The Creepie Crawlie Section…
The main resort grounds are relatively free of wierd looking bugs but if you have a hankering to do a bit of amateur entomology, a short walk into the bush will soon have your eyes out on stalks.
Butterflies
A large variety of butterflies flutter about the resort grounds. Their intricate patterns are usually very pretty and highly visible….until they land.
Moths
Sphinks Moth
This striking moth can grow quite large with a wing span of up to 6 inches. Only seen at night, they love to hang around ripe bananas and other fruits. Their retinas reflect orange light so if you shine a torch at a bunch of ripe bananas you will see a host of little orange eyes looking back at you !
Tree Spiders
There are a few species of large spider here though unless you study the high tree canopy you will not see them. They are harmless and live way up in the very highest trees, setting their web between two high branches.
Stick Insects
Extremely hard to find unless you are prepared to examine every twig, these insects can get quite large. This chap in the picture is about 12 inches long. The Fijian name for them is ‘mimi mata’ which means ‘pee in your eye’. Annoy one sufficiently and that is exactly what it will do. It will squirt a noxious liquid at you. I have not tried it and don’t recommend it !
Mud Dauber Wasps
These large wasps spend their entire lives building little mud huts in which to house their young. All day long, they can be seen bumbling back and forward between a muddy spot and their mud hut.
So intent on their work are they that if you stand in their set path, they bump into you and back-track thinking that they have made a navigation error. Step aside and on they go. They are not at all aggressive and to my knowledge, no guest has ever been stung.
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For detailed information about the life found on Kadavu see the following pages.
