In honour of World Environment Day, here are a few amazing insects from the rainforest in Western Kenya to remind us of the incredible and wonderful creatures that we share this planet with… I’ve been travelling around Kenya for the past few weeks, and here are some of the strange and fascinating creatures I came … Read more
Dear All Many greetings. Am very pleased to share with you a book featuring and celebrating pollinator diversity in East Africa. You can download the book through link by clicking on the cover image below: To whet your appetite here’s a sneak preview of some of the pages from the book: You can … Read more
Dear All Many greetings, the rains over the last couple of months have brought forth some wonderful flowers out on the plains. Now with the mix of sunshine and abundant flowers, it is a fantastic time for the bees who are out and about in large numbers. Many other insects are also making hay while … Read more
Dear All More from my travels in the bush. At a spiny succulent euphorbia in Laikipia the other day I was looking at some Groove-winged Flower Beetles. These are tiny beetles who feed on flowers, often in groups. Here are a couple pictures of the beetles – and what I took to be a happily … Read more
Life from death… As many of you will have read and heard on this site – there’s been a serious drought in Kenya and this has lead to lots of cattle dying. Out here on the plains we finally got some rain, and this means that there is a lot of green grass … Read more
Hello – many thanks to Dana and Uwe for the kind comments.Here are a couple of insects from one of the most amazing habitats in East Africa – the alkaline lakes in the Rift Valley. These lakes are fed by volcanic activity and steamy, alkaline pools that support large flocks of flamingoes. But it is … Read more
Hello – on the road here – but thought I’d share these photos of a very cool beetle. This is a Click Beetle, who is named for the sharp clicking noise they make by snapping their wing-cases against their thorax (mid-section). It is meant to alarm and scare off any would be predators. This lovely … Read more
Not so long ago on one of my early morning walks across the plains I came across a dung beetle sunning itself on the path. He was very obliging and allowed me to inspect him closely from a variety of angles. He also posed very smartly when I pulled out the camera and clicked away. … Read more
Hello – Many thanks to Faye and Paula for your kind comments. This post is in response to the question about dung beetle’s and why they have such fantastic ornaments on their heads. Firstly, much of the head structure serves a very practical purpose – the toothed, curved edges serve as an effective shovel with … Read more