Sunday, March 20, 2011

Farm - Part 2

Rock Pigeons are very distinctive with a large red circle around their eyes and are the largest of the species here.
Weavers collect pieces of palm fronds, grass and anything else in that line with which they build and line their nest.
Considering they only have a beak to build with, the nests are something which we cannot duplicate using two hands!! They are strong and can withstand very harsh storms.
Hanging Flies belong to the Mecoptera family and are sometimes called Scorpion Flies. Being predatory, the male must mate with caution or be eaten. LOL!! He distracts the female by offering her something to eat while he goes about his mating business.
I don’t have a clue what this is but would guess at it being some kind of wasp??
All flowers are pretty. This one grows on a vine and is quite small.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Odds and Ends - Part 14

This is a very strange creature, about 4" in length and I think it belongs to the Stick Insect. This was a very nice description of them:

"The Phasmida (stick and leaf insects) are plant-eating insects often resembling sticks or broad leaves. They do not have their hindlegs adapted for jumping as in the closely related order Orthoptera (grasshoppers, katydids and crickets.) Whilst there are about 3000 species, only about 30 are leaf insects.

In the daytime these typically long, slender stick-like insects remain remarkably well camouflaged in their habitat, commonly in woodlands, jungle or gardens. In fact, they may be present in gardens for years without being noticed. Go out at night with a torchlight and they are then active, walking about and feeding. Many are not the boring, placid twigs people imagine them to be. Some species have an amazing range of behaviour, including using spiny legs in defence, as well as chemical defences. They are prepared to shed a leg in an effort to escape (capable of re-growing later if the insects are pre-adults). A number of species are winged in at least one sex – sometimes the wings are brightly coloured and flashed open to startle a potential predator. In the absence of males, many species are able to reproduce by parthenogenesis (egg development without fertilisation) – a handy means of survival.

Eggs are often seed-like in appearance. They are usually dropped onto the ground, where knobs on the eggs of some species are attractive to certain ants. Some species glue eggs to branches, or deposit them in crevices. Despite good camouflage, predators such as birds and animals eat all stages of stick insects; hence females lay many eggs (over 2000 in some species)."
This spider was very small, maybe 4mm in length and most of it was legs.
Tree Cockroaches belont to the Blaberidae family. They are sluggish and carry their body close to the ground. The females are wingless and sometimes carry the egg case until hatching. The males have glands on their backs which produce a secretion to attract females.
I think this is some kind of Stink bug of the Pentatomidae family.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Flower Mantis (Harpagomantis tricolor) Hymenopodidae

An update of the Flower Mantis (Harpagomantis tricolor): he has now lost his curled up body, got his first wings and is very pretty. The danger is of him flying away when I feed him.
This is exactly what he did on day and I was so sad it happened as I was hoping to get pictures of him into adulthood. Maybe I will be lucky enough to find another one.
In searching for him, I found another strange one. Below: Cone-headed Mantis Family Empusidae
I have never seen so many different species of Mantis as I do not living back in the bush. Some of them have very larh forefeet and others not. Below: Stick Mantis (Hoplocoryphella grandis) Family Thespidae
This one was very long and slender and someone mentioned that they do not think they have ones which look the same as this in the USA. Have you seen one like this?
These are plentiful and have a very disctinctive white mark on their heads. Unfortunately my book does not give the names of most of these.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Leeufontein - Part 2

Has there ever been a plant which is more thorny than this? Yet, these thistles are very pretty when they flower.
Well I sure had my share or running and leopard crawling after this pretty butterfly!! :) This is a Common Bush Brown (Bicyclus Safitza) and belongs to the Nymphalidae family.
This has to be one of the most curious things I have ever come across and I do not have a clue what it is. It is small, only about 3mm in length and the top is transparent. Can anyone tell me what it is?
A small frog jumped across the path and would not stay still to have its picture taken. Judging by the feet it must be some kind of Tree Frog?

Saturday, March 12, 2011

I have learnt a new trick……

As one goes along in life, you always learn new things in life plus tips and tricks.

Taking pictures of butterflies and moths are always a problem as you can get one side of the wings but not the other.

Now I have discovered a way to do it…. Put it in a glass jar and take a picture through it. :) Simple!! LOL!!
This is a Guinea Fowl butterfly (Hamanumida daedakus) - not to be confused with a bird of the same name. :) They are large and belong to the Nymphalidae family. Their markings are very distinct so they are easy to recognize. I actually thing his underside more attractive than the top.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Leeufontein Part 1

One weekend I was asked to join a friend of mine in a private game reserve to go bug hunting and naturally I do not need to be asked twice.

The place is called Leeufontein which translates to Lions Fountain but it has been many, many years since a lion was actually seen there. We arrived just after sun up and found that there were miles of paths we could walk through.

On of the first things I found was this…..can you make out what it is?
Yes, a Stick Grasshopper disguising itself as a piece of grass. :)
This Scarab beetle was amazing…..
I have never seen one so shiny that I could see myself reflected in it.
One tree was covered with these caterpillars. There must have been a few hundred of them.
With so much rain, dams of water are everywhere and it does not take long before waterlilies start popping out.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

I found someone....

...sleeping on my porch this morning when I went out.....
How much do you think I chould charge him? Same as a motel? Well considering he is only 1" in length, maybe half price? LOL!!

Do click on the last picture...the one section is so transparent you can actually see his insides.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Tangle-veined Fly Family Nemestrinidae

Yeah, those names got your attention didn't they? LOL!! Mine too!! :) Sometimes I think it a good thing I did not study entomology as I would have turned grey trying to remember these names one can hardly even pronounce. LOL!!

In trying to identify insects, I have been told that the only way to do so is under a microscope in some instances. Take a look at these pictures and you will see what I mean. 

 Needless to say they are ALL very difficult to get pictures of as they never seem to settle down for long and just as you creep up to them, off they go again. I think my mother should have named me Patience instead of Joan. LOL!!

Friday, March 4, 2011

The Bush - Part 12

My walk took me into the more civilized world of the garden and this tiny crab spider caught my eye.
It was right in the centre of the pink rose but its colors and size made it very difficult to spot as he blended in so well.
I liked the color of this rose.....
But my most unusual find of the day was this....... It was extremely small, maybe about 4mm in length and because of the most unusual large, stiped eyes and mouth parts and waht looked at first to me like two upper bodies, I could not identify it at all so I sent it away to someone who could help me with it.
It turns out that this is a species of Blowfly belonging to the Calliphoridae family. Females are attracted to decaying flesh but the males are mostly found on flowers. Its maggot-like larvae developes in carrion and faeces.
How pretty the Day Lilies looked. They do come in such nice colors nowdays.
And lastly, this stunning rose which smells as good as it looks. You all know by now my love for these beautiful flowers which have a special place in my heart.......

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Wasps and Mantis

Females of Spider-hunting Wasps run about the ground flicking and jerking their wings. They provision their nests with one paralyzed spider usually many times larger than themselves and which they drag along the ground to get it there..
This has to be the tiniest mantis I have ever seen, only about 3mm in length.
When they are small like this they will moult many times before their proper colors show so it is veery difficult to tell what it will be. Judging from this, I am going to hazzard a guess and say that it belongs to the Hymenopodidae family of Flower mantids.