Around My Yard On Drowsy Afternoons

The heat in the evenings has come down by a few degrees but the
afternoons are still hot and humid. Despite the harsh glare of the
sun, it's the best time to go and catch up on the wild-life amidst
my plants.


My bright yellow canna lilies are still putting up a show. There's a
tiny Praying Mantis on one of the blooms. No, the eggs have not hatched.
This is the new arrival, maybe from a neighbour's garden. I found it on
the Curry Leaf plant and brought it here for a photo-shoot:) Then I took
it to my Blue Dawn morning glory vine and placed it amidst the leaves. I
had hoped to take some photos there too but it was gone in a flash.
Hopefully, it's going to feast on the white flies I'd seen there.









Although I've photographed several brown butterflies here in my yard, this
is the first time I've seen the Common Bush Brown. It was resting on a
bougainvillea leaf. Some butterflies look so similar, so please correct me
if I'm wrong about the ID.








Sometimes, I spend entire afternoons photographing damselflies. They
come in the most glorious colours, but of late, I have many black ones
all over my plants. Here's one on my speckled croton plant. You'll
have to click on the picture to get a better view.










And how's this for camouflage? From the point where I was standing,
I first noticed the limb and I thought that the bark looked odd. Then
the lizard moved just a wee bit. Must've been lethargic with the effect
of the sun:)








One shrub that's never really without blooms is the Ixora. Now they're
winding down but you still see some of the red clusters. And with all
the winged ones coming here, for the Hon'ble Guardian Of the Ixora,
this is the House Of Plenty! Eat and be merry, my friend!
















Deliberation...by the mynas. The mango tree is the place for discussing
major issues!








Shell shocked? Hanging by two silky threads from the Jamun tree was
this spectacular-looking spider shell or exuviae.


Exuviae is a term used in biology to describe the remains of an
exoskeleton that is left after an arthropod (insect, crustacean
or arachnid) has moulted.

(From Wiki)