Heartstring Moments - Springtime in the Kalahari 2018

[ExFmem]

The Honeymoon unit at Urikaruus provides a safe place to photograph insects, etc. at night since the car enclosure area is fenced. I spent many wonderful hours in my idea of Heaven on Earth.

I even had company




To make it even more special, the local Cape Fox could fit itself through the wire fence and join me each evening. She was catching and eating them (mostly beetles from what I could tell) faster than I could snap their pics, but I was happy to be in her company.

I was delighted to find a couple of large Cone-headed Mantids, and hoped they would turn out to be male and female so I could add them to my collection of pics of families, but turns out they are not even the same Genus, much less species:


Idolomorpha dentifrons










Empusa guttula










They are voracious predators whose prey are impaled on the mantid's foreleg spikes while they are eaten alive, head first.















Female mantids are known to decapitate males during mating. It is thought they do this to avoid becoming the male's next meal.

[Lisbeth]

Aliens

Brilliants photos though

and of course, I love your birds

[Alf]

No not aliens

Strange looking insects

[Lisbeth]

[Mel]

That is a stunning series! Albeit a bit rough… Who would have thought that such small creatures can even top the
brutality of large predators when it comes to eating their prey

But VERY interesting!!!

And Charlie Fax is so tame that she shares an enclosure with a human being? Hmz… But then again… why am I surprised…
I conducted a test once: I made noises to see if I could catch her attention… Well, I did - she came running, probably
hoping for some morsels being thrown down from the deck

[ExFmem]

Happily, Mel, she wasn't "comfortable" at all - as long as I was SITTING higher up on the stairs (the mantids were landing on the railing) and she was down on the ground, she was "okay". As soon as I stood up, or even pointed my camera at her while sitting, to take her picture, she would immediately run out of the enclosure. I couldn't even get a shot of her tail!

I agree with you, though, it is VERY detrimental to her to become comfortable with close human contact, so I was relieved to see her being to skittish, but it was still cool seeing her relatively close and hunting bugs. Hopefully that means she is still having to find her natural food, not being filled up by ignorant or self serving humans.

[Flutterby]

Lovely light on your birdies!

[Richprins]

The stuff of nightmares, Ex!

But astounding pics and yes indeed, a nice face on the Kestrel!

[Dindingwe]

Amazing travel tale . You saw such a great diversity of animals !
It seems to be the perfect season to go there, from the Lions mating to the birth of the Springbok and the poor little Lion cub, and all the birds !
I feel like going back there again

[Pumbaa]

Love your birdies, ExFmem,

especially the ones from the tawny,the kestrel and the barn owl

and then these mantids shots simply stunning and the do look totally like aliens