Thursday, January 21, 2010

Warmbaths - Part 3

The first day there threatened to be wet, soggy and not at all time to do photography, but by the afternoon it had opened up and was beautiful. I spent a lot of time at the swimming pool just soaking up the sun and would limit myself to early morning and late afternoon sessions of bug hunting.
This was a most interesting seedpod and the wind would blow it along like tumble weed. It is about 1 inch in diameter.
Can anyone guess what this is? Believe me when I tell you it is an insect!! They are called Wax Scales belonging to the family Coccidae or Soft Scale insects.
Soft scales can vary greatly in appearance but in many of them the female is covered by a thick, soft waxy covering. They are plant suckers and a number of species are agricultural pests in South Africa. It is about 10mm in diameter.
This is a Fluted Scale and is a pest on cirtus trees. This bug is imported from Australia and can be controlled by certain types of ladybugs/ladybirds.
A tiny jumping spider was asking for this picture to be taken. He is about 4mm long.
This is some kind of Horse Fly but I cannot find its name.
This Red-veined Dropwing kept landing on the side of the swimming pool but I only had my 300mm lens with me so could not get a more detailed shot of it.
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36 comments:

  1. Firefly the Travel GuyJanuary 21, 2010 at 1:42 AM

    I have never tried taking a pic of the little jumping spiders, but this pic is awesome. I will now have to try and equal or better that one. :-)

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  2. troutbirderJanuary 21, 2010 at 4:31 AM

    That first one would have fooled me for sure. What a strange world when you look close!

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  3. WendyJanuary 21, 2010 at 5:39 AM

    Great photos Joan! I love that little jumping spider, I'm always whenever I see them, I think they're so cute :) The patterns on that horse flie are very pretty. Cool :)

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  4. No BlogJanuary 21, 2010 at 7:27 AM

    Great photos as always Joan :) I am e-mailing a photo of your horse fly I think its the same one LOL!

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  5. Diane AZJanuary 21, 2010 at 8:32 AM

    The Wax Scales remind me of mealy bugs that I used to find on Coleus plants. I like the patterns on the horse fly's eyes and wings, great photo!

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  6. GaelynJanuary 21, 2010 at 8:53 AM

    Hard to believe those scales are insects. They look like a plant growth. I love the lacey patterns to the Horse fly but don't like their bite. They can really leave a nasty welt.
    Sure glad you've recovered the old posts. They will be invalueable to others as a reference.

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  7. Craver ViiJanuary 21, 2010 at 9:02 AM

    Tremendous pics as usual, Joan! The horse fly is either Ralph or Izzy. That's the best I can do with the name, because it is so hard to tell those two apart. Ralph lisps, and Izzy has a little bit of an urban strut, but of course, we can't tell from just a photo.

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  8. AndreaJanuary 21, 2010 at 9:19 AM

    Very good pictures!
    About the Wax Scales:I believe you because I know you never make jokes...
    Incredible Insect!

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  9. BeckyJanuary 21, 2010 at 5:42 PM

    You find the neatest things to photograph. I'm sure most people don't even notice these little creatures and if they do they just walk on by. I so enjoy yours pics!

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  10. BeckyJanuary 21, 2010 at 7:28 PM

    Wow, you had quite a day. Such a group of goodies Joan. I love the color of that Dropwing. Super detail.
    B.

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  11. AnonymousJanuary 21, 2010 at 9:40 PM

    A moth caterpillar.
    but there again i usually get it wrong

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  12. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:42 PM

    Thanks Jonker. I am sure you can take one even better than mine. :)

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  13. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:43 PM

    It is such an interesting world I find myself in TB. Each find more fascinating than the next.

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  14. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:44 PM

    Thanks Leeloo. I think the pattern in nature are better than anything we could ever come up with.

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  15. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:45 PM

    Thanks Lawrence. It was a great pic. LOL! Pity I cant post it. :)

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  16. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:45 PM

    Thanks Diane. They are very similar aren't they.

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  17. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:48 PM

    Thanks Gaely. Yes, I bitten a time or two myself but one has to be very careful with them around.

    I was extremely please about being able to recover them too but when I thought I would not get them back, I deleted the photo files in Picasa too so now it is quite a job going to put them back but luckily they are sorted according to topic so is not such a hassle.

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  18. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:49 PM

    Thanks Craver. I have a better name for these flies ..... "Pest"!! LOL!!

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  19. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:50 PM

    Thanks Andre. I find these unknown insects very interesting and wonder how many I have missed while on my walks.

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  20. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:52 PM

    Thanks Becky (Florida). It is an amazing world which I have found. Can you blame me for being so fascinated by it? When I think of how many species I have already found, I know I have not even scratched the tip of the iceberg.

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  21. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:53 PM

    Thanks Beck. It was such a pity that the rim of the pool was red too so there is not much contrast in the pictures.

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  22. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 21, 2010 at 11:54 PM

    Thanks Tony. You are probably right as there are much more moths than butterflies.

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  23. This Is My Blog - fishing guyJanuary 22, 2010 at 5:19 AM

    Joan: Fun collection of bugs. Neat dragonfly, too bad it wasn't on a different colored background.

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  24. MaryJanuary 22, 2010 at 6:42 AM

    Always something new and interesting! Those scale things are weird. The fly looks like it is dressed in camouflage. Love that shot of the dragonfly...the color is so pretty. Would love to be sitting in a warm pool at the moment instead of looking at more rain.

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  25. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 22, 2010 at 7:42 AM

    I agree Tom but the whole deck of the pool was that color and he would not land anywhere else.

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  26. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 22, 2010 at 7:44 AM

    Thanks Mary. I am sure that by now you are looking for warmer weather as it must seem like a long winter. It is not long to go till spring my friend, so hold on there!!

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  27. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 12:40 PM

    Those wax scales remind me of sea urchins. But since they are soft, they can be used as pillows.

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  28. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 22, 2010 at 6:58 PM

    A very interesting concept Bernie. :)

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  29. MarvinJanuary 23, 2010 at 1:15 AM

    I've seen Scales, but nothing nearly as HUGE as yours. The ones I've seen require magnification to see any detail. And those mini-tumbleweeds are interesting. Our long-haired dogs would no doubt love to collect them.

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  30. UnknownJanuary 23, 2010 at 3:52 PM

    Great close-ups, Joan!

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  31. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2010 at 5:48 PM

    We have scale insects here too, the ants and scales live as symbionts. : )

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  32. Rambling WoodsJanuary 23, 2010 at 7:34 PM

    I just saw a piece on the mating dance of jumping spiders and they are the most amazing little things. Colorful...all the eyes kind of bothered me, but the mating dance was amazing.. Love the photos Joan...

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  33. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 23, 2010 at 8:06 PM

    These are interesting find Marvin and something not many people know about. I dont know about there by you but we have such a lots of weeds here which stick to animals fur one need to be constantly grooming them.

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  34. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 23, 2010 at 8:07 PM

    Thanks Jose. :)

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  35. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 23, 2010 at 8:09 PM

    They do a great job together don't they Ken? I wonder if the same can be said for some of those small insects you constantly find on fungi? Do you know of anything like that?

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  36. SAPhotographs (Joan)January 23, 2010 at 8:11 PM

    Mating rituals can be so interesting Michelle. Not only of spiders but all kinds of insects and animals. Here we though us humans were the only ones who had one. :)

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