Exploring the Late Evenings

It was about 5.30 in the evening when I was back from a friend's home. I had left in the early morning and was back only in the evening. I decided to go for another mini-hunt around my home for a few critters. I spotted several small fireflies below the young banana trees. That's their favourite tree and it's not that easy to shoot them with a digital camera as there is little light.

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Both full-green and colourful grasshoppers hopped out of the path as I walked through.

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A pair of little butterflies were mating in the thick bushes, hoping to avoid attention.

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I managed to catch a small Changeable Lizard while it was hiding on the other side of a small shrub. To be honest, catching these small lizards can be tough, especially the ones from India!

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Here's one of the few small yellow caterpillars that were found in one particular plant. Have identified them as 4th stage Common Mime Butterfly caterpillars. Many Thanks to Bluebottle for the ID.

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Also on the same plant as the caterpillar was this tiny hopper.

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Towards the late evening, things can change pretty fast. It suddenly gets darker and these flies, together with the nasty mosquitoes, come out and fly around close to you. I don't think they are harmful but they sure can be annoying.

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Here's a tiny bee collecting from a flower its last bunch of pollen for the day.

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Lifted up a flat rock and found the black worker ants together with the eggs. Ooops, looks like I've disturbed a colony of ants.

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And finally, to end off, here's a green Katydid attracted to the light on the wall outside my house. Went close for a head shot before it flew away towards the light.

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Mr. Stick Mantis

Went over to my grandpa's old house again to do my usual hunting. While he was plucking pepper, I had some fun with Mr. Stick Mantis here. I found him on the usual areas where they like to stay; plants that have leaves the shape of curry leaves. I took some shots as usual, though it was sort of difficult to focus on the tiny insect.

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It was pretty sunny, so I decided not to use flash. My first tries weren't that succesful but as the sun got out, I managed some good, clear shots.

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Some of the best close-ups I got with my digital compact camera...

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Soon, I left Mr. Mantis alone and left. However I found another one on the way back and quickly grabbed a shot.

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Love is in the Air

As they say, love can be in the air, especially when you're an ariel creature. A pigeon couple has been residing in the back of the exhaust fan in our house. It's really high up the house and so none of us can reach it. They built a strong nest there such that now the exhaust fan can't move or work. One of these pigeons is a really beautiful white. I got a chance to photograph it from the back balcony once.

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I really admired the white one, though I'm not sure if its the male or the female. I managed to get a shot as both of them sat by the balcony.

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The moment the birds saw me, they got ready to fly off and I focused and got a shot just in time. A shot of the white pigeon flying off.

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Ant-Mimic Spiders

Not everyday in Singapore do you see a spider that resembles an ant. But back in Kerala, thats not the case. You've got big spiders like these that come up to your bedroom, and you'll easily mistake them for a black ant. But wait till you look a closer look and realize that its actually a venomous spider.

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I spotted this one at my front balcony while I was letting my dogs dry up after bath. To be honest, I almost sat on the creature. It constantly kept moving around, so it was difficult to photograph it.

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And of course, out in the bushes you see lots of weaver ants, and then ther'll be one ant which is either late or cannot keep up with the crowd, so they decide to take a nap under a mango leaf, and then are waken up by people like me who easily figure out that its a spider, not an ant.

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Once it realizes that its true identity has been revealed, it backs away slowly but if we don't leave them alone, they just act like normal spiders and face us to attack.

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Common Dragonflies in My Area

Dragonflies pretty much rule the low skies in my area in India. Due to abundant breeding places, many species of dragonflies prefer to stay here. There are also perfect conditions for them to live a happy life. There are other insects for food, stagnant water bodies for breeding, open areas for basking and lots of twigs for resting. The only problem is that, there's only one person to photograph them all. And that's me. Although my area is full of dragonflies, I never get to photograph them all since there's such a variety, and most species prefer to fly off than let me take shots. Hence here are some really common dragonflies I've encountered so far. This one's a Brown-Backed Red Marsh Hawk Dragonfly.

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This species isn't obedient at all times and will sometimes decide to be left alone.

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Next up is the Slender Skimmer, which regularly co-operates and allows itself to be photographed.

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And in the end, there are a bunch of dragonflies you end up missing as they prefer to be left alone. Here's a species of dragonfly that I caught as it was about to rest for the night. It seems to have a swollen vent.

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No Snakes, Only Skins

A group of workers were removing and placing some large rocks infront of my house one morning. After having done, one of them told me that there was a snake skin found inbetween the rocks.

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This was the shedded skin of a common rat snake. Apparently this is the only species of snake still to be seen in these areas. Almost all the other species have wiped out. And now, I am only able to photograph the snake's skin since rat snakes are quick and slither off at sight.

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A Skink That Went for a Swim

A little Dussemier's Litter Skink had somehow ended up in the tank below when I looked down. Suprised how it ended up there, I went down with me camera to photograph the poor little guy. He couldn't run off anywhere and was hence standing on a floating tapioca leaf that fell into the water.

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However, the skink did try to swim off when I came close with the cmaera.

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In the end I had to catch him with my bare hands, wipe him dry and then release him away from the tank. I don't want to be rescueing them all the time, unless its a rare animal that'll give me a chance to photograph it.

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