Apr 30 2008
Love in the afternoon
Sunlight streams softly over the sides of the valley. On the edge of the Rift, the rains so far have been faithful this year, and every wildflower, grass and tree is in leaf or bud. In a world where drought and frugality are the norm, the abundance of rain brings a sweetness and joy to life as both creatures and plants celebrate and indulge without restraint.
This afternoon we went on an ‘insect safari’ down part of the Rift Valley scarp, through bush and rocky grassland into a patch of forest sheltering at the secluded bottom of the steep slopes.
Everywhere you look there is something going on. Busy bees are buzzing around a myriad different kinds of flowers. Ants march along the ground and up and down twigs and branches. Hoverflies claim their places in the sun, dodging the attentions of the bee-eaters and swifts.
It was late in the afternoon – and in the deliciously warm sunshine, it seemed the perfect afternoon for lovers to lie in the long grass. The insects agreed with this, I think, and were busy engaging in courtship and mating wherever you looked!
The first insects encountered were some large flies ‘Love-bugs’ as they are often called. These are members of the genus Bromophila, and with their striking bright red heart-shaped heads are easy to spot from a distance. Several pairs were busy mating, with the males riding on the females backs as they sat on the leaves of Combretum bushes.
As we clambered further down the slope, through tangles of flowering Aspilia, a metallic form glittered from the yellow petals. On closer inspection it turns out to be a pair of longhorn beetles. Again the male is riding on the female’s back as he copulates with her. She continues feeding on pollen and nectar from the flower while he mates with her. As if she were saying “Well if I have to carry you around, I’d better keep up my strength!”
Half-way down the escarpment, in thick bush with lots of herbs flowering a flash of blue whirrs past. It seems to be in hot pursuit
of something. It zips back and forth before diving into a bower of soft herbs. Closer inspection reveals a mad fluttering as a male Blue butterfly follows a coy female. He flies behind her stroking her with his legs and beating his wings with ardour. Eventually she yields and they settle contentedly among the soft, dark leaves of an Indigofera, which is also where the female will soon deposit her precious eggs.
As the sun sinks lower in the sky, the insects begin to settle down, enjoying the last rays of warmth. Even as the valley draws an indigo blanket over her ridges and hills, activity does not cease, for now the night shift emerges from burrows and curled leaves to begin their search for love…