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Project Noah Nature School
Sphaerocoris annulus
This piece of art will represent 400 spottings :) These beautifully patterned true bugs (order Hemiptera, family Scutelleridae) are found throughout much of sub-saharan and northeastern Africa. They feed on the nectar and internal juices of a wide variety of plants with their sucking and piercing proboscis (straw like mouth part). Eggs are deposited on the under sides of leaves. The young nymphs spend most of their time in flowers feeding, and they take a little under 2 months to molt and grow into adults (when they will become more generalized feeders).
Grassland. (1,2 km from point number 6 on the Mlawula nature reserve map)
Spotted on Apr 4, 2014
Submitted on Apr 4, 2014
49 Comments (1–25)
Thank you very much Mariris! Nature is great :)
This is very very beautiful. Thanks for sharing
Thank you Suz and Sukanya. :)
Congratulations on No. 400 ... beautiful.
Aptly named. Congrats on 400th spotting. Great find.
Thank you Isabel. Yes, it was one of those encounters where I actually questioned what I saw.... Cant believe that pattern and those colours on a bug :)
what an amazing spot!
Yes Tiz, I truly enjoyed the Swazi nature and the time we spent together... Such a wonderful place, amazing creatures to photograph, great people who are now friends, and the incredible Swazi countryside. We had fun!
Yes Lauren, it was spectacular. It is hard to believe that nature can create this patterns... I will tell one of the witch-doctors in the area to send one in your direction too :) Thank you Dotun and Saumya for your comments :)
Mark and Leuba, thank you too, and yes Leuba, you might be right... I am finding some tortoise beetles here as well :)
Thank you Tom :)
And thank you Leanne, Pam is a strong and impressive lady and I think that she really enjoyed the Swazi nature :)
Congratulations Tiz! What an amazing bug. Love that you've been spotting with Pamsai. Love it!
Congratulations Tiz , such a beautiful pattern !
Good one. Congratulations.
Tina, congrats on such a nice find and SOTD!
Congratulations Tiz - well deserved ! Looks like a Sergio creation.
Congrats Tiz!
Tina, it is so neat that you and Pam are out spotting together! She is already putting up really beautiful finds! Add me to your super powers list to receive a Picaso Bug in Mexico :) Must be an amazing unbelievable thing to see.
Oh sorry, I missed out on a bunch of comments!
Thanks to Feche, Reza, Chief, Sarah, Jopy (finally I found your blue bug), and the one and only DanD! :) Thanks for letting this bug shine even more!
Não me venha com tretas, Tina. :P
Thank you Yasser and PN for making this a SOTD. I am sorry for not responding to this earlier, but I spend most of my time out in the field (with Pamsai) and we dont have internet there. I am so happy for this find and for your likes and comments.
Thank you Kel and Gilma, if I ever find one again, I will try to use my super-powers to send one to Costa Rica and one to Brazil :P
Thank you young Venusfly, Macro Mac, DBO, Amigo António, Viv (thank you, and it is PN that made it possible), EnvUnlimited, Rosa and Rob, James and Mother nature Lauren, medusasnakes, outsidegirl, RiekoS, Scott and Kate, Leana and Mr Soumi Lasse (Looking forward to see your spring spottings from "home") :)
Very fine! Congrats Tiz!
Congratulations Tiz!
Wonderful spotting! Worthy of being number 400.
Great spotting Tiz!
Looks like painted. Love the name. Congratulations!
Congratulations Tiz, on your SOTD