Dudu Diaries

Category: Ants, Culture, Ecology, Forests | Date: Nov 11 2009 | By: dududiaries

Ant in the evening…

A few weeks ago while visiting a forest at the coast I took a stroll in the evening. One of the most common kinds of ants along the East African coast are members of the genus Polyrachis. These are fairly large (as ants go!), over 1 cm long, and can commonly be found clambering around houses and trees.

This particular ant was wandering up a twig of a tangled shrub at the edge of the path. It walked up and down the stem several times before climbing onto a leaf. These ants are famous for tending other insects – primarily bugs of various kinds that suck plant juices and reward the ants with treats of honeydew. I found this bug lying against the stem where the ant was walking up and down.

After a few minutes, the ant clambered on to a leaf in the sunshine. There it sat sunning itself for a few minutes before wandering off.

I wonder what it was thinking of – perhaps ‘How do I get home to my colony?’, Or was it, just like I was, enjoying the evening sunshine streaming through the forest… It seems that even ants need a moment to themselves sometimes.

Tags: Ants, Dino Martins, Kenya, polyrachis, watamu

One response so far

Category: Ants, Butterflies, Culture, Ecology | Date: Nov 02 2009 | By: dududiaries

Hello!

Sorry for not posting more often – have been really busy chasing after bugs now that the rains have started and they are popping out all over the place!

Many, many thanks to everyone for their kind comments on the blog post ‘Ants in the dust’. I will try and post a link to the BBC piece on it when I can figure out the technical side of it today or tomorrow.

A couple of days ago in a tiny forest fragment near Nairobi I spotted these little beauties whirling about some buds. From a distance they looked like tiny little orange flames dancing in the dappled light. On taking a closer look I saw that they were tiny orange and brown lycaenid butterflies.

Known as ‘Buffs’, these tiny jewels are part of a large and diverse group of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. This species is Baliochila fragilis – an apt name for their delicate build. The caterpillars of these butterflies feed on lichens, often high up in the forest trees, so it was interesting to find them hovering about near the ground.

Looking closely at the butterflies perching on the buds of the Chlorophytum, I noticed that there were a lot of ants running up and down the buds too. And then I noticed that the butterflies had their tiny proboscis unfurled and were feeding from in between the young buds. These buds secrete extra-floral nectar which is intended to attract ants that then patrol the buds and protect them from would-be nibblers of the insect-kind. However, as the butterflies posed no threat the flowers, the ants seemed to tolerate them.

In fact, the butterflies were so relaxed that quite a few of the males were courting the females. The pair in the video clip below show the typical interaction. The male sidles up to the female. She rejects him with a flick of her wings and moves on trying to keep feeding. He follows her and flicks his own wings at her trying to win her over… She rejects him and keeps on moving… the cycle is repeated over and over again. I guess eventually some of the most perseverant males win one of the females over!

More from the wonderful world of bugs soon!

Tags: Ants, Baliochila, Butterflies, Dino Martins, lepidoptera, lycaenidae, Technomyrmex

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Category: Butterflies, Culture, Ecology | Date: Oct 06 2009 | By: dududiaries

Dear AllSorry for not posting more - have been travelling - lots to share, just working on getting it all sorted. In the mean time here are some more close-ups of butterfly eyes - enjoy - the Emperor Butterflies below are particularly striking! The first one is a close-up of the Green-Veined Emperor, and the second is of a Black-and-White Charaxes. These are both fast-flying denizens that sweep through the forest canopy at high speeds and rarely venture down close to us mere mortals unless drawn by the scent of some rotting fruit or something even more appetizing like carrion!

Tags: Butterflies, charaxes, Dino Martins, eyes, lepidoptera, proboscis

2 responses so far

Category: Butterflies, Culture, Ecology | Date: Sep 12 2009 | By: dududiaries

Dear All, thanks for your kind comments about the Butterflion. If you are in Nairobi please go and visit him at the Sarit Centre outside the Text Book Centre. Here are some close-up pictures of butterflies that I took over the last couple of days. The pictures show their amazing compound eyes and mouthparts - which consist of a long tubular proboscis. More soon - enjoy the weekend! 

Tags: Butterflies, butterflion, calotropis, Dino Martins, lepidoptera, papilio dardanus., pride of kenya

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Category: Butterflies, Culture, Ecology, Flies | Date: Sep 01 2009 | By: dududiaries

As I was putting the final touches to the Butterflion a few days ago before he was picked up by the people from Born Free, I noticed that there was a strange fellow hanging around the lion’s painted mane.

He swished back and forth in a very suspicious manner. I decided to stand as still as possible and watch to see who this interloper was. After several tense seconds, he showed himself, pouncing on one of the butterflies painted on the lion’s mane!

Stunned, as this butterfly was not a juicy piece of prey but a layer of acrylic pigment on some rather hard fibre-glass, the attacker sat there and obligingly let me take his picture. This is a Robber-Fly, a common predatory insect that often seizes butterflies from the air and when they perch. However, this time he was fooled!

More soon – the launch of the lions takes place tomorrow morning and I will be there. Many thanks to everyone for their kind comments especially Dana, Christine, Tonee and Sheryl.

Tags: , born free, butterfly, Dino Martins, pride of kenya, Robber-fly

3 responses so far

Category: Butterflies, Culture, Ecology | Date: Aug 26 2009 | By: dududiaries

Hello!I’ve been meaning to share what I’ve been up to over the past few days. I have been painting a lion for the Pride of Kenya event, which is being organised by the Born Free foundation to raise awareness about the plight of Kenya’s lions and the need for their conservation.Of course as an insect-lover you can guess what I painted on my lion…The entire surface of the lion is covered in details from Kenyan butterflies and a few other bugs. There are a couple of pollinators – who are some of my favourite organisms and so important to farming and the survival of ecosystems.There are also a few ticks and ants hidden here and there on the lion. This will be a small fun activity for children to locate all the ticks and ants that are on the lion.Painting one of the butterflies was done in honour of George Adamson and his incredible work for lion conservation throughout his life. The small, humble blue butterfly in the middle of the picture below is of a species that was found at Kora, where George Adamson lived his last years. This butterfly had been named in honour of him, Leptotes adamsoni.I’ve gotten several requests for better views of the lion. Therefore, here is my amateur attempt at this by taking a video while walking around the lion and the result is below. Please enjoy the Butterflion and in appreciating the beauty and intricacy of these creatures spare a thought for all the wonderful animals and plants that we share the planet with and who need all the help they can get today to survive. And remember, without them our own survival on this fragile planet is tenuous.

Tags: born free, butterfly, Dino Martins, Kenya, lion, pride of kenya

6 responses so far