# Lifelong learning: what did you learn this week? **URL:** \ **Category:** Nature Talk\ **Created:** [April 21, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187 "2025-04-21T15:58:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lappelbaum](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/lappelbaum/32/7312_2.png) [@lappelbaum](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/lappelbaum)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/21 "2025-05-02T19:27:46Z")
I learn a lot of stuff every week, mostly by watching YouTube videos. Here are some iNat related things: I just now learned that Halberd-leaf Rosemallow (_Hibiscus laevis_) leaves can sometimes have 5 points (usually 3). [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/273076581](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/273076581) Last night I was posting an observation ([https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/277568783](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/277568783)) of a squash sprout on iNat and ended up going down a Wikipedia rabbit hole learning about different species of squash. I learned that most of the squash that I eat (in USA) is _Cucurbita pepo_ (sooo many varieties). Butternut and Calabaza are _Cucurbita moschata_. Kabocha is _Cucurbita maxima_. I get the Calabaza and Kabocha from Asian grocery stores. And I learned that those giant pumpkins that they have competitions for the heaviest are also _C. maxima_. ---
**Author:** ![seeker1000](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/seeker1000/32/40504_2.png) [@seeker1000](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/seeker1000)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 9:40am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/22 "2025-05-03T09:40:06Z")
I just learned how to tell if it is a raphigaster nebulosa or a halys at the antenna! - Cause I uploaded a halys lying on the back. I tended to say it was a halys, but flew away before I could take a picture from the other side. - So somebody knew it was a halys and told me about the antenna! - So cool! That’s why It is a good thing to upload even if you assume it cannot get to RG. ---
**Author:** ![vbjanos](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/vbjanos/32/28910_2.png) [@vbjanos](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/vbjanos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2025, 1:30pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/23 "2025-05-03T13:30:04Z")
That’s the one! Thank you! I did not know the title, so that’s me done learning for the week. ---
**Author:** ![ItsMeLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/49beb7/32.png) [@ItsMeLucy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/ItsMeLucy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 10:06pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/24 "2025-05-04T22:06:06Z")
[I mentioned here once](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/what-id-of-yours-are-you-most-proud-of/58848/53) that nothing useful is thrown away here, it all finds a way to the marketplace. Some time ago at the used bookseller at the main mercado, I picked up a lovely but faded book called “Seashells” by Sandy Carlson. It is in English, which is uncommon to find there, but what caught my eye was the cover photo of all the shells. The last two days we had a power outage, and so I finally read through it whereas previously I had just peeked at the photos. I learned by doing so that a tiny _Transennella_ clam broods a small number of offspring inside the safety of its shell. (The photo in the book that shows this is astounding and made even more amazing when I saw exactly _how_ small these are via iNaturalist Observations.) ---
**Author:** ![GothHobbit](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/gothhobbit/32/34548_2.png) [@GothHobbit](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/GothHobbit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2025, 10:52am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/25 "2025-05-13T10:52:38Z")
> [@vbjanos](#): > > Someone please quote the nursery rhyme when another child squeezez himself into the bed just for the last on the other end to fall off. > [@Thunderhead](#): > > Do you mean “Ten in the Bed” ? > There were ten in the bed And the little one said, “Roll over! Roll over!” So they all rolled over and one fell out… > I know the feeling of new information in sometimes seems to make two things fall out. I love that song, and I haven’t thought of it in years. I like the version where the little one’s refrain is “I’m crowded. Roll over.” The punchline is that when you get to the end, and the only bear left in the bed is the little one, he then says either “I’m lonely” …or “Good night!” This week, I learned that [Pied-billed Grebes (_Podilymbus podiceps_)](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/4246-Podilymbus-podiceps) can float and swim with just the upper part of their heads above the water. (All About Birds calls them ‘part bird, part submarine’.) They do this by adjusting their buoyancy via the amount of air trapped in their feathers. I also learned that their songs are hugely out of proportion to the amount of bird. You hear this loud, deep whooping call …and then this fuzzy little plush toy paddles by. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![danly](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/danly/32/42066_2.png) [@danly](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/danly)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2025, 1:54pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/26 "2025-05-13T13:54:03Z")
Gee, thanks. Now I’m going to have “Ten in the bed” stuck in my head all day long. (In my version the little one says “Alone at last” at the end.) If only Earworms were a recognized taxon on iNaturalist… ---
**Author:** ![mikeschinlaub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ec9cab/32.png) [@mikeschinlaub](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/mikeschinlaub)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 12:32am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/27 "2025-05-14T00:32:58Z")
The slimey compound from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind can be used to remove microplastics from water, and are actually more effective than the currently used synthetic compound. [https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/okra-and-fenugreek-extracts-safely-remove-microplastics-from-water-in-new-texas-research/](https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/okra-and-fenugreek-extracts-safely-remove-microplastics-from-water-in-new-texas-research/) ---
**Author:** ![arboretum\_amy](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/arboretum_amy/32/2328_2.png) [@arboretum\_amy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/arboretum_amy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/28 "2025-05-14T01:57:42Z")
The hard beetle wing covers are called elytra but if you Google this you get Minecraft. ---
**Author:** ![jasonhernandez74](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jasonhernandez74/32/33615_2.png) [@jasonhernandez74](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jasonhernandez74)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 2:10am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/29 "2025-05-14T02:10:19Z")
I just came from the most fascinating presentation on biodiversity. It turns out that the giant tortoises of Aldabra and the Galapagos are not cases of island gigantism at all. On the contrary, they are relicts – there used to be equally giant tortoises on the continents, which became extinct when humans (or early hominids) arrived. ---
**Author:** ![conorflynn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/conorflynn/32/12524_2.png) [@conorflynn](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/conorflynn)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2025, 2:55am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/30 "2025-05-14T02:55:15Z")
Sounds spectrographs (e.g. Merlin sound ID) usually show frequencies up to 8 or 10 kHz, but some humans have the ability to hear up to 20 kHz. Most bird song, and indeed most sounds humans care about are less than 10 kHz - usually much less. For example, middle C on a piano is 440 Hz and the highest note on a piano is just above 4 kHz. So what do humans hear above 10 kHz? Some crickets make sound in the 10-20 kHz range, and some rodent squeak distress calls are audible there too. The hiss of water or air from a pinprick hole can be in this range, but it’s not clear humans would need to evolve to hear that. So far, I think the most likely sound in this range is the whine of mosquito wings - maybe we evolved to swat mosquitoes? Also, slowed bird song sounds reeeeaaalllly cool! The 2nd to last audio file on this web page is a good example: [https://donaldkroodsma.com/?page\_id=49](https://donaldkroodsma.com/?page_id=49) ---
**Author:** ![phma](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/phma/32/54376_2.png) [@phma](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/phma)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 8:05am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/31 "2025-05-15T08:05:18Z")
I learned recently that there are cockroaches in this area other than the _Periplaneta_ and _Blattella_ that we all detest. I saw a [cockroach](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/278693485) on the wall and, as usual, took it to the sink to scald it. It turned out to be a _Parcoblatta_, a wood roach, which does not infest our food and is here because I live in the woods. I observed another one, recognized it, and am leaving it on the wall. ---
**Author:** ![austin\_ajit](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/austin_ajit/32/56031_2.png) [@austin\_ajit](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/austin_ajit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2025, 9:32am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/32 "2025-05-15T09:32:25Z")
Wait, beetles don’t get their Elytra from slaying the ender-dragon?! Wait, what??? ---
**Author:** ![jhbratton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jhbratton/32/3718_2.png) [@jhbratton](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jhbratton)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 8:29am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/33 "2025-05-16T08:29:33Z")
The cockeyed squid _Histioteuthis heteropsis_ has one eye much bigger than the other. It swims with the big one facing upwards to spot predators and the small one with a special filter pointing downwards to spot bioluminescent prey. (On BBC Radio 4 but I have filled it out slightly from [www.mbari.org](http://www.mbari.org). ---
**Author:** ![danly](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/danly/32/42066_2.png) [@danly](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/danly)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 12:57pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/34 "2025-05-16T12:57:56Z")
That flamingos use their beaks to make underwater vortices to help suck up their prey: [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/science/flamingo-vortex-beaks-water.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.Hk8.0kBE.EzXRxiPkmusX&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/science/flamingo-vortex-beaks-water.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Hk8.0kBE.EzXRxiPkmusX&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb) ---
**Author:** ![ra\_teo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/ra_teo/32/69859_2.png) [@ra\_teo](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/ra_teo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2025, 2:03pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/35 "2025-05-16T14:03:32Z")
Wow! You tought me something today as well! ---
**Author:** ![ItsMeLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/49beb7/32.png) [@ItsMeLucy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/ItsMeLucy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 4:52pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/36 "2025-05-18T16:52:44Z")
This week while reading about flying squirrels I learned that a dead tree is called a “snag” and happily whilst following article-to article links landed on this one about the [University of Kansas](https://www.kansan.com/news/dead-tree-snag-site-gives-numerous-benefits-to-on-campus-wildlife/article_53e1e926-8260-11ef-8828-93cbae4a982f.html?.itid=lk_inline_enhanced-template). ---
**Author:** ![wellreadnaturalist](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/wellreadnaturalist/32/59364_2.png) [@wellreadnaturalist](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/wellreadnaturalist)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/37 "2025-05-18T17:08:17Z")
From Dr. Jill Pruetz’s new book “Apes on the Edge,” I learned that despite Chimpanzees long being assumed to be hydrophobic, those observed in her studies at Fongoli in Senegal often sit and cool themselves in pools of water during the hot and humid season, even showing preferences of certain pools over others. ---
**Author:** ![jhbratton](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jhbratton/32/3718_2.png) [@jhbratton](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jhbratton)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/38 "2025-05-18T17:20:20Z")
In UK, a snag is a tree that is partly fallen but caught up in its neighbours so hasn’t hit the ground. It is ‘snagged’. ---
**Author:** ![papernautilus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@papernautilus](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/papernautilus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:25pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/39 "2025-05-18T17:25:59Z")
Snag also means a submerged or partially submerged log/tree trunk in a river that could obstruct boat traffic. ---
**Author:** ![ItsMeLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/49beb7/32.png) [@ItsMeLucy](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/ItsMeLucy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187/40 "2025-05-18T17:33:01Z")
Oh, yes, thank you for the word origin. I think I am confused, though. Wouldn’t both those scenarios be considered dead (or dying) trees? (Are they called something else if they are dead but fully upright?) [Previous page](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/lifelong-learning-what-did-you-learn-this-week/64187.md?page=3)