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

Monday, April 28, 2014

Stink Bug (Caura rufiventris)

Family Pentatomidae  
Found throughout SA mainly on Solanum plants.

Friday, April 25, 2014

Burrowing Scorpion (Cheloctonus jonesi) family Hormuridae


Although they have a small amount of venom, they are harmless to humans but can sting. They can grow up to 90cm in length and live in burrows dug in the soil. The regions they are found in are KwaZulu Natal and Mpumalanga.




Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Leopard in a tree

They blend in so well that they are not easy to spot.
The best sighting of a leopard I have ever seen is this one taken in Pilanesberg.
We first saw it walking along the bank of a small stream and then disappeared.

 Hoping to find it again, we rode slowly passed and came back again.
There it was!! In a tree in great view for photographs. What luck!!
We were lucky enough to spend about 30 minutes watching it.
This male made himself comfortable on a branch and started to doze off.
 For more information on leopard: http://saphotographs.blogspot.com/2009/05/leopard_26.html

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Wild Sunflowers and friends

 I went out to photograph wild sunflowers and came across a vast number of butterflies and moths enjoying them too...





Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Rainforest Brown (Cassionympha cassius)

Family Nymphalidae Satyrinae
A medium size butterfly with a wingspan of about 35mm. Found along the eastern regions of Kruger National Park and along the coast down to the Cape. They can be seen in forests, flatlands and mountains.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

Whitebrowed Sparrowweaver

Found in all areas except the very arid regions in the southwest and the moister regions of the northeast.


Each nest has two entrances and found on the west side of trees.
A very social bird made up of different groups together at nesting sites.


Forage on the ground for insects and seeds.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Down and out Zebra

Poor Zebra!! LOL!! He looks so down and out with his ears flattened like that. Like a hobo no one loves and who feels sorry for himself. :) 

Monday, April 7, 2014

Arrow Sphinx Moth (Lophostethus dumolinii)

Family Sphingidae  
A very large moth with a wingspan of 140mm and an unmistakable arrow mark on its wing.
Found in the northern regions and along the east coast as far down as KwaZulu Natal.


Friday, April 4, 2014

Giraffe – bad hair day

While in Lower Sabie, KNP, I came across this young giraffe and had to laugh at his hairstyle. LOL!!
 It looks like he forgot to comb it or is going for that punk-rocker look.
 Compared to his friends, he really stands out amongst the crowd. :D


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Elephant skeleton – Interesting facts

Addo Elephant National Park has a wonderful exhibition of an elephant skeleton on the wall of the Interpretive Centre. Please enlarge the photographs by clicking on them to read and learn more about this gentle giant.