whale talker

One of the really nice things about having my friends back here is sharing the beauty and surprises that nature has in store. We have been kayaking, snorkeling and doing a bit of research (limited to determining the best location for the reef transect and setting anchors). Saturday/Sunday we are going out to The Whale Zone and see if we can call somebody in.

I am going to La Paz to meet with Dr. Jorge Urban tomorrow to turn in my data and just visit.



He is one of Mexico’s numero uno Whale Man and I am delighted to be considered as one of his “collaboradores”. He recently returned from The Annual Marine Mammal Conference in Montreal and told me he had much new info to share, particularly in regard to the work we did during The SPLASH program in 2004-2007.

In regard to the surprises: yesterday I was lying in my bed inside the trailer reading and happened to glance out the window and I saw this strange “thing” attached to the under side of the window. I looked closer and realized it was an insect; this one.



I went outside with the camera and took this shot.



Then I decided to move it to a more natural place so I nudged it with my kayak paddle (I never mess with an insect I don’t know) till I got it to sit on the paddle blade and then placed it on a nearby plant.





Now this is what you call mimicry! Many, many animals and plants do this as a means of avoiding being eaten….and sometimes to be eaten.

So today, the next day I return from kayaking and there it is again, but no, it’s a bit different.



This one is thinner and has beautiful dark green surfaces on it’s legs and back. Is this a male?, or maybe a female?, or a different species entirely? I don’t know, I’m not an entomologist (and I don’t have a field guide) but how interesting, eh? Of course to someone whose interests lie elsewhere it is all “just an insect” but it sure was fun for me. Check out it’s pincers (or what I think are its pincers). That’s why I don’t mess with insects, could be a toxin there.