#Animals unable to #smell, #see, or #hear their food will sooner or later #starve.
However, researchers have now discovered using #Tyto #alba that #owls #retain their most important sense, #hearing, well into #oldage. According to the authors, owls are capable of #regenerating lost hair cells in the inner ear.

© #StefanFWirth, 2026, Berlin

Reference
B. Krumm et al (2017)
doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1584

#Photo:
Tyto alba; Wales. 2016, author Alun Williams333, licensed under creativecommons.org/licenses/b…

Female #antalates can serve as #vectors for introducing #phoreticorganisms, such as #mites, from an established #colony into a newly founded #nest. Hitching a ride on a #youngqueen can be a key #dispersalstrategy for #myrmecophilous #phoreticmites.
However, some #phoretic species also utilize other routes, such as via #workerants.
© #StefanFWirth

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Reading:
H. Klompen & K. U. Campbell (2024)
doi.org/10.1007/s00040-024-010…

#Photos:
©S. F. Wirth, L. niger #queen

In these #Berlin #nighttime #photographs, I captured the dynamic #movement of a passing #bus. I #perceived the movement in a less differentiated way. But how do #animals like #dogs perceive #movementstimuli? Especially movement dynamics that they associate with #animacy? See the mini-review by J. Abdai (2025).
© #StefanFWirth

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Reference:
doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.152…

#Photos:
S.F.Wirth, Berlin 2026

Some #insects support passive #breathing via tracheae through #active #respiratorymovements, nsmed #convectiveventilation. Muscle contractions cause motions that e.g. dilate the #spiracles, allowing more efficient #gasexchange. The same time, the process also serves #thermoregulation. My example, the #robberfly #Tolmerus #cingulatus, demonstrates this #behavior.

Please watch my YouTube video; my channel needs more views.
youtu.be/zSOdFZF18yk?si=J67MJA…

©#StefanFWirth #Berlin2025

#Photos
© S.F.Wirth

The #Norwaymaple #Acer #platanoides is a native #tree of (Central) #Europe that spread northward after the last #IceAge along with mixed oak forests and is still commonly found in such #treecommunities today. Like all #trees, it offers #habitats for numerous organisms, forming complex macro#ecosystems, e.g., the #leaves, where #aphids feed, while the #ant #Formica #fusca is collecting their excretions (honeydew) as food.
#ecology #evolution
© #StefanFWirth #Berlin May 2025

#Photos
© S.F. Wirth