Jumping Spiders

Spiders are one of the most feared creatures in this world right after snakes, or they may share the top spot for phobias for most people. Despite the immense fear and loathing of spiders at sight of a spider it can’t be denied that they are one of the fascinating creatures. They have strangely unique and peculiar life styles and are found all over the world (except Antarctica) among various environmental conditions. About 40000 species of Spiders have been recognized from all over the world, with lots of new species yet to be recognized for sure. Of all those species only two families of spiders are non-venomous, they lack venom glands. Apart from those two families all other known species are venomous. But only large species of spiders have a fang large enough to penetrate the human skin. It can be said almost 95% of all spiders can’t harm humans. Red Back spiders found in Australia and the Black widow spiders are few of the spiders that kill human beings.

Spiders belong to the class Arachnida, and they differ from other Arthropods in having only two body segments; Cephalothorax and abdomen. The spinnerets, through which spiders extrude silk is located in the abdomen with numerous silk glands.  All known species of Spiders are predators. Most people associate spiders with webs, but not all spiders construct webs. Wolf Spiders, Jumping spiders do not construct webs to trap preys.

The Jumping spiders belong to the family Salticidae containing more than 500 genera and 4500 described species. Jumping spiders are one of the most beautiful spiders. They have best vision among all the other spider species. They are easily distinguishable by the arrangement of their eyes. All jumping spiders have 4 pairs of eyes, with two front eyes being comparatively large as compared to lateral ones. They are found in variety of habitats from forest to grasslands, mountainous regions and even common in houses. They are active hunters; they do not construct a web to catch their prey. They are diurnal as they have to depend upon their vision to hunt and pounce on their prey to catch them. They feed upon other insects. Some of the jumping spiders can jump more than 50 times of their own body length, and even though it doesn’t make a web to catch prey, they do release a filament of silk in case the jumping fails. They have venom gland that helps to paralyze their prey. Most jumping spiders do not live for more than a year. The jumping spiders are believed to be extremely smart. The mating ritual in most species includes moves almost as similar to a dancing. One of the most beautiful spiders has to be Peacock spider (Maratus volans). (fig below)

Peacock spider (Maratus volans)

Though most people associate spiders to be creepy and scary, the fact is they are one of the most important organism in the chain of life, they are friends of humans as they help to control the files and insects, pest harmful to humans and other living forms. Almost everyone I know fears spiders, most of them hate spiders, but I see no point in hating spiders at all, they can’t even hurt us if they wanted to, except the few species. But the point is there are more species of animals that are far more dangerous than Spiders. In case of spiders the hate is based on a book judged by its cover. They aren’t creepy if you know them and you ought to know them to judge them.

                                                          Phidippus putnami

Here's a link to the Courtship display of the Peacock Spider http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEAMq3y0950

Snakes aren't Poisonous

"Why are you obsessed with snakes?"
"You might catch a poisonous one and die"

And, every time that happens, which happens a lot, I've got to start up on Zoology Lecture 101 back and again! So, Finally I've decided to put my laziness aside and write a blog about it and end this lecture thing once  for all, so that I can ask them to read my blog !

So, back to the problem in saying, "Snakes are Poisonous" ! No, the Snakes aren't poisonous! They are Venomous! And, I know, the person reading this will definitely say, whats the difference? Aren't they the same? Just like everyone I encounter but, NO Poison and Venom are two different things!
Venom, as in the case of snakes, are those toxins present in varieties of animals most commonly snakes! Unlike, Poisons, Venom's need to get into your blood streams to take effect! Where as poison could affect with direct contact or by swallowing!

To break it down, lets say we have the The Inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus), considered as the worlds most Venomous snake, and it is said that the smallest volume of it could kill an Elephant or 100 Humans! But, If you were to take a full glass of Taipan venom and drink it, unless you have an internal ulceration in the Gastrointestinal tract, you will be fine! Nothing will happen, even with the most Venomous snake's venom! The venom has to be injected into the blood, which in case of Snakes is done by Fangs which act as hypodermic needles! But in case of Poison, it will harm you even if you touch it or drink or eat or get it into your Alimentary canal. So there's the major difference between Venom and Poison! 

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis

The Origin of Passion : The unanswered question !

The question I frequently run into as soon as some stranger gets to know me is "Why are you so obsessed with Animals, and Insects and Snakes in Particular!". How did it all start? The obsession, passion, where do you get that from? "Snakes and Insects have got to be the most hated of all the animals in the universe yet you're in love with them" 

To start off, with an answer to that question, I must go back to my childhood day, well who doesn't love animals? Even when I was a child and didn't really had any ideas regarding the rules of nature and all, I was fascinated by animals, I've always loved animals. We humans, as we call our self are the most sophisticated animals in the kingdom itself, but for me there are far more sophisticated animals in the wild, as compared to brain to body ratio, I'll give you the fact that we have huge brain and we definitely have higher level of intelligence, but once you get into the animal world, you'll know that there are animals, as tiny as ant and yet their brains works in such a way that you'd be amazed. Animals are the most under rated survivors of all time, especially snakes. We've seen that most of the animal, the biggest of the size, from mammoths to most big cats have become prone to extinction, well these days, it’s all because of poaching but even back in the days, those animals sophisticated with 4 pairs of limbs and excellent hunting techniques have fallen under the pressure of the nature’s harsh law of survivor. But look at snakes, they are small, slithery, without any limbs, not even a single pair and the most vulnerable to fast moving predators, but yet, in the race of life, they’ve survived for millions of years, while the most powerful animals using pure brute force to kill animals, the snakes lack those ability and still they thrive all over the world, even in the coldest places. Everyone has Ophiophobia, and most people kill them as soon as they see it, but most of the snakes are not harmful, they are more useful than harmful as they feed upon the rodents that transfer diseases. Snakes are the Evolution’s Greatest Survivors! And the most fascinating animals in the planet! A tiger or a lion may not have a kill ration of 5 out of 10 times but a snakes will definitely have 9 kill out of 10 hunting opportunity! They are most effective killers, and yet without a limb or a proper eye, a snake with such a small skull and with a peach sized brain’s sophisticated as such and if that animal, with an ability of snakes and brain of humans were to evolve then they’d not be stopped by anything! Well I’m just saying it to back my point up that, of course we are better when it comes to being sophisticated and intelligent, but considering the fact that snakes have such a small brain, yet their hunting ability is absolutely classy.

Some might say, Okay! Snakes are fabulous; some are colorful and are beautiful but insects?

Well, back to the Evolutionary point, the one that fascinates me about Insects, they are the only group or phylum which has been able to take all the modes of life; Areal, Cursorial and Aquatic! They can fly, they can walk run, jump, and they can live in water! They represent the only flying class in invertebrates. Some have extremely sophisticated modes of life, and behavior, the colonial form of life as in bees being the best examples. Spiders, like snakes have very high killing rate, they anticipate their prey’s move and kill them. Construct highly refined webs and capture prey, If you think they depend upon chance then, Go to youtube and look for “Gladiator Spider hunting technique” Trust me you’ll be amazed. A female mantis eats the males head before copulation, because she knows that she has free food and the males head takes no part in the copulation and once the head is removed, the copulation is even better than the head attached. Most people think Insects and other animals just go on as it is and then find food by luck or whatever, but have you, everyone reading this, have you ever analyzed the details of any animal behavior that you’ve seen around you? No! just look around how they behave, and then you’d want to know why do they behave as such, and once curiosity conquers your brain, then comes the obsession and once you start to understand the truth about the behavior and how that behavior is being acted upon by the laws of nature, then you get passionate about it! And with passion comes addiction and before you know it, you become a guy who cares about Insects and animals more than any other thing when he’s out of the house, or on a trek or anything adventurous! When you do the thing you love, you’ll be dedicated as a crazy guy, and that’s when you get better!

While you're at it! Check this photos out haha!  

And, I might have forgotten about my inspiration factor! Well, along with cartoons, I grew up watching NatGeo and Discovery and became fond of it, and I used to see Sir David Attenborough, Austin Stevens, Steve Irwin, Jeff Crowin up on adventures, and I used to say to my self, I will be like these guys someday, and here I am today, half way through it! I'm already a Zoologist, I just need to get a job in Natgeo now! ;) And, I will become One of them, one of these coming days, hopefully!  

Gayou gyampusey chwomah manu

With the hectic exam schedule and Nile of exams flowing for more than a month, I really needed a hangout. I was far away from the crowd, or was I looking for peace within the crowd of strangers and foreigners walking through the historical Durbar Square. As soon as I was done with probably the second last exam of my student career, I rushed my way to the bus stop and took a bus, wishing that I'd reach the square in five minutes and get something to eat. I was tired as hell after standing for a long time and getting to dissect a frog but not to eat one, and hungry as well. But, there's always a but and when you're taking a bus passing through the Balku road, you've got to add subtract 30-40 minutes to reach Teku and finally hope for that intersection to be free of traffic and on your worst days, How could it be?

An hour or so later, finally I reached NAC, by the time I was there, my wish to be in the square with strangers had gone, instead of going to the square I took a micro, so I could go home and sleep, finally without pressure of anything, specially exam.

And if you think you are lucky person and luck is on your side, then test your luck-ness, I dont even know if that's a word but anyways, test your luck-ness by getting a seat on a micro from NAC after 4 or clock. Again I wasted about 45 minutes of my empty stomach's energy to wait for food, analogs to my wait for a microbus, finally I saw the glorious site, the micro that I was waiting for, but as soon as the micro got closer, I realized that the sea of humans around me were waiting for the microbus too, and I hate the fact that,someone like me, who need a particular micro which reaches the end of my destination doesn't get one but those who are taking it for a short distance and all the micro in the stop leads through that place, yet they had to take the same micro for which I had to wait 45 minutes! But, somehow I found a way, pushed myself into the small microbus, and in such situations I get highly Claustrophobic. I struggled my way into the micro and found out that there's not a single available seat, the conductor was shouting, could you please squeeze a little  , then he asked me to fit in to a small open fabric of the cushion, and as I looked down, there were to girl, sitting there. I had long way to go, so I asked them If I could sit there and without any words the girl slid a little inside, and gave a way, I somehow fitted myself but every time the micro turned around a round about I had to grab anything I could so I'd avoid falling, and there were few things to grab, and few things I could never haha!

I was so exhausted with everything all day, and finally I had a small part of the microbus seat where I could barely sit, but something is better than nothing. But I was completely drenched in sweat and feeling so hot that the mask protecting me from the dust and smoke felt like a jacket. I took of my mask, then breathe out loud for few seconds and looked to my right where, two girls were sitting, and I hadn't really realized what they were talking about,  I never eavesdrop and that time I was too exhausted to do anything, but as soon as I look towards them, one of the girls had a expression of being shocked at something, like she just saw a ghost, then she told the friend next to her," Gayou gyampusey chwomah manu" 

Too bad I knew what that means!

The Eleventh Hour

Rambling thoughts,
they ramble
like a yellow spots on 
eggs! Scramble 

of shivering legs,
of shaky minds, 
and darker nights, 
shady lights! 
bright! bright!! 
the city light!

the red flower
the Venus trap
the flesh devour
a strange mind
the eleventh hour!

Where future lies!

Let go of all those
falls,
those sadistic peace
of your mind,
within the corners of your heart
let go of all the troubles
of pains, of tears
there will
be another day
when you'll build
a ladder,
with drops and
drops of sweat
and there will
be a day,
with bright sun
shinning upon your head
torturing you with joy,
not as though
the torture of
today's pain,
but yet reminds you
to look back and not to
look back but to look
ahead,
where the future lies!
where your dreams become reality! 

Hide and seek

One, two, three
The young boy counts,
And every shadows
Are fading away quietly,
Its almost as he counting
His days, of his age,
And everyone around him
Seem to fade away!
Drifting away from his life
Hiding, dividing, fighting!
And he searches for them!
Those knowingly hiding from him
They don't want him in his life,
But he is a loner, in search
For his friends,
Or is it just a game?
Or is life just a game
Of Hide and Seek?
If so, what are we hiding from?
And what do we seek the most?

-Anuj Ghimire

साला लाम्खुटे

निदाउन खोज्छु म, साला लाम्खुटे टोकी रहन्छ 
चुप चाप चुस्नु नि रगत, साला कान मा खोकी रहन्छ 

गर्मी बडेछी लाम्खुट्टे  को हर्मोन पनि बडेछ 
दिन होस् कि रात साला निन्द्रा रोकी रहन्छ 
चुप चाप चुस्नु नि रगत, साला कान मा खोकी रहन्छ 

झुल हालु कि धुप बालुकी, आइ रहन्छ मोरो 
निदाउन नि दिन्न साले रगत पनि धोकी रहन्छ 
चुप चाप चुस्नु नि रगत, साला कान मा खोकी रहन्छ

जोकै त हो जिन्दगी

जती जे खाए पनि भोकै त हो जिन्दगी
गफ जती हाने पनि जोकै त हो जिन्दगी

जती सुकै अक्सिजन ताने पनि आखिरमा
ग्यास उडेको तातो कोकै त हो जिन्दगी
गफ जती हाने पनि जोकै त हो जिन्दगी

चली रहन्छ, चली रहन्छ भने पनि आखिरमा
नेपाल बन्द झै एक रोक कै हो त जिन्दगी
गफ जती हाने पनि जोकै त हो जिन्दगी

सुन्दर छ , बास्ना आउछ भने पनि आखिरमा
मन्दिरमा बानी राखेको गनाउने बोकै हो जिन्दगी
गफ जती हाने पनि जोकै त हो जिन्दगी

Stop

Thoughts,

words,

and the 

basic of all imaginations

of dreams, 

and desires, 

of pain and pleasure,

for what happened

yesterday, 

and what comes tomorrow

for future and

fate, 

for waiting 

of wait,

the thoughts, 

desires, 

and above all the time

they' all must 

stop!! 

Stop, today

this moment in time

Oh wait! Its has stopped

from the depth of the

darkness of the point 

of origin 

of the place

in this time 

forever! 

Stop

Muktinath Photos