Lord Howe Island Stick Insect Facts

Lord Howe Island stick insects are part of class Insecta and were once thought to be extinct until they were rediscovered in volcanic outcrops off the coast of Lord Howe Island. Their scientific name derives from a Greek word meaning â€Å"phantom.† Lord Howe Island stick insects are often referred to as lobsters due to their humongous size. Fast Facts Scientific Name: Dryococelus australisCommon Names: Tree Lobster, Ball’s Pyramid InsectsOrder: PhasmidaBasic Animal Group: InsectDistinguishing Characteristics: Large black bodies and claws resembling lobster clawsSize: Up to 5 inchesLife Span: 12 to 18 monthsDiet: Melaleuca (Lord Howe Island plant)Habitat: Coastal vegetation, sub-tropical forestsPopulation: 9 to 35 mature individualsConservation Status: Critically EndangeredFun Fact: Lord Howe Island stick insects were rediscovered by a ranger who had heard rumors of large black bugs near Ball’s Pyramid in February of 2001. Description The Lord Howe Island stick insects are glossy black in color as adults and green or golden brown as juveniles. These flightless insects are active at night. Though neither sex can fly, they can run along the ground quickly.  Males grow up to 4 inches, while females can grow up to almost 5 inches. Males have thicker antenna and thighs, but females have strong hooks on their legs and thicker bodies than males. Their large size for a bug has earned them the nickname â€Å"land lobsters.† Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis) at Melbourne Museum. Peter Halasz, WolfmanSF / Wikimedia Commons / CC Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic Habitat and Distribution Lord Howe Island stick insects used to be found in the forests throughout Lord Howe Island, an island located a few miles off the coast of Australia. They were rediscovered on Ball’s pyramid, a volcanic outcrop off the shore of Lord Howe Island, where a tiny population of Lord Howe Island stick insects can be found. In the wild, they can live off Melaleuca (Lord Howe Island plant) among barren rock along a large slope. Diet and Behavior These insects are nocturnal bugs that feed on the leaves of Melaleuca at night and retreat to cavities formed by plant debris or the base of shrubs during the day. They huddle together during the day to protect themselves from predators. There can be as many as dozens of Lord Howe Island stick insects in one hiding spot. Juveniles, called nymphs, are active during the day and hide at night but slowly become nocturnal as they grow. Scientists are unsure if these insects ate anything else before they almost went extinct. Reproduction and Offspring A male will mate with a female one to three times through the night. Once the eggs are fertilized, the female leaves the tree or plant and pushes her abdomen into the soil to lay her eggs. She lays in batches of nine. The eggs are beige with raised patterns and are about 0.2 inches in size. Females can lay up to 300 eggs in their lifetime. Lord Howe Island stick insects are also capable of asexual reproduction, where unfertilized eggs hatch into females. BRISTOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 02: Mark Bushell, Curator of Invertebrates at Bristol Zoo, holds up an egg laid from a pair of critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insects, one of the worlds rarest insects, which were bred in captivity at Bristol Zoo Gardens on September 2, 2016 in Bristol, England.   Matt Cardy / Getty Images The eggs incubate underground for 6.5 months before hatching. The nymphs transition from bright green to golden brown to black as they shed successive outer exoskeletons. At the same time, they become increasingly more active at night instead of the day. To protect themselves, nymphs camouflage themselves by mimicking small leaves swaying in the wind. Nymphs reach adulthood at about 7 months. Threats These land lobsters were brought to the brink of extinction due to humans and invasive species. They first saw rapid decline as fisherman used them as bait, but their biggest threat was the rat population that was introduced to the island in 1918 after a supply ship called the Mokambo ran aground. These rats voraciously ate the Lord Howe Island stick insects until they had virtually disappeared by the 1930s. Scientists speculate that they were able to survive by being carried by seabirds or vegetation to Ball’s Pyramid, where the harsh environment and secluded area allowed them to survive. They are now being kept at the Melbourne Zoo. Scientists hope to reintroduce the Lord Howe Island stick insect to the mainland once the invasive rat species extermination is completed so that the insect can thrive in the wild once again. A pair of critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insects which were bred in captivity at Bristol Zoo Gardens on September 2, 2016 in Bristol, England.   Matt Cardy / Getty Images Conservation Status Lord Howe Island stick insects are designated as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They estimate the number of mature individuals in the wild to be between 9 and 35. Seven hundred individuals and thousands of eggs exist at the Melbourne Zoo, and Ball’s Pyramid has been preserved as part of the Lord Howe Permanent Park Preserve for scientific research only. Sources Lord Howe Island Stick-Insect. IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species, 2017, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6852/21426226#conservation-actions.Lord Howe Island Stick Insect. San Diego Zoo, https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/lord-howe-island-stick-insect.Lord Howe Island Stick Insect. Zoo Aquarium Association, https://www.zooaquarium.org.au/index.php/lord-howe-island-stick-insects/.Lord Howe Island Stick Insect. Zoos Victoria, https://www.zoo.org.au/fighting-extinction/local-threatened-species/lord-howe-island-stick-insect/.

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The Growing Problem of White Collar Crimes in India

The Growing Problem of White Collar Crimes in India â€Å"The practitioners of evil, the hoarders, the profiteers, the black marketers and speculators are the worst enemies of our society. They have to be dealt with sternly, however well placed important and influential they may be; if we acquiesce in wrongdoing, people will lose faith in us†- Dr Radhakrishnan Methodology The research methodology used for the present research article is traditional Doctrinal research method. As most of the information can be sought form the available literature. So the researcher has chosen doctrinal method as method of research for the present article and has used books, journals, research articles for†¦show more content†¦The term ‘crime is also contentious as many of the harmful activities of businesses or occupational groups are not subject to criminal law and punishment but to administrative or regulatory law and ‘penalties or ‘sanctions. Therefore, a region specific definition of White Collar Crime can be:-- â€Å"White Collar Crime is an illegal act or series of illegal act for achieving an illegal objective committed by any person by non-physically or non-violent means and by guile, to gain money or property wrongfully or to avoid payment of legal dues or retain money or property wrongfully as to obtain wrongful business of personal advantage.† White Collar Crimes Broad Categories This list is indicative of the broad categories of White Collar Crime prevalent in India and all over the world but cannot be considered comprehensive. Bank Fraud--To engage in an act or pattern of activity where the purpose is to defraud a bank of funds, Blackmail--A demand for money or other consideration under threat to do bodily harm, to injure property, to accuse of a crime, or to expose secrets, Bribery--When money, goods, services, information or anything else of value is offered with intent to influence the actions, opinions, or decisions of the taker, Cellular Phone Fraud--The unauthorized use, tampering, or manipulation of a cellular phone or service, Computer fraud--WhereShow MoreRelatedThe White Collar Crime And Economic Crimes2126 Words   |  9 PagesIn India, the Law Commission in its 29th Report pointed out more or less the same factors as responsible for the rise of economic crimes, particularly, the white collar crimes. 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Mark Twain free essay sample

Mark Twain’s use of irony to express a better sense humor is displayed in many of his short stories. Such as â€Å"Luck†, in this story a clergyman explains how the â€Å"hero† was able to make mistakes and receive commendations and medals because acts of stupidity turned into acts of military intelligence. â€Å"He was appointed an officer, a captain of all things† (Twain, â€Å"Luck†), the clergyman said for the reason that the stupid â€Å"hero† that had barely made it through basic training was appointed a captain. He continued to climb up, over the dead bodies of his superiors† (Twain, â€Å"Luck†), the hero continued to make mistakes and was promoted only due to the death of his superiors and his â€Å"so called† acts of military intelligence. Twains use of irony and humor in these quotes helps display the hero’s mistakes and so called acts of intelligence in a humorous and ironic way. In many of his other short stories Twain uses humor and irony: â€Å"Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn’t any. But this wrongs the jackass† (â€Å"Mark Twain†). A quote from Mark Twain himself showing the humor of himself outside of stories. Twains quote seems to relate closely to the story â€Å"The Kicking Mule† â€Å"the mule raised his heels with such velocity and forces that Boggs rose in the air like a bird and alighted on all fours in a muddy ditch† (Twain, â€Å"The Kicking Mule†) This quote and Twains quote relate closely in that in the story a man is stupid enough to bet that the mule would kick him and not kick a fly off the man. The difference between man and jackass isnt any, this maybe an insult to the jackass. McKettrick 3 â€Å"The Invalids Story† by Mark Twain, is one of Twains best displays of the combination of irony and humor. In this story, a man leaves home to retrieve one of his old friend’s dead body so his friends family can bury him. While transporting his friends body a mishap occurred, his pine box was mistakenly labeled to a gun company, while the box he thought was his friends’ body was actually the box of guns that had been labeled his friends body. I was carrying off a box of guns which a young fellow had come to the station to ship to a rifle company in Peoria, Illinois, and he had gotten my corpse† (Twain, â€Å"The Invalids Story†)! The man’s friend had been ironically shipped off to a gun company, while the man was carrying a box of guns. â€Å"I began to detect a most evil and searching odor stealing about on the frozen air† (Twain, â⠂¬Å"The Invalids Story†). The man started to smell an odor coming from the box, he thought it was his friends body starting to decompose, but it was really from some old smelly cheese that one of the other passengers had put on the box. In a court case there is usually a jury and judge both of which are supposed to be unbiased. In the case of â€Å"The Judges Spirited Woman† by Mark Twain the judge was in a relaxed and spectator mood because the evidence against the defendant was clearly not enough to find him guilty for murdering the womans husband. â€Å"I had my coat off and my heels up, lolling and sweating, and smoking one of those cabbage cigars† (Twain, â€Å"The Judges Spirited Woman†). The judges relaxed mood caused humor in the story because, when do you ever see a judge act in that manner. â€Å"I wouldnt have missed it for anything† (Twain, â€Å"The Judges Spirited Woman†) is what the judge said when the defendant was found not-guilty and the â€Å"spirited woman† shot and killed the Defendant. The judge continued to act in humorously relaxed state of mind. McKettrick 4 â€Å"Hunting the Deceitful Turkey† by Mark Twain is short story that combines animals with irony, and a whole lot of humor. She always stopped and posed† (Twain, â€Å"Hunting the Deceitful Turkey†): speaking about how the boy hunted the turkey all day and how the turkey knew that the boy was an awful shot and the turkey would play with the boy by posing because of it. Twain used the turkey to create irony by giving the turkey human like smarts and actions, and give the boy turkey like hunting skills. â€Å"I followed an obscenely lame turkey over a considerable part of the United States† (Twain, â€Å"Hunting the Deceitful Turkey†) the boy said after getting lost and wore out by the turkey. Twain used the irony of the hunted turkey to getting away from the hunter boy. Twain also combines humor and irony with animals in â€Å"A Fable† by Mark Twain with the use of a cat to explain a mirror and the other animals being too stupid to realize what they’re looking at. There was nothing in that hole but a donkey† (Twain, â€Å"A Fable†) the donkey had seen himself in the mirror and had not realized that the thing in whole was a mirror showing his reflection in it. â€Å"Anybody but a near-sighted fool could ee that there was nothing in the hole but a elephant† (Twain, â€Å"Hunting the Deceitful Turkey†): the same thing that happened to the donkey happened to the elephant. McKettrick 5 â€Å"Clemens(Mark Twain) studied the Mississippi River and the operation of a riverboat†(Mark Twain, â€Å"biography†). Twain in his early life was fascinated by the Mississippi River, thus causing him to want to be an apprentice of a riverboat captain and learn more about the river and being a riverboat captain. â€Å"The Great Steamboat Race† by Mark Twain shows Twains opinion of steamboats, and the life style of them. Amaranth’s just turned the point behind us, and she’s just a humping herself, too† (Mark Twain â€Å" The Great Steamboat Race†). This quote shows the humor behind Twains writings. He is known for the use of southern language and dialect in his writings, I believe that Twain uses these southern characteristics to add a certain level of wit to his short stories. Also the use of irony in this short story turns the story into something quite fun to read. The civil war was thought to have in affect on Twain and this is seen in his short story â€Å"Luck†. They turned tail, away they went over the hill and down into the field in wild disorder† (Mark Twain, â€Å"Luck†). The Russian troops fled from the oncoming attack of british, this was due only to the british â€Å"hero† mistakenly confusing his lefthand for his right hand and leading the charge the wrong way. â€Å"The allied commander looked on, his head spinning with wonder† (Mark Twain, â€Å"Luck†), explains that even the allied commander knew that the â€Å"heros† mistake had led to the victory and he was as shocked as anyone â€Å" his head spinning with wonder† (Mark Twain, â€Å"Luck†) shows this. McKettrick 6