Who would consider ants farmers? Farmer is not a vocation naturally assigned to these tiny insects. The fact is that they herd and care for aphids to keep a much-loved food in constant supply. Aphids and ants on plants are as interdependent as Idli & sambar. I saw this Camponotus Ant on the underside of … Read more
I found these major workers of Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) hunting a nymph of a cockroach. As these nymphs grow they are compelled to moult their cuticle, a process known as Ecdysis. After moulting, an arthropod is described as teneral, a callow; it is fresh, pale and soft-bodied. They are pretty vulnerable to attack by … Read more
Last year I had gone to Sultan Bathery, Wayanad, Kerala, with my family, on holiday. Phantom Rock was one of the tourist destination we wanted to visit. Phantom Rock is about 13 km from Kalpetta adjacent to the Ambalavayal town. The rock has the shape of a skull and hence the name. Locally called ‘Thalappara’. … Read more
I found this Flat-head Leafhopper Nymph belonging to Ledrinae Subfamily of diverse leafhopper family Cicadellidae in my garden. While photographing it jumped on to my trousers. I was not sure which was its host plant. The leafhopper also looked pretty transparent and was having a very good camouflage. To highlight that transparency, I decided to … Read more
I found this caterpillar of Common Grass Yellow on Peacock Flower in my garden. This looked like the 5th Instar of the caterpillar stage. I was using a Canon EOS 5DS R with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens, illuminated by Godox Ving V860c E-TTL Li-ion Flash with LumiQuest SoftBox III to capture … Read more
Last Sunday during the Waterfall Photography Workshop I was conducting in Charmadi region of Western Ghats I spotted a damselfly. It was the Male Malabar Torrent Dart (Euphaea fraseri) resting on a stone under the waterfall. Malabar Torrent Dart is found only in the Western and Eastern Ghats in India. Female Malabar Torrent Dart was … Read more