Finding a new bug is a highlight of my weekend! I
have to admit, friends hate going for walks with me
– ‘’ Wow! Will you look at that!!’’ I exclaim, and I’m
there with my camera for the next half hour!
For those of you who are entomologists, I’m afraid I
cannot claim to have any scientific knowledge, (apart
from what I can find in my Field guide to Insects of
South Africa) – just a joy of nature.
My all-time favourite bug is the Sphaerocoris, or the
Picasso Bug.

The adult is bright yellow with a zigzag collar of black,
turquoise and red and its back has turquoise tear
drops outlined in black. The immature bug can be
yellow, red and black or even pink and gold and black.
One of my friends suggested I had photographed a
painted ping pong ball – and wouldn’t believe it was
real until I took him to the bush and pointed one
out! For some reason, this bug appears to have a
symbiotic relationship with a grasshopper, as I have
only found it where I have also found grasshopper
nests – a bunch of ‘glued together’ twigs which
house an interesting-looking larvae/caterpillar. The
nest hangs from a twig by a thread but the larvae/
caterpillar can actually move its whole ‘house’ from
one twig to the next.

Another exciting find was Pseudocreabotra Wahlberg
– a type of Praying Mantis. Pink, brown and green
with a prominent circular eye-like marking on each forewing, it pretends to be a flower and ambushes
visiting insects, whilst its eyespot scares off
attackers. Praying Mantis come in various shapes
and colours and the female has the macabre habit
of biting off her partner’s head after mating. Certain
Muslims believe they point the way to Mecca,
Catholics endow them with pious character, whilst
some civilisations regard them as bad luck and
others as good, and in China they are ground up
and eaten as a cure for impotence!!
They also make a tasty bird breakfast!: This fluorescent green beetle is a member of the
Scarabaeidae family and is very common on a mauve
flowering bush that grows all over the island. It has a
marvellous thorax that looks just like a red wine gum. I thought I was seeing things when this miniature
flying saucer flashed past me – it turned out to be
a Basipta Stolida or Green Tortoise Beetle – metallic
green with translucent wings, about the size of my
little fingernail.

Spiders – eek! – not my favourite insect. Though I
say it myself, I displayed remarkable control when this
landed on my knee out of a thatched roof one day!!
Having swiftly flicked it into the nearest flowerbed, it
was ‘quick, grab the camera’! A glossy orange body
and glossy black legs, it reminded me of a kids plastic
toy from some horror series. And how about this one
– a gold and red star!

As for this little guy – I almost trod on
him. I’m so glad I saw him in time. He
thoroughly enjoyed sharing my avocado
with me!

Changing colours again – the baby is
red and black only, adolescent – red
and yellow and black, adult – yellow
and black! I wish I knew why!

And then there are dragonflies,
caterpillars, butterflies, hawk moths,
ants, wasps, bees........insects in all
shapes and sizes – and they’re all
around you! Next time you go for
a walk, look closely – you will be
amazed at what you find – I was!