An Aphid Live Birth and Predation Time-lapse

I have previously posted some pictures and info on the mutualistic relationship between ants and aphids, but I hadn't really given any thought to the reproductive cycle of aphids. Neil Bromhall has made an excellent time-lapse video of aphid live birth and subsequent predation of the aphids by hoverfly larvae.



I was surprised to learn that aphids give live birth so I read the Wikipedia entry on aphid reproduction. It is far to complex and variable for me to try to summarize here. I will just say that it is quite amazing an worth a read.

A Sci-Fi Movie Recommendation - Pandorum

Last night I watched a sci-fi thriller called Pandorum (official movie site). I don't recall ever hearing anything about it when it was out in theaters, but it was recommended to me by Netflix based on movies that I had previously rated highly. The movie is set in a 60,000 passenger sleeper ship that is fleeing from the earth as a last attempt to save humanity from a dying earth. The ship is on its way to an earth-like planet, Tanis. Various crew members are awakened from hypersleep to encounter other crew members, awakened at different stages of the mission, and some grotesue huminoid creatures. A full synoposis of Pandorum is available on the Wikipedia, but I don't recommend spoiling the exciting final turn of the plot by reading it. Apparently the movie received poor critical reviews from general audiences but did much better among sci-fi enthusiasts. I for one thoroughly enjoyed it, and would love to see a sequel.

Here is the trailer:

Time-lapse of the Beach in Destin, Florida

Here is a nice HD time-lapse of the beach in Destin, Florida. It was filmed by napnet a couple of months ago.



From Crabby at The Destin Sandpiper.