MAY & JUNE 2021

 MAY & JUNE 2021

I was expecting a particularly cold winter this year with all the rain that fell last season but we have had very few mornings of severe frost so far, although we certainly have had some chilling winds. We have also had more cloud cover this winter compared to previous winters so by no means has it been a warm winter as can be seen by the grumpiness of the baboons in the mornings! The grasses have faded to white as they have entered their dormant stage which is noticeable in the above photo, taken from the top of Spioenkop looking east towards Mount Anderson in the background. But, life carries on and I have still encountered many exciting organisms during the last two months. In fact, I got to see a whopping ten mammal species on the Zebra trail just the other day, including Zebra, Grey Rhebok, Mountain Reedbuck, Common Duiker, Blesbok, White-tailed Gnu, Side-striped Jackal, Eland, Warthog and finally a breeding herd of Kudu! The most I have seen on any single excursion in all the time I have been here on the estate. Following are some of the other things I got to see this month:

When I encountered this old stunted and gnarled Tree Strawberry, Cephalanthus natalensis (see blog of May 2020), growing on what looked like the remains of an expired termite mound up in the grasslands high above Kwa Puleng (unit 12), I was amazed at the resilience plants require to enable them to survive in the dog eat dog world of nature. Now the Fruit of the Tree Strawberry resembles true strawberries with their tiny seeds attached to the outside of the fruit, instead of within the flesh like most fruits, and although they are edible for us humans, they are not as tasty as strawberries. But for baboons, they are a treat. So I can imagine a baboon defecating on a termite mound after using it as a vantage point one fine day after said baboon had feasted on the fruits of a Tree Strawberry. The manure provided a perfect environment for at least one of the seeds of the fruit to germinate and the bare soil surrounding it protected the little seedling from fire and root competition. The Tree Strawberry then created the perfect environment for a few other follow-on plants, like a nice semi-shade environment for the growth of a Cluster-leaf Asparagus, Asparagus larcinus, which can be seen growing on the right, beneath the Tree Strawberry; or a perfect support for a Northern Bushman's Grape vine, Rhoicissus tridentata ssp. cuneifolia, which, with its larger leaves, can be seen sticking above the Tree Strawberry just right of centre; or the nutrients required for a Rock Tannin Bush, Osyris lanceolata, to thrive, which is the scraggly little bush with the green leaves, that contrast with the autumn-coloured maroon leaves of the Tree Strawberry, in the centre of the Tree Strawberry. This little bush is a hemi-parasite that acquires all its water and minerals from the roots of the Tree Strawberry. No wonder the Tree Strawberry is so gnarled, it protects and supports all of these other plants while surviving grass fires, freezing frost in the winters and multitudes of browsing antelope wandering the grasslands.  

If you ever encounter a rust-tinged blob of white wax the size of a dice attached to the twig or branch of a tree or bush, you will now know what it is: It is the waxen shield that protects a female Wax Scale insect of the Ceroplastes genus in the Coccidae family of bugs (hemiptera order of insects). The female nymph of this rather odd insect starts off as a flat, oval "crawler" with six legs and  collection of wax projections erupting from its thorax and abdomen like the quills on a porcupine. She crawls around searching for a tasty bush or tree and then, together with a bunch of siblings, inserts her proboscis into the vein of a leaf and sucks out the sugars produced by the plant. She sucks on this vein for about a year while periodically moulting before she moves on to a twig or branch of the same plant. Here she moults for the last time and becomes an adult with no legs. In fact, she is just a bag designed to carry eggs. She inserts her proboscis into  the vascular system of the twig or branch and then emits pheromones into the air that are picked up by a winged male who then locates her and mates with her. After mating, she exudes a thick layer of wax that covers her entire body to protect it from predators and the elements. She stays in this sedentary position for the rest of her life. Once she is ready, she lays hundreds of eggs and then dies, still covered by the waxy layer and attached to the twig or branch. On hatching, the little crawlers climb out from under the wax dome and spread out to find a suitable vein from which to continue the cycle. The Wax Scale adds to its defense by producing honeydew, a sweet liquid that attracts ants who, in turn, protect the insect (see ants and aphids in blog of Jan 2020). This honeydew is produced so copiously that it spreads out around the insect and results the development of a black Sooty Mould which also damages the plant by covering the leaf surfaces and limiting photosynthesis. So if the plants in your garden have lost their vigour and have a black, sooty mould covering their leaves and branches, look closer and you will see that you have a Scale infection. If it only affects a small portion of the plant, the best is to remove the branch with the infection or if it is more widespread, rub Neem oil over the Scales and the mould to get rid of it. But, generally, if you do not have Scales, then you won't get sooty mould... 

  

I was sitting on a flat rock at high altitude enjoying lunch one day when I looked down and saw a tiny spider that resembled a squid! Upon closer inspection, I saw it was a spider with a small black ant clutched in its jaws. I later found out that it is a species of Crab Spider from the Thomisidae family (see blogs of May 2020 and March 2018) but, instead of being brightly coloured like those in the relevant blogs that change colour to match the colourful backround of the flower they sit on, the species from the Monaeses genus, as above, are pale earthy colours to match the grass stalks and leaves that they hide on while awaiting prey, in this case an ant, to stroll past. 

I was trying to differentiate between the endangered Red Candlewood tree, Pterocelastrus rostratus, and the more common Hedgehog tree, C. echinatus (pictured), when a tiny little bird, a Bar-throated Apalis, Apalis thoracica, popped out of the thick foliage of the tree just a meter or so away from me. It cocked its head sideways in a curious manner as I took a photograph and then continued foraging for insects hiding beneath the leaves. This is not the first time I have been so close to these dainty little birds. In fact, If you sit down beside a tree in which these birds are foraging, I can bet that sooner or later the bird will pop up right beside you as it gleans the bark and leaves of all insects, spiders and even the clusters of caterpillar eggs that are laid on the underside of leaves. Bar-throated Apalis's are easy to identify by their small size, the pale eye and, of course, the dark bar across its throat. They are monogamous and are never far from their mate, with whom they maintain constant contact with soft calls and every now and again, with an advertisement song which they sing in duet. They are also sedentary so are visible throughout the year in pairs, or during the latter part of the breeding season, in small family groups. During breeding, the female, with little help from the male, constructs an oval ball nest six or seven centimeters in diameter at about head-height in the thick, leafy part of a tree, with an entrance on the top and side. It is constructed with finer vegetation and camouflaged with lichens before being secured and wrapped with silk from spider webs. After incubating the eggs for a little more than a fortnight, they hatch and within a similar amount of time, after being fed by both parents, they are fledged and ready to leave the nest. They remain, though, with the parents for a prolonged period while the parents teach them how, and what, to forage for, creating little family groups.   

At first, when one encounters a Scorpion Spider, Platyoides walterii, one can be forgiven for thinking it has been trod upon, with its skewed, orange legs sticking in all directions. This happens because the spider has elongated trochanters (the leg segment between the coxa and femur), especially on the hind legs, and because the specialised loose leg joints . This adaption, together with the fact that the extremely flat body is only two millimeters thick while twenty millimeters wide, allows it to squeeze into narrow cracks and crevices like the narrow gaps beneath the bark on a tree or even under the pot plant in the courtyard. The same features also give it the common name of Scorpion Spider because scorpions share them too. These are wandering spiders and so they do not use silk to construct a trap (web) to ensnare their prey, instead, as night sets in, they emerge from their narrow refuge and begin to prowl a well known home range in search of their arthropod prey. Another unique feature of the genus is that the spiders have an extra, triangular tooth behind the usual fangs, enabling them to chew through the tough integument of, say, large beetles or some other speciality. Unfortunately, I could find no information on this so one can only speculate. The protruding jaws are intimidating but the venom is very mild and so the spider is harmless to people.    

It's funny, you know, I was always better with my tree identification in the lowveld than I was at identifying the smaller plants. But here at Finsbury, it is the other way around. This is mainly because it is so difficult to observe our trees in the Kloof Forests because they are so high and intertwined with other trees. Needless to say, I spend a fair amount of time trying to identify trees here on the estate. Usually I take photos and try to identify the tree when I return home but, inevitably, the book will call on me to check a part of the tree I did not photograph. The best for me is to carry my tree book with me but it weighs a good three kilograms so I only take it when my specific mission is tree identification. It certainly helps, though, to have a bit of knowledge about family traits, and that's what helped me identify this Rock Alder, Afrocanthium mundianum, that I found on the Steenkamp's waterfalls walk, on the level section of path just after the rope balustrade. It is in the Coffee family, Rubiaceae, which was easy to discern because of the opposite leaves with smooth margins, interpetiolar stipules and hairy domatia present on the axils between the midrib and the lateral veins of the leaves. These characteristics made it easy for me to establish that the tree belongs in the Rubiaceae and the fruits, which are edible, that were present, helped me narrow it down to species level in the book.

Soon after finding the above tree, I was moving through the forest above the trail at the bottom of the rope balustrade on the Steenkamp's waterfalls walk when I was snagged by some seriously hooked thorns that are strong (unlike bramble thorns), sharp and hurt like hell. I had encountered these creepers before but was unable to identify it. And so I returned with my tree book "Trees and shrubs of Mpumalanga and the Kruger Park" and set about identifying the culprit. Many tree books have a KEY system to help narrow the plant down to genus level or, if you're lucky, to species level. The problem with most of these keys is that, during the process, one is often required to peruse the flowers and fruits of the plant which are usually not visible at the same time and which are seasonal, making once-off identification difficult. I was pleasantly surprised to have narrowed this tree / creeper down to species level within a few minutes using the excellent key in the book. It is a Cat's Claw, Scutia myrtina, from the Buffalo Thorn family (Rhamnaceae) and although it is quite non-descript, it is easily encountered through feel before sight! 

I had this lovely sighting of a Black-backed Jackal, Canis mesomelas, on the Zebra trail up on the flat plains of Goudkoppies. This remarkable animal shares this mountain grassland habitat with its close cousin, the Side-striped Jackal, Canis adustus, and, in fact, I encoutered one in the same area just the other day. But it is the Black-backed Jackal that is renowned for it's amazing adaptability that enables it to survive in almost any habitat, even in areas with high human density. This adaptability is partly made possible by the animal's ability to eat any type of protein based food and also fruits and berries. This, together with a scheming mind and hugely diverse and adaptable hunting techniques and the ability to hunt cooperatively with other individuals make it possible for the animal to hunt alone, in pairs, family groups and even packs of unrelated family groups. Thus, prey items range from fruit, nuts, bird and reptile eggs, all invertebrates from mussels (on the Skeleton Coast), insects, spiders and scorpions, small vertebrates like frogs, birds, snakes and lizards, to mammals like rodents all the way up to adult Impala or Wildebeest calves, which are brought down by hunting packs after being harassed to exhaustion. To add to this, they are very successful scavengers and are also adept at stealing mouthfuls of food from carcasses while larger predators are still busy feeding off it! I am reminded of the time when I witnessed a lone Jackal taking advantage of heat stressed Grant's whistling Rats while driving in the Kgalakgadi in the hottest part of the day. The Jackal ran along beside us in the shade of the vehicle when suddenly it veered off and grabbed a rat before it could retreat into its burrow. After chewing only a few times, it swallowed the rat and repeated the process twice more before stopping in the shade to rest. Unlike most mammals, Jackals are monogamous with breeding pairs staying together for life, and, also unlike most mammals, often form extended family groups when the young, after a year, stay with their parents and help to raise the next set of pups before going out into the big wide world on their own. These pairs establish a strictly defended territory using scent markings via excrement, which they often deposit on top of a raised platform like a rock, a ball of elephant dropping or the droppings of a predator, and via vocal calls sung solo or in duet, a most beautiful sound in the wilderness. These territorial boundaries are sometimes breached when the pair, or family group, joins up with neighbouring families to form a hunting pack when circumstances call for it, like a wounded or crippled animal that is too large for the pair to bring down, or  during the foaling season of certain antelope species. In my experience, the only other animal a jackal seems to have any respect for is a leopard. Canids (dogs) are a favourite food item of a leopard and I have seen jackals harassing lions, cheetahs and every other carnivore while they eat but when a leopard is eating, jackals are nowhere to be seen.     

Although I did not experience this in or near Finsbury, I have to share it with you. I attended a Mpumalanga Plant Specialist Group (see blog of 16 Feb 2018) outing in the Manyeleti Game Reserve bordering Orpen gate in the Kruger National Park recently. We were beside one of the koppies visible in the east from Orpen reception when one of the members picked a curiously rolled-up leaf from a bush we were trying to identify. When he applied pressure, this minute little frog appeared from inside this rolled leaf and jumped into the bush where I managed to get this photo (my finger nail in the photo gives an idea of its diminutive size). We identified it as a Waterlily frog, Hyperolius pusillus, and, since it was very far from the nearest water body, we surmised it had rolled itself up in the leaf to protect itself from desiccation while it waits out  the dry season until a pan nearby fills up after next season's rains (although we didn't find a dry pan nearby either). 

I have been having a little trouble with my trusty old camera so photographs have been more scarce over the last two months, leaving me with less to work with for my blogs. But this will be sorted shortly so I will have more to work on soon. 

These lockdowns and restrictions caused by this pesky virus are very inconvenient and the only way to overcome it are for us to vaccinate enough people to defeat the virus. As we can see already, it is otherwise not going to go away and these restrictions will become a part of life. Worse, the longer the virus moves around, the more chance there is for it to mutate into a really deadly virus that will not be able to be controlled. So let's observe social distancing rules and get vaccinated already so we can go back to normal again.

Stay strong and we hope to see you all here in the mountains as soon as possible.