INDIA'S ROYAL ELEPHANT STABLES

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Hampi, a UNESCO heritage site, is a village in the south of India, located within the ruins of the ancient Vijayanagara. The village boasts with magnificent ancient temples, palaces and other monuments as well as a unique set of structures that used to be elephant stables. These stables are made from brick and mortar and are an example of Indo-Islamic architecture. There are eleven large stables, each covered with a unique-shaped dome. The centre stable is larger and more decorated than the others, the reason for this still remains a mystery. It is said that during its peak, the Vijayanagara empire had over 10 000 elephants. Only ten of the best elephants were chosen to serve the royalty and were kept in these elaborate stables.


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RARE BEES MAKE NESTS FROM PETALS

A bed of petals



It was recently discovered that the female bees from a rare species of solitary bees, found in the Middle East, use petals from pink, yellow, blue and purple flowers to construct their nest chambers. The female of the Osima avosetta, builds one or two vertical nests, close to the surface of, or between 1.5 and 5 cm below, the ground. Starting at the bottom, she lines each chamber with a layer of overlapping petals, she uses a thin layer of claylike mud, about 0.5 mm thick, as plaster and then adds another layer of petals. When the structure is completed, a sticky mixture of pollen and nectar is placed on the chamber’s floor that secures the egg that she is about to lay. Afterwards the chamber is carefully closed, by folding the petals at the top and capping it with a mud plug. The nest, often referred to as a ‘petal sandwich’ is built in complete darkness. Besides providing nutrients for the larvae to grow and eventually spin a cocoon, the petal chamber offers protection during their 10 month-long hibernation period. The nests need to be protected against molds, viruses, bacteria and predators, such as parasitic wasps and from physical factors like excessive heat.





via eurekaalert.com

MIND CONTROLLING MUSHROOMS

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The parasitic fungus, cordyceps unilateralis, has a unique – and somewhat wicked – way of reproducing by means of manipulating the behavior of their host, usually an ant. The spores of the fungus attach themselves to the external surface of the ant, where they start to germinate. Minute fungal filaments called mycelia grows inside the ant’s body, absorbing its soft tissues but avoiding its vital organs. Eventually the mycelia grows into the ant's brain, producing chemicals which ‘brain washes’ the ant by altering its perceptions. The ultimate goal of the brain washing – that takes anything between four to ten days – is to lead the host to its final resting place, like the top of a plant, where the conditions are ideal for sporulation. As soon as the ant sinks its mandibles firmly into the stem, the fungus starts to devour the ant's brain, killing it. The fruiting bodies of the fungus sprout from the ant's head, and once mature, release airborne spores that, in turn, infect other insects, completing its life cycle. Other insects vulnerable to its infection includes dragonflies, beetles, cockroaches, butterflies, and bees. However brutal an attack by this fungus seem, scientists have studied their positive effects. Cordyceps fungi are used in pesticides and as agents against malaria-carrying mosquitoes.


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