Nature

sunshine51 · August 8, 2015

While trying tio get closer to the garden lizard this critter decided to

take a rest on me hand & located something interesting on me

fingers...hmmmmm...

JetsetBkk · August 8, 2015

Be careful turning the tap on...

TP1 · August 8, 2015

I'm very sure I have managed to take a photo of the Loch Ness monster

Although Scotland is a few thousand miles away from BKK, I've heard, from very reliable sources, that Nessie can travel free with Thai airways anytime she fancies.

Mousehound · August 8, 2015

Noticed a little blob about 3mm in size on the gatepost

Original size first picture, followed by zoom macro picture.

P1060186.jpg

P1060164a.jpg

It just occurred to me that this may be a picture of ants mimicking a spider - the front antennae are long and resemble legs - spiders are of course eight legged, whilst the ant is an insect with the usual six legs.

samuijimmy · August 8, 2015

JetsetBkk · August 8, 2015

This was taken in Lumphini Park in Bangkok in June 2014 back in the days before I found the joys of shooting in RAW. I am led

to believe it is a monitor lizard. There were literally hundreds of these all over the park

Here's one up a tree at the top of a mountain in Phuket:

I wish I'd had a decent camera then.

.

TP1 · August 9, 2015

Sorry Jimmy, but mine is prettier than yours

sunshine51 · August 9, 2015

^^^ Jimmy's monkey needs to buy a bra!

Yours looks preggers.

Welcome to LOS...it's all here!

Edited August 9, 2015 by sunshine51

Ace of Pop · August 9, 2015

. Reminds me of Sportivo truck drivers

tolsti · August 11, 2015

JetsetBkk · August 11, 2015

Harmless:

Not so harmless:

Edited August 11, 2015 by JetsetBkk

sunshine51 · August 12, 2015

^^^ Nice snakes JsB...amazing how fast the Paradise Tree Snake can move....

JetsetBkk · August 12, 2015

^^^ Nice snakes JsB...amazing how fast the Paradise Tree Snake can move....

Yes! When he/she got onto the grass, he/she was gone in a flash.

Edit:

The monocled cobra was quite slow in comparison. I think he knew no one was going to bother him.

Edited August 12, 2015 by JetsetBkk

sunshine51 · August 13, 2015

JsB...with the exception of the Mamba's in Africa, most of the venomous snakes I have

encountered are slow movers & I reckon it's because...somehow...they know they're

badasses & don't have to run from a confrontation! They stand their ground & strike

when the opportunity is right. If they miss the strike they'll keep trying until successful

or the threat retreats. When calm & order is restored they slowly move off to wherever

they want to go. This seems a universal common trait amongst venomous snakes

(land dwelling)...but that Mamba i(black or green) s the exception.

Edit to add the video below....

JsB....What i said about venomous snakes & their slow movement is not an absolute

rule....this King Cobra video blows what I stated right outta the ball park! Perhaps

this snae is another exception?

Edited August 13, 2015 by sunshine51

JetsetBkk · August 13, 2015

Here's the edited video I took at the time. It's a bit shaky because the camera I had then didn't have good image stabilisation.

(That's my story and I'm sticking too it! )

I think somebody already had a go at him and knocked a foot or two from the end of his tail - it looks a bit stunted.

The bit at the end of the video was after I'd been out in the pick-up and come back and he was in the storm drain outside the house.

samuijimmy · August 14, 2015

Sunshine, those are really "gardeners" hand you have above ^^^^ were you playing in the mud???

This Hawk moth appeared again this evening....

Looking at the underside, it does look more like a moth....

JetsetBkk · August 14, 2015

^ Jimmy - check your plants every day for Hawk Moth larvae! They can devour a large plant in a few hours. The larvae are very clever at hiding on the underside of the leaves along the spine. The ones on my Desert Rose were light to dark green. It was stripped overnight of 50% of its leaves. But it recovered.

I'm not normally an aggressive person, but I took great pleasure in slicing those b@stards into lots of little pieces using pruning shears.

Of course, the first time I saw the moth I had no idea what this beautiful creature was doing on my cactus. Only days after did I see the results of the ravenous larvae.

The way to tell if you're infested is to check on the ground underneath the leaves - if there are a lot of small round balls of poo on the ground, then you've got problems!

Here are some pictures I took of the moth, the larvae and the Desert Rose.

The moth:

The devastated Desert Rose:

The little b@stards ready for slicing and dicing:

The Rose at its finest:

I pruned the rose very hard a couple of months ago after reading up on the subject. It is now just producing the first few flowers - I'll post some pictures when they are fully open.

sunshine51 · August 15, 2015

@ Jimmy...I was assisting the missus doing some repotting...mixing the carabao poop...before the dragonfly buzzed me.

Good call!

Edited August 15, 2015 by sunshine51

rhythmworx · August 15, 2015

^ Jimmy - check your plants every day for Hawk Moth larvae! They can devour a large plant in a few hours. The larvae are very clever at hiding on the underside of the leaves along the spine. The ones on my Desert Rose were light to dark green. It was stripped overnight of 50% of its leaves. But it recovered.

I'm not normally an aggressive person, but I took great pleasure in slicing those b@stards into lots of little pieces using pruning shears.

Of course, the first time I saw the moth I had no idea what this beautiful creature was doing on my cactus. Only days after did I see the results of the ravenous larvae.

The way to tell if you're infested is to check on the ground underneath the leaves - if there are a lot of small round balls of poo on the ground, then you've got problems!

Here are some pictures I took of the moth, the larvae and the Desert Rose.

The moth:

The devastated Desert Rose:

The little b@stards ready for slicing and dicing:

The Rose at its finest:

I pruned the rose very hard a couple of months ago after reading up on the subject. It is now just producing the first few flowers - I'll post some pictures when they are fully open.