September 14, 2024

All we have to do is OBSERVE!

Have you ever heard of symbiotic relationships between spiders and flies? 🕷️🪰 I recently stumbled upon one of these fascinating interactions. It all started with a cup of tea! 🤠☕

Three years ago, I was casually sipping tea in my backyard when something caught my eye, a Colopsus male spider on an anthurium leaf. As always, I grabbed my camera, ready to capture this one 📸 But this time, things got even more interesting.

I noticed a tiny fly sticking close to the spider, almost like a pet 🧐 Every time the spider moved, the fly followed, even hopping between leaves to stay near. Intrigued, I documented what I was seeing and later dove into research, only to discover that this might be a unique symbiotic relationship between a spider and a milichid fly, known for kleptoparasitic behavior!

Turns out, sometimes nature’s most fascinating secrets are hidden in plain sight 🌿 This might be the first photographic evidence of such behavior in Colopsus sp.! 🏆

This is another story of thousands of encounters which shows why #CitizenScience is important. Your observations and data matter! 🌍 Nature has so many stories waiting to be told, all we have to do is observe 👁️ Just have a few minutes daily for observing and feel the wonders of nature! Maybe with a cup of tea ☕😉

Observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/241587430

Symbiosis #SpiderFlyInteraction #Biodiversity #NaturalHistory #Kleptoparasitism

Posted on September 14, 2024 01:05 PM by pasindu_dilshan pasindu_dilshan | 3 comments | Leave a comment

September 3, 2024

Sri Lanka surpassed 150,000 iNaturalist observations!

Sri Lanka’s iNaturalist.org community has reached a new milestone! 🇱🇰🌿 With over 150,000 observations, we're exploring the mysteries of our island's biodiversity.

A huge thanks to all the observers and identifiers from around the world who have contributed to this incredible achievement. As a citizen science tool, iNaturalist has made remarkable strides. It’s amazing to see how passionate people are stepping up, contributing, and helping shape our understanding of the natural world✨

iNat observations from SL: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=7077

How your iNaturalist data makes a difference for biodiversity: https://youtu.be/LGgOeRJIYCs?si=6fTvojFei40hrDTr

iNaturalist #biodiversity #150k #srilanka #citizenscience #CitizenScience #SriLankaWildlife #NatureLovers #EcoExploration #WildlifeObservation #EnvironmentalAwareness #IslandBiodiversity

Posted on September 3, 2024 06:23 PM by pasindu_dilshan pasindu_dilshan | 0 comments | Leave a comment

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