Wildlife on Fuerteventura

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Soldier Bug - Spilostethus pandurus
seen on Corralejo dunes amongst the dune crocus

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Not exactly 'wildlife' but I walked a different lane in the village today and saw a different selection of animals.

[the_jg]

Following on from the Hoopoe posts, my main interests on Fuerteventura are as a naturist naturalist and I find Fuerteventura is a wonderful place to indulge both. In particular it is the first time I have managed to record a Hoopoe calling. 
You can watch the edited footage in the first 40 seconds of this "Nature and NAturism" video.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

I've been watching some spiders today. I call this one the chameleon because he seems to change colour to match his surroundings. (One of them had been on the booze!)



and this one is my octopus:

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

This caterpillar has been eating his way through a faux olive shrub in my garden this last week. When the SE gales arrived he went through the fence presumably to get out of the wind.

[Gone Fishing]

Hi Tamara
I think that is a Death's-head hawk moth caterpillar (Acherontia atropos)

All of the Hawk moth caterpillars are spectacular looking, but that one is a beauty. 

[Gone Fishing]

Saw male Houbara Bustards strutting their stuff the last 2 days. Too far away for my mobile to take pictures but fascinating/hilarious to watch. Both have been on the plains between Tindaya village and the coast and visible from the car tracks - please don't walk anywhere other than the tracks as the birds are easily disturbed and are protected by law. Look out for a sudden flash of white that shoots across an area at top speed, stops, changes direction, repeats. The white is the Houbara's under-feathers that it fluffs up, normally they are very difficult to spot, blending in so well to their habitat.

Intrigued me enough to Google 'Houbara' and found this clip of (probably) one of your local birds Tamara

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Thanks Gone Fishing - you prompted me to look at YouTube and I found this one that shows why I laugh at them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXAWTl2MMM4

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Found one of my little 'chameleon' spiders on my hose today, and later on my sweater. Their bodies are so funny, I think they look like a face.

 

 

[Gone Fishing]

Hi Tamara

I think what you have there is a colony of Crab Spiders in your garden.

Not only do they resemble crabs, but they tend to walk sideways too (perhaps why you thought they were drunk?)

Also known as the Flower spider, because they often hide themselves inside flowers to pounce on butterflies, bees and other pollenating insects.
As a result of their flower hunting habits, they don't build webs to catch their food, but the do produce silk threads which they use to abseil from (see your first photo).

They can change colour to match their surroundings, just as you have observed.


Crab Spiders may bite, but their venom isn't harmful to humans.

Unlike these little terrors:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/trave...njury.html