Giant – ish
The mother of them all, undisturbed in her feeding.
*Click on the pictures for a proper look … and click again
A bugs eye view, sees the sky through the tree branches above.
There’s an elegance to the form, weighty creatures though.
A youngster, from the wing buds, you wouldn’t know it otherwise.
Manoeuvred for the shot and the background.
Full wings, sun dried grass below. A hot summers day.
Can’t blame them for loving the bush juice in the recent heat.
She breathes through holes in her side, I’m sure she can close.
Angles, gotta take what can be since they can only be examined on the big screen.
Perfection is not an option for pursuit, but may be encountered …
… in its natural being, a bug in an apparently messy nature.
These huge bugs are thirsty for the butterfly bush sap, in competition with the need of the blue banded bees for nectar.
They can have a few heads but when they start on the big stems they are evicted to another part of the garden.
Soon after they are back, such is life. Part of the gardens management, like watering. Doing it as I go.
It pays to be careful of judging what’s good and bad in the garden, the big picture rules.
Practises are subject to change, like the garden itself, and some stay the same.
For the love of it … what else.
© Mark Berkery ……. Click on those pictures for a closer look
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Nature's Place 
Fascinating their ornamentics! How big are they by the way?
Up to 2 inches from nose to tail.
Oh wow, thank you Mark! Real giants :-) Almuth
Some insects can get very big in the sub-tropics, given the right conditions.
Really! At least you don’t overlook them so easily ;-)
That’s true. Bigger usually means slower too, so easier to work with, usually.
That’s even better :-)
Sure is …
Wonderful!
Indeed Dee, they are amazing little things. One of nature’s mini robots.