Hunters, Prey and Untouchables

Below are a couple of very efficient hunters - the Praying Mantis and the Damsel Fly.

Both are abundant in my garden at the moment due to the amount of prey available.

A good source of food for the preying mantis is the aphid, pictured below.

Mating out in the open is an ultimate sign confidence for these large stink beetles.

Appropriately named, they would not provide a tasty treat for any creature that decided to put them on the menu.

Summer Break

I thought that I should take advantage of the inclement weather of recent days to get into posting a blog or two. The break over Xmas/new year (hope you all had fun) was quite productive photographically and, with photographer Petra Sing on visit from Europe (pictured below), I was able to snap many Gigs of material.

The following shots are a collection on insects, arachnids, reptiles, and fungal forms.

These were taken at a number of areas over the holiday break.

I hope you enjoy this eclectic mix of summer pics, with more to come as I get to process them.

Damsel Fly pays a visit

Although not the best photo, this image shows the size of some of the insects getting around at the moment. This diminutive damsel fly hangs on to a palm print that looks quite ridged due to the intense magnification.

My daughters found it in the backyard, and it came in for a visit, a photo shoot, and was gone..

Insects, such as this, are out and about with the warmer weather. With brilliant colouring they are always a pleasure to shoot at such close quarters. You just have to be quick, as they will not usually stay still for long.