Two Very Religious Bugs.......

The green color Praying Mantis below was inside the house at night last Friday,when I quickly took a photo. He was still in on following morning, so I scooped him up on a newspaper and put him on a Pomegranate tree and took another photo. Just as I was getting back inside, I saw the brownish one on a window grill. Talk about coincidence!  I clicked on him right then too,and again inside the house at night on the same day. Not only they differed in color but also in size, the green one was about four inches from head to the end of abdomen,while the other was roughly one fourth of it. 

Posted for Macro Monday.

Psyche

Psyche/Leptosia nina nina is  a very common and small butterfly I see around. I photographed this one in my garden. A huge variety of butterflies visit my garden every day, and I will share them with you folks as I manage to photograph them.

Posted for Macro Monday.

Isn't It A Beauty?........Chalky percher...

I used to post more insect  photos on this blog until I bought the camera I use now, which has a greater zoom and gives me a better chance with birds and other big creatures and I've been ignoring insects a little lately. But I like to have balanced variety of creatures on Wild Sri Lanka, and I'm gonna try to do just that. So, here's a dragonfly that I find very beautiful. These photos are from my very first spotting of this kind. It was basking in glaring hot sunlight in my garden last Wednesday and allowed me to get really close to it until I accidentally touched  it with the camera lens!    This species of dragonfly is called Diplacodes trivialis/Chalky percher.

                            





                                                                                                    

Vivid Colors

I first spotted this beautiful critter on  a Ervatamia divaricata (Linn)  in my garden one day, and it had shifted to a Thibbatu ?Solanum violaceum Ortega next to it. After that it was nowhere to be seen, probably fell pray to a bird. Could any of you guys tell me which butterfly this caterpillar belongs to?   

 

A Few Days of Sun Has Brought Many Critters To The Open

Image by roosterfeather via FlickrThe topic of this post is different from what I said it would be on my last post,but the originally intended content is included,plus some more.Apparently the consistent downpour that caused so many trouble is over,and the last few days has been warm,humid and sunny. I've observed and photographed a variety of creatures during this time,and here they are.This Lesser Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna javanica) was the recent for the originally intended post title, Quack Quack!   I didn't know of these till I saw this post by my blogger friend Amila.  I was on the look for this one ever since, till I finally saw this one floating in  small tank at a village a little off from Kurunegala. 

Image by roosterfeather via FlickrA small flock of  Scaly-breasted Munia, Lonchura punctulata were near a paddy filed yesterday,eating the seeds of some tall grass. I couldn't focus on their face though,I'd try my luck again.  




 



Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis) are nesting, and I see some incubating and building nests at my workplace. I tried to capture one carrying a twig in the beak, but failed. But I got this shot.  










Red-wattled Lapwings (Vanellus indicus) are clearly enjoying the sunny weather too.










Ever-present Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is seen in both small flocks as well as individuals pecking parasites off grazing cows and buffaloes.  



































Image by roosterfeather via Flickr








I photographed this Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) today as I walked home after work. They seem to prefer being in water.







Image by roosterfeather via Flickr

Last Sunday morning allowed me to capture this Indian Pond Heron or (Ardeola grayii).













Image by roosterfeather via Flickr This Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis), like the Spotted Dove, is from within my working place premises.







                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Butterflies  have been plentiful around here too. This one is a Common Pierrot (Castalius rosimon).


                                                  

Common Grass Yellow butterflies have found my Sesbania grandiflora plant,there are a few caterpillars and a pupa already.


















Dragonflies and damsels have also appeared in considerable numbers, with notably many juveniles. This Pink Skimmer(Orthetrum  pruinosum) is from my garden.  












I saw this marsh dancer on a plant in a foot path leading to a paddy field.


Allow me to finish this post with this water strider from my garden pond. Could you guys tell me the binomial name? I've got some more photos, but it's 1.40 a.m. and I can't go on. Stay put, take care! 

                                                                                                                           

Creepy Night Visitor!

Another Beautiful Flutterer

It feels so good to make a post after along time! This Yellow Orange-Tip(Ixias pyrene cingalensis) was photographed my good buddy Shan, who told me I could post it here.  I have news for you guys, very soon I'll have a new camera(nothing fancy though) and be back to posting all the interesting critters I see around! :-)

Today In The Garden....................

Hi all, it's been some time since my last post, for my faithful point-and- shoot is no more. :-(  It'll take some time to have a new toy. I'm doing a bit of wildlife gardening till then. Here are some critters that I captured in the garden today with a cam a friend of mine lent me. I've mot identified some of them, and let you know if I do.  I'll be grateful if you could help me there too.

Yellow-Billed Babblers(Turdoides affinis)

  Three-stripped Palm squirrel

 

Variable Flutterer Dragonfy

 Chocolate Soldier butterfly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Moth In A Combat Uniform!

            I have had to part with my camera for a while, and not been able to make a post to this blog so. During this time I had close encounters with few very interesting butterflies that I have never photographed before ans also observed a Small Civet(Viverricula indica) for the first time in my very neighborhood. This really unusual looking moth was spotted by one of my workmates  at our hospital today. When he showed it to me a bell ranged in my head. Another specimen of the same weird bug was observed at a hospital in the southern part of the island and a photo was published on a local news paper a week two ago, but no identification of the critter was given in that article. I just burrowed a cellphone from another friend to take this photo, so quality is obviously poor.

Image by roosterfeather via Flickr

Variable Flutterer Dragonfy- Female

Variable Flutterer is (Rhyothemis variegata) another common resident dragonfly of Sri Lanka.  I observed and photographed  this female specimen in my own garden, like most of the dragonflies that appear on this blog.

When Your Subjet Really Decides To Cooperate..................

Today I arrived home around noon, very exhausted after running some errand in Kandy. I was gonna have a quick shower and hit the bed for a nap, but this Scarlet Basker Dragonfly Urothemis signata signata ,that  caught my eye the moment I entered the garden,  made me change my mind. The next thing I remember doing is grabbing the camera and clicking away madly at the dragonfly, oblivious to my wife's fuzzing over my lunch getting cold. But it was all worth the trouble, for this particular Scarlet Basker literally posed in front of my camera!  The whole garden was flooded with blazing sunlight, and this critter was on a twig,calm and contempt, obviously enjoying the hot sun.  This proved the fact that Scarlet Baskers love sun bathing, the habit that has given them their name.      

Blue Persuer Dragonfly(Potamarcha congener)

Here's another product of my walks home after work. First I confused it with an Asian Skimmer but the difference of the tail color pattern made me search further till  I found this blog post by my blogger friend Amila Salgado, which allowed me to identify this one correctly.

The Dragonflies of Sri Lanka

Grey Pansy Butterfly( Junonia atlites)

This Grey Pansy butterfly that I photographed in my garden today was a very operative subject. Apparently it liked the prospect of appearing online for the world to see. There was too much sunlight though, it was nearly noon.   The pics were some what over-exposed and I used Picnik's auto fix tool on that.