Posts Tagged ‘Nature’
Cane Toad
This creature was introduced to Aus by industry in ’37 to combat the sugar cane beetles but since it doesn’t fly it didn’t do a very good job. It has done a very good job eating or killing everything else though. It has its own integrity.
Ichneumon Wasp
This is a rare instance when the wasp actually stops long enough for a few shots. The relative cold probably had something to do with it. Then a car backfired inĀ the distance and she was gone.
Mating Beetles
Making little Green Leaf beetles.
A Few Visitors …
… to the outside light last night. On a wall so angles are mostly restricted. It has rained for a while here now and I haven’t been able to get out to my usual places anyway so I am making do with what comes to me.
Two are taken with the usual +8 dioptre. The rest using the +20 dioptre. Some minor cropping on some of them for comp.
This one was just a dot to my eye aided by a +2.5 reading glass, smaller than a pin-head. I only noticed as it crossed the frame as I was shooting the wasp. An active little thing, endlessly running to and fro with an occasional pause. No idea what it is.
A few tiny unmoving moths, about 4-6mm.
A wasp I think, about 4mm long. This one didn’t move for ages except to turn and shake its head now and then.
And last, the smallest hopper I have seen, about 4mm long.
Rhinoserous Beetle
Also known as the Elephant Beetle for its size and weight, this one was brought to me and was very agitated so I let it go after a few shots, has also lost half a front leg. You can see it’s been around, dented, holed and cracked.ļ»æ It now sits on a slice of mango, a little heaven to a sweet toothed beetle.
*
I put it out in a pot plant last night with a piece of mango and leaf litter after it served me, having read that’s what they eat. It took to the mango right away but didn’t fly away through the night as I thought. After the heat of the day I took it out from its shelter for a few more shots, it had dug in under a piece of wood. It had gotten very dusty digging in the earth and then a bit messy eating more of the mango. So I tried washing it down with some water poured on it. It wasn’t happy, hissing – as they do when picked up, and arching upwards. It’s over two inches long, nose to tail, and heavy. Wing span must be about six inches, I only saw the attempt to fly last night.
Wedge Shaped Beetle – Red + Black
Only two individuals found so far, by me. Both clinging to a short stem, one in the afternoon in the middle of a field and the other just before sundown. Karingal/Mt Cotton Sct Camp + Vic Pt water treatment plant.
The Colours of Oz 