Friday, March 20, 2020

Zeus - Fast Facts About the Olympian God Zeus

Zeus - Fast Facts About the Olympian God Zeus Name: Greek - Zeus; Roman - JupiterParents: Cronus and RheaFoster Parents: Nymphs in Crete; nursed by AmaltheaSiblings: Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus. Zeus was the youngest sibling and also the oldest since he was alive before the regurgitation of the gods by Papa Cronus.Mates: (legion:) Aegina, Alcmena, Antiope, Asteria, Boetis, Calliope, Callisto, Calyce, Carme, Danae, Demeter, Dia, Dino, Dione, Cassiopeia, Elare, Electra, Europa, Eurymedusa, Eurynome, Hera, Himalia, Hora, Hybris, Io, Juturna, Laodamia, Leda, Leto, Lysithoe, Maia, Mnemosyne, Niobe, Nemesis, Othris, Pandora, Persephone, Protogenia, Pyrrha, Selene, Semele, Taygete, Themis, Thyia [from Carlos Paradas list]Wives:  Metis, Themis, HeraChildren: legion, including: Moirai, Horae, Muses, Persephone, Dionysus, Heracles, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hebe, Hermes, Athena, Aphrodite Role of Zeus For Humans: Zeus was god of the sky, weather, law ​and order. Zeus presides over oaths, hospitality, and suppliants.For Gods: ​Zeus was king of the gods. He was called the father of gods and men. The gods had to obey him.Canonical Olympian?  Yes. Zeus is one of the canonical Olympians. Jupiter Tonans Zeus is the king of the gods in the Greek pantheon. He and his two brothers split the rule of the world, with Hades becoming king of the Underworld, Poseidon, king of the sea, and Zeus, king of the heavens. Zeus is known as Jupiter among the Romans. In art work depicting Zeus, the king of the gods often appears in altered form. He frequently shows up as an eagle, as when he abducted  Ganymede,  or a bull. One of the main attributes of Jupiter (Zeus) was  as  a thunder god. Jupiter/Zeus sometimes takes on the characteristics of a supreme deity. In  Suppliants, of Aeschylus, Zeus is described as: king of kings, of the happy most happy, of the perfect most perfect power, blessed ZeusSup. 522. Zeus is also described by Aeschylus with the following attributes: the universal fatherfather of gods and menthe universal causethe all-seer and all-doerthe all-wise and all-controllingthe just and the executor of justicetrue and incapable of falsehood. Source:  Bibliotheca sacra Volume 16  (1859). Zeus Courting Ganymede Ganymede is known as the cupbearer of the gods. Ganymede had been a mortal prince of Troy when his great beauty caught the eye of Jupiter/Zeus. When Zeus kidnapped the most beautiful of mortals, the Trojan prince Ganymede, from Mt. Ida (where Paris of Troy was later a shepherd and where Zeus had been raised in safety from his father), Zeus paid Ganymedes father with immortal horses. Ganymedes father was King Tros, the eponymous founder of Troy. Ganymede replaced Hebe as cupbearer for the gods after Hercules married her. Galileo discovered the bright moon of Jupiter which we know of as Ganymede. In Greek mythology, Ganymede was made immortal when Zeus took him to Mt. Olympus, so its appropriate that his name should be given to a bright object that is forever in Jupiters orbit. On Ganymede, from  Vergils Aeneid Book V  (Dryden translation): There Ganymede is wrought with living art,Chasing thro Idas groves the trembling hart:Breathless he seems, yet eager to pursue;When from aloft descends, in open view,The bird of Jove, and, sousing on his prey,With crooked talons bears the boy away.In vain, with lifted hands and gazing eyes,His guards behold him soaring thro the skies,And dogs pursue his flight with imitated cries. Zeus and Danae Danae was the mother of the Greek hero Perseus. She became pregnant by Zeus in the form of a beam of sunlight or a shower of gold. Zeus offspring included  Moirai, Horae, Muses, Persephone, Dionysus, Heracles, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hebe, Hermes, Athena, and Aphrodite. Sources Carlos Parada - ZeusTheoi Zeus

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

How Wasps Build Their Nests From Wood

How Wasps Build Their Nests From Wood Paper wasps, yellowjackets, and bald-faced hornets all make paper nests, though the size, shape, and location of their nests differ. Paper wasps build umbrella-shaped nests suspended underneath eaves and overhangs. Bald-faced hornets construct large, football-shaped nests. Yellowjackets make their nests underground. Regardless of where a wasp builds its nest or what shape the nest is,  the process wasps use to construct their nests is generally the same. Turning Wood Into Paper Wasps are expert paper makers, capable of turning raw wood into sturdy paper homes. A wasp queen uses her mandibles to scrape bits of wood fiber from fences, logs, or even cardboard. She then breaks the wood fibers down in her mouth, using saliva and water to weaken them. The wasp flies to her chosen nest site with a mouth full of soft paper pulp. Construction begins with finding a suitable support for the nest – a window shutter, a tree branch, or a root in the case of subterranean nests. Once she has settled on a suitable location, the queen adds her pulp to the surface of the support. As the wet cellulose fibers dry, they become a strong paper buttress from which she will suspend her nest. The nest itself is comprised of hexagonal cells in which the young will develop. The queen protects the brood cells by building a paper envelope, or cover, around them. The nest expands as the colony grows in number, with new generations of workers constructing new cells as needed. Old wasp nests degrade naturally over the winter months, so each spring new ones must be constructed. Wasps, yellowjackets, and bald-faced hornets dont overwinter. Only the mated queens hibernate during the cold months, and these queens choose the nesting sites and begin the nest building process in spring. Which Wasps Make Nests? The wasp nests we frequently encounter are made by wasps in the family Vespidae. Vespid wasps that construct paper nests include paper wasps (Polistes spp.) and yellowjackets (both  Vespula  spp. and  Dolichovespula  spp.). Although we commonly refer to them as hornets, bald-faced hornets are not true hornets (which are classified in the genus  Vespa). Bald-faced hornets, Dolichovespula maculata, are actually yellowjackets. Controlling Wasps Nests Although paper wasps, yellowjackets, and bald-faced hornets can and will sting if threatened, that doesnt mean you need to destroy every nest you find.  In many cases, you can leave the nests alone. If a family member has a venom allergy, thats certainly a legitimate reason for concern and measures should be taken to minimize the risk of a potentially lethal sting. If wasps located their nest in close proximity to or on a play structure, that can be a concern as well. Use your judgment, but dont assume every wasp nest will put you at risk of being stung. Why should you let a colony of stinging wasps live in your yard? Nest-making social wasps are largely beneficial insects. Paper wasps and bald-faced hornets prey on other insects and play an important role in controlling plant pests. If you eliminate these wasps entirely, you may give garden and landscape pests free reign to destroy your prized ornamentals and vegetables. Many yellowjackets are also entirely predatory and therefore beneficial, but there are a few species that scavenge on carrion or dead insects and also forage on sugars. These are the wasps that cause us trouble because theyll gladly sip your soda and then sting you when you try to swat them away. If scavenging yellowjackets are a problem in your yard, then it might be worth taking measures to prevent wasps from establishing nests.  Problem wasps include: western yellowjackets (Vespula pensylvanica)eastern yellowjackets (Vespula maculifrons)common yellowjackets (Vespula vulgaris)southern yellowjackets (Vespula squamosa)German yellowjackets (Vespula germanica) - introduced to North America Resources and Further Reading Cranshaw, Whitney, and Richard Redak. Bugs Rule!: an Introduction to the World of Insects. Princeton University, 2013.Gullan, P. J., and P. S. Cranston. The Insects: an Outline of Entomology. 4th ed., Wiley Blackwell, 2010.Jacobs, Steve. â€Å"Baldfaced Hornet.† Department of Entomology (Penn State University), Pennsylvania State University, Feb. 2015.