Aditya's Photography

  The  rufous grasshopper  is a medium-sized, broad, brown, 'short-horned'  grasshopper  with clubbed antennae that are tipped with a conspicuous white or pale colour. It is fairly large, averaging 14 to 22 mm in length.  It can be encountered from late July through mid-December, usually in dry or slightly moist habitats. The environments in which it typically resides include dry grassland on calcareous soils, sheltered valleys with scrub, and the open borders of forests. It feeds on grasses and various herbaceous plants. It is known for its distinctive courtship song and accompanying display.  The rufous grasshopper is usually found in open land, particularly terrain such as meadows, pastures, and forest edges that feature tall grass. More specifically, it can often be found in chalk grassland. Males range from 14 to 16 mm, while females range from 17 to 22 mm. The coloration is usually shades of brown but features some grey, yellow, and red. The mature male has an abdomen tip

  Acrida willemsei  is an Asian species of  grasshopper . The recorded distribution of this species includes southern China, Taiwan, Indo-China, India, and Malaysia. They are  sometimes called  silent slant-faced grasshoppers.  In appearance, the species are often similar to those of the subfamily Gomphocerinae, with whom they share a slanted face. However, Acrida willemsei differ from Gomphocerinae in that they lack stridulatory pegs on their hind legs and thus, as the common name suggests, do not make sounds. The antennae of this species are flattened and sword-like, a trait also shared with some gomphocerines. They lack the postural spine seen in the spurthroated grasshoppers and lubber grasshoppers (Two different species of grasshoppers that share some common traits). Hind wings in this species are somewhat colorless.  They  aren't particularly selective about what they eat, but they often favor green leaves. When grasses, plant stems, and flowers are scarce, they have no probl

 Other names -B road scarlet ,  common scarlet-darter ,  scarlet darter The scarlet dragonfly is a common species in  southern Europe  and throughout  Africa . It also occurs across western  Asia  as far as southern  China . Its habitat is a  wide range of both running and standing waters, except those that are shaded. Adults may be found some distance from water in habitats ranging from desert to open woodland; absent from dense forest. They can reach a length of 33–44 millimetres. These dragonflies have a flattened and rather broad abdomen. The adult male scarlet dragonfly has a bright scarlet red, widened  abdomen , with small amber patches at the bases of the hindwings. Also, the veins on the leading edges of the wings are red. Females and immatures are yellow-brown and have a conspicuous pale stripe along the top of the  thorax . It feeds mainly on  water shrews, frogs, predatory insects (including other dragonflies)  

They are a species of  jewel bugs  common in continental  Southeast Asia . These bugs  are commonly known as  jewel bugs  or  metallic shield bugs  due to their often brilliant coloration.  These  insects  feed on plant juices from a variety of different species, including some commercial crops such as  Pigeon pea ,  Arecanut ,  Jatropha, etc A vast majority of jewel bugs, both adults and nymphs, are also capable of releasing pungent defensive chemicals from glands located on the sides of the thorax. Typical compounds exuded by jewel bugs include alcohols, aldehydes, and esters. Nymphs and adults often exhibit clustering behavior, being found in large numbers close to each other. This behavior is thought to have an evolutionary advantage. The more individuals present in an area, the stronger the odor of the chemicals released when the bugs are threatened. If this fails, stink bugs will react to threats by flying away or dropping to the ground .  One of the most common place to find th

  Yellow Waxtail is a species of  damselfly, i t is commonly known as  coromandel marsh dart . This species can be found in  South Asian  countries such as  India ,  Sri Lanka ,  and  Nepal .  It is a medium-sized damselfly with yellowish-green eyes. Its thorax is olive-green above and yellowish-green on the sides. Its abdomen is yellow. Its anal appendages are citron-yellow or ochreous, the inferiors tipped with black. The superiors are sub-quadrate as seen from above, with the corners gently rounded. The inferiors are sloped strongly upwards, broad at the base, then tapering rapidly to an acute point. Female is more robust and dull colored. Its thorax is more greenish and the abdomen is golden yellow to brown.  It breeds in weedy ponds, ditches, and rice fields. Picture 1 - Male Picture 2 - Female 

  The   black francolin belongs to  the  pheasant  family . It was formerly known as the Black Partridge. It is the state bird of  Haryana . It is known as Kaala Teetar locally.  The head of the black francolin is curved with brown iris eyes color and unique pattern of brown color crown and the throat color is black. It has a length ranging from 33 to 36 cm and weight approximate about 453 g and the size of black francolin is 9 to 16 inches. The primary color is black with black breast rufous belly, white spots on flanks, and golden brown spots at the back of the body. The flight pattern of the black francolin is short, direct flight punctuated by glides with rounded wings, rounded tail narrow black and white bars. Black francolin male The male black francolin is black with a white patch on the cheek, a chestnut collar, and white spots on the flanks. The back and wings are scalloped with shades of golden brown with sub-terminal tawny-buff bands and pale edges. The tail is black with na

  This  minivet  is found in tropical southern  Asia  from  India ,  Sri Lanka  to southern  China ,  Indonesia , and the  Philippines . They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in  hilly  country. While the male  is scarlet to orange with black upperparts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upperparts.  The scarlet minivet is 20–22 cm long with a strong dark  beak  and long wings. The male has black upperparts and head, and  scarlet  underparts, tail edges, rump, and wing patches. The shape and colour of the wing patches and the shade of orange in the male vary across populations.  The female is grey above, with yellow underparts, including the face, tail edges, rump and wing patches. This minivet catches  insects  in trees by flycatching or while perched. It flushes insects out of foliage by beating its wings hard. Scarlet minivet will form small flocks. Its song is a pleasant whistling. This bird n

 The Anomalous Nawab  is a  butterfly  found in Asia that belongs to the rajahs and nawabs group. It is found mainly in India, Nepal, and Sri-Lanka. Its wingspan ranges from 95-100 mm.  The male and female have wings with the yellow bands uniformly narrower, the outer edge of the band more irregular, undulated, the portions between the medians being each somewhat incurved. This butterfly somewhat resembles the Common Nawab, but it is paler with more acute forewings, light bands on the forewing relatively broader. It has two yellow dots near the forewing's apex.  Its flight is very swift and strong. It is often seen in the company of other butterflies, mudpuddling, or probing for plant sap. It is the most active in the months of March to November.  

 Plain Tiger, also known as the African Queen and the African Monarch,   is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in  Asia ,  Australia,  and  Africa . It  primarily consume plants  commonly called milkweed. Milkweed contains toxic compounds  that are often consumed and stored by many butterflies. Because of their  emetic  properties, the plain tiger is  unpalatable  to most predators. As a result, the species' coloration is widely  mimicked  by other  species  of  butterflies . The plain tiger inhabits a wide variety of  habitats , although it is less likely to thrive in  jungle -like conditions and is most often found in drier, wide-open areas. Plain Tiger is a medium-sized  butterfly  with a  wingspan  of about 7–8 cm. The body is black with many white spots. The wings are orange, the upperside brighter, and richer than the underside. The upper half of the forewing is black with a white band. The hindwing has three black spots in the center. The wings are bordered in black and out

The  dusky eagle-owl  is an  owl  species that is widespread in  South and  Southeast Asia. The dusky eagle-owl occurs from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh to Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia, it has been recorded in oil palm plantations during surveys carried out between autumn 2009 and 2010 in the states of Selangor, Perak, Pahang, and Negeri Sembilan. Its preferred habitats are wetlands with dense tree cover. The dusky eagle-owl is a large greyish-brown owl with prominent ear tufts. Its underparts are greyish-white with some dark brown streaks, and its dark brown wings have some whitish streaks. It is about 58 cm in size. The dusky eagle-owl is usually active at night and emerges from its roost shortly before sunset. In cloudy weather, it sometimes also hunts during the day. The nesting season is from November to April. The nest is made of sticks in the fork of the trunk of a large tree preferably near water and often in the vicinity of human habitation.

  The  brown fish owl is a  fish owl  species in the family known as typical owls. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia.  It inhabits forests and wooded wetlands. Of the four living species of fish owl, it is the most widely distributed, most common, and best-studied. It occupies a range of over 7,000 km. The brown fish owl is an all-year resident throughout most tropical and subtropical parts of the  Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and adjoining regions. The brown fish owl has prominent ear tufts and rufous-brown upperparts that are heavily streaked with black or dark brown. Its underparts are whitish, with wavy dark brown streaks and finer brown barring. Its throat is white and conspicuously puffed. Its facial disk is indistinct, the bill dark and the  iris golden yellow. Its featherless feet are yellow. Two-year-old brown fish owls are somewhat paler than adults. Females and males differ slightly in size. In body size, it ranges from 48 to 61 cm with a wingspan

 Common Emigrant, also known as Lemon Emigrant, is a medium-sized butterfly commonly found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri-Lanka, and Myanmar. Its wingspan ranges from 55-80 mm.  It is a common species of gardens and city areas. Usually seen on flowers in gardens throughout the year. During the summers, due to the scorching heat, they can be found near damp patches. Their flight is rapid with erratic up and down swoops. They are found up to 4000m in the hills.  Both the genders are yellow to translucent greenish-white in color. Their antennae may be red or black in color. 

  The Common Evening Brown is found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri-Lanka, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Their wingspan ranges from 60-80 mm.  Their flight is jerky and they fly close to the ground. They are found up to 2100m in the hills. They can be found fluttering around throughout the year. They are usually active at dusk and might enter houses since they are attracted to light. These butterflies have two morphs(looks), one is the wet season morph and the other is the dry season morph. During the wet season, they have coffee brown wings with huge yellow, black and white spots. During the dry season, their wings are hazelnut brown in colour and the huge spots fade away and black patches appear on the wings which impart the look of a blotted paper, disguising it as a completely different butterfly. 

 The garden tent web spider belongs to the family of orb weaver spiders.  Although they are in the orb-weaver family, they do not build orb webs. Their tent-like, highly complex non-sticky web is sometimes considered a precursor of the simplified orb web. These webs are aligned horizontally, with a network of supporting threads above them. These spiders often live in colonies. Females have a body length of mostly about 10 millimeters long.  The spider constructs a tent web, about a meter high form the ground. Builds the web in an open environment. Prefers moist and thick surroundings. Hunting method -  The spider rests at the hub or in the retreat. An airborne insect striking the upper barrier web either drops onto the horizontal net or remains entangled in the upper barrier web. The prey produces vibrations in the web upon impact and/or during struggling, and these are transmitted via web elements to the hub. Some discrimination of prey characteristics on the basis of vibration freque

  The  Neoscona theisi are a species of spotted orb-weavers. The  females have a body length of up to 11 mm. Males are slightly smaller, measuring up to 9 mm.  They build an  orb web  and rest near the center.  Individuals vary in color from dark reddish-brown to pale-yellow with a distinct pattern on the upper abdomen, lighter along the center-line, and darker on the sides. The legs are light with dark patches at the joints.  They are found from  Cyprus, Israel, Russia, India, Philippines, China to Indonesia, Japan, Australia. They normally feed on smaller bugs, flies, and other insects. It is usually observed that they retreat back to long leaves to rest at noon.  According to me the spider in the above image is a female.   

Other names - Lime Butterfly, Lemon Butterfly, Lime Swallowtail, Chequered Swallowtail. These  common names  refer to their host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the  lime . Unlike most butterflies belonging to the swallowtail family, it does not have a prominent tail. The butterfly is  found from Asia to  Australia and can be easily spotted in gardens. The butterfly has a wingspan 80–100 mm.  Above, the background colour is black. A broad, irregular yellow band is found on the wings above, which is broken in the case of the forewing. Besides this, the butterfly has a large number of irregular spots on the wing. The upper hindwing has a red spot with blue edging around it. This butterfly is an avid  mud-puddler(as explained in the Ceracris post)  and visitor of flowers. It basks with its wings held wide open on tufts of  grass  and  herbs , and generally keeps within a metre of the ground, even on cloudy days. It relies on its quick flight for escape.  It has a number o

  Common Castor is  an orange  butterfly  with brown lines whose  larvae  feed almost exclusively on the castor oil plant .  Their wingspan ranges between 30–35 mm. Like others in their family , their front two legs are small and unused, effectively making them four-legged. These smaller appendages are covered with long hairs, giving them the characteristic brush look.   It is a very active butterfly but weak on the wing. It flies gracefully as if sailing through the air among the castor plants or any dense vegetation. It is fond of resting on leaves at the top canopy, keeping the wings slowly moving sideways, and always nearer to host plants. It is found all over India, Shimla to Sikkim in The Himalayas, and recorded from Rajputana and Bengal, Assam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Tenasserim, Malayan subregion.

  They are  a type of grasshoppers belonging to the family  Acrididae.  It occurs in Indo-China and southern China, where it may become a locally significant agricultural pest. Mud-Puddling behavior has been noted in them,   they seek out  nutrients  in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter,  mud,  and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet  soil , dung, or  carrion .  From the fluids, they obtain  salts  and  amino acids  that play various roles in their physiology,  and ecology. They are nearly 3cm - 5cm long and are green in color with black strips either side. They can be seen fluttering the bushes and shrubs in groups of 10 and 20, they easily get scared by human presence and are totally harmless to humans. 

The Painted Grasshopper  is a large brightly colored  grasshopper  found in the  Indian Subcontinent .  Nymphs  of the species are notorious for squirting a jet of liquid up to several inches away when grasped. It is also known as Aak grasshopper or locally in a few tribal areas called titighodo. The half-grown immature form is greenish-yellow with fine black markings and small crimson spots. The mature grasshopper has canary yellow and turquoise stripes on its body and pale red hind wings.  It changes its outward appearance by molting. The grasshopper feeds on the poisonous plant known as crown flower Upon slight pinching of the head or lower body, the half-grown immature form ejects liquid in a sharp and sudden jet, with a range of two inches or more, from a dorsal opening. The discharge is directed towards the pinched area and may be repeated several times. The liquid is pale and milky, slightly viscous, and bad-tasting, that the insect obtains from the plant it feeds upon.

The male's abdomen length is nearly 18-21 mm and wing length is 20-23 mm The female's  abdomen length is nearly 18-20 mm and wing length is 22-25 mm  The Ditch Jewel  is a small dragonfly with brown-capped yellowish-green eyes. Its thorax (body) is olivaceous-brown, marked with a reddish-brown stripe and two brownish stripes on each side. It has wings that are transparent but reddish in color. Its Abdomen(tail) is ochreous-red, marked with brown stripes. The Female is similar to the male in body structure but it is pale yellowish-green in color. Its wings are transparent, tinted with yellow at the extreme base. It breeds in weedy ponds, lakes, and slowly moving streams; especially in sluggish waters. It is very common along sewage canals, tanks, ponds, and ditches. It is a  dragonfly of polluted waters. That flies very near the ground and perches on aquatic weeds.  It is found in most of the Asain countries.

  It is native to  India ,  Sri Lanka  and  Thailand , where it is a common and widespread species. It is a medium-sized dragonfly with brown-capped grey eyes.  Its thorax is  ashy grey in appearance , marbled, and peppered with black in a very irregular manner. Wings are transparent and black at the center and pure white at distal and proximal ends .  Female is similar to the male. Taking advantage of its well-developed camouflage, it always rests flat on slab rock or cement-plastered walls, where it almost invisible. Adults occupy habitat near water bodies, such as pools, irrigation channels, wells, and containers with standing water. It breeds in rainy hollows in the rocks or in wells and small cemented tanks. The species has been studied as a predator of the disease-carrying  Yellow Fever Mosquito  ( Aedes aegypti ). The larvae of the dragonfly consume the larvae of the mosquito in the standing-water habitat types that both occupy .

 The wingspan of the rounded pierrot is nearly 23-28mm. It is not a rare pierrot and can be easily spotted.  It is usually found in Nepal, Sri-Lanka, and India. It flies low over grasses and shrubs. In the Himalayas, it is found even up to 2,130m. It is active almost throughout the year.  The lower side of the wings is white with black spots, strips, and borders. The upper side is violet-blue with a narrow black border. They have a short tail on each hind wing. They are not as alert and aware of human presence as larger butterflies and go about their business without paying much attention to humans.

The Stagonomus amoenus belongs to a species that is generally called the stink bug or the shield bug.  They are called shield bugs in English and stink bugs in American English.  The term shield bug refers to the generalized body shape of adult bugs . The name stink bug refers to their ability to release a pungent defensive spray when threatened, disturbed, or crushed. The composition of this spray may vary between species, and even by sex or age, but generally includes  aldehydes  and  alkanes . Descriptions of the smells vary widely, and include oily, dusty, woody and earthy, and like  coriander . In some species, the liquid contains cyanide compounds and a rancid almond scent, used to protect themselves and discourage predators. They have a 5-segmented antennae , The body shape of adults is generally " shieldlike ," when viewed from above. They are coffee coloured and have two white spots on their back. They have small pores all over their body. Several stink bugs and

The B ar-headed Goose  breeds in  Central Asia  in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and during winters they usually breed in South Asia , as far south as peninsular India. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest. It is known for the extreme altitudes it reaches when migrating across the Himalayas.   The bird is pale grey and is easily distinguished from any of the other grey geese because of the black bars on its head. It is also much paler than the other geese in its family. In-flight, its call is a typical goose honking.   The Bar-headed Goose has an extremely large range and can be found in Afghanistan, Bangladesh Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand, and Vietnam. They have also been introduced to Canada and Spain. These birds prefer high altitude mountain lakes.  Their powerful and constant flight helps generate body heat, which is retained by their down feathers. Such heat helps keep ice from building up on their wings when f

Other Names - Indian Python, Black-tailed Python, Asian Rock Python  The rock python's color pattern is whitish or yellowish with the blotched patterns varying from tan to dark brown shades. This varies with terrain and habitat. Specimens from the hill forests of the Western Ghats  and Assam  are darker, while those from the Deccan Plateau  and the Eastern Ghats  are usually lighter.  The Indian Rock Python occurs in India, southern Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and in the north of Myanmar. It is a non-venomous snake but has a powerful bite.   It lives in a wide range of habitats, including grasslands, swamps, marshes, rocky foothills, woodlands, open forest, and river valleys. It needs a permanent source of water. It hides in abandoned mammal burrows, hollow trees, dense water reeds, and mangrove thickets.  Like all snakes, Indian pythons are strict carnivores and feed on mammals, birds, and reptiles indiscriminately, but seem to prefer mammals.      

This beetle has a cobalt-blue exoskeleton. Both sexes range from 6–9 millimeters in length, with clubbed antenna. Its  body is oval in shape.  Both adults and larvae feed on milkweed plants. Adults typically feed on the foliage and flowers of the newly developed milkweed plant. When a large community appears, they consume a large portion of the leaf tissue from the plant, which causes significant damage to the plant. The adults eat holes in the leaves of milkweed , appearing in spring as the days become warmer and the milkweed leaves begin to develop. During the spring they disperse in large numbers on various plants within the same area of distribution.   Adults emerge in early summer and persist on milkweed plants in patches for approximately six weeks. Females are highly polyandrous .  The adult females lay their eggs on the leaves of the milkweed  plants; the larva consumes the leaf tissue between the veins, leaving nothing but a skeleton. On occasion, the larva also eats the root

 Another name - Fruit Piercing Moth  Distribution -   This moth is found in widespread parts of the world, mainly in tropical Asia extending to New Guinea  and Australia  as well as in Africa. Its wingspan is nearly 60-90 mm.  Male has a greenish-grey head. The male's forewings are greenish-grey with very numerous faint striated reddish lines.  Female much more prominently striated with rufous coloured forewings. Their abdomen is orange.   They are  considered a pest on citrus and other fruit, which they damage by piercing the fruit in order to suck the juice. The moth in the above pictures is a male,  the easiest way to distinguish between the two sexes is by viewing their forewing. The male has a shape that represents an oval on their forewing whereas the female has striated patterns on their forewing.  

This large stork has a heavy yellow beak with a down-curved tip that gives it a resemblance to an Ibis . The head of the adult is bare and orange or reddish in colour.  There is a distinctive black breast band with white scaly markings on them.  The rest of the body is whitish in adults.  The legs are yellowish to red  and t heir short tail is black with a green gloss.  Males and females appear alike but the males of a pair are usually larger than the female.  The young ones are mainly whitish with grey bills and blackish facial skin. The juveniles assume a brownish plumage and like most other storks reach breeding conditions after two to three years. Painted storks feed in groups in shallow wetlands, crop fields, and irrigation canals.  They feed mainly on small fish which they sense by touch while slowly sweeping their half-open bill from side to side while it held submerged.  They also take frogs and the occasional snake.  Image 1 - Adult  Image 2 - Juvenile Image 3 - adult feeding

  The Indian Scops Owl  is a resident species of  South Asia .  The Indian scops owl is a small owl of 23 to 25cm in height, although it is one of the largest of the scops owl . Like other scops owls, it has small ears . The upperparts are grey or brown  with faint brownish-yellow  spotting. The underparts are  brownish-yellow  with fine darker streaking. The facial disc is  brownish-yellow  and the eyes are orange or brown.   The Indian scops owl is nocturnal . Through its natural camouflage , it is very difficult to see in the daytime, but may sometimes be located by the trees with smalls birds resting in it. It feeds mainly on insects .

This dragonfly is a common and widely distributed species found throughout the year across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The male (as shown in the above images) of this species is distinctly different from the female.  The male has a reddish-brown face, with eyes that are crimson above and brown on the sides.   The wings are transparent with crimson venation and the base has a broad amber patch.  The female has a  bright reddish-brown face with eyes that are purplish-brown above and grey below.  The wings are transparent with brown tips. The venation is bright yellow to brown and basal amber markings are pale.   It is commonly found in weedy tanks and ponds, gardens, marshes, and slow-flowing streams and rivers in the lowlands and mid-hills. It breeds in streams, rivers, canals, ponds, and tanks.  

Other name - Green Marsh Hawk  Distribution - South-eastern Europe, Australia, and from North Africa to Japan.  It is a medium-sized dragonfly with a wingspan of 60-85mm. Adults are grayish to greenish-yellow with black pale markings (this information might not be completely accurate since a few females of this species have been spotted which are completely yellow). The females are very similar to the males in shape and size but might differ a bit in colour. This dragonfly perches motionless on shrubs and dry twigs for long periods. It voraciously preys on smaller butterflies and dragonflies.  The image above is of a female.