March has been milder, though there have been thunderstorms most evenings. Although there has been less rain fall this month, 116mm, there haven’t been long hot spells between, so the soil has remained moist. The lowest and highest temperatures recorded were 10 and 28 degrees Celsius.
In the mornings there is now a crispness in the air, the sun rises after 6am since the Autumn Equinox on 21 March, and the leaves on the exotic trees have started turning colour.
A first for me was finding
a caterpillar of the Gaudy Commodore, Precis octavia sesamus on one of its host plants, Plectranthus calycina. Throughout the year we see adult butterflies in their
Gaudy Commodore, Precis octavia sesamus, summer form
Gaudy Commodore, Precis octavia sesamus, winter form; a visual delight, they are the butterflies of our home!
Another small butterfly seen on a Geranium schlechteri was of the Common Blue group of butterflies Leptotes sp., not certain which one.
As often happens in Autumn there have been many moths, ready to lay their eggs for the next Spring season;
Duster, Pingasa abyssinaria;
one of the Handmaidens moths, Family Ctenuchidae;
a few unidentified ones;
Longhorn moth, Family Adelidae;
Many-plume moth, Family Alucitidae;
Pretoria Red Lines, Cyana pretoriae
and the very small The Horn Moth, Ceratophaga vastella.
On my wanderings I discovered some lovely insects;
an Antlion, Hagenomia lethifer;
a stunning Flower Mantid, Harpagomantis tricolor;
a vibrant Grasshopper;
a Leafcutter Bee, Family Megachilidae;
some tiny Museum Beetles, Anthrenus verbasci with an even smaller thrips;
a new colony of Paper wasps, Polistes fastiotus
and a Stick grasshopper, Acrida sp..
I always enjoy watching Millepedes!
In protected places I spotted some lovely spiders;
a False house button spider, Theridiidae theridion;
a delightful Hairy Field Spider, Araneidae Neoscona sp. of blondeli, its abdomen looked like a miniature tapestry,
and the discarded exoskeleton of a Pisauridae Family, Nursery web spider.
This juvenile Striped skink caught my eye, sunning on the edge of a step.
On the last day of March I had a wonderful fleeting glimpse of a male Cryptomys mahali Mole-rat as it scurried, unusually, over the ground. In 2005 Prof. Nigel Bennet came and spent a few days here looking for Cape Mole-rats, Georychus capensis, as we had found a dead one and he thought it might be part of a remnant population. They eluded him, but he did find
Cryptomys mahali male (2005),
and Cryptomys mahali female (2005).
Cryptomys mahali male. This is the first time I have seen one since then, so although the photos aren’t perfect it’s a special record!
One misty evening the male Common Reedbuck paid a visit close to the house.
Several used, and now abandoned bird nests have become visible,
beneath a Plane tree I found a Malachite Sunbird nest, the interior beautifully lined with soft cobwebs.
Then there was a nest about 2 meters up in a tree which is unraveling when the wind blows.
There are still quite a variety of flowers out,
Alectra sessiliflora;
Berkeya rhapontica;
Berkeya rhapontica;
Berkeya setifera;
Crassula vignata, can you see the Flower mantid at the top right?
this fruiting Dwarf Spikethorn, Gymnosporia uniflora looked festive;
Dwarf Spikethorn, Gymnosporia uniflora;
Dwarf Spikethorn, Gymnosporia uniflora;
Geranium schlechteri;
Helichrysum cooperi;
Helichrysum cooperi;
Helichrysum umbraculigerum;
Helichrysum umbraculigerum;
Hesperantha baurii;
Otholobium polysictum;
Printzia pyrifolia;
Schizoglossum bidens subsp. bidens seedheads;
the last of the Silver Bramble, Rubus ludwigii berries;
Stachys aethiopica;
Sutera floribunda;
Sutera floribunda
and Watsonia confusa.
Tall clumps of
Giant Turpentine Grass, Cymbopogon validus;
Giant Turpentine Grass, Cymbopogon validus stand sentinel on the hillside.
A fern I haven’t seen before popped up in a shady corner.
Ophioglossum vulgatum subsp. africanum;
Ophioglossum vulgatum subsp. africanum fertile spike;
Ophioglossum vulgatum subsp. africanum fertile spike;
it is a Pteridophyte or true fern, part of the Family Ophioglossacae, Adder’s tongues.
“Fossil evidence of Ophioglossacae has been traced to the Palaeocene (±64.5-55.8 million years ago). It is a primitive and isolated family and is not closely related to any other fern group. Recent molecular studies showed that Ophioglossacae is a primitive subclass of the true ferns.”
Ferns of Southern Africa A Comprehensive Guide: N R Crouch, R R Klopper, J E Burrows, S M Burrows
pub. Struik 2011 ISBN 978-1-77007-910-6
As often happens when we have damp conditions a number of fungi appear;
Amanita rubescens;
False Earthstar, Astraeus sp.
and a potato like fungi, Scleroderma sp..
We’ve had three seasons in one month in February. Some hot days, the highest temperature being 30.5C and the coolest 11C. Although there were several hot dry days we had 51.5mm of rain on the 15th, the total for the month was 236.5mm of rain, very welcome.
Due to the variety of weather conditions there have been some stunning early, haze mornings,
mist lapping the hillsides
echoing dawn colour reflection over the Drakensberg,
including the full moon setting on the 20th.
Some mornings the browning grasses sparkled with dewdrops,
but the early signs of autumn can be seen in the dulling of colour in the grasses.
Orchids and Mushrooms are the most visible species at the moment. The good late rains have benefited the Orchids that flower at this time of year.
Disa patula var. patula are a Southern African endemic, I counted a population of about eight plants in various stages of flowering.
A first time sighting of two Disperis tysonii plants was so exciting!
Eulophia ovalis var. ovalis;
Habenaria dives and
Habenaria pseudociliosa are usually seen in February;
however another wonderful first time find was also two Neobolusia tysonii plants, which I saw in late January at Garden Castle, Southern Drakensberg, also a Southern African endemic.
Satyrium cristatum var. longilabiatum is always a delight to see with it’s cheerful candy striping! So a total count of seven different species.
Another first sighting here was of
Crabbea hirsuta,
other flowers included:
Killickia pilosa, (= Satureja reptans), which I have nicknamed Bushman sweets as their leaves have a delicious fresh mint taste;
many graceful Kniphofia wands float in the grasses,
the dainty Kniphofia buchananii
and vibrant orange Kniphofia laxiflora;
Pelargonium luridum;
Schizoglossum bidens;
Sebaea sedoides;
Tephrosia macropoda;
Tumbling weed, Brunsvigia undulata seedhead;
Wahlenbergia krebsii;
Zaluzianskya natalensis
and possibly a patch of Ledebouria stenophylla which haven’t flowered this season.
Some interesting mushrooms popped up after the heavy rain,
Amanita rubescens;
Horse Mushroom, Agaricus arvensis;
Parasol Mushroom, Macrolepiota zeheri
and possibly Campanella capensis.
This rather battered Emperor moth sp, Family Saturniidae rested at dawn, it’s torn lower wing meant I could see the usually obscured ‘eye’.
It was very special to discover a Common Cannibal snail, Natalina cafra, in the lawn. I also saw a broken empty shell in different place, clearly a bird had eaten escargot!
Birds are not as frenetic, their broods probably fledged and more self-sufficient now. An early atumn season sighting of both a Malachite Sunbird and an African Hoopoe were a delight. One morning a Spurwing Goose perched on a rock above the valley, surveying the mist haze below.
The most exciting bird seen, was what I think is an African Cuckoo! Although it is a bit south of it’s usual summer sojourn, the broader, deeper bill with yellow at it’s base, differentiates it from the Common Cuckoo; this was also a first sighting here! It is a fairly common breeding, (Brood parasite of Fork Tailed Drongos), intra-African migrant, August-April, though not usually found here in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal.
New Year morning sunrise was particularly beautiful, clouds enabling colour-filled skies.
During January we had 158.5mm of rain, a bit less than December, but very welcome. A more usual pattern of afternoon thunderstorms occurred, however most didn’t realize much rain, there were also several misty, damp days. The hottest temperature was 31C and the lowest 10C
January has been a moth month:
a very distinctive African Hand Maiden moth sp. of the Family Thyretidae;
a Handmaiden moth sp. of the Family Ctenuchidae;
several of the Emperor moths were seen in the early mornings,
Common or Cabbage Tree Emperor moth;
Marbled Emperor moth;
a delightful, very small banded moth;
possibly a Monkey moth sp. of the Family Eupterotidae and
a gorgeously black and white marked moth.
There have been many stunning butterflies fluttering by, most not close enough or still long enough to photograph, however I did manage to capture an image of these two beauties:
Common Dotted Border, Mylothris agathina agathina and
Striped Policeman, Coeliades forestan.
Red-winged Starlings have been trying many different places to build a nest, for a while on top of the light fitting outside the kitchen door, it fortunately didn’t ‘stick’! Hadeda Ibis wander the lawn spearing tasty morsels.
A delight was managing to photograph a Greater Striped Swallow on the verandah railing one misty morning.
The single
Pterygodium magnum inflorescence continued growing, finally reaching ±1m, although buffeted by storms it flowered all through January, the final flowers have just opened, two young plants have come up next to it.
I spotted a few more orchids in flower:
Eulophia hians var hians;
Eulophia ovalis var ovalis;
Eulophia zeyheriana;
Satyrium cristatum;
Satyrium longicauda and
Satyrium parviflorum. Almost all of the flowering inflorescences are shorter than most years, possibly due to a lack of rain in the Spring.
Other flowers seen and photographed are:
Gladiolus ecklonii;
Brunsvigia undulata;
Crocosmia aurea, I have just learnt an interesting fact, one of the methods of seed distribution is by Vervet Monkeys, they find the seed very palatable and leave them behind in their droppings and
lastly Heliophila formosa.
After the last rain,
a Star Stinkhorn, Aseroe rubra, appeared in leaf litter.
During December we had 192mm of rain, to late to make a real difference to the natural vegetation, but very welcome. It’s interesting that the ‘normal’ summer weather pattern is not in place, most of the rain and thunderstorm activity is the result of abnormal cold fronts reaching way north. Our well water has risen again yoyo fashion! The hottest temperature was 31C and the lowest 7.5C
The hillsides have turned a verdant summer green, though seeding grasses gild the slopes. There have been several mornings when the valley below is filled with a sea of rising mist.
One of our joys is the resident group of Common Reedbuck that we see on a daily basis as they move around the property.
I saw this beautiful male Common Reedbuck settling down for his daytime nap just as the sun rose one morning.
Often they graze below the orchard near the driveway.
One evening three came right up near the house to graze.
Evidence of a very large Bushpig, which we have seen a couple of times, is clear where he uprooted a beautiful clump of Grassland Arums, Zantedeschia albomaculata and cleaned up all the fallen plums under the tree near the house.
A very striking Bladder Grasshopper, Pneumora inanis, with a very loud call, perched on bare branches near the kitchen door.
A Chafer beetle of the Family Scarabaeidae was spotted munching the florets of a Berkheya setifera flower.
The pollen of a Papaver aculeatum attracted an unusual brown fly.
The vibrant orange of the summer form of the Gaudy Commodore, Junonia octavia, shone brilliant in a sea of purple Vernonia.
I almost missed this dainty little grasshopper, a Lentula species. They don’t have wings in their adult form.
On several occasions I saw Koppie Foam Grasshoppers, Dictyophorus spumans, in two colour variations. One was deliberately hiding itself from me under the grass.
The Lunate Ladybird, Cheilomenes lunata, is one of my favourites, usually I see the exotic Ladybirds.
This stylish Net-winged Beetle, Family Lycidae, was settled on Helichrysum buds.
Pill millipedes fascinate me and I was delighted to have an opportunity to see it’s friendly face, often tightly hidden when they roll themselves into a pill ball.
A very cryptic Robberfly blended into the rock.
At the beginning of December I saw many Tri-coloured Tiger, Rhodogastria amasis, moth caterpillars,
and then the other day I saw a moth.
A very neatly constructed Bagworm, Family Psychidae of moths, jutted from a Vernonia flower.
There is lots of spider activity,
from the egg sac of a False button spider, Theridion, young emerged.
A delightful tiny spider sat sunning on a leaf.
Webs of all kinds festoon branches and corners.
One morning after a windy storm this small broken egg lay beneath a tree, not sure which bird.
An African Stonechat,
Fork-tailed Drongo
and a juvenile Fiscal use the fence to spot prey.
Speckled Mousebirds foraged for fallen plums in the mist.
A first sighting this month on our property was a Secretary Bird!
Two orchids were in flower;
Orthochilus foliosus
and for only the second time in 25 years I have watched a single Pterygodium magnum plant grow and develop an inflorescence which has just started opening.
Some of the other flowers seen and photographed are: 
Agapanthus campanulatus;
Ajuga ophrydis;
Ascelepias albens;
Berkheya setifera;
Craterocapsa tarsodes which I usually associate with higher parts of the Drakensberg;
Dipcadi viride fruit;
Gerbera piloselloides;
Hibiscus aethiopicus;
Hypericum aethiopicum;
Monopsis decipiens;
Otholobium polystictum;
Papaver aculeatum;
Pearsonia sessilifolia;
Polygala hottentotta;
Polygala refracta;
the last of the Watsonia socium;
Zaluzianskya microsiphon
and Grassland Arums, Zantedeschia albomaculata, this is the clump that the Bushpig feasted on!
With the rain, fungi have appeared;
Amanita rubescens;
this dark solid fungi;
a beautiful mushroom, possibly of the Termitomyces species
and possibly a Paxillus involutus.
We experienced mainly hot dry spells with a few overcast days and some thunderstorms during November.
We measured only 53.5mm of rain, almost half of October’s rainfall. The Maximum temperature during the month was 30 C and the coldest a Minimum of 5 C during the early hours of 1 November. Our well water has dropped way down again!
Growth has slowed down, flowers are not as prolific as usual and there are still open patches of soil in between the grass.
The highlight was finding a
Common or Rhombic night adder
on a morning walk. It didn’t move off, merely flattened it’s body and allowed me to take a series of photos. It was very camouflaged amongst the grass.
Some insects caught my eye,
this metallic coloured Blow fly sp. Family Calliphoridae;
a delightful small Hairy caterpillar;
a vibrantly striped caterpillar
and a small butterfly,
Wichgraf’s Brown, Stygionympha wichgrafi.
A female Common Duiker observed me from beyond the fence
and a most exciting find was fresh Eland droppings, probably the old, one horned male that is seen from time to time along the ridge.
Some of the flowers seen and photographed are:
Alepidea natalensis;
Aristea woodii;
Aspidonepsis diploglossa;
Berkheya macrocephala, such shining yellow, happy flowers;
Chlorophytum cooperi;
Cyanotis speciosa;
Cyperus rupestris;
Cyphia elata;
Delosperma hirtum;
Dipcadi viride;
Eriosema kraussianum;
Haemanthus humilis;
Harpochloa falx, Caterpillar Grass;
Indigofera hilaris;
Indigofera veluntina;
Kniphofia brachystachya flowers at the beginning of November
and fruits at the end of the month;
Kohautia amatymbica, Tremble Tops;
Leobordia (=Lotononis) corymbosa;
Schizocarphus (=Merwilla & =Scilla) nervosa;
only two Orchids,
Eulophia hians var hians;
Orthochilus foliosus;
at the beginning of the month the Pachycarpus natalensis buds had formed
and by the end of November they were in full bloom;
Pentanisia prunelloides;
Peucedanum caffrum, Wild Parsley fruits;
Raphionacme hirsuta;
Scabiosa columbaria;
Searsia (=Rhus) discolor has minute little flowers;
Stachys aethiopica;
Striga bilabiata
looks very similar to Stachys aethiopica of the Lamiaceae – Sage/Mint Family, but is of the Scrophulariaceae – Snapdragon Family and is a parasitic herb on grasses;
Thesium pallidum fruit, flowered in October;
Vernonia natalensis;
Vernonia sp.;
Wahlenbergia cuspidata;
Watsonia socium carpeted the hillside and
Xysmalobium parviflorum.
The Red-winged Starlings try to come into the kitchen to roost on top of the pantry cupboard on misty days, and are very indignant when chased out!
It was an unexpected treat to wander the hillsides at Impendle Nature Reserve with three fellow flower enthusiasts, Christa Gadd, Sharron Berruti and Ansell Matcher. Philip had arranged a day hike and very kindly suggested that the four of us break into a separate flower group, meeting up with the hikers at lunchtime.
With the recent rain the hillsides were gardens of free growing indigenous flowers, literally carpeting the slopes. Time slowed as our pace slowed, every few steps there was another floral delight to inspect, enthuse over, photograph and identify. We were in heaven.
Below is a selection of a few of the hundreds of species we saw. I was particularly interested to notice how many species of the Milkweed family were flowering.
The following is from the online Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/plant/Asclepiadoideae
“Asclepiadoideae, formerly Asclepiadaceae, the milkweed subfamily of the flowering-plant family Apocynaceae (order Gentianales), including more than 214 genera and about 2,400 species of tropical herbs or shrubby climbers, rarely shrubs or trees. It was formerly treated as its own family (Asclepiadaceae). However, molecular evidence suggests that the group is evolutionarily derived from Apocynaceae, and thus it has been recategorized as a subfamily by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III (APG III) botanical classification system.
Most members of Asclepiadoideae have milky juice, flowers with five united petals, podlike fruits, and, usually, tufted seeds. Male and female parts of each flower are united in a single structure, and the pollen is characteristically massed in bundles called pollinia, pairs of which are linked by a yokelike bar of tissue contributed by the stigma of the pistil. Parts of the pollinia stick to visiting insect pollinators, which then carry them to other flowers to facilitate cross-pollination. The silky-haired seeds are drawn out of their pods by the wind and are carried off. In some species the fertility is low, and many-flowered plants often produce few fruits. Many milkweed butterflies, including monarch butterflies, rely exclusively on Asclepiadoideae plants as a food source for their larva.”
Ansell was the first to spot an Asclepias concinna plant in flower. First found here by Isabel Johnson when we were together with a CREW (Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers) group on 20 October 2007, but in a different part of the reserve. We had been following the UKZN University Herbarium notes for possible locations. Asclepias concinna, Family: Apocynaceae, Status: Endangered, Habitat: Stream bank, forest margin, Flowering time: Oct, Nov, Known localities: Impendle NR and Nkonzo forest.
Asclepias concinna
Asclepias concinna
Asclepias concinna
Asclepias concinna
The population we found this time was on an open grassy slope, so quite unexpected! Altogether we saw ±15 flowering plants and there were quite possibly more. Really an exciting find!
Some of the other Milkweeds seen were:
Asclepias fulva (=dregeana)
Asclepias fulva (=dregeana)
Asclepias fulva (=dregeana);
Aspidoglossum glanduliferum
Pachycarpus concolor
Pachycarpus concolor;
Pachycarpus dealbatus
Pachycarpus dealbatus;
Schizoglossum flavum
Schizoglossum flavum;
Schizoglossum stenoglossum subsp. flavum, mainly green flowers,
Schizoglossum stenoglossum subsp. flavum, mainly green flowers,
Schizoglossum stenoglossum subsp. flavum, one plant had brighter yellow colouring;
Xysmalobium involucratum
Xysmalobium involucratum
Xysmalobium involucratum;
Xysmalobium parviflorum
Xysmalobium parviflorum.
Another exciting find was a flowering 
Brachystema barberae
Brachystema barberae, gorgeous maroon velvet with cream ‘lace’, as described it has a very pungent odour!
We also found a Brachystema barberae with buds about to open.
In amongst the myrid of flowers on the slopes were:
Adhatoda andromeda;
Ajuga ophrydis;
Barleria monticola;
Berkheya setifera;
Convolvulus natalensis;
Dychoriste setigera (thank you Sharron for the ID);
Hibiscus aethiopicus;
Merwilla nervosa
Merwilla nervosa
Merwilla nervosa
Satyrium parviflorum
Satyrium parviflorum,
the only other orchid seen on that morning was Eulophia hians var. hians.
As we walked we also spotted a pair of Dung Beetles dragging a dead Millepede into a hole, we guess in the absence of dung this would be suitable material to lay eggs in.
A simply magical morning in great company!
Beautiful rain with hot dry spells in between, during October. We measured 102.5mm of rain, the Maximum temperature during the month was 30 C and the coldest a Minimum of 3.5 C during the early hours of 4 October when
snow fell on the Southern Drakensberg. Our well water is starting to rise slowly again!
Due to the moisture and warmer temperatures grass is growing and flowering, wildflowers appearing and a feeling that Summer is on its way.
The delicate fern Mohria vestita has popped up in shady places near rocks.
I felt uneasy about identifying Anemone fanninii for the August 2018 Diary, it didn’t feel correct, and when I spotted
Anemone fanninii flowering this month
Anemone fanninii (2017/08/24)
I was certain that in August it was actually
Anemone caffra
Anemone caffra flowering,
which means a new ID for Sitamani, and that both species are found here on the same hillside. The flower forms are definitely different, the A caffra have shorter rounded sepals and A fanninii longer, more ragged sepals. In both cases the leaves are not present or only starting to appear when they flower. (I have corrected the August 2018 Diary).
Other flowers seen and photographed are:
Aspidonepsis diplogossa;
Aster bakerianus;
Clutia cordata;
Clutia cordata;
Cyrtanthus tuckii;
two Dieramas,
Dierama cooperi
Dierama cooperi
Dierama latifolium;
Eriosema salignum;
Gebera ambigua;
Gebera ambigua;
on a cooler morning as the mist rose
Gladiolus longicollis;
Gladiolus longicollis;
Graderia scabra;
masses of
Hebenstretia dura
Hebenstretia dura on the top of the hill;
Hypoxis argentea;
the delightful Ledebouria cooperi;
Ledebouria cooperi;
Moraea graminicola;
Sisyranthus trichostomus, Hairy Grass Flower, as the tube entry on each floret is thickly hairy;
minute flowers only ±2mm each on Thesium pallidum;
Tulbaghia leucantha
Tulbaghia leucantha, Wild Garlic, the leaves are very tasty in salad;
and a flowering grass caught my eye, possibly an Eragrostis species, if anyone knows the ID please let me know!
Sadly the weather this spring season has not been good for Orchids, and I haven’t seen any flowering yet.
A shiny Common Metallic Longhorn beetle, Promeces longipes, glistened on an Aster bakerianus flower.
Some interesting moths have appeared,
and it took lying down on my stomach to photograph the tiny
Orange Plume Moth, Crombrugghia wahlbergi.
Fossicking on the hilltop early one morning I spotted a
Cape Longclaw, Macronyx capensis.
It was about 17 years ago that I last saw one here. Once the pine trees had grown up on the neighbouring Mondi plantation, they seemed to have disappeared, so it was an absolute delight to discover there is at least a pair on our grassy hill!
The Common Grey Duiker are regular visitors to the garden, and the Common Reedbuck are loving the new grass near the well, we often see them when driving home at dusk. The Black-backed Jackals call frequently in early evenings and mornings.
