Wildlife September 2013

[Natalia]

Lagopus lagopus  in Hibiny

[brianw]

Wildlife among the Pleiones

[Roma]

Two bumble bees having a cuddle

[Maggi Young]

Two bumble bees having a cuddle

Cuddling on a Cosmos - I expect he's telling her he's brought her chocolate!

[Anthony Darby]

Here are a couple of Indian mynahs and some sparrows sheltering from this morning's torrential downpour. I think that's next door's gas boiler (only used for heating water in Auckland as central heating doesn't exist here), they're sitting on?  Mmm, just realised it's September.

[ArnoldT]

I usually find a praying mantis or two lounging in  a climbing Clematis that rambles over a Box.

Here are a couple of shots of one such having a meal (looks like a yellow jacket) and then I discovered an egg case.  The close up looks like he or is it she may have sacrificed a bit of antennae in the dinning experience.

[annew]

Seen from our local supermarket carpark!

[Anthony Darby]

I have mantis egg cases on the fence round the garden. Mostly the introduced African species Miomantis caffra. Even though it's a small species, adults will tackle wasps, and also eat full grown monarch caterpillars.

[mark smyth]

Well spotted, Anne

[annew]

No, no spots at all….

[Hans J]

here pics from today in our garden 

Mantis religiosa

Hans

[Armin]

Hans,
wow!
A sign you realy live in a mild climate. Never found any around here.

[Hans J]

Hans,
wow!
A sign you realy live in a mild climate. Never found any around here.

Armin ,

we see this animals from time to time ...
This ( or another ) I have seen in a other part of our garden before some weeks ...but I was to slow to make a picture 

[Anthony Darby]

We have two species in the garden. Miomantis caffra from South Africa and Orthodera novaezealandia. I find the egg batches (oothecae) on the fence and the house wall. The oothecae are hatching now, but I have only seen one small mantis. Caffra can over winter as an adult, but I haven't seen any mantids since autumn.