critters and bugs
It’s brutal out there. Two hunting spiders on opposite sides of a twig at 6.45am on the top. When checked at 4pm one hanging dead and the other’s status unknown. The Yellow spider is Thomisus spectabilis, (a crab or flower spider), with a potent and fast acting venom for prey many times larger than herself. The lower spider is Oxyopes elegans (Elegant Lynx Spider), that hunts on foliage, pouncing on insects and other arthropods, including spiders. Both had been living on the same plant for about a week.
seven legged spider (Cosmophasis micariodes, female sparkling northern jumping spider) on a finger lime, managing to get around fine after losing a leg somewhere
large stink bug
dragonfly
carpet python makes a brief visit one or two times a year
water dragon ‘Liz’ was a permanent resident for a while but I fear he has met someone further up the food chain
spider, from below
Black Soldier Fly
sometimes the auto focus lands in just the right spot
this caterpillar is partial to grape leaves
these Ichneumon wasps catch huntsman spiders for their young
palm dart butterfly
blue banded bee visiting cardinal creeper
orange legs hairy back
orb spider, smaller male treading very carefully on the other side of her web
this caterpillar likes eating euphorbia
orchid beetle, need to watch for these, and their larval stage, around tender orchid leaves and spikes
honeybee just emerged from throat of cardinal creeper flower
blue banded bee and beetles feasting on freshly opened abelmoschus (native hibiscus)