Dandy Jumping Spider (Portia Schultz)

Family Salticidae

This spider was very small and what I found most interesting was the way it holds its legs. The front three seem to look like one at times.

I am told that they use various means to get into the webs of other spiders which they then eat.

ID confirmation: Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman

Aloe White Scale (Duplachionaspis exalbida)

Family Diaspididae

They are less than 1mm in length and I found them extremely difficult to photograph.

Population generally kept under control by parasitic wasps and ladybird beetles.

Stink Bug (Antestia lymphata)

Family Pentatomidae

Not very good pictures ..... sorry!!

 They are smallish bugs and with the colour and pattern, very easy to identify.

Ichneumon Wasp (Osprynchotus gueinzii)

Family Ichneumonidae

Of medium size, the females have a conspicuous ovipositor such as the one in these pictures.

They parasitize nests of mud dabbers or any other that seals their nests with mud.

Rain Spider (Palystes superciliosus)

Family Sparassidae

Also called Huntsman Spiders.

This female is fairly large, about 5cm in body length with legs which can reach up to 10cm.

She was sitting on this large egg sac and which will sometimes be covered with grass and leaves.

The female guards them aggressively.

Info: Spiders of the Kalahari (Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman)

White-ringed Atlas Moth (Epiphora mythimnia)

Family  Saturniidae

These moths have a huge wingspan of about 12cm (5”).

They are found around the north eastern (Natal) and north west borders of South Africa down to Kalagadi.

Koppie Foam Grasshopper (Dictyophorus spumans)

Family Pyrgomorphidae

These are very large grasshoppers and found in most regions of South Africa. Their colours make them very easy to identify.

They are flightless and lack hind wings. Because they feed on Milkweed, they exude poisons when molested which can be fatal to animals such as dogs.

Info: Field Guide to Insects of South Africa

Painted Reed Frog (Hyperolius marmoratus)

Unmistakable colouring and markings makes this frog easy to recognise.

They are found in savanna pans where they call from the nearby reeds.

They have a short, loud, bell-like, piercing whistle.

Info: Frogs and Frogging in South Africa (Vincent Carruthers & Louis du Plessis)

Three-horned Dung Beetle (Catharsius tricornatus)

Family Scarabaeidae

These are large beetles found in most northern and central regions, then along the coast, down along the coast towards the Cape.

 They are nocturnal and the adults burrow below or in fresh dung heaps.

Info: Field Guide to Insects of South Africa

Lesser Baboon Spider (Harpactirella overdijki)

Family Theraphosidae

Males are slightly smaller than females and this one was slightly smaller than my open hand.

They are ground dwellers and construct burrows, silk-lined of various depths.

The egg-sac is deposited in the bottom of a j-shaped burrow which might have a hollow space on the side which is used for storage.

They feed on beetles, grasshoppers, millipedes and other spiders.

Info: Spiders of the Kalahari (Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman)