Nature Photography - Praying Mantis, Cayman, Hummingbirds and some Toads - ecoTrain
This Praying Mantis was literally a gift from heaven. I have only seen them once or twice before. My wife and I were sitting outside having a cup and I saw something landing. It was not a bird nor a butterfly but it was quite big. It landed a couple of feet from us and only then I saw what it was.
What an opportunity and what an amazing creature. Whether they are rare or not, I’ve never seen it before.
This is one of the biggest insects I’ve seen. It’s length is approximately 10 cm.
The antenna of this big Mantis are relatively small. Compare that with the biggest antenna ever on this tiny grasshopper.
I was walking through the field when I saw one little hop. Just one hop, so I knew it had to be there. I had to look hard and long to discover it but then I saw it hiding behind a piece of grass. It was very shy and very aware of me. When I stepped to the left it moved to the right. When I moved to the left it stepped to the right.
But after a while it became a bit curious and there it was with it’s lovely white eyes looking at the camera. The length of this grasshopper without the antenna is less than a cm.
Staying with the small. This toad is not much bigger than the nail of my thumb. I’ve no idea whether it will grow bigger or not.
This one will definitely grow bigger. It’s a Cane Toad of perhaps a close relative. This one is only 3 cm but it can grow to a length of 10 to 15 cm. Next to the eye you see the ear drum. And right next to that the enlarged paratoid gland. When attacked it secretes what’s called a Bufotoxin. They can be deadly to dogs and my dogs know that. They completely ignore them.
I showed you this lizard in older post as well. https://steemit.com/photography/@gardenbsquared/columbina-passerina-ecotrain
It came crawling through the bushes to enjoy a little bit of the late afternoon sun.
There are also bigger reptiles around. This cayman I photographed in a canal close to our house. It’s about 3 feet long and no threat to humans.
Unfortunately I could only take one picture before it swam off.
This is most likely another Esperanza species. With the naked eye these little white flowers it sits on look not really spectacular but with the macro lens I think they are gorgeous.
Two different dragonflies. Dragonflies are carnivores and you can imagine by the way it holds the leave how it will crab an insect and devour it.
Some of the plant life can be really spectacular close up. These are the forming leaves and flower buds from the Cassia alata bush.
These flowers look majestic with their purple crowns in the middle. I’ve no idea what it might be.
A garden is not complete without a couple of butterflies. These are the Banded Orange Heliconia (Drydula phaetusa) and the famous Monarch.
I want to end this post by sharing some photographs of these beautiful birds of paradise.
Thanks and much love,
Gardenbsquared
Amazing pictures, what a colour spectacle and how things look differently with a macro shoot, very impressive.
My 3 favourites : Cassia alata bush, 1st and 2nd paradise bird - cant't choose, both amazing and all the praying mantas are stunningly impressive as well.
Thank you. How interesting that you choose the Casia alata. It's one of my favourites as well. Took me less than a minute to get that shot right. The hummingbirds took me days. Heerlijke frieten trouwens. Gefeliciteerd.
Now i am getting confused, wish there was a little private chat button sometimes, are you Dutch? And while I am on it, where are you living for c sake that you have a cayman behind your house?
Klopt als een bus. Wij zijn jaren geleden naar Suriname verhuist.
Ha, een beetje in het Nederlands chatten is natuurlijk ook een beetje meer privé :-). Post eens iets over Surinamië, ik weet daar niets van. Knuffel
I understand Dutch, as I'm Afrikaans. I guess this is the closest to my language I'll be able to see here on Steemit, so I just had to comment! I agree, a private chat button would be very nice. Geniet julle aand.
Ha @snapperlize, don't you love Steemit eh? :-) This one really made me laugh, nice one! Travelled South Africa long time ago. Steemit is so fantastically international, nice to meet you :-)
En een dikke knuffel van mij :-).
Ha, dit is zo fantastisch, we zijn betrapt door iemand van Zuid-Afrika, ongelooflijk :-)
:)
Very nice photos @gardenbsquared I had a look back through your other nature photo. Very nice!!! Following
Cheers,
buckydurddle
Thanks. I looked at your blog as well. Great stuff. Followed you back.
wow thats a LOT of really nice photos! Could make a couple posts out of that for sure.
I think my favorite was the humming bird. The mantis was real cool but I have always loved those hummingbirds.
Thank's a lot. Maybe I've should have made several posts. But as long nature keeps giving...
I love the hummingbirds too, they really are magical to me.
Yes nature will keep on giving!
Bless it be∞§∞
These pictures are phenomenal @gardenbsquared. Thanks for posting them.
Thank you for watching them. Cheers.
Wow, a lot of great pictures here! I think I like the dragonfly the best.
Thank you. Yes these dragonflies are very intriguing.
Wow very cool. I rarely see prey mantis anymore but they fascinate me. One thing that may or may not surprise you. A mantis will kill a hummingbird. They will hang out where they feed and wait. It's amazing but they can hold their entire weight. I had to google it to believe it myself. The videos are not for the faint of heart....
Oh my! I JUST LOVE the hummingbird photos... I was really shocked at how similar our photos were... I just took a walk the other day and caught many of the same critters (me being in Bali, and you in Cayman, I would imagine we have similar animals!) But then you got me with this wonderful bird.. oh my goodness! Great skills by the way, I have found out how hard it can be to catch nature in the act ;) Love it!
That's nice to hear. It's fantastic to come in to contact with people all over the world. Thank you. Great to meet you.
It's wonderful to meet you as well! I feel the same, It's so fun to have a linked in world like this! I feel like now wherever I travel, I will have someone I can ask for little tips and tricks and maybe even meet some Steemians in person =D If you ever are visiting Bali, be sure to tell me!
It's fantastic isn't. We can be islands in an ocean wherever we are or wherever we go. It will not be soon but I would love to visit Bali.
Wonderful post and shots. I like the purple flowers, but they are all stunning.
Thank you. That's nice to hear from a fellow photographer.
I'm not even an amateur, but I love my camera, and appreciate other's work.
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