On our camping trip at the end of last year I found a few of these shedded insect skins on the trees around our campsite. I've been meaning to try to find out what kind of insect it is, but just hasn't gotten around to it. I am sure either Joan or Zane would know. Perhaps I should ask them. Mmmmm.... Or perhaps they would see this post and comment about it...
About a year or so ago I encountered a Black-legged Golden Orb-Web Spider for the first time in the Zuurberg north of Port Elizabeth. These guys are real spiders. Not those thin legged little things that hide in your broom cupboard or under the sink, but things with the kind of look that scare little kids. Unfortunately you couldn't see the golden colour of the web in any of the pictures. On our last camping trip at Sleepy Hollow just…
Bladder grasshoppers are mainly restricted to forested areas, so you don't get to see them much around the city. They are unusual compared to regular grasshoppers in that their hind legs are about the same size as the rest of their legs. The make a very loud and long resonant croaking sound similar to a large frog and can be heard at night when the males call to attract the females.
Time for a "Random ..." theme post again. Today's post is on Random Caterpillars (or worms. Whatever you want to call the first two) We have had a bunch of these hairy spiky critters around the office building lately. They turn into the Garden Acraea Butterfly later on in their lives. This little dude looks like he needs a haircut. I have no idea what he is, but I found him at Cape Point on my last visit there. A…
I may use the name Firefly, but my favorite insect is the dragonfly. Skimmer Dragonflies (Family Libellulidae) are strong, fast flyers are are normally seen skimming low over the water's surface. They are carnivores and feed on other insects. Skimmer dragonflies mate in flight and the female will lay her eggs while skimming over the water. They would normally have their wings out horizontally when at rest, so I think this one was trying to hide from me by making…
I have done a post about a Kite spider and its web before, but I recently came across this orange and white Kite Spider (Genus Gasteracantha). The Kite spider has a flattened, shiny and hard abdomen with spiny projections. They are normally found in a symmetrical orb web in a tree. They are quite small, normally about 8mm, so most people would walk right by them without spotting them.
A couple of week ago we spent the weekend at Sleepy Hollow camp site just outside Port Elizabeth. After a night of soft rain we woke up to literally thousands of flying insects crawling out of holes in the ground and taking flight. They were non other than Harvester Termites.The Harvester Termite doesn't build mounds, but nests completely underground. They collect grass and plant materials by night and on cool days which then gets transported underground into the nests. Winged…
The other day while working in the garden I found this tiny little (baby) praying mantis. Here he is sitting on the knuckles of my fingers. The mantis is a predator of other insects. The females chews off the head of the male during mating (I am so glad I'm not a mantis) and than lay her eggs in a frothy egg case from which the young hatch. The young looks like big ants with a large up curving abdomen.…
I found this unusual bug on one of my succulents by the pool the other day. As usual I ran to get my camera and got a couple of pics. Referring to my Wildlife of Southern Africa book, I found out that it is a Twig Wilter Bug (Family Coreidae). It seems that they literally live on the plants and feed on sap in twigs which causes wilting. Their eggs are also laid on stems of plants. When threatened they…