NOVEMBER and DECEMBER 2020

 NOVEMBER and DECEMBER 2020

The jolly season is over and, unfortunately, it wasn't as jolly as usual, thanks to this pesky virus that has our world under siege! Also, I have neglected my blogs so I will combine November and December with this bumper issue:

The long-term weather forecast said that we should expect high rainfall in the first half of summer because Southern Africa's climate was to be influenced by a La Nina event (the opposite of El Nino) until the end of the year. Well, they couldn't have been more wrong! November had a measly 50mm (10 year average = 134mm) rainfall over seven days of rain, while December showed an improvement of 106mm (10 year average = 160mm) over eight days of rainfall. Anyway, the grasslands are still looking lush like you can see from the above photo of Hidden Valley, taken from the highest point above that valley on the Rock Kestrel Trail.

It's not even the jolly season that I enjoy so much over these two months but the abundance of life. I encountered so many things weird and wonderful over the last two months and I did manage to capture some of those moments with my little camera. Some of those you will find below...

It is amazing that once one is made aware of something, one tends to encounter it much more regularly. In October, I attended one of the very few outings this year with the Mpumalanga Plant Specialist Group up on Little Joker Koppie and the surrounds. Some of the members introduced me to a small, high altitude, low-growing bush that belongs in the Milkweed family that was not yet flowering. They showed me a picture of the tiny, hairy, hanging flowers. I was eager to see them because they looked delightful in the photo. Well, not even a month had passed and I stumbled upon one of these bushes far from Little Joker, up on Goudkoppies, that was flowering early. And the flowers are even more beautiful than they appeared in the book. I never thought that brown and black flowers would be so attractive. The bush has no common name but it is known as Anisotoma pedunculatus, and it is not particularly rare, just very easily overlooked. 

I encountered this tiny little male, inch-long, Sailing Bluet, Azuragrion nigridorsum, damselfly perched on the rank bush beside K33. Damselflies are much smaller and daintier than their robust cousins, the Dragonflies, but this damselfly is even small for a damselfly. Besides size, Damselflies perch with wings more folded than Dragonflies do, otherwise they resemble each other. Female damselflies spend most of their time far away from water and only approach water when they intend to breed. Males, on the other hand, spend all their time at the water's edge where they establish and vigorously defend territories, hoping that when a female comes to the water, she will come to his little spot. If she does, he will attempt to keep her within his territory while he courts her and ultimately mates with her. Once she is ready to lay eggs, she approaches a thin, tender, green stem of a plant that overhangs the water and cuts into it with the pair of slender saws that she has on the end of her abdomen. She then lays one egg within this slit and moves forward a little on the stem and repeats the process until she has laid about 40 eggs. This is very different to the laying habits of a Dragonfly who flies over the water and dips her tail into the water, in flight, and lays one egg per dip that sinks to the bottom. Anyway, once the nymph damselfly hatches, it drops into the water to begin it's amphibious stage of life which you can read about in my blog of August 2019. A unique behaviour of the Sailing Bluet, and where it gets it's common name from, is it's habit of landing on the water, often in groups, using the surface tension to avoid sinking, and sailing around, using it's closed wings as a sail. It is not known why they take part in this behaviour but it is diagnostic of the species.  

I encountered this very relaxed Night Adder, Causus rhomeatus, near Patrick's gate in the cool of the morning soon after sunrise. Usually a fast-moving, alert snake, this individual had it's body flattened against the substrate so as to expose as much of the surface area to the sun as possible. In this relaxed pose, it allowed me to approach much closer, without a reaction, than I have ever been to one of these lively snakes. The Night Adder confines most of it's activities to the darkness of night but, oddly, has the rounded pupils present in snakes that are active during the day (nocturnal snakes have cat-like pupils). Another rather unique feature of the snake is that it has enormous venom glands with a massive yield. Adders all have large venom glands but they still remain on the head-side of the neck, giving the head that diamond shape while the night adder's stretch along a quarter the length of the body. This venom is rather mild towards warm-blooded animals but deadly to amphibians, the snake's preferred food.

I found this beautiful Golden-scruffy Collybia, Cyptotrama asprata, growing from a fallen log in the darkness of the forest in Hidden Valley. Quite an enigma for taxonomists since it has undergone 28 name changes and placed in 14 genera since it's discovery in 1847! What we know as the mushroom is actually only the fruiting body of the fungus that appears when conditions are right. The gills (white in this case) produce spores (like primitive seeds) which drop out the bottom of the mushroom and are dispersed by the wind. The main body of the fungus is in the form of thin, interconnected threads called mycelium that grow into a net-like structure that forms a tangle within the substrate, in this case the log, and absorbs nutrients as it decomposes. These mycelium can cover quite an area when growing beneath the soil and, in fact, the largest living organism on the planet is a massive fungus growing beneath the soil and parasitising nutrients from tree roots in the Malheur National Park in Oregon, USA. The fungus, called Armillaria ostoyae, covers an area of 965 hectares (1350 soccer fields) and is estimated to be well over 2500 years old.

This Trailing Ice Plant, Delosperma cooperi, seems very comfortable growing from a crack in the wall at Rock Solid (unit 22). They are common on the estate and normally grow on cliff faces, providing a splash of purple with their multiple, long-lasting flowers. A popular garden subject, the plant can creep over rockeries and cover quite an area, and when in bloom, one can see why it's other common English name is Purple Carpet. The leaves and stems contain DMT and other hallucinogens and were fermented by the Khoi Khoi into a potent wine called "Khadi". I look more longingly to these glorious flowers since this darn alcohol ban...

This a handsome (in a nineties sort of way) Tussock moth, Euproctis sp., from the Lymantriinae. The name "Tussock" comes from the tufts of loosely attached, poisonous hairs present on the caterpillar. These poisonous hairs are even incorporated into the cocoon to further protect the pupa. Another characteristic of the sub-family is the presence of tympanal organs: hearing organs that resemble a membrane stretched over a round rim that picks up the vibration of sound waves. This a used as a defense against bats, who use echolocation to locate prey. Normally, when a bat is foraging, it releases loud pulses of sound that bounce back off of objects. The bat analyses these echoes and determines if the object is potential prey or not. If it is, say, a moth, the bat will home in towards the moth and begin to increase the frequency of the pulses so as to be more accurate as it approaches. Tussock moths can hear the bats and as soon as it hears a bat begin to increase the frequency of its pulses, the moth closes its wings and falls to the ground to avoid the incoming danger. Even more amazing is that there is a tiger moth, and probably more Lymantriids, that have extra organs, called "tymbals" that produce clicks like those produced from a pop can. If you depress a pop can, it makes a click and as you release it it makes another click. Well, these moths can produce up to 4500 clicks per second and when they hear a bat lock on to them and start approaching, the moth begins clicking with alternating frequency like a siren. This confuses the bat and so the bat breaks off the attack. Wow! How's that for an arms race? 

I noticed, for the first time, large, beautiful blossoms on that old, gnarled tree in front of the Steenkamp's ruins at the entrance to Bulldozer Creek (unit 21). These flowers helped me to finally identify the old tree as a European Crab Apple, Malus sylvestris. The old tree was probably planted between 1930 and 1940 making it 80 to 90 years old with the literature saying that they live up to 100 years old, meaning this tree is close to it's maximum attainable age. In it's natural range in Europe and China, this hardwood tree is never common and, because it requires lots of light, is usually only found on forest edges. The cultivated Apple fruit tree. Malus x domestica, is believed to be an ancient hybrid between this Malus sylvesrtis and Malus pumila, a wild apple tree species of which we have a single large individual growing at the parking of M3 which flowers and fruits prolifically every year. All apple species need to be cross pollinated to produce fruit and because this Crab Apple has such a long flowering time, it is often the species that is chosen to grow amongst an orchard of cultivated apples to help pollination. The seeds of the Crab Apple contain hydrogen cyanide and therefore should be discarded or swallowed whole. The small, tart fruit is suitable for cooking but is used mostly for it's high pectin content, a natural gelling agent used to thicken foods and particularly jams.

I found a huge baboon spider burrow in the grasslands where the path exits from the gorge towards the end of the Olinia waterfall walk in Hidden Valley. On closer inspection, I noticed a whole bunch of rather large spiderlings resting near the entrance to the burrow. After teasing the silk with the soft stalk of a grass plant, Mommy spider came up to make sure her little ones were okay! Once the male baboon spider reaches maturity, which only happens on the sixth year of some species, his lifestyle changes completely and he leaves his burrow to become a nomad with only one mission: to find a female, using pheromones released by the female when on the prowl. Once he discovers the burrow of a female, he transfers sperm from the genital opening on the underside of his abdomen onto his pedipalps and then begins to rhythmically tap on the burrows entrance. After she emerges and he finishes his little mating dance, he jams the mating spurs on his forelegs between her massive jaws so that she cannot bite him while he transfers the sperm from his pedipalps to her genitals. He then departs in search of more females. This behaviour by him is very dangerous and males therefore have a distinctly shorter lifespan than the females who can live for more than 25 years. The female constructs a waterproof, silken sack in the furthest depths of her burrow and lays her eggs within it. She tends the eggs and the spiderlings once they have hatched and this is the stage the spiders in the photograph have reached. Once the spiderlings have developed enough, they simply walk away from their mothers nest and construct their own burrow nearby, creating sort of colonies in certain areas. This is very different to the majority of spiders, spiders in the Araneomorph infraorder, who stand at the highest point of their mother's web and release a length of silk and allow the wind to blow them away, far from their mother, in a process called ballooning. 

I found a rock up on the mist-belt covered in dear-tongue ferns, mosses and a rather alien-looking, white, branching lichen called Elegant Fringe Lichen, Heterodermia leucomelos. This is a fruiticose lichen which forms loose tufts about 100mm across. The grey-white thallus is heavily branched and these branches are lined with stiff black whiskers up to 5mm long, which is characteristic of the species. As is the case with most lichens, this species is cosmopolitan but is rare and declining in most of the world where it is now protected. It is a lichen that prefers moist environments and is always associated with bryophytes (mosses) as it uses them for anchorage.

This day-flying lepidopteran, a Gold-spotted Sylph, Metisella metis, is sort of a mix between a moth and a butterfly. Notably lacking the comb-like antennae of moths and the club-tipped antennae of butterflies, the Gold-spotted Sylph has antennae hooked back like a crochet hook. It also has small wings relative to it's body size, like moths, although the rest of it seems butterfly-ish. Anyway, genetic studies put it as belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, in which butterflies are placed. It is a common butterfly and despite the bold golden splotches on it's wings, it's small size renders it inconspicuous.

Over the past few years I have introduced to you, via these blogs, a few species of grasshopper from the Pyrgomorphidae family. These, the Foam grasshopper (March 2019 blog) and the Koppie Foam grasshopper (March 2018 blog) retain the cardiac glycosides from their caterpillar's diet of the poisonous milkweed plants, in their bodies, after they have pupated, which renders them highly toxic. Both species have been the cause of death for domestic dogs. Well, this is a Green Stinkweed locust, Phymateus leprosus, and it also exudes a toxic foam when molested. This toxin, however, is even more potent than the others and more than one human death is attributed to it. 

This grey, mouldy mess that I found covering small patches of the lawn around my house may look like a fungus but it is not. It is called Ashen Slime Mould, Physarum cinereum, When it comes to classifying living things, the highest level of classification is the Kingdom. For example, animals belong to the kingdom Animalia which includes earthworms, spiders, insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds etcetera; plants to the kingdom Plantae; mushrooms to the kingdom Fungi and slime moulds belong to the kingdom Protozoa, together with Amoeba proteus, the amoeba you studied in biology class at school; Plasmodium falciparum, the protozoan that gives us cerebral malaria and many others. So when not fruiting, the slime mould moves through it's moist environment engulfing bacteria, other protozoa, fungal spores and other non-living organic material in an amoeboid manner as it's food. Once they are ready to reproduce, they convert into the spore-bearing structures like in the photo above. 

This lovely photograph was taken by Fraser Moore from Rock Solid (unit 22) in the recently burned area just south of the staff village. It is a lone African Wattled Lapwing, Vanellus senagallus, and it was probably hoping to hook up with a mate while visiting this area that is attractive to this species. Recently burned veld makes it easier for the Lapwing to find the grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, crickets and termites that it feeds on. This is the time when a monogamous bond forms between a male and a female. They would then fly to a pre-used breeding ground, usually in wet grasslands where the male establishes a territory of between 3 and 6 hectares and prepares a few scrapes in the ground, in the complete open,  with his breast. The female then chooses which one of these scrapes she likes best and they both line the scrape with pebbles, grass, roots and animal droppings. The female then lays 4 cryptic eggs in the nest and the couple share incubation duties. If a raptor flies over the birds duck down onto the ground and freeze. likewise if ground dwelling predators are in view. But if something approaches the nest, the incubator sneaks off the nest and joins its mate and, together, they mob the visitor until it changes direction away from the nest.

A stunning Long-horned bee from the tribe Eucerini preparing to collect some pollen and or nectar from atop a Senecio flower. These bees dig tunnels in the ground and construct cells out of chewed vegetation and mud in series within these tunnels. Each cell is stuffed with pollen and nectar and a single egg is laid, after which the bee seals it and constructs the next one in front of it. After hatching, the larvae, resembling fat, white grubs, devour the sugar and vegetable meal provided by mom and then pupate in the cell.

Unlike the Elegant Fringe Lichen featured earlier, this fruiticose lichen prefers to grow on trees and also prefers a drier habitat. It is called Bushy-beard Lichen, Usnea strigosa, and it is closely related to the familiar Old Man's Beard that hangs down so beautifully from tree branches in the mist-belt. The smooth discs are the apothecium, which are concave surfaces made up of tightly interwoven hyphae (the strands that form the three-dimensional net that is the mycelium of the fungi). These apothecia contain millions of asci, which are the spore-producing cells of the fungus. They are designed so that when it rains, drops may hit the apothecium which splashes the spores into the surrounding environment.   

Now, I know that the colour scheme of Berg Adders, Bitis atropos, is variable. But over a ten day period during December, I encountered four different colour forms of the snake! This one was relaxing, in the open, beside my house and it is the typical colour form of a Berg Adder..

This one, a colour form that is as common as the above form, was tucked up against the cliff wall that leads up to Potato Seed Production in the Majubane Valley...

This one, encountered near the Troutkloof waterfall on the Zebra trail, was a blotchy brown colour that I have never seen before...

...and this one, a plain grey-brown colour phase, was encountered on the Kestrel trail. pretty much where the opening photograph for this blog was taken. I have also never seen this colour phase before.

That's all, folks! So far, January seems to be a good month for rainfall at the estate but I will let you know about that in my next blog. This virus is still getting worse so please all regard the rules: wear a mask, social distance...