Return from Summer Break

Well this Summer Break proved to be one of interest with friends and relatives over from Europe.
They were all surprised( including my side of the family) to find out that Petra and I had gone off to " tie the knot " 4 weeks earlier up at Carrington Falls in a small personal ceremony with 2 friends to act as witnesses for our great day....hey call it artistic expression.



Congrats to RayRay on the shots...you didn't do bad at all mate :)

...Anyway, once everything had settled down(lol) it was time for a little Aussie tour.
What better place to start than the roof of Australia....



Insects will live almost everywhere, and the warmer months of this Alpine environment are alive with a variety of forms.



It was cool, although the sun was quite hot.
There was even some scattered snow on the peaks...



Another national park we visited was the first such park in the world.
Royal National Park, just south of Sydney, has recovered well from the 90 percent burn of 2000.
The heath lands have greened remarkably from the ashen state I saw after the fires.
Audley is a good spot for a picnic with a friendly ranger pointing out this little guy...An Eastern Dwarf Tree frog. At around 1cm in length, its aptly named.


The Eastern coast of Australia holds many environments, and species...Including birds such as this King Parrot.


... and these huge orb weavers with circular webs over 2m in diameter






Coastal birds..like these pelican... travel way inland top have their young, only to return in warmer months for the great fishing of the far south coast.



Yep...good fishing down here :)



Hoping all had a good Xmas, and a Happy New Year.
May this year be prosperous and safe.

Amphibian Invasion

With Summer more than a week old already, insects of all shapes and sizes have been attracted to my veranda light... and the numbers and variety are on the increase.




Large christmas beetles have arrived (25mm) and I must have seen at least 20 types of moth in all shapes and sizes.
It is these moths that have attracted a number of Emerald Spotted Tree Frogs to my doorstep.
The behaviour they exibit in capturing these moths is fasciating.


Firstly they will climb the brick wall....




Then adopt the strike position.....






It is a matter of launching at the next insect that comes within reach, and landing safely on the decking located often 1.5M below to consume their catch.


Im looking forward to getting a vid of this action, and will post it as soon as I do.

Bird stealing Insects from a spider

I was able to get this footage recently of a bird who has learnt that a quick meal is to be had removing small insects from spider webs.
It would hover for some time, collecting as many insects as it could.
I was able to see it collect some 20 in one attempt.
Although the video is quite quick...so is the bird.
I hope to get some more footage of this behavior soon.

Egg on a string

I saw a program once and knew what came out of these little eggs on a string.

Although I have forgotten the creature that laid them, I am aware of the reasons behind the structure....those long, and slippery, strands are a perfect way to stop predators reaching those tasty little packages.

Have a look at the photo below. My first impression was that they are from a butterfly, though I am not so sure....



Blog comments are always welcome.
Some help in solving this one? :)

The eyes have it

Robber flies have great eyesight.

They have to, as they are carnivorous hunters of the insect world.

Built stout and sturdy, they grab insects in a vice like grip.

Anything their size or smaller is fair game.

They will often fly with their prey locked under them, held in place with strong legs.

I was lucky enough to see one finishing a meal, though not lucky enough to capture it with the camera. I was able to photograph those sharp compound eyes though.

A couple of photos below: one showing the eye structure, the other the design of the insect itself.

Photos of a Walk

When is a fly not a fly?...When its a walk, of course.

The pictures below are of a fly, sorry, a walk I spotted in the Robertson Reserve.
It was in the process of traversing the surfaces of a number of leaves on the top of a small bush.
The photo immediately below giving the best idea of how this little insect preferred to "leg it".
It is reaching out for the next leaf in an attempt to continue its stroll. When it couldnt reach, it turned around and took the long way around.
The wings seem to be in good condition, and fully serviceable, so the creature was on a hunt of some sort....a hunt that required not being airborne.

Chat with a Mantis

The picture below gives an idea of the character of the Mantis.

Although diminutive, this curious little insect will check out

a relative giant such as myself.

A group of mantids inhabit one of the citrus trees in my backyard.

With quick reaction times, great eyesight, and fearsome apendages they keep the area on which they live free of insect infestation.

They make an interesting study within a relativly small environment and seem to live in harmony with another resident of the tree on which they live- The Orchard Butterfly. The Mantids seem to have no interest in the juvinile caterpillers at all, with the larger ones being too big to consider. These mantids may even

provide a service to the caterpillers by reducing competition and providing some protection from parasitic conditions.

.

Orchard Butterfly

Citrus trees, due the chemistry of the plant, often have some strange creatures inhabiting them.The orchard Butterfly is no exception.

The picture, below, is that of the immature caterpillar of the species.

Looking like a bird dropping, it consumes quite a number of fresh leaves to reach maximum size before its transformation ...

As it grows, the caterpillar undergoes some changes, and looks like the next photo as it approaches its transformation.....

Below are a couple of photos of the chrysalis that it formed...

I have been awaiting the emergence of the butterfly, though it seems a little overdue.

Usually taking about 10 days, this specimen has not shown itself yet

and has been in its chrysalis state for 14 days now.

Weather and temperature play a large part in the process and, as we have had a few cold days, things may be a little delayed.

I will be keeping an eye on it and hope to have photos of the adult on this site soon.

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.

Of spiders, flies and the testing of a new camera

Any new piece of photographic equipment can be a little daunting and it is important to know the gear you use reasonably well, so that you don't miss that fraction of a second that turns a good shot into a great one - so I was out in the backyard today seeing what was on offer when I found the following spiders.

Firstly, a Snt Andrews Cross, showing the two types of web it can produce in its classic orb with an "X".

The little spider wrapped in a leaf is in fact a jumping spider,

and it is the first time I have seen one make such a home.

I would guess that it was a female in her nest.

The fly, pictured below, was pushing the cameras macro feature to its limit as it was only 5mm long and extremely flighty

There are many insects out at the moment, allowing a wide variety of spiders a plentiful supply of food.

The Copperhead at the poolside today was a little camera shy and so will have to wait for another day

...perhaps tomorrow morning as things warm up.