Stingless “Mopane” Bees of Southern Africa
(Commonly but incorrectly called “Mopane Flies”) Introduction Across the savannas and woodlands of southern and central Africa, visitors frequently encounter tiny…
Termites at Rifa
Introduction Termites play an immense role in the ecosystems of Africa. The large termite mounds at Rifa, each with up to…
Butterflies: Endangered & In Need of Protection
This post follows on from the post on this site entitled “Butterflies and Moths: Why are they important?” where we looked…
Butterflies & Moths: Why are they important?
Introduction “Lepidoptera” is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths. There are about 250,000 species of the Lepidoptera. This…
Cicadas – Master Sound-makers of the Insect World
“CICADA” – NAME(S) AND CLASSIFICATION The word “cicada” (pronounced “si-car-da”) is taken directly from the Latin representation of the sound made…
Lynx Spiders
These spiders can be distinguished from other families by their distinctive hexagonal eye arrangements and the prominent spines on their legs.…
Banded or Golden Orb-weaver Spiders
Scientific name Trichonephilia (previous known as Nephilia) These large orb-weaver spiders are conspicuous towards the end of the rainy season but…
Bees: Threats to this key species
Some years ago now there were reports that Chinese farmers were having to pollinate their almond trees by hand with tiny…
Dung Beetles
Dung beetles have dark, round bodies, six legs and long flying wings folded under hard, protective covers. Some male dung beetles…
Daddy-long-legs – Pholcidae
Most people take these spiders for granted because they are so familiar a sight, but very little information about them is…
