My shot for this week was this tent spider weaving my garden art into its web. Not literally, but strategically so I could have this shot. I have this paper mache mask I bought at the World Festival for Island Cultures in Cheju, Korea in 1998. It was made by Vijoula, a friend who comes from Mauritius. I have lost touch with her, but I keep the mask in my happy place – the garden. If you are out there Vijoula, get in touch.
Our night visitor never left. The long-horned beetle entered our house on Sunday night and was flying around crashing into everything and everyone. My son took it outside, but yesterday I found it alive and under a floor mat.
The brown/reddish native beetle from the Cerambycidae family (according to Queensland Museum) was supposed to live in open forests and woodlands throughout Australia. It has been accidentally introduced to many overseas countries where it is a serious pest in eucalypt plantations. The white, legless larvae of this beetle bore under the bark of recently dead or sick eucalypts lives for several months.
The beetle is 15–30 mm long. This one in our house was at least 45 mm long. This species has a dark-brown, elongated body with a pale band and spots at tips of wing-covers. The reddish antennae is much longer than the body. When I photographed the beetle yesterday, it was very aggressive. I returned it to the woods.
I enjoy this time of the year in Queensland because the bush is full of interesting creatures, both live dead and ones. The garden transforms into a photography playground for me. Not everyone likes insects, I know. Here are some interesting shapes, colours and types of things I found through the lens. My son Chris took the grasshopper shot.
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