tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62943721603084021122012-01-27T00:05:00.228-08:00SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comBlogger351100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-78816276429653571502012-01-27T00:05:00.000-08:002012-01-27T00:05:00.299-08:00

On the prowl for an interesting subject, I managed to come across this paper wasp. She had built her nest high up on a black painted roof so I was not able to get a very good picture of her but after taking down the nest, got some fairyly good shots of what she was guarding. Paper wasps feed abundantly on corn earworms, armyworms, tobacco hornworms, etc. Paper-like nests, shaped like tiny

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-41211023632869545342012-01-20T00:02:00.000-08:002012-01-20T00:02:00.945-08:00

This has a body length of about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in length. Everytime I saw him he seemed to be hanging onto something. LOL!! They are clumsy fliers and the female lays her very large eggs in the ground. (Sternocera orissa)

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-50422117433738618752012-01-13T00:02:00.000-08:002012-01-13T00:02:01.953-08:00

(Phymateus morbillosus) These are large bodied with mostly red wings when they open them. Females lay eggs in late summer and they hatch in early spring. When alarmed, they raise and rustle their wings and produce an evil smelling foam from the thoracic joints.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-8954216123235309772012-01-06T00:02:00.000-08:002012-01-06T00:02:00.908-08:00

As it is getting warmer, the garden is becoming a hive of activity. Right outside my window, there is an Albizia tree which get these little balls of flowers, each one being up to just over 1/2 inch in diameter. The insects really love this tree. This extremely tiny bug seemed as if he was rolling around on it. Unfortunately, this is the only shot I could get of him before he flew off. Then

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-42123026805286475252011-12-27T00:02:00.000-08:002011-12-27T00:02:00.192-08:00

A Giant Prickly stick insect which comes from Australia but found in pert shops here. Unfortunately a lot of people let them loose after a while and so they are found in bush areas. What a beautiful and unusual creature!!

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-62430750064406667942011-12-19T00:02:00.000-08:002011-12-19T00:02:00.374-08:00

After the rain, the insect seem to be coming out en masse. This beetle I cannot find in any of the books or websites but he is obviously a wingless, ground-burrowing one. His body length is about 2 inches and closely resembles The Red-spotted Lilly Weevil.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-58566551233544113182011-12-08T00:02:00.000-08:002011-12-08T05:20:16.050-08:00

The Citrus Swallowtail (papilio demodocus)is one of our more common butterflies. It is large with a wingspan of about 85mm. They lay their eggs on citrus trees. I caught this one in the garden and he was frienly enough to crawl on my hand and let me take the following two photographs. This is a close-up section of the wing. Sometimes I think I should get a microscope for pictures like these.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-51712683261849760702011-11-20T00:02:00.000-08:002011-11-20T00:02:00.993-08:00

I was outside and heard something falling and found this beetle lying on his back after coming off the wall. You can see the dent. When I came back and started to take pics, I noticed that his front, right hand side leg was missing a segment. I wonder if they feel the pain of the loss as we do??I think this is one of the Psammodes beetles (Toktokkies), but cannot find a name again.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-62566759583970223322011-08-18T04:04:00.000-07:002011-08-18T04:04:00.150-07:00

A lot of the bugs have disappeared but there are still some beautiful butterflies around. Twin Dotted Border Spotted Blue Blotched Leopard Common Meadow Blue (This is as small as a 1 cent piece) Broad-bordered Grass Yellow Female Meadow White Male Meadow White

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-89664026762128174992011-07-01T00:02:00.000-07:002011-07-01T03:42:31.363-07:00

With a wingspan 30-50mm in length is fairly common in some bush areas and always found hanging upside down for some reason.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-14948916168165700532011-06-09T00:02:00.000-07:002011-06-09T00:10:23.965-07:00

On the way to work this morning a young girl of 9 or 10 came up to me and said "I brought you a present" and laid in my hands two big mulberry leaves covered with silkworms. Now how can you say no to that?? So here I am, the proud mama of about 20 of them. LOL!! Her dad mumbled something about her having hundreds of them and they disappeared. I wonder if I had screamed and dropped them what they

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-14477040049907445272011-02-04T00:02:00.000-08:002011-02-04T00:02:00.317-08:00

My goodness!! I am glad I don't have too!! This is the Stick Water Scorpion. They are found in standing pools of water and are quite large 4-5 inches in body length and then an extra 6 inches of tail which is raised to the surface of the water and is used as a breathing siphon.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-8724820837247756912011-02-02T00:02:00.000-08:002011-02-02T00:02:01.222-08:00

(Afreumenes aethiopicus) The females build one-celled spherical mud pots resembling urns, with a lip around the entrance, attached to rock faces, buildings or trees. After completion and sealing, no mor mud is applied and the lip left intact.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-79680225739573334812011-01-30T00:02:00.000-08:002011-01-30T00:02:01.309-08:00

...or so I have heard. In the bush there is this wild pumpkin which grows in most places. They are about 4-6 inches in length and the vines often grow up into the trees. I am not sure if they are edible to humans but the birds seem to love them too and this is usually one indication that we can eat them. They sometimes come in a more roundish shape like this and go orange when ripe.What I found

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-67652911125744856942011-01-27T00:02:00.000-08:002011-01-27T00:02:00.717-08:00

So late in the season and I am still finding dragonflies and butterflies. Thank goodness!!This is (Trithemis arteriosa) Red-veined Dropwing Definitely looking for a mate here. (Eurema brigitta) Broad-bordered grass yellow (Cynthia cardui) Painted Lady

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-9566891524348074792011-01-24T00:02:00.000-08:002011-01-24T00:02:00.413-08:00

We have some interesting looking fungi here and they are anywhere between very small and dinner-plate size.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-72844646336350451522011-01-21T00:02:00.000-08:002011-01-21T00:11:10.749-08:00

This tapping beetle must think this is a meal fit for a king....at least for him anyway. :) This little fellow is about 1 1/2 inches long. They tap their rear ends on the ground then stop and listen to hear if some female taps back. WHAT a way to pick up a partner!! LOL!!

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-25938782488851519682011-01-14T12:02:00.000-08:002011-01-14T12:02:00.321-08:00

Until I started doing macro / close-up photography, I never realized how many species of ants there are and rarely even noticed them (unless they got into my sugar bowl. LOL!!) One day I watched this fight between these two ants. It went on for about 20 minutes and eventually the one was so exhausted, it just let itself be dominated by the other. I am not sure what the fight was about , if it is

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-48542371624652015952011-01-11T00:02:00.000-08:002011-01-11T00:02:00.640-08:00

They are about 1 1/2 inches in length when fully grown and feed on fruit and flowers. This one was trying to hide away in the wall. Then he fell down and gave me a good shot of what he looks like at the bottom. LOL!! Talk about a different view!!

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-45198705786493098982010-12-24T00:02:00.000-08:002010-12-24T00:02:00.943-08:00

Why does it seems as if I am always rescuing things.I found this beautiful little butterfly drowning in the pool and fished him out. You can see his wet wing still sticking to my finger. I put him on the lawn to dry out and soon the sun had warmed his wings enough for him to lift them up but he was exhausted and lay there for a long time. Soon he was stirring around and I picked him up and put

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-39411647022409224242010-12-06T00:02:00.000-08:002010-12-06T00:02:00.338-08:00

I have been searching for scorpions for almost a year now and yesterday found one in the yard of my office. No wonder I cannot find any....all my searching understones was for nothing as I believe the best time to find them is at night with a UV lamp."Scorpions evolved from aquatic creatures that lived some 450 million years ago, way before the dinosaurs existed. In those early days of

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-84580918457518800952010-11-06T00:02:00.000-07:002010-11-06T00:02:00.762-07:00

Millipedes: Two sets of legs per segment. Feed on decomposing plant material.Cenitpedes: One set of legs per segment. Active predators.Millipedes here come in all colors. Red.... Black (The red below her is a lava which she was feeding in the hollow of this tree trunk) Yellow Brown and mating. LOL!!

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-24690901079889068692010-11-01T00:02:00.000-07:002010-11-01T00:02:00.577-07:00

We have many kind of mantis here and this is a baby of the Giant Mantis which gets to be about 5 inches in body length. The tail end eventually straightens out when it gets its first wings. It is a very common species and feeds mainly off caterpillars. All mantids have large heads and compound eyes. The female lays her eggs in cocoons like this which is mainly attached to branches. The cocoon is

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-74028542621054302182010-10-27T00:02:00.000-07:002010-10-27T00:02:00.599-07:00

My goodness!! If I had legs like this I could kick-start a battle-ship!! LOL!!These are Twig Wilters ( Anoplocnemis) family Coreidae. A large bug 24mm (about 1 inch) in length. They inject a saliva with digestive enzymes into young plants which cause them to shrivel beyond the puncture and this is what they feed on.They have stink glands between the middle and hind legs. I wonder why they have

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-43891510647900667252010-10-25T00:02:00.000-07:002010-10-25T00:02:00.288-07:00

These are not the best photographs I have taken as there was too much moving around.Once again I have observed that it is always the smaller ants which attack the larger ones and I am wondering why this is as one would think it should be the other way around. I could even understand if was a whole lot of small ants attacking thee, but no, it is always just one??

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-7873084438954722902010-10-23T00:02:00.000-07:002010-10-23T00:02:00.274-07:00

These are medium sized, body length about 1/2 an inch. They feed on pollen and nectar. The larvae feeds as it burrows into wood. Their eggs are laid in the cracks of the stems or roots. These were doing a mating dance around the head of the flower they were on.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-9068425450733372062010-10-19T00:02:00.000-07:002010-10-19T03:43:20.156-07:00

Even this late in the season, I am still finding some interesting caterpillars around. This one was climbing up the wall of the cottage. He got such a fright at having his picture taken, that he fell onto the ground and I was able to get this interesting one of his cute little feet.I took him and put him on a nearby bush. I love those two tufts of hair sticking out on the sides.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-23935845434980080972010-10-10T07:22:00.000-07:002010-10-10T07:22:00.107-07:00

It searched high..... ...and low, on the mountains.......and in the valleys... "Ah!! This one will do. See you in the spring!!"

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-22921633928287508622010-09-30T00:02:00.000-07:002010-09-30T00:54:45.731-07:00

I found this dead dragonfly next to the pool. What a pity that such a pretty insect has to die. I think it is a Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens). They are fairly common and their range extends into Asia, Australia and the Americas.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-45611451727230662252010-09-15T00:02:00.000-07:002010-09-15T03:09:42.049-07:00

I recently found this grasshopper which had just dies and it was a great opportunity to take some close-up photographs of it which one would normally not be able to get.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-34141873298151447012010-09-09T00:02:00.000-07:002010-09-09T01:31:26.573-07:00

After the cold week we have had, I am surprised to find anything still around. This caterpillar was crawling around on the stairs so I put him on the grass in order to get some shots of him.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-48627118520131002402010-09-03T00:02:00.000-07:002010-09-03T01:06:36.550-07:00

This Tailed Jay had just emerged and was still trying to stretch his wings. Thank goodness for P&S cameras that you can take pictures one-handed.

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-62910680187755830942010-09-02T00:02:00.001-07:002010-09-02T01:54:30.965-07:00

It is about 1 inch in length and rather cute looking. :)

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-31852818256706638372010-07-01T00:02:00.000-07:002011-07-01T01:32:38.285-07:00

I have put the ferns in just to add contrasting color. Bromeliads are one of the more recent plant groups to have emerged, presumed to have evolved at the close of the Cretaceous, over 65 million years ago. Fossilized bromeliads have been dated back to roughly 30 million years ago. The greatest number of primitive species reside in the Andean highlands of South America suggesting a beginning

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6294372160308402112.post-7169352976433455612010-06-17T00:05:00.000-07:002011-06-16T20:56:31.061-07:00

Some of the silkworms have got really big and are already starting to spin themselves into cocoons. I was luck to get this one almost from the begining and if I held it up to the light, I could see him inside busy spinning. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of Bombyx mori (Latin: "silkworm of the mulberry tree"), the domesticated silkmoth. A moth in the family Bombycidae, it is very

SAPhotographs (Joan)noreply@blogger.com