OT - chilling sight.

Kevin

Hi all
This may be off topic, as it's not really macro per-se. Admins pls move if so.
Just wanted to share this weekends' outing with my macro community


When you see the tops of trees lined with these here in sunny South Africa, I think trouble may be brewing ... and no, those are not leaves with nice backlit sunlight.



Upon closer inspection, and at every level of every tree, be it up high, down low, and even on the ground, you find these, numbering in their hundreds, maybe even more.



And even on the extremely dry and dormant branches and twigs, they find a resting place, presumably before moving onto greater things (whatever those may be)



Amazingly, I managed to stop down my aperture for a change too! - lol
rgds

Jack'll do

Good grief! That's scary. Do they attack your food crops as well?

GOLDENORFE

hi kevin, they look huge!
last shot my favorite.
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

Skippy

Kevin wrote:

Hi all
This may be off topic, as it's not really macro per-se. Admins pls move if so.
Just wanted to share this weekends' outing with my macro community

When you see the tops of trees lined with these here in sunny South Africa, I think trouble may be brewing ... and no, those are not leaves with nice backlit sunlight.

Upon closer inspection, and at every level of every tree, be it up high, down low, and even on the ground, you find these, numbering in their hundreds, maybe even more.

And even on the extremely dry and dormant branches and twigs, they find a resting place, presumably before moving onto greater things (whatever those may be)

Amazingly, I managed to stop down my aperture for a change too! - lol
rgds

Hi Kevin, I thought they were leaves till I looked more closely.
Are they big in size? or small?

So they just strip whatever they land on and move to the next plant,
bringing the same devastation to the next plant?

Are these what they call LOCUST or are they something else?

The Food Chain is quite an extraudinary thing isn't it.
Great shots Kevin, thanks for posting ... Skippy
.

Kevin

Jack'll do wrote:

Good grief! That's scary. Do they attack your food crops as well?

Hi Jack?
they do, thankfully this was only a small gathering of them. Hopefully the birds or reptiles or mammals will grab em first.

Kevin

GOLDENORFE wrote:

hi kevin, they look huge!
last shot my favorite.
phil
http://www.flickr.com/photos/goldenorfe/

hi Phil
they are about 4 to 6 inches in size. Quite intimidating when you walk past them and they sometimes fly up and at you.

Kevin

Skippy wrote:

Hi Kevin, I thought they were leaves till I looked more closely.
Are they big in size? or small?

So they just strip whatever they land on and move to the next plant,
bringing the same devastation to the next plant?

Are these what they call LOCUST or are they something else?

The Food Chain is quite an extraudinary thing isn't it.
Great shots Kevin, thanks for posting ... Skippy
.

Hiya Skippy
about 4 - 6 inches in size.
That's about the gist of it as you say there, devastate, lay eggs, move on.

Hopefully the other contributors to the food chain appear soon enough eh?