muonmo's Favorites

Gargoyle mantis

About 70mm long. I posted the profile to show "horn" on "nose". Colouring of legs reminds one very much of a rain spider - at first glance it looks like the discarded skin of a spider.
What would the function be of the growth on its head? I see some of the mantids can unfurl their antennae. These look a bit thin but I suppose if you look like this anything is possible. Fascinating creature.

Twig Wilter Bug

About 28 mm long. I assume this is a female as it was about 20 mm from the eggs that were attached to the twigs and leaves of the magnolia bush. I visited the site every day and was fortunate enough to capture the egg hatching process, pic's 1 to 9. After hatching the young turn black within about 90 minutes.
Does anyone know how long the lifespan of the bug is? It might be good to follow the life cycle.

After being away for part of Dec. and Jan. I have started updating on their progress with one pic. on Jan 13 - 2014. They seemed to have doubled in size.

Jan 27, added another 2 pics. The growth process started to get confusing with what seemed like an older bug that joined the clan.

Feb 11, added one pic. now confusion reigns as there seems to be three or more generations.

Mar 13, added one pic. They have stayed in the same area of the plant for the whole process. They appear to like the warm area as the plant is mostly in the shade and they huddle together in the sun spot on the plant.

Apr 12, two pics added. They have moved onto the leaves of the plant, sitting in the sun. Some look like they may be mating but I am not sure, maybe they are just climbing over one another.

April 20 I could only find one bug on the plant and the following day when I went to update, there were none and no sign of eggs. Closed file.

The Life and Times of Ms Pillar of Kleinmond

Collected 23 Oct 2012 at Palmiet near Kleinmond, started cocooning 10 Dec 2012 and I finally discovered what the imago looks like 25 Jan 2013. Food plant a type of Passerina I think. It looks exactly like the 3/4 other spp found in our area, I got it wrong all the time which led to food strikes and much back-and-forthing between home and mountain. Same as http://www.ispot.org.za/node/162875

Correction
The food plant was not a Passerina, it was Erica serrata. I have posted it as a separate observation here: http://www.ispotnature.org/node/505982 Maybe I can load an interaction now that we have that facility, although I'm struggling with interactions since the merger.

This is the Outramps CREW 100,000 obs and we celebrated it with Tilla who is the Head of the Threatened Plants Programme and the CREW Programme. It represents our involvement with plant monitoring from 1992 to 2021. It has been a joyous ride. So thank you all for so many years of fun, laughs and learning. Keep going!

Long tongue - sweet tooth

Very meticulously visits each flower and remembers each so not to waste valuable energy. That long proboscis is inserted all the way and only takes about one second to get at the nectar and then move on.
Pic 4 shows how the fly's face comes into contact with the anthers and pic 5-7 shows the purple pollen adhering.

First record for species for 100 years. Regarded as Data Deficient on Redlist, but just extremely localised in an inaccessible habitat. Two plants observed, may be more lower on steep slopes. Grows amongst dense Osmitopsis astericoides stands. Current known area <100sq.m. Should be regarded as Critically Rare or even Endangered or Critically Endangered as although well-conserved there is nowhere for it to go should climate change the habitat or fire regime.
Last three photos show comparison of Brunia pillansii (left) with Brunia cordata (right), of which there was a single plant also grew in the area https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/95511393. Leaves of B. pillansii are adpressed to the stem up to the inflorescence (some spreading leaves on lower branches), whereas B. cordata the leaves are spreading up to the inflorescence. Flowers of B. pillansii are also larger, 5-6mm across, whereas B. cordata flowers are around 4mm across.

Lollypop Conebush

Female.
Obviously very closely related to Ld comosum, but with a very peculiar growth habit: plants form a horizontal mat of vegetative branches with erect stems 1-2m tall bearing the flowerheads and cones.
Being serotinous, the stems must be robust enough to survive fires to allow the seeds to disperse.

The last two fires in the area have come within 10m of this population, but it has not burned. Some of the plants are quite moribund, but others are still in the vegetative phase - it seems that weaker plants and plants in unfavourable areas never produce reproductive stems.
Attempts to grow these plants at Kirstenbosch and in lowland situations have so far failed.

Ninepin Heath

Resprouters really have it tough under pine plantations. The shade kills the plants, and because they have low seed set they have small seed banks, so that they take a long time to recover (several fire cycles) when the plantations are removed and the more common species recover easily.
Most of the plants have finished flowering: now is the season to collect seed. One last lonesome flowerhead found. Only three plants seen on the site, in a clump.

Fits the other record of Mimetes capitulatus from Fernkloof despite both having filiform style: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/28814611, does not grow like Mimetes palustris from Fernkloof: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/31419359

Kleinmond fat tussock to grub-like female and eeeep! A male visitor!

15 Oct 2015:

Collected a rather fat little tussock larva on Erica serrata. This one had a red head, blueish body with red feet and red warning lights on the back (what are those, did anyone ever find a good answer?) (4 caterpillar photos are from the next day)

18 Oct 2015:

Caterpillar started spinning a cocoon in its tub (caterpillar in cocoon photo is from the next day)

22 Oct 2015:

I've noticed that the pupa seemed unusually fat, and when I checked it was clear that this creature has already metamorphosed into a grub-like female adult, only four days after starting its cocoon! I'm not even sure that it ever went through a pupal faze, could it be? (adult female photo is from the next day)

24 Oct 2015:

This morning there were two eggs in the cocoon with my fat little female, so I took her out to take photos. She had been safely closed up until now, but it often happens that freshly emerged female moths start laying unfertilised eggs without being visited by a male. While I was busy I noticed a sudden frantic orange flutter on the stoep around us, and the next minute there was a male moth in my female's tub. He had no trouble finding her and very quickly bit a hole through her cocoon, crawled in, spent a few seconds quietly by her side and then chewed his way out again. By the timestamps on my photos I can tell that the whole visit lasted all of six minutes, of which just about half had both moths inside the cocoon. Talk about wham bam thank you mam! I brought the female back into my office and left her uncovered by an open window next to me, but there were no further signs of any visitors. (gif image and photos of attending male, note one previously laid egg visible at the bottom of the cocoon)

25 Oct 2015:

More eggs. She has been writhing about in her cocoon, and has by now shrunk to about half her original adult size. I will keep the eggs to see if our little guy managed to get a few fertilised. (photo of female with eggs in cocoon)

3 Nov 2015:

The eggs hatched! This morning the cocoon was still intact and filled with hatchlings, by evening they had started to chew through and I was able to take a few pictures of their tiny, hairy bodies. I'm curious to find out how much of their original home they will consume - they don't yet show any interest in the fresh food plant I've supplied.

5 Nov 2015:

The hatchlings have broken free of the cocoon, which ended up in their tummies, mostly. I think the orange thing that was left behind is their mother's final exuviae from before she pupated; everything else is gone. 0_0 They have been marching upwards ever since, still not terribly interested in their food plant. I can see how wind dispersal would work for them. They weigh almost nothing and the long hairs make them fly off on the tiniest breath, and there appear to be millions so chances are that some will land on an appropriate plant if a breeze takes them. Opening the lid of their new tub is like facing a zombie attack! They keep slowly marching up the sides and along the rim, and it's a struggle to get them all off on all sides so I can close the lid without squashing any.

Roughleaf Conebush

Like the other two species (one with two subspecies) this Clay Conebush has scabrid (gritty) leaves. All the other species with flat winged seeds (Sunshine Conebushes) that grow on sandstone and sand or limestone have smooth leaves.

The first time I had ever seen this, i videoed the entire event as well from entry to exit. It was as if this species swims all the time. I sent it to a frogmouth expert and she had never seen that before. The bird chose to swim and flew away very easily after its swim. There appeared to be no explanation for the bird swimming as it was not particularly hot or anything unusual.

We've never had to work this hard for a Protea! Brutal ascent to Rabiesberg, only one plant and no flowers in their prime! Next time it will have to be Saw-Edge, @wernert95 and @muonmo :)

We would have explored and looked for more, but time and water was limited. A handful of dead plants in the general vicinity of this one, which I'll post as a separate obs .A couple of flowerheads and seeds strewn around (guessing baboons).

Hurrah!

After years of searching under logs in deep forest, here it was sitting in the road. And I would never have seen it had I not left my camera at the river and had to do a 20 minute return trip. (Serendipity: the art of screwing up yet achieving a long-held ambition at the same time.)
Video of it jogging : https://youtu.be/cGU0CnKZADU

Gladiolus aureus

CR; known only from a single locality, and all reintroductions seem to have failed; not particularly safe either, as close to a suburb and aliens present; very small population - typically only 10-30 plants flowering a year