Nerds Republic

There’s something so magical about butterflies, even though science has proven that they don’t exactly live up to their romantic standards. But if watching their velvety little wings flutter through the air is your thing, then you should consider taking a trip to Petaloudes, also known as Butterfly Valley. Located on the western side of the Greek island of Rhodes, this valley is home to a subspecies of the Jersey Tiger Moth, and each May, they appear by the tens of thousands and cover the valley in a living carpet of wings.

During the rainy season, as caterpillars, they live in the Mediterranean’s forests, feasting on leaves. When they metamorphose at the beginning of the dry season, they follow the humidity down into the valley.

Their numbers are impressive — the thousands of them don’t even look like butterflies.

The butterflies’ wings appear as this brown and white striped pattern when their wings are folded.

But when they open, they show off a flash of orange.

When they reach Petaloudes, the butterflies land, well, everywhere.

They can crowd so thickly that they completely blanket trees and rocks. They’re beginning to cover this tree.

They’re espcecially big fans of the valley’s fragrant Oriental sweet gum trees.

But they don’t eat it — as adults, these butterflies don’t actually have stomachs. Instead, they live off the fat reserves they stored up as caterpillars. As adults, they simply mate, lay eggs, and die.

(via Amusing Planet)

Sadly, increased tourism has out a strain on the valley and the butterflies. Since they can’t eat, the butterflies have to conserve as much energy as possible. If they are frightened by humans, they waste precious energy reserves getting away. Therefore, visitors are advised to stay in designated areas and not to make loud noises that could startle the butterflies.

When you think of birds, you probably picture something majestic soaring through the sky, or you may think of their bright chirps greeting you in the morning. In any case, the image in your head is probably pretty awesome.

And then there are these birds. These birds are very real, and they’re all living on the same planet as you. Once you see them, that may be kind of hard to believe.

The Victoria’s riflebird is really dramatic.

Like, really dramatic.

“Oh my GAAWWWWD!”

But it has one heck of a mating dance.

(Watch this .gif while listening to some fast-paced music. You will not be disappointed.)

The bird of paradise turns upside down as part of its mating display. Note the object of his affection checking him out from above.

“Shake it, baby.”

This bird knows that it’s all about the attitude.

It’s another bird of paradise. Evidently, they really like turning into weird shapes.

You’ll notice that the majority of this behavior has to do with mating. The things we do for love, right?

The superb bird of paradise turns itself inside out to impress the ladies. And you thought dating in the human world took too much effort.

The black sicklebill almost gets awesome points for looking like a master of darkness…

…but then it turns into this.

“Look, flowers and chocolate don’t cut it with birds. You have to turn into a weird oblong if you want her attention.”

The lesser bird of paradise kind of got shafted on the name, but it still puts on a good show.

And then there are some birds that are striking in their everyday appearance, which isn’t always…fortunate.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the helmeted hornbill is really challenging that right now.

The Sri Lankan frogmouth has an apt name, but don’t tell them that. They seem a little self-conscious.

1. Its name is the cock of the rock. 2. Where exactly is its face?

3. Who cares; you’ll never forget that stare.

The great potoo is, like, totally freaking out right now, you guys.

The blue-footed booby, whose name elicits giggles from everyone, has a more staid approach to attracting mates. It just lifts a foot. It knows that ladies love subtlety.

And let’s not forget the majestic dance of the Attwater’s prairie chicken.

video-player-present

Fat Birds

And there you have it. These birds are taking birding to some totally new levels, and we’re pretty thrilled about it — even if we’re mostly confused.

We don’t need to tell you that nature is pretty amazing. With the seemingly endless (and sometimes downright bizarre) variety of plant and animal life out there, there’s always something fascinating to see. But while living things usually get top billing, there’s also plenty of incredible beauty among the nonliving. If you don’t know how a rock could be interesting, just check out landscape agate.

Agate is always nifty, but landscape agate takes things to a whole new level.

These stones have colored striations that look like whole landscapes! This one looks like desert rock formations.

And this one looks like a little rural village. It’s incredible — and totally naturally occurring!

Agate, which is mainly made of silica, is known for its colorful patterns and markings.

You can see clouds, trees, skies, and more. Depending on how the stone is cut and polished, different features can be more or less visible.

Some are small, but no less impressive.

Some look like impressionist paintings.

Others look like sketches.

They’re popular with gem collectors, and some people make them into beautiful pieces of jewelry.

Others prefer to just appreciate them as they are.

Take a look at the agates below and see what kinds of landscapes you can make out!

(via Amusing Planet)

While diamonds and rubies and other precious gems have the sparkle factor going for them, there’s something to be said for the less flashy but more detailed and intricate beauty of landscape agates. They’re like tiny little worlds you can old in your hand!

People who spend hours working on the perfect landscapes for their homes know just how frustrating it is when pests decide to take over. Sometimes, those with skilled eyes and the time to wage war can usually catch the buggers before they cause too much damage. However, the casual garden enthusiast often catches them too late to do anything about their precious destroyed plants.

One of the worst garden pests, for those of us in North America, is the Evergreen Bagworm. If you thought you had a pest problem before, you have no idea.

These gross little worms aren’t actually worms, they’re moth larvae. Still, that doesn’t stop them from chowing down on unsuspecting trees.

Before they undergo metamorphosis, bagworms attach themselves to trees and feed on their leaves. They look an awful lot like a pinecone.

While the resulting bagworm moth looks beautiful, its life cycle can cause irreparable damage to trees.

Once the bagworms are sealed in their cocoons, they’re easy to dispose of.

While throwing the cocoons out is effective, some people (like the photographer below) take special pleasure in more elaborate forms of bagworm destruction.

He’s burning a bag of bagworms…very meta.

(source Reddit)

I’ve honestly never heard of bagworms before, but I’m not a fan. Let’s save the trees and burn the bagworms!

Clouds are fascinating no matter what their shape, and it’s always easy to lose track of time while watching them from the ground. They always seem to be making whimsical shapes and shifting throughout the day.

But some atmospheric happenings are rarer than others. Take these amazing clouds, for example.

These are mammatus clouds.

They look like little cotton balls hanging out in the sky!

The name comes from the Latin word for “breast” or “udder.”

So yes, these are boob clouds.

They give the sky a bubbly, popcorn-like texture.

Bubbles, cotton balls, and breasts are all friendly, round things, but mammatus clouds are usually associated with severe thunderstorms, and even tornadoes. They form on the bottom of massive cumulonimbus clouds.

There are several types of mammatus clouds.

They can look smooth, jagged, translucent, or opaque. It all depends on atmospheric conditions.

Right now, there are several theories about how these clouds form.

Though they vary in the mechanical details, most of the theories have to do with the meeting of warm and cool air. Different conditions produce different mammatus clouds, ranging from dense clusters of bubbles to single bubbles spaced out over the open sky.

Conditions must be just right to get this kind of formation.

Typically, aviators avoid flying if they see mammatus clouds because of their association with storms, but it looks like this plane had no choice but to brave them.

The clouds can be dense and fluffy, or light and sparse.

This looks almost like a cozy quilt.

But they’re always impressive.

(via Twisted Sifter, Wikipedia)

If you ever see clouds like this, take a picture and marvel at the many strange forms that nature can take — and then get inside, because it’s probably going to rain.