Friends of the road.

[lion]

I sometimes go out and drive on our roads at night to see what kind of things I can find. My searches are mostly for snakes but since photography is so cool I started to stop for smaller things too

Here's some local yokels from the Oudtshoorn area in the Karoo- South Africa.

SA Baboon spider giving a ant a scare

Brown house snake -our version of a cornsnake

Unknown but pretty and not something you can easily spot on the road

This is our most venomous scorpion P. granulatus

I hope you guys can add some of your own locals.

 

[[email protected]]

Awesome pics! I want to see more

 

[lion]

Here's a kind of daytime post. It has some of the other kinds of creepy pets and hopefully I be adding some mantids to it as-well.

This girl is one of the local Orbwebs. She is either Nephila or Argiope. Luckily males are always nearby so they make interesting photos.

He is out of focus cause he would never dare sit on the same web are her. He lives on his own web about 20 cm behind hers'.

A fresh Leopard tortoise, he still had a soft shell and the coin is bout the size of a dollar coin or 5 pound coin.

These guys make an annual attack on the town, they are so plentiful that it sounds like Rice crispies when your driving down the road.

Rock scorpion.

I was told it is a fly larvae and sometimes they stack the sticks in a horizontal way ,like building with bricks.

This is Africa's most venomous snake the boomslang. It takes longer to have an affect on you but the venom is more potent per mill than any other.

 

[MantidLord]

Awesome finds! I really love the scorpion picture. I would probably be too afraid to get close to the snake.

 

[hibiscusmile]

goodness, don't know if I could live there, I am thinking,,,, maybe not! :huh:

 

[lion]

Awesome finds! I really love the scorpion picture. I would probably be too afraid to get close to the snake.

I heard a very interesting story about this snake, a long time ago they were quite common in overseas exports and people thought of them as a very placid snake. They ended up handling these guys like they were ordinary corn snakes and you would see kids with these in their hands.

After some time people were told the truth and freehandling is not so common anymore.

Some do still do it but every animal has its own personality so I've learned that mine will never be a toy.

 

[sporeworld]

Amazing. A little terrifying, but really amazing. You've got quite a backyard...

 

[kitkat39]

I think it would be so much fun to visit Africa! And those seem to be things that wander around in plain sight. I wonder how awesome it would be if we actually started looking around for things.

 

[lancaster1313]

Great Photos! I especially like the Orb weaver.

 

[Mr.Mantid]

Nice pics!

 

[AmandaLynn]

The boomslang is sooo pretty!

 

[Termite48]

Lion: You really did make a nice contribution to the picture gallery here on the Mantid Forum. Most of us in our lifetimes will not be able to see most of these creatures in their native habitat as you have submitted them to us. Thanks! I also like the spider pic the as my favorite, though all are marvelous.

 

[lion]

Thanks for the picture comments. I know there are some real good photographers in the insect world so I am going to go out and try to make some 5 star ones. B)

Can you guys plz add a few of your "roadtrip" files.

 

[[email protected]]

WOW, I LOVE your photos. I will never get tired of seeing them! I really like the baby leopard tortoise

 

[kmsgameboy]

Lion: You really did make a nice contribution to the picture gallery here on the Mantid Forum. Most of us in our lifetimes will not be able to see most of these creatures in their native habitat as you have submitted them to us. Thanks! I also like the spider pic the as my favorite, though all are marvelous.

I couldnt have said it better myself. I agree 100%!

 

[Rick]

Very nice!