"Neem tree"

#8984354

10 October 2022

Spotted Orb Weavers (Neoscona sp.) or Barn Spiders in the family Araneidae are nocturnal by nature and they come out during the night, and have the peculiar strange habit of eating and rebuilding their webs each day. Huge webs orbs are built with sticky silk at dusk and used for snaring prey during the night. At dawn, the spider reingests the strands (along with moisture that has collected on it as dew) and recycles the nutrients in making the next web. The amazing web patterns of spiders have fascinated humans for millennia. In Greek mythology, a skilled weaver named Arachne challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest that ended with the human being changed into a spider for her pride. This photo was taken at midnight in a Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) at Tehatta, West Bengal; India on 10/10/2022.

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#7942674

20 March 2022

The purple sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) is a small bird in the sunbird family found mainly in South and Southeast Asia but extending west into parts of the Arabian peninsula. Like other sunbirds, they feed mainly on nectar. A colourful male purple sunbird (Cinnyris asiaticus) is seen sitting through the gaps in the leaves of a neem (Azadirachta indica) tree at Tehatta, West Bengal, India on 19/03/2022.

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