Red-headed Bush Cricket

Yesterday, my daughter and I were wandering in the yard.  The neighbors’ cat, Miss Georgie, came trotting over to socialize as she always does when we are in the garden. (Perhaps she thinks she is doing us a service by presenting herself for stroking so we won’t have to pull weeds.)  At any rate, she is a very affectionate cat and could be the twin of our indoor cat Onyx. 
As my daughter played with her and held her, I was snapping away, of course.  Somewhere near the garden bench we could hear a cricket singing loudly.  Georgie got bored with the photography session and came to sit near me.  As I looked down, I saw a bit of movement out of the corner of my eye.  I bent down just in time to see a little critter disappear to the underside of a leaf. 

 Red-headed Bush Cricket (Phyllopalpus pulchellus)

Setting the camera focus to Macro, I carefully turned the leaf over to discover the tiniest of crickets with the most unusual coloring.  He was no longer than my fingernail (if you don’t count his antennae or his outstretched legs.) His head and thorax are bright red, and his abdomen is glossy black with beautifully-textured wings.  His legs and antennae are a creamy gold.  I’m including this last photo even though it’s a bit out of focus so that you can see how long the antennae were.  As for the fleshy black appendages protruding from his face?  They are the maxillary palpi, antenna-like structures that serve a sensory function. 

Photography has added another dimension to my lifelong fascination with nature.  With each new encounter, I am able to document this quest for knowledge and understanding not only with journaling but with photos as well.  The camera has proved invaluable in those fleeting moments when a creature arrives, pauses just for a moment and then is gone in a blink of an eye (and hopefully in the click of a shutter).  Though I was only able to glimpse the subject, I can study the photograph for as long as I like.