November 13 and post no 400! Big thank you to all the people and their challenges.

Today November 13, 2012 I am posting post no 400.

I started blogging February 18, 2012 and I am still working on it. At first I thought I’ll never get into it. It feels sometimes a waste of time to sit and do all this sorting and writing and answering, at the end I am happy that I kept on going.

If it had not been for all the challenges I would have ended my blogging long ago.

I want to thank the following people and posts for their challenges that helped me completing 400 posts in about 9 months time.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/

http://flickrcomments.wordpress.com/

http://printsensephotography.com/

http://wheresmybackpack.com/

http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

http://sundaystills.wordpress.com/

http://autumninbruges.wordpress.com/

http://ceeslifephotographyblog.wordpress.com/

I am giving all these beautiful people a rose today.

You all inspired me every time to go on with my posts.

Thank you again.

One-shot Wednesday: Bloukopkoggelmander(Blue headed tree Agama)

This guy sat on my outside wall above the kitchen door one day. I took safety measures not to let him jump or fall onto my head. He was still there the next morning. Late afternoon I heard  a soft “plop” and had a look. There he was, as dead as can be, on the steps outside my back door. I think he died of a heart attack!

These males( They have these blue heads in season) love to fight with each other till the end. I think this one just could not take all the fighting anymore. They are territory bound as far as I could see the situation! A younger and stronger one was chasing after this one some days before his death.(This is only my meaning of the situation)

Photo taken in South Africa, Potgietersrus/Mokopane  2008

###############

An agama is any one of the various small, long-tailed, insect-eating lizards of the genus Agama. The agamid genus is composed of at least 37 species across Africa, where they are the most common lizard. They can be found in many sizes, from 12.5 to 30 cm (5 in. to 1 ft.) in length and a wide variety of colours. One of the best known species is the Agama agama, widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. ForEurasian agamas, see the genus Laudakia.

Agamas originally lived in forest and bush across Africa, but have since adapted to live in villages and compounds where their habitat has been cleared. They live inside the thatch of huts and other small spaces, emerging only to feed. If caught out in the open, agamas are able to run quickly on their hind legs to reach shelter. The desert agama can still be found in the dry areas of North Africa. Despite their name, they avoid bare sand.[1]

Agamas are active during the day and are often found scampering around to snatch up their favorite foods. They can tolerate greater temperatures than most reptiles, but in the afternoon when temperatures reach around 38°C (100°F) they will settle into the shade and wait for it to cool. Frequent fighting breaks out between males; such fighting involves a lot of bobbing and weaving in an attempt to scare the opponent. If it comes to blows, they lash out with their tails and threaten each other with open jaws. Many older males have broken tails as a result of such fights. Females may sometimes chase and fight one another, while hatchlings mimic the adults in preparation for their future.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agama_(genus)

One-shot Wednesday: Caterpillar

Taken in a tree in South Africa. Don’t know the name of it!

Caterpillars have been called “eating machines”, and eat leaves voraciously. Most species shed their skin four or five times as their bodies grow, and they eventually pupate into an adult form.[10] Caterpillars grow very quickly; for instance, a tobacco hornworm will increase its weight ten-thousandfold in less than twenty days. An adaptation that enables them to eat so much is a mechanism in a specialized midgut that quickly transports ions to the lumen (midgut cavity), to keep the potassium level higher in the midgut cavity than in the blood.[11]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar

One-shot Wednesday: Butterfly

MONARCH BUTTERFLY

This one just started to fly away!(New Zealand  June 2009)

The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae), in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer.[3][4][5] It is resident in the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira, and is found as an occasional migrant in Western Europe and a rare migrant in the United Kingdom.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_(butterfly)

One-shot Wednesday: dung beetle

This isn’t a good shop, it is still  my own .

Dung beetles are beetles that feed partly or exclusively on feces. All of these species belong to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea; most of them to the subfamilies Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae of the family Scarabaeidae. This beetle can also be referred to as the scarab beetle. As most species of Scarabaeinae feed exclusively on feces, that subfamily is often dubbed true dung beetles. There are dung-feeding beetles which belong to other families, such as the Geotrupidae (the earth-boring dung beetle). The Scarabaeinae alone comprises more than 5,000 species.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle