Eristalinus taeniops

What remarkable eyes, the specific name "ribbon-eyed."
 

An Elegant Grasshopper

At least I think so, the Elegant Grasshopper (Zonocerus elegans.) one of the foam grasshoppers. It is widespread in RSA, here sitting on an Acacia karroo.
 

The canals of Mars

Ever since reading of the canals of Mars in my treasured possession of my childhood, Arthur  Mee's Children's Encyclopedia, I was enchanted by the planet. Of course the Mariners spacecraft of the sixties found no canals or seas, only craters like the moon. Despite being well aware of, this during the opposition of 1971 with very good seeing I recorded these canals; essentially the mind connecting the dots on the planet with lines.
The observations were made with a small telescope, 4" object glass magnification 180x. They were made over a period of 2 months.
The major dark patches (albedo markings) can be recognized.
   

Parapioxys jucundus

I rescued this bug from our swimming pool. Having shaken itself dry it left with an ungrateful click. It is a planthopper bug, feeding on tree sap. (family: Issidae.)
Apparently it has a bright red read abdomen underneath which I missed.
 

Pin-tailed Whydah

Bird photography is an art of its own, and a highly competitive field. I don't intend competing, but I was rather pleased with these pictures taken with my point and shoot camera.
This is Vidua macoura. What an amazing tail. The male is an aggressive little thing, chasing off other birds. He has several wives, who parasitise the Common waxbill (KN).