Dragonflies

Only recently did I become aware of how many different colours of dragonfly there are. Red, blue, yellow, black... I even found a lilac one drowning in the swimming pool one day and rescued it. Silly me neglected to photograph it, and I haven't seen one quite like it since.

They love the pool the most, but still hang out in the garden a lot.

This particular dragonfly comes back on a daily basis to sit on his bit of onion stalk.

One little lady took a shine to the banana trees.

"Hey! You want a piece of me?!" this little guy seems to be saying, but wasn't moving for anything.

Weird and Wonderfuls

Quite often I espy strange little bugs that I've never seen before. This ferocious looking flying bug stood unmoving for ages, simply prodding at its decomposing meal whilst I snapped away.

This little moth is so boldly retro!

Possibly some kind of bee relative chilling on the cosmos.

More interesting patterning on these beetles who also took a shine to the cosmos.

Shimmery blue beetle - I could imagine this character smoking a hookah.

Spidies

The first two pics are of an orb weaver who initially made its home on the patio and then retired at the side of the house until one day the hubby spotted its dessicated body fluttering in the wind, still attached to its web. We hope more will visit!

From what I could understand from the South African Spider Club, this is some kind of orchid spider. Rather reclusive little people, I usually find them deep in the garden and it's really the bright green that catches my eye. 

Another patio visitor was a brown button spider.

Rain spiders are plentiful, mostly indoors. My first week in Kitwe I was baking and felt a tickle on my arm. Thinking it was loose hair I brushed at it but the tickle persisted so I looked down and did a shrieking little jig in the kitchen - felt sooo silly afterwards! (Only the spider's feelings were hurt.) 

This cute little specimen of jumping spider isn't very common but we were lucky enough to have two of them prowling about last year at the same time.

Crab spiders love hanging out in the flowers. This one was devouring a bee, surrounded by tiny jackal flies.

Roughly the size of an ant, this baby orb spider nearly became of a pasta dish for getting cosy in the basil bush.

Another indoor dweller, the nursery web spider, took a liking to Hello Kitty.

So unusual and colourful, a funky little kite spider.

Fairy Dwellings

I don't think I've ever seen as many different mushrooms (except in a book) as here in Kitwe. Roadside vendors sell funny little yellow and orange mushrooms that have a slightly funky taste but are alright, other rounded white ones that look like breadrolls, and gigantic supershroom thingies with a diameter of about 30cm. You can buy locally produced oyster mushrooms from the supermarket, alongside the imported ye olde Denny mushrooms. I imagine the ones pictured are not edible as they were growing in our garden (first pic)...

...and on a walk at Chembe Bird Sanctuary which is about a twenty minute drive down the road.

These look really story-bookish!

Quirky Little Green People

I'm not sure if the pink lipstick on this praying mantis is any indication of gender - after all, some men wear lipstick too - but it's too cute how it perfectly matches the bloom.

Some of these guys are as long as my index finger (and I have long fingers)!

Just popping out to say "ciao!"

Butterflies

These were taken in February 2013 as the rainy season in Kitwe had just ended.

I arrived back to a garden a little overgrown with metre-high zinnias, thriving cosmos, giant marigold bushes and of course...

...loads of these happy little guys. I'd never seen so many butterflies in a garden before.

Many merry days of chasing after butterflies with my camera ensued...

...especially after these swift and elusive little beauties. These big black butterflies hardly pause for a heartbeat on a flower before they zoot on to the next garden. Talk about camera-shy!

A more obliging specimen.

The Beginning

My mother-in-law's driveway in Walkerville features a row of these cacti that flower about once a year. The exquisite bloom unfolds overnight and dies within 24 hours. 

So simple, yet so pretty, what isn't to love about an African Daisy?

Back home in Kitwe, butterflies adore the zinnias and marigolds...