White Crabspider

Nature is fascinating in the way that so many of the insects and animals are perfectly disguised in their habitat. This little white crabspider is almost invisible on the rose where he waits to pounce on visiting bees and other insects. He is maybe a 1/4 of an inch in body length. This is a very small rose he is on too.

Most crab spiders have the ability change colour depending on what flower they are on.

Their venom is such that any prey they catch dies within seconds.

Crab spiders to not spin webs and being so small, their prey is usually bigger than them so they will hide behind what they catch on the flower and suck the insides out.

They will sometimes spend their entire lives on just one plant.

Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelos)

They are easily distinguished by the broad saddle on their backs and the sharp pointed ears and nose and are nocturnal and diurnal, but the best time to see them is early morning or late afternoon.
During the summer, when the grass is taller than they are, these small creatures have a most amusing habit; they will walk a few feet, jump into the air to have a quick look around, and then go on their way again. This is repeated every couple feet or so.

Old antbear holes are used by them to live in and to rear their young.

When they have their young, either the male or the female will go out to find food whilst the other stays at home to take care of the cubs.

They mate for life. Normally they are to be seen singly, a pair, or sometimes a pair with cubs.

Jackals are mainly scavengers, but will kill small antelope or birds if they need to or the opportunity arises.

Most pups are born between June and November, the litter being between one to six cubs.

As they are not dependent on water, their territory can be within a wide variety of vegetation.

While pups are still young, the parents will bring back food which they regurgitate for them.

Our jackals are the same size as your coyote and fill the same space in the circle of predators and prey as they do.

Our local museum

There is an ineresting selection of pre-historic skeletons in the gardens around the museum.
While inside, a display on the evolution of man makes one reflect on days gone by.

There is a live display on how these giant crickets live and survive.
When living in the bush, the one thing you always do it shake out your boots before putting them on in the morning as the scorpions love to climb into them at night.
This petrified shell is about 18 inches in diameter.
There is a beautiful display of the shells found along our coast.

Spider Hunting Wasp (Hemipepsis tamisieri)

Family Pompilidae

Their prey is mostly baboon or rain spiders which they search through dead leaves or low vegetation to find.

They run around the ground in very jerk movements, flicking their wings. Each cell in their nests is provided with a spider for the emerging larvae to feed on.

Egyptian Goose babies

Let’s face it, the babies of any species of animal or bird is cute even these of the noisy Egyptian Goose. J

In SA, babies are born throughout the year but peak during August to September.

Mostly their nests are grass-lined hollows in the ground but can also be in trees, both near water. The adults will use the down lining of the nests to cover the eggs when they are not there.

The female lays up to 11 eggs and incubation is 28-30 days.

Pill Millipede -Sphaerotheriida

I have come across these a couple of times and only now discovered what they are ..... a Pill Millipede (Sphaerotheriida). They curl up into a ball like this at the slightest hint of danger so naturally one cannot see that they have two pairs of legs per segment which would identify them as millipedes. Next time I find one I will take the time to be more careful and wait until it unrolls itself so I can get a better picture. :) It is probably about 3cm (1 1/2") in length.

Giant Mantis (Hoplocryphella grandis)

Family: Thespidae

 

 What a performance it was to try to capture the open wings of this unusual creature!!

 It would only do that if I touched it and by the time I had done so, picked up the camera again and focused, it had closed its wings!! LOL!! Anyway, I managed to get a couple of pictures to show you. J

They are large and sources say they grow up to 6cm in length but this one was closer to 10cm (4") and is the largest mantis I have ever seen.

They are attracted to lights at night and I found this one clinging to my door after I had switched on an outside light to see what it would attract.

Because they are so thin and their color blends in so well with the trees and shrubs, they are extremely hard to spot in this habitat.

Woodlice

Family Porcellionidae

Woodlice are limited to moist environments such as well watered gardens and forest litter. They belong to the same family as crabs and crayfish, namely Crustacea.

They have about ten segments or more to their bodies and each of the first seven have a pair of legs.

 Their diet consists of fungi and decaying plant material. They multiply rapidly and are nocturnal therefore can become pests in places such as cellars.



There are about 200 species in South Africa.

Fruit Chafer (Anisorrhina sternalis)

Family Scarabaeidae

Like all Fruit Chafers, these feed on flowers and fruit.

 It is a large beetle, about  5cm (1”) in length.

Fruit chafer larvae feed up to 3 years underground before development.



Nyala (Tragelaphus angasii)

The male has a distinctive white chevron between his eyes, and up to seven white verticle stripes on each side of his body, while the female has about nine.

These stripes are very noticeable on the younger animals, but they grow lighter or disappear as they grow older.

 Very often nyala are confused with kudu and bush buck, although the kudu is much larger when fully grown and the bushbuck only slightly bigger than the nyala.



They make a barking-like sound when alarmed.

 When they give birth, the female will hide her young for anything up to three weeks in order to allow it to grow strong so that it can better protect itself from predators.



Like most other antelope species, only the males have horns. They are lyre- shaped and the longest horns that have been recorded were 83,5 centimetres.

Their gestation period is about seven months after which a single calf is born.



They are usually found in small herds of two to four, but in certain areas, due to food supplies and water, larger herds can be observed.



Their favourite habitat is riverine areas with a lot of thickets for them to hide in.


They will drink freely when water is available, but are not dependant upon it.


Nyala are very shy creatures and are seldom seen close up.


In a family group, a female will be their leader as the males mostly form herds on their own until the rutting season.
Info: Unique Facts about Wildlife in South Africa (Joan Young)