Coming home one day I saw a moth with half a wing missing on a wall of our house. I almost went past it thinking that it would not make a good subject because it was so damaged. However, it got me thinking about how these tiny creatures that we barely notice in our daily rush experience very real struggles to avoid being killed either as food or in some other dispute. This post was inspired by the number of ‘incomplete’ little creatures I started to notice around my house. While photographers understandably concentrate on taking the perfect shot of the perfect specimen, I wanted to look at documenting the struggle that is invisible to us most of the time but is happening in our own gardens. These are not cute and cuddly creatures but are animals that we can see if we take a moment to notice the small, exciting world just outside our door. I hope you find the photos below to be of interest.
Seeing this Frilled Bark Moth (Pholodes sinistraria) on my home’s external brick wall gave me the idea for his project. I had arrived home from work when I noticed something strange on the wall. When I saw the moth with half its wing missing initially I thought that there was not much point in taking a photograph but I then realised that this is what the natural world is about, the struggle to survive. It sowed a thought about how I could show other examples of the natural struggle to survive where animals only have themselves to depend on. I don’t know the fate of this moth because it was not there the next morning but I appreciated the inspiration this little creature gave me for this project.
This damaged Frilled Bark Moth gave me the idea for this project
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/20 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
This Redeye Cicada (Psaltoda moerens) looked liked it had emerged from its larval shell but somehow fell to the ground, where its wings were not able to form. When I found this struggling creature, its wings appeared scrunched and torn, while the cicada was struggling feebly to get off the ground. I tried to help it by lifting it up higher on a branch but the cicada could not hold on, tumbling back to the dirt. This little one would have spent the vast majority of its life underground, emerging as a flying creature for a few days with the driving impulse to create the next generation. However, on the cusp of the final airborne phase of its existence, its struggle was too much and it would not make it.
Redeye Cicada that emerged from a nymph stage but was on the ground, note how its lowest wing seems to be stuck to that twig
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/100 SEC])
While I doubt many people will feel anything for an injured cockroach, I came across this Australia native Common Eastern Litter Runner (Platyzosteria melanaria) cockroach on the hinged side of the door to our garden shed. This cockroach was in almost the same position for several days yet I could see its antenna move and occasionally it would adjust its position. When I photographed it I became aware of the large wound it had on the left-hand side of its abdomen. I guess a bird pecked at it but did not get a good enough grip, allowing this cockroach perhaps to scurry under this very door to get away from the certain death that awaited it outside the shed. It was still able to climb with that injury; I would have been in the hospital with an equivalent injury.
Common Eastern Litter Runner with damage to its left side
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/11 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
Sometimes we can witness the struggles, if we have time and the interest to stop and look. I saw just such a mini conflict one Sunday morning while I was gardening. I guess my energetic weeding dislodged a beetle larvae from its comfortable subterranean world. Instead of returning to its dirt environs, it set out across our drive where I noticed it. An ant rushing across the concrete bumped into the larvae and immediately became interested. Although the larvae was much larger the ant must have started biting it or disturbed the larvae. The larvae eventually got the the any near its legs where it was able to flick the ant away and continue on with its journey. I suspected that the larvae was lucky that more ants had not happened upon it, to gang up with numbers against what would have been a large feed for the ant colony.
Beetle larvae being attacked by an ant
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 320, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/320 SEC])
Predators are also not safe from becoming prey in the small jungle around our homes. I noticed this beautifully coloured and wonderfully camouflaged Leek-green Flower Spider (Lehtinelagia prasina) when I was bringing in the washing, It was on one of our towels so I gently moved it from the towel to a plant. In looking at the photographs later I noticed that it was missing a leg on the right and a pedipalp on the left. May be it had a run-in with a lizard.
Leak-green Flower Spider with missing leg on the right and missing front-left pedipalp
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/16 and 1/180 SEC] with Canon 430EX III-RT flash)
Even this larger Black House Spider (Badumna insignis) was missing a leg on each side. It was also in the garden shed but was out on a box, possibly returning to the role of predator, looking for food. Spiders can regrow legs if they have moults left, although they may need at least two moults to get fully capable legs back.
Black House Spider with only three legs on either side
(Canon EOS 6D Mk II with a Canon EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM [ISO 100, 100mm, f/8.0 and 1/180 SEC] with Yongnuo YN14EX Macro Ring Lite)
The intent of this short post was to avoid the picture perfect specimens but rather focus on the amazing struggles that happens every day in the garden around us. These photos were just a few examples of the damaged creatures that endure the struggle for life everyday. They may not be the best photographic subjects but I thought that they made a fascinating study of small survivors of the garden jungle.
Thanks for reading this post and thanks also for looking at my photos. I hope you come back again to read more about some of the wonderful natural things that the Australian Capital Territory has on offer. All the best until the next post.