I managed to do another walk on 29-December. This time despite of advertising in our apartment, not a single soul turned up! Very curious to understand what motivates people to turn up or not for a nature walk. Is it that people thinks it's irrelevant, a boring things, i-know-it-all, not important in current world! Not sure, but willing to explore.
My son was visibly upset that no one turned up and I suggested we have our own fun. However, thankfully my friend Shalini turned up with her daughter. The kids jelled well and had their fun. We started the walk watching a ant-mimicking praying mantis nymph
We walked past the now flowering and fruiting Jungle jalebi . We noticed a crab spider lurking along with the flowers waiting for an surprise ambush. Post processing photos at home, I noticed the tiny caterpillar not too far from the spider.
We observed the patterns on the Honge tree seeds. We speculated how the patterns looks like, a tree and the kidney shaped beans. We broke open few fallen seeds to see how many seeds can one find inside. Next time you spot a seedpod, try guessing the seeds inside before you open. A fun game for kids and let their imagination go wild guessing the pattern.
We also saw the beautiful flowering Tabebuia / Trumpet tree under the sun. Bees hovering around collecting pollen against the clear winter skies makes a pretty picture
We also spotted some bark mantises. Happened to observe interesting behavior of bark mantis young one. As I approached closer, it started swirling it's back part like a snake. Couldn't record it though, but it's an interesting distracting mechanism for a nymph. We also spotted what looked like a mealybug actively moving. I doubt if its a mealy bug or caterpillar of some butterfly
We also spotted some lacewing eggs
We had some fun wondering how big the Teak leaf is and found some dead butterfly!
We further spotted the young Assassin bugs that nicely camouflaged on bark of tree covering themselves with debris. We were thrilled to spot fig wasps next to fruiting figs. Notice the ovipositor for those tiny wasps. We wrapped the day with a lovely ichneumon wasp.
Ending the year with a positive note I am looking forward to more learning from nature in the new year.
My son was visibly upset that no one turned up and I suggested we have our own fun. However, thankfully my friend Shalini turned up with her daughter. The kids jelled well and had their fun. We started the walk watching a ant-mimicking praying mantis nymph
We walked past the now flowering and fruiting Jungle jalebi . We noticed a crab spider lurking along with the flowers waiting for an surprise ambush. Post processing photos at home, I noticed the tiny caterpillar not too far from the spider.
We observed the patterns on the Honge tree seeds. We speculated how the patterns looks like, a tree and the kidney shaped beans. We broke open few fallen seeds to see how many seeds can one find inside. Next time you spot a seedpod, try guessing the seeds inside before you open. A fun game for kids and let their imagination go wild guessing the pattern.
We also saw the beautiful flowering Tabebuia / Trumpet tree under the sun. Bees hovering around collecting pollen against the clear winter skies makes a pretty picture
We also spotted some bark mantises. Happened to observe interesting behavior of bark mantis young one. As I approached closer, it started swirling it's back part like a snake. Couldn't record it though, but it's an interesting distracting mechanism for a nymph. We also spotted what looked like a mealybug actively moving. I doubt if its a mealy bug or caterpillar of some butterfly
We also spotted some lacewing eggs
We further spotted the young Assassin bugs that nicely camouflaged on bark of tree covering themselves with debris. We were thrilled to spot fig wasps next to fruiting figs. Notice the ovipositor for those tiny wasps. We wrapped the day with a lovely ichneumon wasp.
Ending the year with a positive note I am looking forward to more learning from nature in the new year.
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