A Dangerous Dance

Although the weather has cooled somewhat, there is a mass of insect life around - in sizes ranging from mosquitoes to dragonflies.

This could be partially due to the massive rains recieved earlier.

Welcome Swallows buzz the nearby dam in flocks approaching fifty in mumber, showing that lavae of all sorts are there for the taking.

Our resident spider species have been taking advantage of this fact also, catching masses of small annoying insects before they gain entry to our home.

There has even been a little time for them to do one of the most dangerous dances of all for a spider - the act of mating.

These two are engaged in that dance.

"Palps" of the male spider, the smaller of the two in the foreground, place sperm into openings in the female while, at least with this species, they face to face as though locked in some mortal combat.

The female spider often eats the male after mating, and sometimes during the act, dependant on the species and how quick the male can make a run for it afterwards.

A danerous dance indeed.

Adaptation of Design

Arachnids never cease to amaze me.

I photographed this orb spiders web the other day with a strange adaptation.

The center of the web is inline with the wire, thus giving the spider some cover from the prying eyes of predators.

In case you might feel this has a degree of chance involved, the web is fixed to the wire only at the center point, with the rest of the intersection floating freely so as to catch prey.

This design would offer both protection and stability of the web.

An example of evolution at work through design adaptation.

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.

More bird antics

Here are a few shots to follow up my earlier post "Thinking about Spring"

All this renewal has been partially fueled by a corresponding explosion in insect life...some of which is below..

Many ant nests seen recently have had winged pioneers heading out to start new colonies...

Even the arachnids have been active...with this Wolf Spider only too happy to have his photo taken...

Yes, its been all go this spring.

Summer is almost upon us as the first of the cicada began to call over the last week.

Orb Spider building a web

An Orb Spider uses its back legs to extract silk so as to complete a web.
The radials are in place and it is in the process of fixing down the circular sections.

Second year of blogging

Well, Its been two years of blogging.
I hope all those who have visited this site have enjoyed the photos I have uploaded... I have plans for many more to come.
I am working at getting some photos soon of the Whale migration ( on at the moment), as well as some good snake pics.

Spiders have been out and about for the last few weeks, with a variety of orb weavers including a very colourful Snt Andrews Cross.
This little spider was thoughtful enough to allow me to test my skills with a rather tricky shot....



As I have been celebrating my second year, I thought a pic of my bourbon and cola, with appropriate ice cube, would be apt. :)



Thanks to Jill for the ice cube tray ;)
Thanks to all for taking the time to visit my site.

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.

Birds and the Bees

Spring, especially in an area where the seasons are so pronounced, is a time to get into the act of reproduction while the food sources and climate support the raising offspring.

These pictures below are of Reproduction of two sorts.

The insects are male and female, requiring sperm from the male to fertilise eggs within the female.....whereas the snails are asexual (each being effectively male and female ).

This means that they supply 1/2 of the genetic material needed and both produce young (lay eggs).

The snail below is of the same species, though shows colour differences to those above.

It is redder in appearance and, if I had the time, would be interested to cross snails of both colours.

It would be interesting to see the ratio of light to dark snails, and mixed shells, through this method of reproduction.

...and if you have ever wondered what a bumble bee looks like compared to a regular bee....wonder no longer

....of course, all the regular predators are out taking advantage of the increased food sources.

...and even a little fungi.

This bracket fungi is similar to its Australian counterpart, though was very white and seemed of much denser composition. This is possibly due, in part, to differing climatic conditions from those I have observed in detail in places like Robertson Nature Reserve ( see previous posts).

I would like to wish Denis Wilson and his colleagues much success with their fungi exhibition being held at Robertson NSW Australia. Perhaps a few pics of the exhibition Denis?

More nests

Back in December I posted a story with a few shots from my new camera.

One of the shots was of a Snt Andrews Cross in her web.

Well she, like Charlotte in that famous story, has gone now and has left her legacy in the form of egg sacks....pictured below.

I have taken a shot from different angles so that you my appreciate the unusual shape and construction.

The following shot is what happens after about 2 months........

The Snt Andrews Cross spider did well this year in her attempt to continue her species....producing 3 such nests.

A few more Arachnids...and a Slug

Just when I thought I had done enough arachnid shots, I came apon this water spider ( found by my daughter Aeron) at Carrington Falls the other day.
It is amazing how they can suspend themselves on the surface tension of the water.
I was tempted to give this guy a little push to see if it would glide on the surface...and so I tried.
A word of warning...these spiders have a temper, and i was severly scolded in the form of many bites in quick sucession....luckily on my nail. ( you dont think that I would poke it with a stick...do you? )

Denis wilsons post on the day can be found Here. and has
further descriptions on the behaviour of this spider with further links.




While I am on the subject of spiders, I might as well put in this little Leaf Spider.
I loved, as a kid, placing flies in the web and watching the reactions of the spider as it tested the vibrations, spring into action to capture and subdue its prey, then haul the lot back to the safety of its home.





....And finally, something that is not a spider.
This slug, found by my kids in the backyard, was in the process of consuming a worm.
It managed this rather quickly, to my suprise, and took around a minute to consume a good 75mm of its dinner. The baby slug tagged along for the meal. A most unusual sight.

Nests

Robertson, having only been converted from a dense rainforest some 150 years ago at the most, still has some strange creatures come to visit your home. The spider, below, is not so strange. It is a common species in many surrounding areas, though I thought the nest was worth a photograph.

Suspended from my ceiling, and about 70mm in diameter, it is host to the female and her young.

I must admit a fascination for arachnids, though my distaste for mozzies is what keeps her there.

:)

Arachnids Galore

The height of summer is a great time for spiders, and many a scene can be played out in front of your eyes if you look carefully enough.

The demise of a black house spider to a white tail is just such a scene...

Then you have those spiders that are hard to see, and those not so hard...

..and if walking on land, and flying through the air wasn't enough....there are those that walk on water as well....

Yes, spiders are a successful species that has taken advantage of nearly every environment....even under water (still hunting for them :) ), and its unnerving to know that the average person swallows....in their sleep.... at least two in their lifetime.

Pleasant dreams....lol

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.