shauns's Favorites

Pupae cases seen at the base of a Keurboom. With permission, the tree was removed, roots and all, taken in for a MIR scan, first image. Guided by the scan, section cut through the stem to confirm scan interpretation. The holes made by Leto venus larvae are confined to a 40cm section of the main stem, do not enter the roots and are parallel to the stem, near vertical.No larvae were seen, thinking the 5 holes were made by a single brood, all of which pupated within a short period of time.

Puffie Power Play

An incredible encounter with two male Puffies in combat on the beach at the Cape of Grope (say "Good Hope" really fast with a local accent). I watched them for an hour, during which time they had a couple of dunkings which didn't seem to bother them. Don't know how long they'd been at it before I got there, but there was no sign of any letting up when I left. Video of some of the action here: https://vimeo.com/138773900.

Originally I had assumed this was a Puffie pair mating, but in light of some of the comments made here about sexual dimorphism (not apparent in these two individuals), and in view of the fact that I couldn't see anything going on that looked like copulation, I'm persuaded that this was a pre-mating dominance ritual. Although I must say it mostly seemed like rather gentle and serene combat. I wonder if there was a lady in waiting anywhere in the vicinity...

Just for interest, added cycad seeds being sorted . Nobody seems to know who brought them in or where they came from, but many of the seeds have similar holes, similarly empty. None of our cycads have cones now, so thinking this beastie came in with the seeds.

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!

Hesperantha flava

very poorly known species, with only 3 or 4 records, from Steinkopf to Matjiesfontein; fairly common, but very local, on thin shale rock sheets; plants to 5cm tall; fls only open half and hour before sunset and remain open all night; extremely sweetly scented; no evident threats, although a large wind farm is proposed for this property

Maybe five miles from Duma Tau camp in same pan where wild dogs caught impalas. One impala swam so close to this open mouth I thought the hippo might save it from the dogs, but hippo closed mouth and sank beneath surface as impala approached.

I went down to my swimming spot with the aim of removing some branches from a tree which had fallen across the river. As I arrived I disturbed a young Fish Eagle who was sitting on this tree. Rustling in the undergrowth on the opposite bank alerted Dog and me that we were not alone and soon an otter popped up its head, sending the dog into a fit (she probably thought it was a swimming honey badger). Another otter also started popping up and down and doing a sort of long moan-growl. To my surprise the closer otter started making a bee-line for us and was probably only 3m away from the dog when I called her back. After a while they settled down so I entered the water to commence my pruning task, keeping a close eye on the nearest otter. Dog was sensibly sticking to the bank. After a few minutes I noticed the otter had moved closer, was staring at me intently and again moan-growling. Being waist-deep in water with nothing for protection but a swimming costume and a folding saw, I decided to calmly retreat and the otter immediately snaked over and claimed the territory I had just vacated. Video here:

https://youtu.be/GHbui1YX31k