For the identification of insects and other fauna and flora of South Africa.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Warmbaths - Part 5

The beautiful but destructive Elegant Grasshopper.
It was enjoying a meal of this orange blossom.
The ants have hairs on their butts which were golden in color.
A prickly pear shooting out a new flower.
Wild flower with its own fly to keep it company.
In trying to get a good shot of this medium size spider, I had to keep on doing a backward leopard crawl as it came nearer and nearer.
Poor Fruit Chafer!! I wonder if it was stuck on this blade of grass as it seemed to be clinging onto it for dear life and not moving and inch.
The tiny spider seemed quite at home in this ants nest .... or was it the other way around? :)

26 comments:

Gaelyn said...

OK, so now the Bug Lady is being chased by bugs.

I like the armor that grasshopper wears and am worried for the poor little chaffer hanging on tightly.

tony nile life said...

can not imagine a lady on all fours chasing bugs. If I do that I get all the idiots in the area coming to look just in case I have found something of value, and of course they see nothing of value in what I have an interest in, when they are the most valuable assets we have . they are the core of our existence,

tony nile life said...

I am blogging on my last few days on Justliars. just in case you are wondering who awad is http://justliars.blogspot.com/
happy bug hunting from Nilelife

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Nothing unusual in that Gaelyn as you know. LOL!! At least this was not the size of the one someone sent me to identify which they found at the waterfalls. LOL!!

Nothing will eat that grasshopper!! :)

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

There is only one small problem with that Tony, my father always told me I would never be a lady and it seems he was right. LOL!! Yes, I think the word has spread here in Pretoria about that mad bugging lady so everyone keeps clear of me, but they are missin a vital part of life as you say.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! I did forget about this other blog of yours and was wondering who it was. :) Bugs are scarse right now with the cold weather we are having but there are still some hardy butterflies around and yesterday I found a species of ladybird I have not seen before so the winter seems like it is not going to be altogether dull.

Diane said...

I am sure I would have been backing away even if the spider had not been coming towards me:) As always excellent photos. Diane

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! It was only a small one Diane. :) Thanks.

Firefly the Travel Guy said...

Down on all fours again I see. It must be a hoot travelling somewhere with you. I haven't taken nearly enough little critters lately. Maybe I'll find some this weekend.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

LOL!! Ask Gaelyn, she took some pretty awful pictures of me looking under bushes for insects so all my secrets are out Jonker. You should see what my clothes look like when I get back sometimes. Then of course they are the people who look at me as if I am completely loony!! :)

Insects are pretty scarce right now with it being colder but as soon as the icy wind dies down, they come crawling out again. It is not as cold here as it is by you fortunately.

Craver Vii said...

I've never seen that grasshopper before. It is a beautiful creature, and your image is so incredibly detailed!

That fruit chafer is a comical character, isn't it? The picture looks like a good one to use for making your own "demotivational poster." have you seen those?

parody motivator

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Craver. No, I have not seen those posters and I did smile at the Chafer. I wonder if I had to make one of it what I would say? Maybe "Quit hanging around and DO something!!" I am sure you can come up with something much better than that.... :)

troutbirder said...

Its definitely "elegant" all right. Beautifully I might add.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant close-up work. Nobody does it like you, Joan.

Mary said...

You really do have the most interesting bugs over there...ants with hairy golden butts??

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

They are TB but being so large, they eat everything in sight.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Steve. Used the macro lens on these.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

You are right Mary. Who said ants aren't beautifyl? :)

Becky said...

No thanks to the spider after you and the creepy grasshopper. Love the little fruit chafer, now it's cute!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

I can sympathise with you Becky. :) Thank goodness they are so small or else I would be scared too. :)

Unknown said...

Some fantastic details as usual, Joan!

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

Thanks Jose. It was a great few days there. I should make another trip again soon.

Anonymous said...

a look into the amazing things that go on under our noses....Michelle

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

I never noticed them myself Michelle until I started doing photography and they are amazing.

Unknown said...

Really cool shots Joan! How big was that first spider... the one that was chasing you? It looks a little bit scary to me.

The grasshopper is so cool! I want one! :oP I probably couldn't afford to feed it though from the sounds of things. lol.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

It was not so big Krista, maybe 2" in body length but I had to get down and dirty to try to get the picture.

Those are the loveliest grasshoppers but will eat everything in sight. Your place would be ideal with all that wild grass and plants. :) This season I want to see if I can find a chameleon to kep as a pet. Everythime I find one, I let it go again.