Molting of my Chilean fire tarantula (Grammostola rosea), last July. ✨

Under increased blood pressure, the tarantula begins to transport a molting hormone (hydroxylated ecdysone/ecdysterone) from the rear to the front of the body. This causes pressure to build up and the carapace (back shield) to burst open. This extends over the entire body, so that the tarantula can now gradually free itself from the old exoskeleton. This can sometimes take several hours and is therefore very exhausting for the tarantula, so that it remains lying on its back even after it has successfully moulted. In this state, the spider has not yet hardened and can therefore easily become a victim. That's why spiders create a somewhat safer place with silk threads beforehand. I've increased the speed of the video eight times because you all don't have as much patience as I do 🤪 and it makes the rhythmic movement sequences clearer.

Ecdysterone is a hormone that triggers moulting in molting animals (arthropods, tardigrades, nematodes, etc.). It is also found in plants to protect against plant pests. In mammals, it only occurs through ingestion or parasitic infestation. It also has an effect on mammals and influences lipid metabolism and protein biosynthesis. It is believed to have an anabolic effect on the muscles, which is why it is also used in competitive sports. It is believed to have no harmful effects because it is a natural part of our diet. 💪😋🥬

Happy Pentecost weekend!😊✨
I'm always in the sunshine 😜😋
🌾🚴🏼‍♂️🌞

🌸💮🌺🌻🥰🌼🌲🌳

It's my 37th birthday! 🥳

Those are my two favorite numbers. So this is now going to be my favorite year of my life.😎

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

The picture shows me in the 90s in front of the entrance to our former house in Saxony. It was part of a former manor "Rittergut Schilbach". Surrounded by wet meadows, forests and abandoned buildings, I experienced different adventures every day. I had a dictaphone, which I used to record songs from the radio, a BMX, which I attached the dictaphone to and many "catch boxes" to catch and observe animals. I had something like a sixth sense and knew exactly which stones I had to lift. I reflexively reached into the deep grass and had a mouse in my hand. I dug a vole tunnel and a least weasel stared at me. I hugged trees and hoped that aliens would come and get me. I had three TV channels, very few friends but a Commodore 64. And lots of books. My parents rarely explained anything to me, but always challenged me to find out for myself. I really wanted to master an instrument, but I was too stupid for it. At school I always played the triangle. I was always terrible at sports, but I could dash through the thicket like a jungle mowgli and stand on the handlebars of my bike while riding. I had a tree house without walls but with an elevator (a large bucket on a rope). There were magical places that felt different. Terrible things were happening at the same time, but I was always laughing and looking at life as an adventure. I keep this strength, this eternal child, because we are reborn every day in an unknown world.🌌🌠

Sunflowers are my favorite flowers🌻 Honey bees and meadow bugs also love them 😊

The common meadow bug (Lygus pratensis) is a mirid bug. In January I introduced you to the mirid bug Deraeocoris ruber. Both wear a striking triangle on their backs. A major difference is that the meadow bug only sucks on plants.💚🥤

It is native to almost the entire northern hemisphere and is very common. Because they are attracted to light, they are often found around lamps or when they stray into your home.

Help them out again! It's important to be good to animals. And it goes down well with other people too. Yesterday I was walking to the grocery store and an aphid landed in my eye. A woman approaching me saw how I carefully placed the animal in a hedge and was totally impressed.🥰 Damn! Now I've revealed the aphid trick! 😜

When the time is right 💚😊

Box tree moth,
Cydalima perspectalis

Native to Asia, it has been invading Europe since the 2000s and increasingly the United States in recent years. It has no natural enemies in Europe and has already contributed to the loss of entire forest areas. The caterpillars are poisonous. In its homeland in Asia, the Asian hornet is a natural predator. Although the Asian hornet is also spreading more and more in Europe, this is also a problem, because the Asian hornet also hunts bees and the European bees are not as defensive as the Asian bees.

The appearance and disappearance of individual species can have far-reaching consequences not only for wildlife but also for human livelihoods.

Birds are singing, people are sleeping. The air smells of meadow. Sunday morning sunrise.

🌸🐦🌺🌻🥰🌼🌲🐌🌳

Carrion crow on a power line.

The crow stands for faith, creativity and intelligence. Breeding pairs usually stay together for life.

Carrion crows reach the highest level of object permanence. Object permanence, or person permanence, is the cognitive ability to know that an object or person continues to exist even when it is outside the field of perception.

Corvids are also capable of empathy: they comfort and ask for consolation.

I like crows.
And trust is a power line.

Walking in the sunshine 🌞

🌸💮🌺🌻🥰🌼🌲🌳

Moments like this 🥰🦎