August 2, 2010

Crawling among the Mushrooms

I'd gotten it into to my head to join Mary's Mosaic Monday combined with Lisa's Macro Monday, yet as I stepped out of our front door with my camera yesterday, I had something quite different in mind. I was in for a little surprise.

As soon as I opened our white iron gate, there on our coconut tree stump I spotted a cluster of lovely little mushrooms left by the recent rains. And that wasn't all. I knelt down and started to compose and click to capture the mushrooms when I noticed one... two... three... oh my, many minute creatures crawling in and around the fungi. Peering at the black bodies with two yellow stripes more closely, I recognized them as caterpillars, but even a later search on the internet did not reveal to me what kind they are.  I could guess that they transform into the small yellow butterflies that fly around in our area, but I wouldn't bank on that. Whatever they are called, they certainly became part of my photo story and mosaic today. 

Having completed my mosaic of macros, I could only wish that I had a better lens for the job. I am inspired to get a macro lens and have some more fun.

Manila, 2010

PS. Today our conscientious gardener promptly swept all the mushrooms away. So glad I beat him to them!

Click on the links for many many more macros and mosaics. For a closer view of my little creepers, click on the image.

14 comments:

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Mushrooms are found in such amazing places along with the exotic creatures. Very lovely!!! Cathy

VP said...

I'm not an expert about macro and don't know much of mushrooms, but I like your pictures and the mosaic you made. I'll have to try this...

Unknown said...

Francisca, this collage would make a great poster and deserves being enlarged! The crawling creatures are fantastic too. Great job!

Becky K. said...

Isn't it interesting the things we find when we go looking? Glad you got these before they were removed.

Becky K.

T. Becque said...

Nice textures and shapes you've put together!

Anonymous said...

I believe you may find that is a centipede, not a caterpillar.

Francisca said...

Thank you to Anonymous! Brilliant! You gave me the clue I needed to learn that these black and yellow myriapods are millipedes: harpaphe haydeniana, to be exact, or commonly called cyanide millipede and almond-scented millipede, as they secrete hydrogen cyanide when threatened. And to think I was crawling around on the ground with these little creepers! Won't do that again! Source: http://bugguide.net (since I had earlier searched the caterpillar section, I had naturally come up empty) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpaphe_haydeniana

Ali said...

Great photos, love how you put them into the mosaic. And I love it when we find something unexpected when taking photos!

jennyfreckles said...

Lovely collage - little clumps of mushrooms like that look like tiny villages - and the crawly things... uugh, not sure I like them, though they are fascinating.

My Dream Canvas said...

I really like your blog..hope you can stop by My Dream Canvas. Great mosaic.

A Garden of Threads said...

Wonderful macro shots and mosaic. I to dream of a macro lens. I hope you have a lovely week and take care.

EG CameraGirl said...

This is a wonderful mosaic, Francisca! I have been collecting mushroom photos for a possible mosaic myself. :)

I usually play this meme but was away this weekend.

Kala said...

Very creative mushroom mosaic - I like it!

Jeanette said...

Hey! I've always been a fan of your photos AND your writing! Glad to know that it's now to be shared and appreciated by all. Jeanette