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Goanet joins Noel Rebello to raise money for Daddy's Home (Margao, Goa) Sponsor Noel as he climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro (5,882m or 19,298 ft) Make a donation at www.Goanet.org, click on MAKE A DONATION, state "Daddy's Home" in the Donation comments For more information see: http://bit.ly/SupportDaddysHome --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kanheram-Nature’s food store and pharmacy for insects-is there something useful for ailing humans? In 2005 researchers from Thailand isolated a new class of cyclopeptide alkaloids-Ziziphine N, O, P and Q and showed that these chemicals have anti plasmodium falciparum activity. But they didn’t know that this plant is common in Goa and attracts a large diversity of insects except the mosquitoes. A review by Joullie and Richards (2004) on cyclopeptide alkaloids says-“The most investigated group of cyclopeptide alkaloids with respect to their sedative properties has been the sanjoinines. Han and co-workers have identified these agents as some of the principal components responsible for the sedative activity of plants of the Zizyphus species which have found use in traditional Chinese herbal medicine as treatments for insomnia.” There are still many unidentified chemicals in this plant which attracts the insects. But here in Goa we have stressed more on edibility. People prefer-Yellow, orange and red Boram (Ziziphus mauritiana, season December to May), white, pink pearly Chunnam (Ziziphus rugosa, season March to May) , black kanhera (ziziphys oenoplia, September-October) These are ecologically, economically and medicinally useful wild Ziziphus species of Goa. These are also major keystone species of Goa university campus on Taleigao plateau spread over 1.70 sq. kms. Among these only kanhera=jackal jujube or Ziziphus oenoplia begins flowering and fruiting near the end of monsoon, precisely in September. It is a thorny bush. Now what’s so important about jackal jujube? Years of observations showed me that it is virtually a food store and Pharmacy of insects- once it begins flowering there is a procession of insects-close to 200 species and still counting-these include all type of beetles, flies, ants, spiders, wasps, bees, damselflies, butterflies-why so many and so diverse-what is it in that thorny plant? The images are available at http://picasaweb.google.co.in/Nandkamat/KanheraJackalJujubeFloweringAttractsAProcessionOfInsects#<http://picasaweb.google.co.in/Nandkamat/KanheraJackalJujubeFloweringAttractsAProcessionOfInsects> More members in the procession expected over the next two weeks… And the short videoclips The southern birdwing (?) was sighted hovering near the bushes Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_9J_f0CDWQ The blue flower wasp (species unidentified) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jy9YGPnC04 The black and white floral wasp (unidentified species) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDrTUUUlnEw Small, smart spiders strategizing for a feast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXXXgOyTsE4 The blue bottle fly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGsR-Cm3hlA -- Dr. Nandkumar Kamat, GOA