📽️ I - 30 MAR 2023 (14:35 hrs.) near Mulund (East), Mumbai, at Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary.
📸 II - 30 MAR (14:32 hrs.) near Mulund (East), Mumbai, at a mangrove marsh.
📸 III - 📸 9 OCT 2022 (16:21 hrs.) near Powai lake, inside IIT BOMBAY CAMPUS, India, Mumbai.
#BombayMeriJaan #mumbaimangroves #MumbaiUnseen #MumbaiCity #mumbai #thane
Fun fact - the nests, which are constructed from chewed up bark, and leaves, mixed with mud, are waterproof.
That's right. Bugs invented paper, cardboard and waterproofing way before us.
#antstodon #ants #AntsOfMastodon #biologymastodon #wildlife #naturalhistory #invertebrates #entomology #myrmecology #naturephotography #nature #mumbai #MumbaiUnseen #mumbaimangroves #BombayMeriJaan #IITBombay #powai
Found in forests, woodland, and scrub jungles, but also in the parks and gardens of urban Mumbai, their large pagoda style nests are not only hard to miss, but also earn them the 'pagoda' moniker.
#antstodon #ants #AntsOfMastodon #biologymastodon #wildlife #naturalhistory #invertebrates #entomology #myrmecology #naturephotography #nature #mumbai #MumbaiUnseen #mumbaimangroves #BombayMeriJaan
Not all plants are weeds. Not all introduced species are invasive. And even the so called 'notorious' invasives support native wildlife in the ecologically disturbed habitats of our great cities.
📸 30 MAR 2023 (11:49 hrs.) near #mulund East, #mumbai.
#naturalhistory #MumbaiUnseen #wildlife #invasiveplants #invasives #weedscience
When not on the hunt, the giant #asian #mantis (#Hierodula sp.), snuggles close to plants it stalks, rendering itself almost invisible - safe from marauding predators looking for an alfresco snack.
Insects such as preying mantids offer invaluable (and free!) organic pest control services, improving the quality of life in our great cities.
📸 30 MAR 2023 (12:19 hrs.) at #mulund East, #mumbai, #india.
#insectsofmastodon #InsectsOfTheFediverse #mantis #naturalhistory #MumbaiUnseen
A Giant Asian Mantis (#Hierodula sp.) stalks a tropical milkweed bush, hoping to nab an alfresco meal (read: any bug it can murder), while keeping a wary eye on clueless bystanders oblivious to it's existence.
Preying mantids perform an invaluable job of free pest control, improving the quality of our lives in our great cities.
📸 30 MAR 2023 (12:19 hrs.) at #mulund East, #mumbai, #india.
#entomology #insects #insectsofmastodon #InsectsOfTheFediverse #mantis #naturalhistory #MumbaiUnseen
Lesser grass jewel (Zizina otis).
A diminutive butterfly which flies low among grasses, settling frequently to feed on low growing flowers.
Flight delicate.
📸 Feb 28, 2022 (17:24 hrs.) at Hanging Gardens, Malabar Hill, South Bombay.
#mumbai #MumbaiUnseen #Bombay #urbanwildlife #butterfly #butterflies #entomology #nature #insects
#African #Baobab #tree (Adansonia digitata), at #Mumbai's #AareyMilkColony.
A rare sight in Mumbai city (only nine species of Baobab trees exist the world over), these gentle giants offer much needed food and shelter to native wildlife.
📸 Two days before #ValentinesDay - 12 FEB (08:20 hrs.) at #AareyColony, #Bombay.
Javed Ahmed