature striped dolphins. Sightings of the calf took place when temperatures were between 14 and 26 °C. The calf was mainly observed swimming in the echelon position (swimming alongside the mother). The calf was found rubbing its head on its mother, jumping backwards over its mother and flipper-to flipper, belly-to flipper and belly-to belly contact was observed. They have also been observed bow riding on baleen whales, and they also bow ride on boats. They are fast swimmers and breaching behavior and aerial acrobatics are common with this species. They are also known to display altruistic behaviors to support injured members.
The short-beaked common dolphin has a gestation period of 10 to 11 months.  The newborn calf has a length of 70 to 100 centimetres (2.3 to 3.3 ft) and weighs about 10 kilograms (22 lb).  For the Black Sea population, weaning occurs at between five and six months, but occurs later (up to about 19 months) in other areas.  Typical interbirth interval ranges from one year for the Black Sea population to three years for eastern Pacific Ocean populations.  Age of sexual maturity also varies by location, but can range between two and seven years for females and three and 12 years for males. No evidence exists of any major reproductive differences between the two species. In captivity, the long-beaked common dolphin has hybridized with the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). One of the hybrids has been bred back to a bottlenose dolphin, demonstrating such hybrids are fertile.


These birds forage on the ground, or in trees in winter. In winter, they mainly eat fir and douglas-fir needles, occasionally also hemlock and pine needles; in summer, other green plants (Pteridium, Salix), berries (Gaultheria, Mahonia, Rubus, Vaccinium), and insects (particularly ants, beetles, grasshoppers) are more important. Chicks are almost entirely dependent on insect food for their first ten days.


The range of the rufous treepie is quite large, covering Pakistan, India and into Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. It inhabits open forest consisting of scrub, plantations and gardens. In the Garhwal Himalayas, it migrates seasonally between different elevations.


The rufous treepie is primarily an arboreal omnivore feeding on fruits, nectar (of Bombax ceiba) seeds, invertebrates, small reptiles and the eggs and young of birds; it has also been known to take flesh from recently killed carcasses. It is an agile forager, clinging and clambering through the branches and sometimes joining mixed hunting parties along with species such as drongos and babblers. They are known to be a cleaning symbiont of deer, feeding on ectoparasites of sambar which  permit them to perch and position themselves to invite the birds to examine specific parts. Like many other corvids, it caches food. It is considered to be beneficial to palm cultivation in southern India due to its foraging on the grubs of the destructive weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. Its feeds on the fruits of Trichosanthes tricuspidata which are toxic to mammals.
The breeding season in India is April to June. In Bengal, the peak is in April and May with heightened levels of pineal gland activity and serotonin production. It builds its shallow nest in trees and bushes and usually lays 3-5 eggs.
The rufous treepie has a wide repertoire of calls, but a bob-o-link or ko-tree call is most common. A local name for this bird kotri is derived from the typical call while other names include Handi Chancha and taka chor (="coin thief").
A blood parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma corvi and Babesia has been reported from this species. Trematode parasites, Haplorchis vagabundi, have been found in their intestines. An acanthocephalan parasite Centrorhynchus lancea is also known. A species of quill mite Syringophiloidus dendrocittae is known to live in the feathers of rufous treepies.


The species ranges across Eurasia from the British Isles to Japan, and in North Africa from Morocco to Tunisia; it is absent only from those areas too cold or dry to have suitable woodland habitat. It is found in a wide variety of woodlands, broadleaf, coniferous or mixed, and in modified habitats like parks, gardens and olive groves. It occurs from sea level to the tree line, up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in Europe, 2,200 m (7,200 ft) in Morocco and 2,500 m (8,200 ft) in Central Asia.
The great spotted woodpecker is mainly resident year round, but sizeable movements can occur when there are shortages of pine and spruce cones in the north of the range. Highland populations often descend to lower altitudes in winter. Juveniles also have a tendency to wander some distance from where they were hatched, often as far as 100–600 km (60–400 mi), sometimes up to 3,000 km (1,900 mi). Vagrants have reached the Faroe Islands, Hong Kong and Iceland, and there are several sightings from North America in at least the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands and Alaska.
Due to deforestation, this woodpecker was extirpated in Ireland in the seventeenth century, but the island has been naturally recolonised, with the first proven nesting in County Down in 2007. Its expansion in range is continuing, with breeding proven or suspected in at least 10 counties by 2013, with the main concentration in Down and County Wicklow. Genetic evidence shows the birds to be of British, rather than Scandinavian, ancestry, with the populations in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic having separate origins. The great spotted woodpecker was also found to have been nesting in the Isle of Man from 2009.
The Isle of Man has also been colonised in recent years, with breeding proven from 2010.


The Syrian woodpecker was first described as Picus syriacus by Wilhelm Hemprich and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1833, from a specimen collected on Mount Lebanon.


The middle spotted woodpecker occurs only in Europe in the Palearctic, from northern Spain and France east to Poland and Ukraine, and south to central Italy (where local), the Balkan Peninsula, Lithuania, Latvia, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Iran. This species used to breed in Sweden but became extirpated in the '80s. However, middle spotted woodpeckers have been seen again in Sweden in its breeding habitat in recent years, suggesting a recolonization of the country. Due to its sedentary nature it has never been recorded in Great Britain. It prefers deciduous forest regions, especially areas with old oak, hornbeam and elm, and a patchwork of clearings, pasture and dense woodland.


This species is usually found in small groups, but substantial flocks can form at favoured sites. It walks well, without waddling, and normally feeds by upending, though it can dive if necessary. It does not often perch in trees, unlike other whistling ducks. It flies at low altitude with slow wingbeats and trailing feet, in loose flocks rather than tight formation. It feeds during the day and at night in fairly large flocks, often with other whistling duck species, but rests or sleeps in smaller groups in the middle of the day. They are noisy and display their aggression towards other individuals by throwing back their heads. Before taking off in alarm, they often shake their head sideways.
Several arthropod parasites have been recorded on this duck, including chewing mites of the families Philopteridae and Menoponidae, feather mites and skin mites. Internal helminth parasites include roundworms, tapeworms and flukes. In a survey in Florida, all 30 ducks tested carried at least two helminth species; none had blood parasites. Only one duck had no mites or lice.


Historically, Dendrolycopodium obscurum has been harvested from the wild for use as Christmas greens for wreaths, as well as the use of its spores for flash powder. While flash powder is now practically obsolete, the harvest of D. obscurum has caused it to become threatened in several areas, leading Indiana and New York to declare it protected by state law. When harvesting legally, it is recommended to cut the shoots using shears to minimize rhizome damage, alternate sites every year, and select only individuals possessing strobili with open sporophylls. This ensures that immature shoots are not harvested, and will be allowed an attempt at reproduction.


Dendromecon rigida occurs in Northern California in the foothills of the California Coast Ranges, Klamath Mountains, southwest Cascade Range, and western Sierra Nevada in the Montane and Interior chaparral and woodlands and other habitats.
It is found in the foothills of the Transverse Ranges and Peninsular Ranges and in other areas, in Interior and Montane chaparral and woodlands and other habitats, in Southern California and northern Baja California Peninsula.
The plants occur in these regions up to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) in elevation. Plants grow on dry slopes and washes, and prefer areas that have just been burned.


This species can be found anywhere in Europe, except for Azores, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Malta and parts of Russia and the Caucasus. It is also present in the Nearctic realm and in the Neotropical realm. These bugs inhabits forests, but occur mainly on sunny forest edges and open areas.


This species has one generation a year. Adults can be found from July to September. These bugs are almost completely predators and are also cannibalistic. They mainly feed on aphids and other small insects. They can be found on various plants, especially on nettles, but also on Rubus, Cytisus and Thistles. Trees are preferred to shrubs, including fruit trees, but they are also rarely found on conifers such as pine (Pinus), larches (Larix) and junipers.


Dermatophyllum secundiflorum is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the family Fabaceae, that is native to the southwestern United States (Texas, New Mexico) and Mexico (Chihuahua and Coahuila south to Hidalgo, Puebla and Querétaro). Common names include Texas mountain laurel, Texas mescalbean, frijolito, and frijolillo.


Desmia funeralis, the grape leaffolder, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is found across the southern parts of the United States to California, north to the northeastern states and southeastern Canada.
The wingspan is 21–28 mm. Adults are on wing from May to September. It is a day-flying species. There are two to three generations per year.
The larvae feed on Vitis, Cercis canadensis and Oenothera. It is considered a minor pest of grapes in the United States.


Diabrotica balteata is a species of cucumber beetle in the family Chrysomelidae known commonly as the banded cucumber beetle. It occurs in the Americas, where its distribution extends from the United States to Colombia and Venezuela in South America. It is also present in Cuba. It is a pest of a variety of agricultural crops.


The beetle likely originated in the tropical Americas and has moved into more temperate climates. By the early 1900s it was limited to Arizona and Texas in the United States. During the 1920s it spread up the coast of California at a rate of about 25 miles per year. It has since spread as far as North Carolina and Florida. It probably will not progress farther in the continental United States because it does not tolerate freezing temperatures.


Diacme adipaloides, the darker diacme moth, is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote and Coleman Townsend Robinson in 1867. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Adults have been recorded year round.


Ring-necked snakes usually mate in the spring. In some subspecies, though, mating occurs in the fall, and delayed implantation occurs. Females attract males by secreting pheromones from their skin. Once the male finds a female, he starts by moving his closed mouth along the female's body. Then, the male bites the female around her neck ring, maneuvering to align their bodies so sperm can be inserted into the female's vent. Females lay their eggs in loose, aerated soils under a rock or in a rotted log. Three to ten eggs are deposited in early summer and hatch in August or September. The egg is elongated with a white color contrasted by yellow ends. When hatched, juveniles are precocial and fend for themselves without parental care.


Dianthus chinensis, commonly known as rainbow pink or China pink (Chinese: 石竹 shí zhú) is a species of Dianthus native to northern China, Korea, Mongolia, and southeastern Russia. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 30–50 cm tall.


The plant has a large distribution area in East Asia, which includes not only China, but also Korea and eastern Russia, to the northwest it still occurs in Mongolia and Kazakhstan. The Flora of China also counts Europe as the area of distribution. The sites include grasslands as well as sparse forests.


The natural range of this moth seems to extend from South Asia to southern China and Taiwan, and south through Southeast Asia to the Maluku Islands of Indonesia; it does not seem to extend to the Philippines, but is widespread in Australia and is a pest of cucurbits in the northern part of the continent. It is possible that it was introduced by trade and transport of its host plants to oceanic islands, such as Fiji, Ponape in the Caroline Islands and the Marquesas Islands in different regions of the Pacific, and Mauritius in the western Indian Ocean. It has been reported from some localities in Africa, with occasional sightings in Narok, Kenya, but there it is probably introduced too.
As implied by the common names, the caterpillar larvae of this moth are a frequent agricultural pests. It is perhaps most noticeable as a pest of cucumbers, but this seems more due to the widespread production of these than to the moth's preferences; D. indica is quite polyphagous and prefers other Cucurbitoideae (which are not as widely grown though) to cucumbers. Typically, the leaves of the food plants are eaten.
Host plants are usually eurosids and include:
Cucurbitaceae
calabash (Lagenaria siceraria)
angled luffa (Luffa acutangula)
Egyptian luffa (Luffa aegyptiaca)
pumpkins (Cucurbita)
cucumber (Cucumis sativus)
snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina var. anguina)
Trichosanthes tricuspidata
Other families:
Erythrina corallodendron (Fabaceae)
Levant cotton (Gossypium herbaceum, Malvaceae)


This walkingstick is native to North America. Its range extends from the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida, as far west as California and northwards to North Dakota. It also occurs in Canada (where it is the only stick insect) being present in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Québec.


The coastal giant salamander is endemic to the Pacific Northwest, found in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and southern British Columbia.


Dicathais is a genus of predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Muricidae, the rock snails. This genus is monotypic; the only species in it is Dicathais orbita, common name the white rock shell or cart-rut shell, found round the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.


This snail is plentiful in the intertidal zone and sublittoral zone on rocks and among seaweed around the coasts of Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia), New Zealand, Kermadec islands and Lord Howe Island.


Dichorda iridaria, the showy emerald moth, is a moth of the  family Geometridae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1857. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The wingspan is about 25–28 mm.
The larvae feed on Rhus species, including Rhus typhina and Rhus copallina. and Toxicodendron radicans.


Its populations are genetically highly structured, and four races are accepted. The races D. a. modestus (Príncipe) together with D. a. coracinus and D. a. atactus (Bioko to west and central mainland Africa, from Guinea east to western Kenya and south to Angola) are usually split as a separate species, the velvet-mantled drongo, D. modestus (Hartlaub, 1849).
D. a. apivorus Clancey, 1976
Range: Gabon, Congo Republic, DRC, Angola, northwestern Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and northwestern South Africa
Description: primary remiges with brown outer vanes and pale inner vanes (noticeable while perched and in flight respectively)
Habitat: Arid savanna
D. a. fugax W.K.H.Peters, 1868
Range: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar, southeastern Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, eastern Eswatini and northeastern South Africa
Description: Smaller than nominate, outer vanes of primaries brown, and inner vanes dark
D. a. adsimilis (Bechstein, 1794)
Range: western Eswatini, Lesotho and eastern to southern South Africa
Description: Darker remiges, especially noticeable in flight
D. a. jubaensis van Someren, 1931
Range: Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia


The  black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) is a small Asian passerine bird of the drongo family Dicruridae. It is a common resident breeder in much of tropical southern Asia from southwest Iran through India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to southern China and Indonesia and accidental visitor of Japan. It is an all black bird with a distinctive forked tail and measures 28 cm (11 in) in length. It feeds on insects, and is common in open agricultural areas and light forest throughout its range, perching conspicuously on a bare perch or along power or telephone lines.
The species is known for its aggressive behaviour towards much larger birds, such as crows, never hesitating to dive-bomb any bird of prey that invades its territory. This behaviour earns it the informal name of king crow. Smaller birds often nest in the well-guarded vicinity of a nesting black drongo. Previously grouped along with the African fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), the Asian forms are now treated as a separate species with several distinct populations.
The black drongo is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List, due to its large range and relative commonness. It has been introduced to some Pacific islands, where it has thrived and become abundant to the point of threatening and causing the extinction of native and endemic bird species there.


Black drongos breed mainly in February and March in southern India, and until August in other parts of the country. Males and females sing in the mornings during the breeding season. Courtship can include aerobatic chases and they may lock their wings and beaks together, with the pair sometimes falling to the ground. Displays may be made on the ground. Pair bonds are retained for a whole breeding season. The nest is a cup made with a thin layer of sticks placed in the fork of branch, and is built in a week by both the male and female. Eggs are laid close to the first rains in April. The usual clutch is three or rarely four eggs laid in a cup nest placed in the fork of an outer branch of tree. Large leafy trees such as the jackfruit are preferred. The eggs are pale cream to red with spots and markings and are 26 mm (1.0 in) long and 19 mm (0.75 in) wide. The eggs are incubated by both parents and hatch after 14 to 15 days. Nestlings are brooded for the first five days, after which the young are capable of maintaining a fairly constant body temperature. A second clutch may be laid if the first is destroyed. Nests are sometimes built in telephone poles. A nesting territory of 0.003 to 0.012 km² (0.3 to 1.2 hectares) is maintained.
Helpers, offspring from the previous brood, have sometimes been noted to assist in feeding the fledglings at the nest of their parents. Cases of brood parasitism by the Asian koel have been noted. An average breeding success of 44% has been noted with the main cause of fledgling mortality being shortage of insect food which in turn was dependent on rainfall.


The cinnamon-bellied flowerpiercer (Diglossa baritula) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest. It is a species known to be a nectar robber, apparently taking nectar while not pollinating the plant.


Digrammia continuata, the curve-lined angle, is a species of moth of the  family Geometridae. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from New Brunswick to Florida, west to California and north to Manitoba.
The wingspan is about 22–24 mm. Adults are on wing from March to August in two generations per year.
The larvae feed on Juniperus virginiana, Thuja occidentalis and Hesperocyparis guadalupensis. Full-grown larvae reach a length of about 29 mm. The species overwinters in the pupal stage in soil or amongst debris.


Digrammia gnophosaria, the hollow-spotted angle, is a species of moth of the  family Geometridae. It is found in Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin.
The larvae feed on Salix species, including Salix babylonica.


The black-rumped flameback was described and illustrated by two pre-Linnaean English naturalists from a dried specimen that had been brought to London. In 1738 Eleazar Albin included the bird as the "Bengall Woodpecker" in his A Natural History of Birds and in 1751 George Edwards included the "Spotted Indian Woodpecker" in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. The black-rumped flameback was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Picus benghalensis. He cited the earlier descriptions by Albin and Edwards. This woodpecker is now placed in the genus Dinopium that was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1814.
Five subspecies are recognised:
The nominate subspecies (D. b. benghalense) is found across India in the low elevations up to about 1000 m.
The race in the arid northwestern India and Pakistan, D. b. dilutum (Blyth, 1852), has pale yellow upperparts, a long crest and whiter underparts than the nominate race of the Gangetic plains. The upperparts have less spots. It prefers to breed in old gnarled tamarisks, Acacia and Dalbergia trunks.
The Southern Peninsular form, D. b. puncticolle (Malherbe, 1845), has a black throat with small triangular white spots and bright golden-yellow upperparts.
The subspecies found in the Western Ghats is separated as D. b. tehminae (Whistler & Kinnear, 1934), (named after the wife of Salim Ali) and is more olive above, has fine spots on the black throat and the wing-covert spots are not distinct.
The northern Sri Lankan race, D. b. jaffnense (Whistler, 1944), has a shorter beak.
The Sri Lankan red-backed flameback (Dinopium psarodes) was formerly treated as a subspecies of the black-rumped flameback. It has a crimson back and all the dark markings are blacker and more extensive. It sometimes intergrades with D. b. jaffnense near Puttalam, Kekirawa and Trincomalee.


Diodia virginiana is a plant species in the  Rubiaceae, common name Virginia buttonweed. It is a spreading, matted perennial with opposite leaves, often mottled because of a virus that attacks the foliage. Flowers are white, cross-shaped with 4 petals. Fruits are green, often floating on water. The species can become a nuisance weed, hard to eradicate because of underground parts that remain behind when you try to pull up the plant.
Diodia virginiana is native to Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, Connecticut, and the south-central and southeastern United States. It is known from every state on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts from Texas to New Jersey as well as all the states in the Tennessee and Ohio River Valleys and the southern Great Plains. The species is also naturalized in Japan, Taiwan and northern California.


Diospyros texana is a species of persimmon that is native to central, south and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. Common names include Texas persimmon, Mexican persimmon and the more ambiguous "black persimmon". It is known in Spanish as chapote, chapote manzano, or chapote prieto, all of which are derived from the Nahuatl word tzapotl. That word also refers to several other fruit-bearing trees.


Diospyros texana is dioecious (separate male and female trees) and produces flowers starting in March or April. The flowers are white, urn shaped, and 0.8–1.6 cm (0.31–0.63 in) wide. They have five sepals, five petals, 16 stamens, and four styles. Flowers are solitary or form on cymes of two to three.


D. swinhonis is native to Taiwan, where it is found on the peripheral islands of Taiwan, Orchid Island, Green Island, and Xiaoliuqiu. The species has been found in Japan, possibly carried there by humans. The lizard's presence in Japan is considered as an invasive species. This invasion may have originated from Taiwan as an accidental import on plants. The first recording of the lizard's presence in Japan was noted in 2006. The lizard is now found in multiple regions of Japan. Within Taiwan, D. swinhonis is found in areas with adequate sunlight that are below an elevation of 1500 m. This includes both wooded areas and forests not near human activity along with areas with humans, such as schools, malls, etc.


The species has one accepted subspecies:
Diplodus sargus cadenati (de la Paz, et al., 1974), occurs off the European and West African coasts, and off Madeira and the Canary Islands
Other former subspecies have been accepted as separate species:
Diplodus sargus ascensionis: as Diplodus ascensionis (Valenciennes, 1830)
Diplodus sargus capensis: as Diplodus capensis (Smith, 1846)
Diplodus sargus helenae: as Diplodus helenae (Sauvage, 1879)
Diplodus sargus kotschyi: as Diplodus kotschyi (Steindachner, 1876)
Diplodus sargus lineatus: as Diplodus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1830)


In its natural range, the larvae feed on several species of pine including Pinus sylvestris, Pinus mugo, Pinus cembra and Pinus sibirica as well as such introduced species as Pinus strobus and Pinus contorta. In North America, as well as Pinus strobus, it feeds on Pinus resinosa, Pinus banksiana and P. sylvestris.


The bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus Dolichonyx. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. Adults are 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in) long with short finch-like bills and weigh about 28 g (1 oz). Adult males are mostly black with creamy napes and white scapulars, lower backs, and rumps. Adult females are mostly light brown with black streaks on the back and flanks, and dark stripes on the head; their wings and tails are darker. The bobolink breeds in the summer in Northern America, with most of the summer range in the northern United States. Bobolinks winter in southern South America, primarily Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. Bobolink populations are rapidly declining due to numerous factors, such as agricultural intensification and habitat loss; they are considered threatened in Canada, and are at risk throughout their range.


The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) is a small freshwater mussel. The species was originally native to the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in many countries worldwide. Since the 1980s, the species has invaded the Great Lakes, Hudson River, and Lake Travis.
The species was first described in 1769 by
German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in the Ural, Volga, and Dnieper Rivers. Zebra mussels get their name from a striped pattern commonly seen on their shells, though it is not universally present. They are usually about the size of a fingernail, but can grow to a maximum length around 2 in (5.1 cm). Shells are D-shaped, and attached to the substrate with strong byssal fibers, which come out of their umbo on the dorsal (hinged) side.


On June 4, 2014, Canadian conservation authorities announced that a test using liquid fertilizer to kill invasive zebra mussels was successful. This test was conducted in a lakefront harbor in the western province of Manitoba. However, outbreaks continue in Lake Winnipeg.
Similar tests were run in Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan, using zequanox, a biopesticide. Niclosamide proves effective in killing invasive zebra mussels in cool waters.


The native distribution of the species is in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea in Eurasia. Zebra mussels have become an invasive species in North America, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Sweden. They disrupt the ecosystems by monotypic colonization, and damage harbors and waterways, ships and boats, and water-treatment and power plants. Water-treatment plants are most affected because the water intakes bring the microscopic, free-swimming larvae directly into the facilities. Zebra mussels also cling to pipes under the water and clog them.
Grossinger reported it in Hungary in 1794. Kerney and Morton described the rapid colonization of Britain by the zebra mussel, first in Cambridgeshire in the 1820s, London in 1824, and in the Union Canal near Edinburgh in 1834.
In 1827, zebra mussels were seen in the Netherlands at Rotterdam. Canals that artificially link many European waterways facilitated their early dispersal. It is nonindigenous in the Czech Republic in the Elbe River in Bohemia since 1893; in southern Moravia, it is probably native. Around 1920 the mussels reached Lake Mälaren in Sweden.
The first appearance of the organism in northern Italy was in Lake Garda in 1973; in central Italy, they appeared in Tuscany in 2003.
Zebra mussels are present in British waterways. Many water companies are reporting having problems with their water-treatment plants with the mussels attaching themselves to pipeworks. Anglian Water has estimated that it costs £500,000 per year to remove the mussels from their treatment plants. Zebra mussels arguably have also had an effect on fishing, for example at Salford Quays, where their introduction has changed the environment for the fish.
The mussels have displaced native species of molluscs in Lake Constance, reaching densities of up to 10,000 mussels per square metre. The mussels present a food source to waterfowl and have caused bird numbers to double over the last 30 years. By the end of winter, birds decimate zebra mussel populations and reduce them by 95–99% up to the maximum depth reachable by birds of c. 10 m. The estimated quantity of consumed zebra mussels is 750 tons per square kilometre. Zebra mussel populations recover annually, indicating that waterfowl may control infested bodies of water but not reverse the infestation status entirely.


From their first appearance in American waters in 1988, zebra mussels have spread to a large number of waterways, including Lake Simcoe in the Great Lakes region, the Mississippi, Hudson, St. Lawrence, Ohio, Cumberland, Missouri, Tennessee, Huron, Colorado, and Arkansas Rivers, and 11 lakes and five river basins in Texas.
In 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation confirmed that zebra mussels had been found in Laurel Lake in the Berkshires. That same year, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that live zebra mussels had been found in Pelican Lake. This was the first confirmed sighting in the Red River Basin, which extends across the international border into the province of Manitoba. In 2013, their presence in Manitoba's Lake Winnipeg was confirmed, and aggressive efforts to eradicate them in 2014 have not succeeded. New contamination was found outside treated areas of Lake Winnipeg in 2015, and they have also been found in the Red River near the lake in Selkirk Park in 2015. Large numbers were seen at Grand Beach (Manitoba) in 2017.
In July 2010, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department confirmed the presence of zebra mussel veliger in the Red River between Wahpeton, North Dakota, and Breckenridge, Minnesota. As recently as 2008, California similarly reported invasions.
In 2011, an invasion of zebra mussels shut down a water pipeline in the Dallas area. This resulted in reduced water supplies during a drought year, worsening water restrictions across the Dallas area.
A common inference made by scientists predicts that the zebra mussel will continue spreading passively, by ship and by pleasure craft, to more rivers in North America. Trailered boat traffic is the most likely vector for invasion into Western North America. This spread is preventable if boaters thoroughly clean and dry their boats and associated equipment before transporting them to new bodies of water. Since no North American predator or combination of predators has been shown to significantly reduce zebra mussel numbers, such spread would most likely result in permanent establishment of zebra mussels in many North American waterways.
A major decrease in the concentration of dissolved oxygen was observed in the Seneca River in central New York in the summer of 1993. This decrease was caused by extremely high concentrations of zebra mussels in the watershed. Additionally, the Seneca River had significantly less chlorophyll in the water, which is used as a measure of phytoplankton biomass, because of the presence of zebra mussels.


Drepana arcuata, the arched hooktip or masked birch caterpillar, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, south to at least North Carolina, South Carolina and California.
The wingspan is 24–40 millimetres (0.94–1.57 in). Adults are on wing from mid-May through late-July. There is one generation per year in the north.
The larvae feed on Betula papyrifera and Alnus species, which they may use as a medium to communicate. Sound is produced by shaking their bodies, drumming and scraping their mouthparts, or dragging specialised anal "oars" against the surface of a leaf. Larvae build communal silk shelters and the sounds may attract other larva to the shelter.


The emu (/ˈiːmjuː/) (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. The emu's range covers most of mainland Australia, but the Tasmanian, Kangaroo Island and King Island subspecies became extinct after the European settlement of Australia in 1788.
Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) in height. Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary can sprint at 48 km/h (30 mph); they forage for a variety of plants and insects, but have been known to go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently, but take in copious amounts of water when the opportunity arises.
Breeding takes place in May and June, and fighting among females for a mate is common. Females can mate several times and lay several clutches of eggs in one season. The male does the incubation; during this process he hardly eats or drinks and loses a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after around eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. They reach full size after around six months, but can remain as a family unit until the next breeding season. The emu is an important cultural icon of Australia, appearing on the coat of arms and various coins. The bird features prominently in Indigenous Australian mythology.
The bird is sufficiently common for it to be rated as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Despite this, some local populations are listed as endangered, with subspecies such as the Tasmanian emu going extinct by the 1800s. Threats to their survival include predation of their eggs, roadkills, and fragmentation of their habitats.


Emus form breeding pairs during the summer months of December and January and may remain together for about five months. During this time, they stay in an area a few kilometres in diameter and it is believed they find and defend territory within this area. Both males and females put on weight during the breeding season, with the female becoming slightly heavier at between 45 and 58 kg (99 and 128 lb). Mating usually takes place between April and June; the exact timing is determined by the climate as the birds nest during the coolest part of the year. During the breeding season, males experience hormonal changes, including an increase in luteinising hormone and testosterone levels, and their testicles double in size.
Males construct a rough nest in a semi-sheltered hollow on the ground, using bark, grass, sticks and leaves to line it. The nest is almost always a flat surface rather than a segment of a sphere, although in cold conditions the nest is taller, up to 7 cm (2.8 in) tall, and more spherical to provide some extra heat retention. When other material is lacking, the bird sometimes uses a spinifex tussock a metre or so across, despite the prickly nature of the foliage. The nest can be placed on open ground or near a shrub or rock. The nest is usually placed in an area where the emu has a clear view of its surroundings and can detect approaching predators.
Female emus court the males; the female's plumage darkens slightly and the small patches of bare, featherless skin just below the eyes and near the beak turn turquoise-blue. The colour of the male's plumage remains unchanged, although the bare patches of skin also turn light blue.  When courting, females stride around, pulling their neck back while puffing out their feathers and emitting low, monosyllabic calls that have been compared to drum beats. This calling can occur when males are out of sight or more than 50 metres (160 ft) away.  Once the male's attention has been gained, the female circles her prospective mate at a distance of 10 to 40 metres (30 to 130 ft). As she does this, she looks at him by turning her neck, while at the same time keeping her rump facing towards him. If the male shows interest in the parading female, he will move closer; the female continues the courtship by shuffling further away but continuing to circle him.
If a male is interested, he will stretch his neck and erect his feathers, then bend over and peck at the ground. He will circle around and sidle up to the female, swaying his body and neck from side to side, and rubbing his breast against his partner's rump. Often the female will reject his advances with aggression, but if amenable, she signals acceptance by squatting down and raising her rump.
Females are more aggressive than males during the courtship period, often fighting for access to mates, with fights among females accounting for more than half the aggressive interactions during this period.  If females court a male that already has a partner, the incumbent female will try to repel the competitor, usually by chasing and kicking.  These interactions can be prolonged, lasting up to five hours, especially when the male being fought over is single and neither female has the advantage of incumbency. In these cases, the females typically intensify their calls and displays.
The sperm from a mating is stored by the female and can suffice to fertilise about six eggs. The pair mate every day or two, and every second or third day the female lays one of a clutch of five to fifteen very large, thick-shelled, green eggs. The shell is around 1 mm (0.04 in) thick, but rather thinner in northern regions according to indigenous Australians. The shell is substantially composed of calcite, and its δ¹³C is a function of the emu's diet. The eggs are on average 13 cm × 9 cm (5.1 in × 3.5 in) and weigh between 450 and 650 g (1.0 and 1.4 lb). The maternal investment in the egg is considerable, and the proportion of yolk to albumen, at about 50%, is greater than would be predicted for a precocial egg of this size. This probably relates to the long incubation period which means the developing chick must consume greater resources before hatching. The first verified occurrence of genetically identical avian twins was demonstrated in the emu. The egg surface is granulated and pale green. During the incubation period, the egg turns dark green, although if the egg never hatches, it will turn white from the bleaching effect of the sun.
The male becomes broody after his mate starts laying, and may begin to incubate the eggs before the clutch is complete. From this time on, he does not eat, drink, or defecate, and stands only to turn the eggs, which he does about ten times a day. He develops a brood patch, a bare area of wrinkled skin which is in intimate contact with the eggs. Over the course of the eight-week incubation period, he will lose a third of his weight and will survive on stored body fat and on any morning dew that he can reach from the nest. As with many other Australian birds, such as the superb fairywren, infidelity is the norm for emus, despite the initial pair bond: once the male starts brooding, the female usually wanders off, and may mate with other males and lay in multiple nests; thus, as many as half the chicks in a brood may not be fathered by the incubating male, or even by either parent, as emus also exhibit brood parasitism.
Some females stay and defend the nest until the chicks start hatching, but most leave the nesting area completely to nest again; in a good season, a female emu may nest three times. If the parents stay together during the incubation period, they will take turns standing guard over the eggs while the other drinks and feeds within earshot. If it perceives a threat during this period, it will lie down on top of the nest and try to blend in with the similar-looking surrounds, and suddenly stand up to confront and scare the other party if it comes close.
Incubation takes 56 days, and the male stops incubating the eggs shortly before they hatch. The temperature of the nest rises slightly during the eight-week period. Although the eggs are laid sequentially, they tend to hatch within two days of one another, as the eggs that were laid later experienced higher temperatures and developed more rapidly. During the process, the precocial emu chicks need to develop a capacity for thermoregulation. During incubation, the embryos are kept at a constant temperature but the chicks will need to be able to cope with varying external temperatures by the time they hatch.
Newly hatched chicks are active and can leave the nest within a few days of hatching. They stand about 12 cm (5 in) tall at first, weigh 0.5 kg (17.6 oz), and have distinctive brown and cream stripes for camouflage, which fade after three months or so. The male guards the growing chicks for up to seven months, teaching them how to find food. Chicks grow very quickly and are fully grown in five to six months; they may remain with their family group for another six months or so before they split up to breed in their second season. During their early life, the young emus are defended by their father, who adopts a belligerent stance towards other emus, including the mother. He does this by ruffling his feathers, emitting sharp grunts, and kicking his legs to drive off other animals. He can also bend his knees to crouch over smaller chicks to protect them. At night, he envelops his young with his feathers. As the young emus cannot travel far, the parents must choose an area with plentiful food in which to breed. In captivity, emus can live for upwards of ten years.


In the areas in which it was endemic, the emu was an important source of meat to Aboriginal Australians. They used the fat as bush medicine and rubbed it into their skin. It served as a valuable lubricant, was used to oil wooden tools and utensils such as the coolamon, and was mixed with ochre to make the traditional paint for ceremonial body adornment. Their eggs were also foraged for food.
An example of how the emu was cooked comes from the Arrernte of Central Australia who called it Kere ankerre:
Emus are around all the time, in green times and dry times. You pluck the feathers out first, then pull out the crop from the stomach, and put in the feathers you've pulled out, and then singe it on the fire. You wrap the milk guts that you've pulled out into something [such as] gum leaves and cook them. When you've got the fat off, you cut the meat up and cook it on fire made from river red gum wood.
The birds were a food and fuel source for early European settlers, and are now farmed, in Australia and elsewhere, for their meat, oil and leather. Commercial emu farming started in Western Australia around 1970. The commercial industry in the country is based on stock bred in captivity, and all states except Tasmania have licensing requirements to protect wild emus. Outside Australia, emus are farmed on a large scale in North America, with about 1 million birds in the US, Peru, and China, and to a lesser extent in some other countries. Emus breed well in captivity, and are kept in large open pens to avoid the leg and digestive problems that arise from inactivity. They are typically fed on grain supplemented by grazing, and are slaughtered at 15 to 18 months.
The Salem district administration in India advised farmers in 2012 not to invest in the emu business which was being heavily promoted at the time; further investigation was needed to assess the profitability of farming the birds in India. In the United States, it was reported in 2013 that many ranchers had left the emu business; it was estimated that the number of growers had dropped from over five thousand in 1998 to one or two thousand in 2013. The remaining growers increasingly rely on sales of oil for their profit, although, leather, eggs, and meat are also sold.
Emus are farmed primarily for their meat, leather, feathers and oil, and 95% of the carcass can be used. Emu meat is a low-fat product (less than 1.5% fat), and is comparable to other lean meats. Most of the usable portions (the best cuts come from the thigh and the larger muscles of the drum or lower leg) are, like other poultry, dark meat; emu meat is considered for cooking purposes by the US Food and Drug Administration to be a red meat because its red colour and pH value approximate that of beef, but for inspection purposes it is considered to be poultry.
Emu fat is rendered to produce oil for cosmetics, dietary supplements, and therapeutic products. The oil is obtained from the subcutaneous and retroperitoneal fat; the macerated adipose tissue is heated and the liquefied fat is filtered to get a clear oil. This consists mainly of fatty acids of which oleic acid (42%), linoleic and palmitic acids (21% each) are the most prominent components. It also contains various anti-oxidants, notably carotenoids and flavones.
There is some evidence that the oil has anti-inflammatory properties; however, there have not yet been extensive tests, and the USDA regards pure emu oil as an unapproved drug and highlighted it in a 2009 article entitled "How to Spot Health Fraud". Nevertheless, the oil has been linked to the easing of gastrointestinal inflammation, and tests on rats have shown that it has a significant effect in treating arthritis and joint pain, more so than olive or fish oils. It has been scientifically shown to improve the rate of wound healing, but the mechanism responsible for this effect is not understood. A 2008 study has claimed that emu oil has a better anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory potential than ostrich oil, and linked this to emu oil's higher proportion of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids. While there are no scientific studies showing that emu oil is effective in humans, it is marketed and promoted as a dietary supplement with a wide variety of claimed health benefits. Commercially marketed emu oil supplements are poorly standardised.
Emu leather has a distinctive patterned surface, due to a raised area around the feather follicles in the skin; the leather is used in such items as wallets, handbags, shoes and clothes, often in combination with other leathers. The feathers and eggs are used in decorative arts and crafts. In particular, emptied emu eggs have been engraved with portraits, similar to cameos, and scenes of Australian native animals. Mounted Emu eggs and emu-egg containers in the form of hundreds of goblets, inkstands and vases were produced in the second half of the nineteenth century, all richly embellished with images of Australian flora, fauna and indigenous people by travelling silversmiths, founders of a 'new Australian grammar of ornament'. They continued longstanding traditions that can be traced back to the European mounted ostrich eggs of the thirteenth century and Christian symbolism and notions of virginity, fertility, faith and strength. For a society of proud settlers who sought to bring culture and civilisation to their new world, the traditional ostrich-egg goblet, freed from its roots in a society dominated by court culture, was creatively made novel in the Australian colonies as forms and functions were invented to make the objects attractive to a new, broader audience. Significant designers Adolphus Blau, Julius Hogarth, Ernest Leviny, Julius Schomburgk, Johann Heinrich Steiner, Christian Quist, Joachim Matthias Wendt, William Edwards and others had the technical training on which to build flourishing businesses in a country rich in raw materials and a clientele hungry for old-world paraphernalia.


The emu has a prominent place in Australian Aboriginal mythology, including a creation myth of the Yuwaalaraay and other groups in New South Wales who say that the sun was made by throwing an emu's egg into the sky; the bird features in numerous aetiological stories told across a number of Aboriginal groups. One story from Western Australia holds that a man once annoyed a small bird, who responded by throwing a boomerang, severing the arms of the man and transforming him into a flightless emu. The Kurdaitcha man of Central Australia is said to wear sandals made of emu feathers to mask his footprints. Many Aboriginal language groups throughout Australia have a tradition that the dark dust lanes in the Milky Way represent a giant emu in the sky. Several of the Sydney rock engravings depict emus, and the birds are mimicked in Indigenous dances. Hunting emus, known as kari in the Kaurna language, features in the major Dreaming story of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide region about the ancestor hero Tjilbruke.
The emu is popularly but unofficially considered as a faunal emblem – the national bird of Australia. It appears as a shield bearer on the Coat of arms of Australia with the red kangaroo, and as a part of the Arms also appears on the Australian 50-cent coin. It has featured on numerous Australian postage stamps, including a pre-federation New South Wales 100th Anniversary issue from 1888, which featured a 2 pence blue emu stamp, a 36-cent stamp released in 1986, and a $1.35 stamp released in 1994. The hats of the Australian Light Horse are decorated with emu feather plumes.
Trademarks of early Australian companies using the emu included Webbenderfer Bros frame mouldings (1891), Mac Robertson Chocolate and Cocoa (1893), Dyason and Son Emu Brand Cordial Sauce (1894), James Allard Pottery Wares (1906), and rope manufacturers G. Kinnear and Sons Pty. Ltd. still use it on some of their products.
There are around six hundred gazetted places in Australia with "emu" in their title, including mountains, lakes, hills, plains, creeks and waterholes. During the 19th and 20th centuries, many Australian companies and household products were named after the bird. In Western Australia, Emu beer has been produced since the early 20th century and the Swan Brewery continues to produce a range of beers branded as "Emu". The quarterly peer-reviewed journal of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, also known as Birds Australia, is entitled Emu: Austral Ornithology.
The comedian Rod Hull featured a wayward emu puppet in his act for many years and the bird returned to the small screen in the hands of his son after the puppeteer's death in 1999. In 2019, American insurance company Liberty Mutual launched an advertising campaign that features LiMu Emu, a CGI-rendered emu.


Drosera rotundifolia, the round-leaved sundew, roundleaf sundew, or common sundew, is a carnivorous species of flowering plant that grows in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribution, being found in all of northern Europe, much of Siberia, large parts of northern North America, Korea and Japan but is also found as far south as California, Mississippi and Alabama in the United States of America and in New Guinea.


The round-leaved sundew is classified as Least Concern in the IUCN red list.
In North America, it is considered endangered in the US states of Illinois and Iowa, exploitably vulnerable in New York, and threatened in Tennessee. The species is ranked S2, imperiled, in the state of Colorado.