Hello ,

Creation. When we hear the word Creation we often think of beauty, and things such as a mountain range, the ocean, a river, large plains filled with animals, a sunrise or sunset, colourful birds and butterflies and so on. I do, however, believe that we often look and admire less than 0.1% of Creations beauty.

Over the years I have met many people that have said when I visit a national park or a nature reserve I get so much more value out of it than any other person. The reason behind this, is the fact that you don't have to know me very long before you will realize that I look at almost everything when I visit the park.

When I visit a national park I look at everything in the park; large game, small game, birds, trees, flowering plants (not grass (as of yet)), reptiles, amphibians, insects, spiders, scorpions, millipedes, mites, etc (for an example check out this video: Kruger at the end of summer).

I believe that even in everyday life there is so much more of Creation around us than meets the eye. The photo below shows what is often overlooked in the belief that it is just a fly (or in Afrikaans a "Brommer") but, it is so much more!

This is a Cuckoo wasp (Chrysididae: HYMENOPTERA), and as the name suggests it has the same habits as a cuckoo (bird). This wasp will lay its eggs in another wasp species nest. The larvae that hatches from the egg will then consume either the provisions made by the host or the hosts larvae. This is a great example of a brood parasitic species among insects!

The extravagant colouration of this wasp might seem counter intuitive, but if you look closely at the exoskeleton you will see small circular indents all over the body of this insect. These indents aids in strengthening the exoskeleton of the wasp, to the extent that it is even tough for an entomologist to drive a needle through a dead specimen! The tough exoskeleton is there to protect the wasp from the host species of wasp that it would like to parasitize!

If you're built like a tank, armed with a potent sting, you can be the most colourful and as eye catching as you like, because the odds are almost always in your favour!

So next time you are outside make sure to explore Creations beauty in even the small things!

Weekly Top Shot:

The latest Video: I think it is time to go back!

Kruger National Park After The Storm

What Kruger National Park looks like after good rains! We went to visit Kruger National Park after the good rains the park received and we did a lot of game ...