Those white things are wasp larvae eating this manduca caterpillar from the inside out.

Parasitic wasps lay their eggs in it. The eggs are coated with a virus that temporarily turns off the manduca's immune system. When it's immune system reboots, it is tricked into thinking that the eggs are part of the caterpillar. The eggs hatch, and they eat their way out and turn into pupae and the cycle repeats.

BC is burning, and I saw this post on Facebook.

Nah, climate change isn't real.

Don't worry, glorified golf course sprinklers will save us!

I know, this is jaded for a solar punk post, but we don't need sprinkler defense - we need megacorps to stop producing 50% of global emissions

relatable, from personal experience

Or watching them do any earthworks

Sometimes I feel like whatever I'd do it won't be enough. What/where I buy or where I donate seem trivial in the larger scheme of things. From extreme power concentration to world hunger. From climate change to AI safety. Too many things that I'd like to change, but I feel powerless sometimes. The feeling comes coupled with a sense of guilt of not doing enough and not being enough. Do you guys get this feeling too? How do you deal with it?

I do believe in the necessity of optimism in order to affect change, but sometimes hope is hard to cultivate. How do you guys keep your optimism up?

Thanks for reading my mini-rant.

Also, the meme is not OC