someone has been trying and it looks like it has potential if it keeps on being developed: https://github.com/Fancy-Mumble/FancyMumble
Bananas do and will loose their bottom leaves as they grow, so no surprises there.
As you probably know the black flaky stuff on the outside is normal sap, not mildew. As far as u can see there is only mildew present where the frond meats the trunk.
As there is only a small amount of mildew and no signs of rot I don't think the mildew caused the leaf falling off (rather just natural growth). If it gets more chronic mildew it may cause issues in the future. We grow our bannanas outside and powdery mildew between old fronds is a given, and not a concern, however indoor plants are a lot more prone to disease so it may be a worry.
P.s. its not powdery mildew (mildew is white/grey). Its probably just some kinda mold that settled in the crack left by the leaf falling off. I would only be concerned if it is present between young fronds or starts rotting the trunk.
I agree with your parrot, the more seeds the better.
In New Zealand we have a cucumber called the port Albert cucumber, its big, easy to grow, and has tons of seeds. Unfortunately I couldn't find it for sale outside of NZ (maybe under a different name?).
A slightly smaller international alternative, still with lots of big seeds (tho not quite as many), is the Crystal apple cucumber. Its also easy to grow.
We've grown both of them and will grow both again. They get more/bigger seeds when left to mature, but go sour if left for to long. I still love them when they are sour (your parrot might to) but everyone else thinks I'm crazy.
I would say it would be fine, the only problem would be warping as the pine will be quite thin (plywood is more resistant to this).
But if you don't care about everything being perfectly straight I think pine would be plenty strong enouph and wouldn't warp noticeably much either (just pick straight boards from the store). So yea I think it would be fine.
P.s. (if you join multiple boards together its usually less likely to warp but I don't think this is necessary for your usecase)
Found this weird ant on our table, it has a very big head. Does anyone know what type of ant this is? (Found in New Zealand). Im guesing because of its large mandibles its probably not a worker ant instead perhaps its a soldier.
Also I just learnt the different forms of an ant (queen, worker, soldier) are called castes.
My Earina Autumnalis orchid flowered 
I have also got lots of other plants Im proud of, but I'm away from home so this is the only photo I've got.
Your terrarium is looking beautiful! I'm planning on making a large cooled terrarium for alpine plants sometime. All my current tereriums are small so it will be quite a challenge.
About a year ago I rescued a native Earina autimnalis orchid that had fallen on to the road. I placed it on a tree with some sphagnum moss behind and watered it occasionally.
I was worried it wasn't happy, but then new shoots started growing, and before I knew it, flower spikes emerged!
A conservation friend of mine, who has cared for native orchids, said she's never seen them flower in captivity. So I wasn't expecting much from the spikes.
Then today when I checked how the orchid was doing, It was flowering with some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen :).
Here's my current record for most ferns growing on top of each other!
A tree fern called a ponga (Alsophila tricolor) forms the base, growing on this tree ferns trunk is a hen and chicken fern (Asplenium bulbiferum).
Hen and chicken ferns grows little bulbils (baby ferns) on its fronds, when the bulbils are old enouph, they drop off to become a new hen and chicken fern.
These bulbils make up the final layer of ferns of my fern stack, making it a magnificent 3 layers of fern.
Our young Tui are practicing right now, its so fun watching them barely be able to sing, sounding like a donkey while trying there best to imitate the melodic adults.
Then they slowly grow up and learn new things until eventully they can perfectly imitate our car reversing beep, fooling us to think someone is stealing our car.
Sounds like Oxalis latifolia it is a common invasive species in australia.
(I am no expert so take my ID with a grain of salt)
Dendrobium cunninghamii, in Puketi Forest, New Zealand. In full bloom :). Its indigenous Maori name is Winika and a Maori canoe (Waka) is named after it
"In the fork of the tree grew a type of orchid known as ‘te winika’ which blooms with masses of white and green star-shaped flowers, evoking the huia feathers worn by high ranking rangatira (chiefs). This led to the auspicious name being given to the waka taua, that served Maaori royalty for many purposes, from transport to ceremonial duties."
-50 years of majestic waka at Waikato Museum Source
Image by me
I found this while walking through the Bush it was on the track with its exuviae right next to it. They are bloody deafening at this time of year but I still love to see them. Unfortunately I couldn't get any photos with the eyes properly in focus (as well as the exuviae) and my dog was desperate to carry on walking so this is the best I got.
Edit: spelling
Maidenhair (Adiuntum something):
Staghorn (Platycerium bifurcatum) and some little hen and chicken ferns in a tarrerium (Asplenium bulbiferum)
Nephrolepis (back), and 2 mystery ferns (bought them in an unsorted clearance lot):
I've got some of other ferns outside and in other places, but its dark rn so I can't take photos. Will post them tomorrow when its light outside.
Its so hard to pick a favourite I love them all so much. I'd like to try to grow some from spore soon, would love to know what ferns your growing/your favourites too