March 29, 2014

A variety of mushrooms grow in the Rhino dung middens.

 An Orb Spider has it's web spun between two trees ....

 .... and so does this Bark Spider

 Spotted in the grass below the spiders was this beautiful little butterfly. 

I do hope it managed to avoid the webs.

From a distance a rather dull looking Grasshopper, but a close-up shot reveals interesting patterns.

Turned out to be quite a beautiful creature, right down to the hair on it's chinny-chin-chin!

March 23, 2014

 Leonotus leonurus (aka Wild Dagga or Lion's Tail)

Wild dagga is widely used in traditional medicine to treat fevers, headaches, coughs, dysentery and many other conditions. Also so used as a remedy for snake bite and as a charm to keep snakes away ;)

Grasshoppers

March 21, 2014

During a visit to the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park, we were greeted by this colourful sight

The Butterflies were so fresh and brightly coloured

When you want to mingle with Butterflies you have to blend in...

March 13, 2014

In and around my garden

A tiny bee harvesting pollen from a tiny flower

 A type of ant that I have not seen before. Note the spots on the abdomen

What a web! It was as fine as a mosquito net.

 These stamens seem desperate to have the pollen harvested before the flower wilts completely

 Another beautiful web! This was a fairly large web for such a tiny spider

March 9, 2014

It is amazing what you find if you take the time to park your car and study the surrounds.

We always stop at a low water bridge in the Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park to photograph the Dragon Flies.

This day offered quite a variety! These photos were taken from where I was sitting in the car.

The green Damsel Fly seemed to be laying eggs in the water

Never seen this type of bug before

 A Water Monitor keeps an eye on us

Such lovely colours

March 5, 2014

While trying to get the lawn back to life I noticed a rainbow 

 I zoomed in closer and took various shots at different angles - this is my favourite 

March 3, 2014

A misty morning resulted in jewels on the cobwebs on the fence

"Please don't shoot"

This little wasp was sitting to the right of the be-jewelled cobweb and rubbing its eyes.

It looked as if it was reacting to a 'hands up' command :)

March 2, 2014

This spider made a home on the Yucca plant at the front of the house.

In the evenings it would build a very tidy web that spans between the outer tips of the leaves.

Don't be fooled - this is not a very large spider. This photo was taken with the help of a 

Raynox 150 conversion lens

Only once I downloaded the photo did I notice that it was busy feeding 

 Later in the afternoon the spider had made an about turn and seemed to be resting.

Notice the markings on the abdomen look like eyes on the head of a much larger insect

In the early evening the web was back and it was not long before a little butterfly was caught in the trap