Results tagged “plant” on Earth Touch Blog
Flickr group: pic of the day – pitcher plant May 28 2008
Pitcher plants, also known as monkey cups, are carnivorous plants. They use their unusual, deep cup-shaped leaves to trap insects. The insides of the leaves are often slippery or sticky, preventing the insects’ escape.
Tags: carnivorous, flickr, photograph, photography, pitcher plant, plantFlower makes a meal for a beetle May 12 2008
It’s not only the “big five” that are worth watching in South Africa’s Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve: the wonderful construction and function of smaller creatures like the CMR bean beetle (Mylabris oculata) have also fascinated the Earth-Touch film crew.
Tags: africa, beetle, cmr bean beetle, feed, flower, hluhluwe, imfolozi, insect, kwazulu-natal, plant, pollinate, south africa, wild cottonDid You Know? Welwitschia Apr 30 2008
The Welwitschia mirabilis is a strange-looking plant found in the fog belt of Namibia and southern Angola.
Tags: angola, atlantic, cone, desert, fog, germinate, leaf, namib, namibia, plant, reproduce, root, seedDid you know? Symbiosis Apr 29 2008
Symbiosis can easily be understood and explained as two organisms living together. There are various sub-divisions of symbiosis, though, and that is where it gets a bit tricky. As a student of biology, I always felt it was easier to understand these complicated scientific relationships when I put them into practical situations.
Tags: anemone, animal, benefit, clownfish, commensalism, egg, fly, hermit crab, immune, interact, mutualism, parasite, parasitism, plant, poison, predator, protect, relationship, shell, sting, symbiosis, tentacle, woundDid You Know? Papyrus Apr 14 2008
The newest Earth-Touch film location is the Moremi Game Reserve, situated in the heart of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. One of the most common sedge grasses found in this region is papyrus (Cyperus papyrus), the plant used by the ancient Egyptians to make the world’s first primitive paper.
Tags: africa, bird, botswana, egypt, grass, heron, moorhen, moremi, okavango delta, papyrus, plant, squacco, swamp, vegetation, waterbird, wetlandWildlife news from around the world
Caterpillars trick ants Jan 29 2008
When humans make themselves smell more alluring than they really are it’s fairly harmless, but it’s a case of life and death for the larvae of Alcon blue butterflies, which trick red ants into feeding them, leaving the young ants to starve.
Alcon caterpillars dupe the ants by giving off a scent which mimics that of the insects’ own larvae.
Tags: alcon blue butterfly, alcon caterpillar, ant, butterfly, caterpillar, denmark, europe, host, larvae, marsh, plant, red ant, university of copenhagenCapturing spirit of place Jan 29 2008
Guest Blog By Diane Hossick
Back in the 1970s, the novelist Lawrence Durrell (brother of naturalist Gerald Durrell) presented a memorable BBC TV series entitled Spirit of Place. Beautifully shot, it matched Durrell’s inimitable use of language with landscape, flora, fauna, and people, focusing on European and North African places of great beauty: towns, villages, coast and countryside.
The week’s most viewed stories Jan 29 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 11 January to Thursday 17 January 2008) were:
Number 1
These predators patrol the waters constantly, looming powerfully into view with a steely sheen.
Tags:
african rock python, blyde canyon, fig tree, plant, python, reptile, snake, south africa
Weavers at work Jan 29 2008
The spectacled weaver is an impressive nest-builder, as you can see in the Earth-Touch clip, Weavers work on a nest.
First, the birds strip the leaves off the stem on which they are going to attach the nest, unless the tree is a fir or palm. They then tightly weave strips of fine plant material into a structure which has a downward-pointing entrance tunnel.
Tags: bird, blyde canyon, chin, egg, female, fir, incubate, leaf, male, nest, palm, plant, south africa, spectacled weaver, weave, weaver, yellowThe marula tree Jan 29 2008
This tree, Sclerocarya birrea, is found in Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia and Swaziland, amongst other African countries. It bears small, round fruit, yellow when ripe and green when unripe, which can be harvested from January to March.
There are countless myths and legends about this tree.
Tags: africa, bark, colour, crop, elephant, fertility, fruit, goat, leaf, malaria, marula, medicine, myth, namibia, pestle and mortar, plant, relish, sotho, south africa, swaziland, venda, wood, worm, wound, zimbabwe, zuluWhat’s coming in 2008 Jan 4 2008
In 2007, Earth-Touch users were treated to wildlife video and story packages from four continents – Africa, North America, South America and Asia – and a great variety of habitats.
Variety of life at Delta lagoon Jan 4 2008
In the Earth-Touch clip, Life among the water lilies, you can see some of the plants and creatures to be found in and around the waters of the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
Elephants browse on mangosteen trees Dec 18 2007
The Earth-Touch team follow a bull elephant on an island in the Okavango Delta in Botswana in the clip, Bull elephant feeds.
While following this bull as it feeds on the surrounding trees, they come into contact with three other bulls feeding on the foliage.
Tags: elephant, mangosteen tree, plantDid you know? Giraffes and camelthorn acacias Dec 10 2007
The acacia species (Acacia erioloba) is commonly found in Botswana, particularly in the Okavango Delta. It is distinct because of its blue-green canopy and dark bark.
Tags: acacia, adaptation, afrikaans, camel, giraffe, lip, mammal, plant, tongue, vertebrateDid you know? Lechwe Dec 7 2007
The lechwe (Kobus leche) is dependent on a wetland habitat. This grazing antelope is almost always found near water, drinking up to three times a day in hot weather and resting near water at night.
It is a good swimmer and can feed on aquatic plants at depths of up to 60cm (24in).
Tags: antelope, graze, lechwe, plantDid You Know? Haemanthus Nov 22 2007
Haemanthus is a genus of the flowering plant family Amaryllidaceae, which is endemic to Southern Africa.
Haemanthus coccineus, commonly known as the “paintbrush” or “powderpuff” lily, has a striking head of bright orange needles.
November 2007 newsletter Nov 19 2007
View the Earth-Touch April newsletter by clicking here: April 2008 Earth-Touch Newsletter
Tags: 2007, communication, kalahari desert, kelp, kwazulu-natal, newsletter, november, plant, south africa, western cape, whaleDid you know? The Rockies Nov 7 2007
The Rocky Mountain range, commonly referred to as the Rockies, stretches vertically through much of the western side of North America, from British Columbia in Canada in the north to New Mexico in the United States in the south.
The highest peak is Mount Elberti in Colorado, at 4 401m (14 440ft) .
Tags: bird, british columbia, colorado, colour, mount elberti, mountain, new mexico, plant, rockies, rocky mountain range, wyomingFrom bushveld to flood plain – overnight Oct 17 2007
Filming in Botswana’s Okavango Delta has always presented challenges.
Blog action day Oct 15 2007
The natural environment around us is not only the lifeblood of Earth-Touch, we feel it’s also the lifeblood of the planet.
Wildlife news from around the world
Life in the ice Oct 10 2007
Plant and animal life has been present in Antarctica over millions of years of glacial cycles, reports the journal Science.
Tags: antarctica, arthropod, british antarctic survey, fossil, glacier, massey university, new zealand, plant, weatherWildlife news from around the world
Cycad’s scent secret revealed Oct 5 2007
Cycads reproduce when pollen from male cones is transported to female cones. But an Australian species, Macrozamia lucida, has cone scales too close together to allow wind pollination. It relies instead on an insect called thrips eating the male pollen and carrying some of it inadvertently to female cones.
Monkeys play in dune forest Oct 3 2007
The dune forests along the Indian Ocean coastline of Southern Africa are home to a variety of animal and plant species. Watch the forest come alive in the clip, Monkeys play in dune forest wonderland.
In this diverse environment birds sing as the waves splash nearby.
Tags: ape, dune, dune forest, forest, kwazulu-natal, monkey, plant, primate, south africa, vervet monkey, wave, windWildlife news from around the world
Kelp not gone after all Oct 2 2007
Researchers have found forests of a kelp species that was thought to be endangered or extinct.
The team, led by San Jose University and the University of California, Santa Barbara, used a mathematical model to pinpoint places where the kelp, Eisenia galapagensis, was likely to be found.
Tags: galapagos island, kelp, plant, san jose university, scuba, sea, south africa, south america, threatened, university of california, santa barbaraWildlife news from around the world
Eleven new species discovered Oct 1 2007
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has announced the discovery of 11 new species exclusive to Vietnam. They include a snake, two butterflies and five orchid varieties discovered in the Green Corridor, a lowland wet evergreen forest region in the Thua Thien Hue province.
Guilty as charged? Sep 27 2007
By Reina Luck, editorial team
Earth-Touch crew member Pierre Minnie’s confession of the guilt he feels when he slices up bits of the Amazon forest with a machete evoked similar emotions in me. I, too, have been racked with guilt while slaughtering those pesky aphids on my rose bushes with squirts of foul-smelling poison, simply because it’s more convenient than cooking up an organic elixir of fresh garlic, laced with a dash of dish-washing detergent and a teaspoon of chilli powder, as our friendly local radio gardener is always exhorting me to do.
Have plant guilt, need counselling Sep 21 2007
By Pierre Minnie, field crew
When I arrived to film in Ecuador it took me a long time to overcome my ‘plant guilt’.
On occasion, when walking on jungle paths, we had to trample and machete our way through sections of the undergrowth that had become overgrown. I felt bad about destroying the plants but was reassured by my guide that we were not denuding the vegetation and that the plants would grow back quickly in the tropical climate.
Tags: ecuador, garden, machete, path, plant, south america, thai lime leaf tree, vegetationDid you know? Hoatzin bird Sep 17 2007
Hoatzin birds are large, unusual-looking birds, with long, feathered crests, that inhabit the forest canopies of South America.
Coming soon: Scenes from Ecuador Sep 13 2007
The culturally and environmentally diverse country of Ecuador in South America is the next location Earth-Touch will be screening footage from.
Tags: amazon basin, amphibian, bird, butterfly, crew, cuyabeno reserve, ecuador, fauna, flora, footage, monkey, plant, reptile, south america, titi monkeyEarth-Touch team’s favourite stories of all time – please tell us yours? Aug 31 2007
We’ve canvassed the Earth-Touch team internally, and asked them to nominate some of their favourite footage published on the web portal so far. The results follow below.
We’’d love to hear what your favourite clips are – please post your votes and thoughts
as a comment to this blog.
The following stories received multiple votes:
Eyeball to eyeball with a great white shark
Watch the footage was filmed near Dyer Island, off the south-eastern coast of South Africa.
Tags: amphibian, bird, breathe, cheetah, crab, crocodile, crustacean, eastern cape, eel, gannet, great white shark, hippo, kwazulu-natal, mamba, mudhopper, mudskipper, plant, reptile, serval, snake eel, south africa, tsessebe, whale, wildebeest, zebra
Floral welcoming Aug 28 2007
During the weeks of spring the harsh, sandy desert of Namaqualand is transformed into a sea of yellow, white and orange flowers in bloom. This is a sign of the approaching summer and the end of winter’s cold.
Wildlife news from around the world
Deforestation in Brazil slows: Report Aug 28 2007
New figures suggest the rate of deforestation in Brazil may be slowing slightly – though it is still a fast-continuing trend. BBC News reports that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced a 25% decrease in the destruction of Brazil’’s share of the forest (the biggest), between August 2005 and July 2006, the lowest rate since at least 2000.
This translates to saving 600 000 trees. Da Silva attributed the decline to stricter environmental policies, including a crackdown on illegal logging.
Wildlife news from around the world
Congo forest home to at least 6 new species Aug 20 2007
Six new animal species – a bat, a rat, two shrew and two frog species – have been identified by a Wildlife Conservation Survey expedition to a remote forested area in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The area covers 1000km squared (621mi squared) and is in the eastern part of the country, near Lake Tanganyika, and has been inaccessible to researchers since 1960 because of political instability, the BBC reported in an article on the new finds.
Tags: bat, democratic republic of congo, frog, lake tanganyika, plant, rat, reptile, shrew, wildlife conservation surveyTravels with an iguana Jul 27 2007
By Pierre Minnie, field crew
My guide pulled me back to look at the beautiful iguana I had walked past without seeing. It was a perfectly camouflaged Guichenot dwarf iguana. The creature was motionless and hanging on a moss-covered branch, obviously confident that it was well disguised.
I am currently in South America and have been sent to North Eastern Ecuador to evaluate the potential to film here for Earth-Touch.
Tags: branch, camouflage, cuyabeno reserve, ecuador, footage, guichenot dwarf iguana, iguana, plant, reptile, south americaThe early birds Jul 19 2007
By Andy Crawford, field crew
The skimmers have arrived! This probably doesn’’t sound like a significant event to the non-twitchers amongst us. Those in the know, however, will find it very peculiar.
Page 1 of 1 pages
Weekly Highlights
