Diesel Generators

Caterpillar Fungus Video Review

Preview of Lraleigh's blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: www.travelpod.com This...

Insect Host Species Of Famous Tibetan Medicinal Fungus Identified

A team of researchers from the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Xiao-Liang Wang and Yi-Jian Yao), summarized all available information on insect species associated with Ophiocordyceps Tibetan medicinal mushroom sinensis through extensive literature survey and analyzed their relations with the fungus. The study was published in the journal open access Zookey.

The fungus has been traditionally used as a tonic to strengthen the human body and in the treatment of kidney problems and lung. It was also shown to have a variety of medicinal effects by recent studies, e.g. immunomodulators, cholesterol-lowering, hypoglycemic, anti-tumor, anti-oxidation and anti-aging activities. Natural Products sinensis O. is now sold at a higher price than gold. The fungus contributes billions of RMB (Chinese yuan) to the rural economy in Tibet Plateau each year and often about 70% of annual income of a local family. Thousands and thousands of collectors crowd in the Tibetan plateau, every summer, causing a sharp decline in natural production of O. sinensis and severe environmental damage.

Wild North Carolina Outtakes: Palamedes Swallowtail

Although this is one of the most common butterflies in the coastal plain of North Carolina, it is threatened by an introduced disease that kills its host plant. Red Bay you disease is caused by a fungus and beetle introduced from Asia first detected in Georgia in 2002. Beetles and fungi are common in Florida and South Carolina. I wanted to include a picture of one of these caterpillars in the chapter on pocosins to establish these links, but finding a caterpillar in nature is not easy.I was in an area of Juniper Creek, near the swamp with lots of green trees in Red Bay, but I had no idea how I find a caterpillar. Then I saw an adult fly by as if it had an important place to go, so I followed. I could not stay in the thick vegetation and soon lost sight of. Then another flew by heading in the same direction so I followed him until I lost it.