About a year or so ago I encountered a Black-legged Golden Orb-Web Spider for the first time in the Zuurberg north of Port Elizabeth. These guys are real spiders. Not those thin legged little things that hide in your broom cupboard or under the sink, but things with the kind of look that scare little … Continue reading Golden orb-webbed spider →

Bladder grasshoppers are mainly restricted to forested areas, so you don't get to see them much around the city. They are unusual compared to regular grasshoppers in that their hind legs are about the same size as the rest of their legs. The make a very loud and long resonant croaking sound similar to a … Continue reading Bladder grasshopper →

I may use the name Firefly, but my favorite insect is the dragonfly. Skimmer Dragonflies (Family Libellulidae) are strong, fast flyers are are normally seen skimming low over the water's surface. They are carnivores and feed on other insects. Skimmer dragonflies mate in flight and the female will lay her eggs while skimming over the … Continue reading Red Skimmer Dragonfly →

I have done a post about a Kite spider and its web before, but I recently came across this orange and white Kite Spider (Genus Gasteracantha). The Kite spider has a flattened, shiny and hard abdomen with spiny projections. They are normally found in a symmetrical orb web in a tree. They are quite small, … Continue reading Orange Kite Spider →

A couple of week ago we spent the weekend at Sleepy Hollow camp site just outside Port Elizabeth. After a night of soft rain we woke up to literally thousands of flying insects crawling out of holes in the ground and taking flight. They were non other than Harvester Termites.The Harvester Termite doesn't build mounds, … Continue reading Harvester Termites →

The other day while working in the garden I found this tiny little (baby) praying mantis. Here he is sitting on the knuckles of my fingers. The mantis is a predator of other insects. The females chews off the head of the male during mating (I am so glad I'm not a mantis) and than … Continue reading Mantis →

I found this unusual bug on one of my succulents by the pool the other day. As usual I ran to get my camera and got a couple of pics. Referring to my Wildlife of Southern Africa book, I found out that it is a Twig Wilter Bug (Family Coreidae). It seems that they literally … Continue reading Twig Wilter Bug →

On our recent holiday there were lots of antlion "craters" next to our tent which caught my fancy. If it wasn't for all the leaves in the pic, it probably would have looked like a shot of the moon. Every morning I would plonk myself down next to the biggest one, take aim with my … Continue reading Antlion →