The Smithsonian’s 12 Days of Ecology: Day 7

Welcome to Day 7 of 12 Days of Ecology! Did you know the largest single cell in the animal world today is an egg? Ostriches lay the largest eggs of any bird alive (about 7 inches long), though some species of dinosaurs laid larger ones in Earth’s prehistoric past. (Photo: Dutch National Archives. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en)

The Smithsonian's 12 Days of Ecology: Day 6

Here’s the Day 6 fun fact for 12 Days of Ecology: Baleen whales can go up to six months without eating. During the polar summers, they go into a feeding frenzy, during which they can consume several tons of food a day. But when they migrate towards the equator to mate, they go into fasting mode, and may go the entire season without consuming anything else. During that time their blubber sustains them. (Photo: Humpback whale, by NOAA)

We’ll celebrate day three of National Pollinator Week with this Appalachian Brown butterfly. Check out those blue eyes and eyespots! 

Photo credit to Bonnie Ott. Taken during SERC’s BugBlitz in Edgewater, Maryland.

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