CHRISTMAS 2021

 CHRISTMAS 2021

At the end of October, the rainfall for the month was lower than the ten year average but I described it as good, soft, absorbing rain which was good for the vegetation as it allowed seeds to germinate and protect the soil from erosion. Well, since the end of October we have had an average of 245mm rain fall in 21 rainy days. This is quite a bit lower than the ten year average of 322mm over November and December combined. But the rain that fell was still soft and absorbing, resulting in the aquifers filling up sufficiently to rise the river levels nicely in time for Christmas. The estate is green and lush as you can see from the photo above, taken from atop Goudkoppies towards Mount Anderson. The lush grasslands are pumping with life and below are a bunch of interesting and exciting things that I stumbled upon during the last two months:

A close-up of a Raucous Toad, Amietophrynus rangerii, trying to conceal himself amongst the grass and debris in open grassland far away from large bodies of water. The rough, warty skin combine with cryptic coloration to provide decent camouflage. Frogs and toads do not drink water. Instead they absorb water through their skin via osmosis but this also means that they need to remain moist because they lose water easily too. Being the second most common amphibian on the estate, after the Common River frog, Raucous toads move far away from their breeding sites to find enough arthropod food so they have the ability to store large amounts of water in their enlarged bladders and lymph sacs to keep them moist during these sorties. Even those huge, bulbous eyes seem to help camouflage the toad. Interestingly, they have powerful muscles attached to the rear of their eyes so they can retract them for protection. They also, quite comically, retract their eyes to help shove large prey items down their gullets, from the inside!

This large, discoteque-patterned caterpillar belongs to the adult Brown-striped Hawk moth, Basiothia shenki, which looks quite similar to the Hawk moth I displayed in October, although the caterpillars look miles apart. The adult moth, as previously mentioned, has a very long proboscis rolled-up, like an elephant's trunk, which is not really designed to reach your beer or wine during sundowners but to reach right to the end of a long spur or flower tube to reach the nectaries at the end thereof. In fact, this species' proboscis is exactly the right length, together with only one other species of moth, to reach the nectaries at the end of the long spur at the rear of the stunningly beautiful orchid, Satyrium longicauda which is quite common here on the estate in high altitude grasslands, particularly around Mount Anderson's summit. These lovely orchids are starting to flower now and will do for most of January too. I recently read an article where experiments were conducted to try to establish how these moths and the orchid's flowers, using protandry, work together to try to minimise self-pollination and maximise pollen export. Protandry is when the flower produces the male parts of the flower before the female parts The orchid has a row of flowers on the vertical inflorescence and the lower flowers open before the ones above them on said inflorescence. Protandry will ensure that, once all the flowers are open, the lower ones will be female and the upper, younger ones will be male. Amazingly, when the moths approach the orchid, they always visit the lower flowers first, depositing the pollen taken from the previous flower with the female while picking up more pollen from the males above to export to the next plant! If the moth visited the flowers the other way, self-pollination would increase (leading to poor seed production) and pollen export would decrease.

This is an apt-named Long-horned Fairy moth from the Ceromitia genus in the Adelidae family of moths. These crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn) moths also have rather long proboscis' and are important pollinators for flowers that open at dawn and dusk to avoid the competition that is present during the day. They are rather primitive and all moths more primitive than these still chew their food, unlike most modern lepidopterans. The long antennae are used by the males to detect pheromones produced by the short-antennaed females. How he successfully flies with those monstrous things is another miracle of nature :) 

It is quite hard to believe that all the insects, all five different looking ones in the two pictures above, are all the very same species, just in different stages of development! While walking in the Steenkamps' waterfalls path in the kloof forests last week, I noticed these strange creatures hanging from the underside of the leaves in a whole bunch of trees in one area. I took these photographs and collected a few pupae (the yellow-and-black chequered hanging things on the first photo), put them in an aired bottle and waited for the adults to emerge. The beetle in the bottom photo is the resulting adult! It is a Leaf beetle from the Garelucinae sub-family in the Chrysomelidae family of 35 000 described species and an estimated 60 000 species of plant-eating beetles! The larvae look similar to caterpillars from the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) as they munch the leaves of a tree except, like all beetle larvae, they just have legs at the very front of the long body, unlike lepidpterans whose legs run all the way down the long body or just the front end and the back end, like inchworms.

Can you spot the Cape Robin-chat as she incubates eggs in her nest? She has constructed it in a particularly thick, shrubby River Sage in the garden of Finsbury House (unit 23). A very common bird in our gardens, the Cape Robin-chat, Cossypha caffra, surely must be familiar to all who are reading this. The song, a ubiquitous sound in the garden, is almost always sang by the dominant male in a monogamous territorial pair while the female usually only sings if her mate has perished and she is on the lookout for a new partner. The pair will establish a tiny territory that they will aggressively defend against others of their species but, unlike many monogamous species, the male and female do not spend much time together. They forage separately and even roost separately in the night. The female builds the nest on her own, incubates the eggs and hatchlings on her own and initially feeds the newly hatched chicks on her own, with the male only chipping in to help once the hatchlings begin to grow. Also, unlike many monogamous birds, the Cape Robin-chat pair do not sing in duet to strengthen their bond. The diet is catholic although more emphasis is put on insects and other small arthropods than scavenging and fruit, although they are important for seed dispersal for most of our indigenous riverine trees here on the estate. These eggs hatched and the mother successfully fledged the chicks just over two weeks. The youngsters are now following their mother all over while she supports them and teaches them what they should and shouldn't eat. The Cape Robin-chat is one of the favourite victims of the brood parasite, the Red-chested Cuckoo, more commonly referred to as a Piet-my-vrou.

This beautiful caterpillar is that of a Lappet moth, Eutricha obscura, in the Lasiocampidae family of moths. It looks very similar to the Cape Lappet moth caterpillars which are normally found in large aggregations on the stems and trunks of trees that make them on of the more commonly observed caterpillars. The adult is a large brown moth with a wingspan of about 70mm. The long hairs on the caterpillar are poisonous and so one should avoid touching them. If you brush a part of your body against the caterpillar, the hairs break off into your skin and urticarial weals (hives) will form almost immediately, causing some discomfort. In more serious cases, the entire affected limb will swell and systemic reactions may result in vomiting and anaphylaxis. If you have brushed against one, the best way to remove the hairs is to cover the area with duct tape and then to peel it off, removing the poisonous hairs at the same time.

The other day, as I emerged onto the flatlands of Goudkoppies from the Troutkloof waterfall side of the Zebra trail, I was greeted by a most pleasant sighting: A Blue Crane, Grus paradisia, South Africa's national bird, foraging in the grasslands a mere thirty meters from me! Barely visible to the left of the rocks in the photo, the bird walked slowly away from me as it entered Mount Anderson Ranch property. I really could have gotten a photo when it was still much closer but I was enjoying the moment too much to have thought of it! I searched carefully for its mate and saw nothing, suggesting that this was a youngster who had not yet found a mate to team up with. Like many birds, they are monogamous but these large birds, males can reach five-and-a-half kilograms, become quite a charismatic pair. They are vociferous with their many different deep, guttural squawks which are loudly proclaimed in duet, with the male having the deeper voice. (So, unlike the eagles, the Crane male is larger than the female and he has a deeper voice) And aggressive too, mainly towards Wattled Crane near the nest which is something I have not observed. The Blue Cranes that we see here (I've now seen them on Goudkoppies, twice above the cliffs on our boundary with Potato Seed, and numerous times in the open plains of Haartebeesvlakte) more than likely roost, nest and congregate in the Steenkampsberg area between Dullstroom and Belfast, which is a very important breeding area for this threatened species. I have heard them calling and, I assure you, it is loud and unforgettable.

I was walking along the base of the cliffs below Goudkoppies, above the Miner's cottage and noticed many blooming Harveya huttonii, a parasitic plant that is only noticeable when in flower. These odd, pale plants belong to the Broomrape family (Orobanchaceae), which is a family of parasitic plants that attach themselves to the roots of the host plant: Orobos = legume (gr); anche = strangle (gr). Until recently, all the members of the family were holoparasitic like the plant above, which means that they cannot survive without their host plant. Recently, all the parasitic members of the Snapdragon family were transferred from there to the Broomrape family, which introduced the hemiparasites to the family. Hemiparasites are able to photosynthesise for themselves and can therefore survive without a host. The seeds from the above Harveya rest just below the ground and will not germinate until they receive a chemical signal from a host plant's roots. The signal from the potential host is not intended, they are merely plant root exudates that leach into the surrounding soil. Once the parasite's seed detects the chemical, it germinates and sends haustorial roots in the direction where the concentration of chemicals increase, therefore closer to the host plant. The host must be close enough for the parasites roots to reach it with their very limited energy supply. Once reached, the haustoria of the parasite attach themselves and tap into the xylem and/or phloem of the host and begin to grow. The parasitic plant, if dug up, just looks like a pale, swollen root, and only reveals itself when it blooms like the one pictured above.  

Funny. On my way to town recently, with our vehicles slipping and sliding down the access road toward the railway tracks as if they had a life of their own, I spotted a Speke's Hinged tortoise, Kinixys spekii, crossing the road from one of the plots to another. In fact, it was very close to the spot where I saw the chameleon on the power line (see blog of Finsbury Autumn Wildlife, February 2020). It is the very first tortoise I have seen near the estate since I got here almost nine years ago! The hinge the name refers to, is on the hind section of the shell so that the tortoise can close off the tail area by bringing the upper carapace (where the hinge is) down on to the plastron (the flat bottom of the shell). When other tortoises retract into their shells they pull their head in and cover it with the large, armoured front legs but cannot cover the tail section properly to keep some predators out. On more than one occasion, I have witnessed a Ground Hornbill (that massive predatory bird found in the lowveld) eating the flesh of a tortoise (Leopard tortoise on both occasions) from the gap between the carapace and plastron at the tail! The Hinged tortoise will be protected from that fate because of the hinge.

This is a Scaly Woodcap, Lentinus stupeus, one of the easier to identify mushrooms in our forests. Although the densly curved, hispid hair looks unappetising, the mushroom has a tough, chewy meat and a strong flavour when young and is much sought after by foragers.

Golden-spotted Sylph, Metisella metis. Metis was a Greek goddess and advisor to Zeus. She was of great use to him and he was wildly attracted to her although it was prophesised that if he lay with her, she would first bare a daughter of infinite wisdom, and then a powerful son. So powerful that he would ultimately overthrow Zeus. After lying with Metis, Zeus, in order to avoid the prophesy from occurring, convinced Metis to turn herself into a fly. When she did this, Zeus quickly swallowed her but it was too late. She was already carrying her daughter to be born Athena, who would be raised in Zeus' mind! Metus crafted weaponry and a shield for her daughter who used them to give Zeus headaches until Zeus ordered his head cut open to release Athena, who was made goddess of warfare wisdom and handicraft. Metis was very beautiful and was adorned in gold, just like this stunning little skipper butterfly.  

This was a stand-off between me and this Darkling beetle from the Psammodes genus, Tenebrionidae family. Tenebrio means "seeker of darkness" because the majority of members are found in dark places where they live long and move slowly, hence Darkling beetles. We, here in South Africa call them Tok Tokkies because of the way they tap their abdomens on the ground, making a soft tok tok tok sound to attract mates (see blog of January 2020 where the inset photo shows the male underside and the point that he taps with). Just look how well armoured the beetle is! It would take a lot to break through that shell. Most beetles lift their forewings, which are hardened as armour, and then spread their hind wings to enable them to fly. These beetles' armour is so thick that it would be unable to fly for the weight, so the forewings have fused and the hindwings disappered, leaving a slow-moving armoured car type beetle to wander the grasslands. In fact, after the beetle dies, their empty carapaces persist for months, hardy against the elements. 

Phew! I have been looking for some of these tiny mushrooms for many years now. They are Termitomyces microcarpus, mushrooms that are associated with termites and their nests. They are the result of an amazing farming culture that evolved in many termites well over three hundred million years ago (we only started farming twelve to thirteen thousand years ago!). Although termites can assimilate the dead vegetation that they collect as food, the nutritional quality of the food is not as high as is required the seer the many complex different castes that the termites require to have a fully functioning eusocial colony. So the termites gather up the dead vegetation and bring it into a group of chambers strategically positioned within the mound so that they remain at a relatively constant temperature with a consistently high moisture content. They pile the vegetation on top of itself until it forms a shape that is not unlike a human brain. Because the conditions are so favourable, Termitomyces microcarpus fungus grows on the vegetation, consuming it. The termites, when they require high quality food to raise special castes like reproductives or secondary / tertiary queens, harvest the fungus and feed it to the relevant larvae. The definition of farming! At this time of the year, the termites allow the fruiting bodies of the fungus to grow so that the fungus can reproduce. It is edible for us and, although they are small, they are plentiful. I harvested a bunch of them and enjoyed the taste when they were raw so much, that I had finished them by the time I returned home so could not cook them to taste. There is another common mushroom that occurs here on the estate that associates with termitaria. it is a Podaxis pistillaris and although it is associated with termite mounds in its range, it can survive without the termites and vice versa. The Podaxis fungus appears to grow from the faeces of the termites within the mound and there is no evidence that the termites eat the fungus or utilise it in any way. It seems like a comensal relationship where the mushroom benefits and the termite is not affected. In my blog of December 2016 I erroneously stated that the Podaxis was farmed by the termites. 

I found this daytime moth holding two old grasstalks together, in the wind, while it laid its eggs on them. It was quite a feat and I was surprised by the moth's strength! After much searching and deliberation, I discovered it is called an Equine Maiden, Thyretes hippotes, from the Erebidae family of moths. What was so surprising is that the distribution maps in my book and on the internet confine the species to the Fynbos biome in the extreme Western Cape, with the larva's food plant being a species of plant that does not occur here, although we have some close relatives. The admin folks from the insect forum on the internet that I belong to seemed quite excited by the find. That's another species for my moth list which is very, very far from home it seems!

Another animal that I have been on the lookout to photograph for the whole time I have been here, a Common Platanna, Xenopus laevis, found just outside my house during the recent persistent rains. Unlike most amphibians, the adult frogs rarely leave the water so they are very difficult to photograph. Or though they are endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa, they are very well known internationally, even to the layman because in the early nineteen thirties, it was discovered that if you inject a little bit of woman's urine into the back leg of the frog, by the next day it would have laid eggs if the woman was pregnant. It was a very accurate pregnancy test and was widely used until the late nineteen fifties. By this time the frog had been exported throughout the world, becoming the go to frog for all frog related experiments in laboratories world-wide. Because of this, the African Clawed frog (English name) has become an exotic pest in many countries. It is still the most used frog in laboratories and its cells are the source of Xenobots, man-made biological robots! Xenobots were created from frog stem cells in twenty twenty. They consist of skin cells and heart cells. Future applications could be to carry medicines around the body or to gather plastic microdots from the ocean into sizable solids that can be collected as an environmental remediation exercise. Google Xenobots, you'll be amazed. 

Wow, what a diverse bunch of goodies I got to see in the last two months! A lovely way to end the year. We here at Finsbury wish all those that celebrate Christmas a MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all! See you in the new year... 2022!