Lamborghini Countach 5000s QV (Kyosho)

The Lamborghini Countach was a mid-engined supercar produced by the Italian automaker from 1974 to 1990. Its design popularized, the wedge-shaped, sharply angled look popular in many high performance supercars. The "cabin-forward" design concept, which pushes the passenger compartment forward in order to accommodate a larger engine, was also popularized by the Countach. The car featured on posters in every boys room in the mid 70's to the late 80's. The Countach inspired many sports car manufacturers. Like the Miura, it was also designed by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio.

In 2004, Sports Car International named this car number three on the list of Top Sports CArs of the 1970s, and it was listed as number ten on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 1980s. The Countach is one of the 10 most influential cars in the world.

Additional details:

- wirings and copper tubing on the bay
- fabricated spare tire restraining belt
- extra wirings, hoses and chrome belts for hoses on the engine
- repainted and detailed some parts on the engine
- added door lock mechanisms
- installed rear fog lamp

1:18 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV (Kyosho)

The car that defined the word "supercar". It sure did surprise people from the "prancing horse" side when this "raging bull" was unveiled at the 1964 Geneva Autoshow. One of the most beautiful cars ever made in the history of automobile industry. The name "Miura" came from a Spanish fighting bull. The car was designed by Marcelo Gandini for Bertone. Unique and sleek.

This Miura is definitely a wonderfully crafted diecast model from Kyosho. From the paint, interior, engine, wheels, stance, and front bay, the details are exquisite.









Some additional details:

- wiring on the auxiliary fans
- copper tubing on the front bay and wiper motor wiring
- radiator hose and copper tubing and a extra few wirings

Nissan 350Z

Nissan 350Z
Base MSRP: $28,510
Base Invoice: $26,714
Engine: Gas v6
Fuel: 3.5l/214
MPG City/Highway: 18/25
Transmission: 6-speed m/t
Drive Type: Rear Wheel Drive
Doors: 2

TERMITES (CUPINS): NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE IMPACTS

WELCOME! BEM-VINDOS! TO ECOLOGICAL DAY!

These are photos of my wood ceiling in my living room, which was attacked by termites. Now I must to change the woods singles and call a termite exterminator. A big trouble in my perspective! Then, these termites gave me the idea for this current Ecological Day.

Estas são fotos do teto da sala de visita da minha casa, que foi atacado por cupins. Vai ser preciso substituir as tábuas e fazer uma descupinização. Um problemão, na minha perspectiva! Mas foram os cupins que me deram a idéia do Ecological Day de hoje.

Termites, sometimes incorrectly called “white ants”, are a group of social insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera. Termites mostly feed on dead plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung, and about 10% of the estimated 4,000 species (about 2,800 taxonomically known) are economically significant as pests that can cause serious structural damage to buildings, crops or plantation forests. Termites are major detrivores, particularly in the subtropical and tropical regions, and their recycling of wood and other plant matter is of considerable ecological importance. Detrivores are organisms that feed on large bits of dead and decaying organic matter and they are an extremely important part of the food chain. What detrivores leave behind is used by decomposers. Termites, crabs and seabirds are examples of detrivores. Their role in the food chain is to eat dead organic material, but they usually have little role in killing the organic material. They are recyclers to a degree, consuming this material, but not completely breaking it down in their digestive systems.

Termites are small (4 to 15 mm long) and variable in color from white to tan and even black.

Positive Impacts of Termites: Termites contribute significantly to most of the world’s ecosystems. Termites are of greatest importance in recycling woody and other plant material. Their tunnelling efforts help to aerate soils. Termite activity results in patchy changes/improvements to soil composition and fertility. Compacted and encrusted soils cannot absorb water and hence will no longer support plant life. Termite tunnelling can help to reclaim such damaged soils and also contribute significantly to atmospheric gases.

Negative impacts of Termites: The negative impact of termites is often cited in economic terms as expenditures for damage, repair, and preventative treatment costs. Termite species gain pest status because, as they fulfill their ecological role of recycling plant material they encounter and then endeavor to utilize the materials used in building construction or agronomic and forestry commodities. Termites become a problem when they damage structural timber and other materials in structures. Damage may extend to household furniture, paper products, many synthetic materials and food items. Each year hundreds of thousands of structures (bridges, dams, decks, homes, retaining walls, roads, utility poles, and underground cables and pipes) require treatment for the management of termites.

Termites live in colonies that, at maturity, number from several hundred to several million individuals. A typical colony contains nymphs (semi-mature young), workers, soldiers, and reproductive individuals of both genders, sometimes containing several egg-laying queens. The largest individual is the queen. Her job is to lay eggs, sometimes thousands in a single day.

Photo by Sapolog

Termites build nests to house their colonies. Nests are commonly located in larger timber or in the soil in locations such as fences, growing trees, inside fallen trees, underground, and in above-ground.

Termites around the World: The diversity of termites in North America is low compared to other regions of the world. The situation in South America is quite different from North America. Over 400 termite species are recognized in South America, with many more yet to be discovered and described. Mound species and arboreal species are common in South America. Termites in South America occupy many ecological zones; Amazon, Cerrado, Atlantic Forest, Pampa, and Chaco. Europe has the least termite diversity among the world's populated continents. Less than 10 species occur in natural habitats in Europe. Termite diversity is tremendous, more than 1,000 of the > 2,600 recognized species occur on the African continent. Mound species of termites occur throughout most of the African landscape. More than 360 species of termites have been described from Australia. All termite ecological groups (subterranean, drywood, harvester, and mound builders) are represented in the Australian region. Termite diversity in China is great, with more than 435 species described. Most termite ecological groups, subterranean, drywood, harvester, and mound builders, are found in China.

Cupins: Os Cupins são insetos sociais, de hábitos subterrâneos, pertencentes à Ordem Isoptera. Existem cerca de 2800 espécies catalogadas no mundo e eles vivem em colônias altamente organizadas, onde o princípio básico é a sobrevivência da colônia e não do indivíduo. Uma colônia típica é constituída de um casal reprodutor, rei e rainha, que se ocupam apenas em produzirem ovos; de inúmeros operários, que executam todo o trabalho e alimentam as outras castas e de soldados, que são responsáveis pela defesa da colônia. Os soldados e os operários são castas estéreis. Os reis e rainhas, quando saem para o vôo nupcial, caracterizam-se por apresentarem dois pares de asas iguais. Os cupins têm outros nomes populares, como siriris, aleluias e formigas brancas.

A maioria das espécies de cupins vive nas regiões tropicais e subtropicais, com algumas poucas se estendendo até latitudes mais elevadas. Mais espécies de cupins podem ser encontradas num único hectare de floresta ou savana tropicais do que em toda a América do Norte e Europa juntas. A família Termitidae é bastante diversificada e compreende cerca de 85% das espécies de cupins conhecidas do Brasil. Dentre os Termitidae, alguns são comedores de madeira, de folhas, de húmus, e também cultivadores de fungos (que não ocorrem no Brasil), e muitos constroem ninhos grandes e complexos. Estes ninhos, em muitas espécies constituem as chamadas termiteiras ou murundu. São montes de forma aproximada cilíndrica que podem atingir até nove metros de altura. São feitos de uma pasta de terra, fragmentos de madeira, excrementos e saliva mastigada pelas próprias térmitas. Para se deslocarem à superfície protegendo-se dos seus predadores (formigas, aves, etc.) e evitar a luz do sol, constroem com grande rapidez túneis em que usam o mesmo tipo de pasta.

Impacto negativo e positivo dos cupins: Mais conhecidos por sua importância como pragas de madeira e de outros materiais celulósicos, os cupins também têm atraído a atenção de cientistas devido ao seu singular sistema social. Além de provocar considerável dano econômico em áreas urbanas e rurais, esses insetos também são importantes componentes da fauna de solo de regiões tropicais, exercendo papel essencial nos processos de decomposição e de ciclagem de nutrientes. Os cupins desempenham papéis ecológicos fundamentais nos ecosssitemas naturais. São importantíssimos na reciclagem dos nutrientes acumulados nos tecidos vegetais e atuam na aeração e drenagem do solo. Eles também mantém complexas relações ecológicas (competição, simbiose, predação, parasitismo, comensalismo, etc) com diversas espécies de organismos.

Decompositores: A alimentação dos cupins é constituída basicamente de materiais de origem vegetal (celulose): madeira viva, madeira morta em decomposição, herbáceas e gramíneas vivas, detritos vegetais, húmus e solo com vários teores de matéria orgânica, além de fezes (principalmente de herbívoros) e eventualmente partes vegetais vivas, lenhosas ou não (raízes, tubérculos, colmos, frutos, inflorescências). Assim, os cupins classificam-se como herbívoros e decompositores. Entretanto, os cupins urbanos podem atacar materiais de natureza bastante diversa como: gesso, plástico, couros, tijolos, argamassa, mantas impermeabilizantes, etc. Porém, os cupins não se alimentam desses materiais, apenas atacam podendo ou não ingerí-los. Apenas a madeira e produtos com celulose são alimentos, os outros não celulósicos são eliminados sem serem digeridos.

Info and photos from: Wikipedia Português, Bichos Construtores, English Wikipedia, Finding Alternatives to Persistent Organic Pollutants For Termite Management, Science Daily, ScienceNet, Insepro.

PS: I would like to thank you to my friend Carraol, who was so gentle and teach me how to post large photos again, because Blogger, at this week, made some changes on Html picture's code.

PS: Eu gostaria de agradecer ao meu amigo Carraol, que gentilmente me ensinou como postar novamente fotos grandes, pois o Blogger fez algumas mudanças no código Html das fotos.