Photos have still been hard to come by around the place, but here are a few to finish the year. Just on a month ago a tiny St. Andrews Cross spider was spotted in its web at the end of the house, and a macro shot was taken.

A check today showed it had increased in size many times and was now settled higher up on the wall behind a beautiful cross, the best we’ve seen.

A spider hunting wasp, genus Turneromyia was snapped with the phone at the wood heap.

And while sitting outside, a tickle on the arm was revealed on investigation to be another spider hunter, genus Fabriogenia, with prey, a small Clubiona spider. It was eventually persuaded to move to the table where it was snapped.

Jumping spiders are still scarce, but a Clynotis severus was a nice record.

The district has been experiencing very wet conditions, and in response Pacific Herons have been on the wetlands in large numbers. Two found the wet paddock to be a fruitful spot to forage and one was snapped at 200 metres range.

And to conclude, a frontal shot of a most striking male Bronzewing visitor.

After a lengthy pause in activities due to relative immobility, a total knee replacement has seen the camera and macro lens on the move again. The nature news is not good however, insect abundance in the native garden has been the lowest ever experienced, not one flower wasp has been seen, native bees  have only been observed on a couple of occasions, as have dragonflies, and most of the other regulars have been absent. About all to be seen on a wander around will be honey bees, the odd hoverfly, and a cabbage white or two. Jumping spiders are also hard to find with only two Servaea incana observed. The local cemetery has a reserved area rich in the local grassland flora, where Common Everlastings,  Blue Grass Lilies, and Yellow Rush Lilies  are flowering in abundance at the moment, with the odd Chocolate Lily, Onion Orchid, and Common Riceflower, but despite a careful search not one insect was found among all those flowers. A feature of both the lilies is that the spent flowers twist spirally, evident in the images. A Neoaratus  Robber Fly perched on a tree trunk however and proved a willing subject.

Caesia calliantha.

Tricoryne elatior