Good Things Thursday
Adding a little good into your week
Another Thursday, another set of good things for you to read. Enjoy!
Life in Pictures | Fender’s Blue Butterfly | Hercules Beetle | Zoo Chef
Life in Pictures: 2023 Sony World Photography Awards
Now in its 16th year, the free-to-enter competition seeks to help support the careers of both established and emerging artists while offering “vital insight” into the state of contemporary photography, according to a press release.
Fender’s Blue Butterfly
In a January 11 press release, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service revealed the butterfly species will now be reclassified as threatened as its population has boosted in recent years. According to the Federal Register, a species is classified as endangered when it has a decline in population due to one of five factors: threatened destruction or modification of habitat; threat from disease or predation; overkilling for commercial, recreational, educational, or scientific reasons; the inability to regulate its numbers as a species; or external threats, whether natural or manmade.
“This is a tremendous success story — to go from nearly extinct to on the road to recovery,” said Craig Rowland, Oregon Fish & Wildlife Service state supervisor, in the press release. “We’ve only reached this point of being able to downlist because of successful partnerships with landowners, conservation agencies, businesses, other agencies, and the work of our national wildlife refuges to conserve Fender’s butterfly. This is yet another species that is making incredible strides in Oregon.”
Cyberpunk Taxidermist Mods Hercules Beetle Into A Realistic Mechanical Insect
Cyberpunk taxidermist and YouTuber Yi Zhizhu decided to mod a deceased Hercules beetle (Dynastes Hercules) into a realistic mechanical model using a bunch of small watch parts and springs and lights, and other pieces.
Watch the whole video of his process here.