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“David” slays “Goliath”, in suburban Perth

All photos taken near north end of Lake Goollelal on afternoon of July 27, 2016.   A passerby –  or a casual observer of the first picture – could easily not notice “David”.

As viewed from major roads, Perth’s northern suburbs are a seemingly-endless expanse of dull, oversized houses, identikit shopping centres and junk food outlets.

But – as is generally true of this city –  you are never far from bushy places.

They are mostly far-from-pristine, but still much wilder and more extensive than you would reasonably expect of such a sprawling, fast-grown, materialistic metropolis.

The sprawl is, variously, this particular metropolis’s greatest problem…and its greatest asset.

On the asset side are many lakes and seasonal wetlands.

(They are but a small fraction of what once-was on the Swan Coastal Plain. Click here for an overview…and be aware that greater Perth now has a population of more than two million)

Today my beloved and I visited Lake Goollelal, the southernmost of the lakes and wetlands in Yellagonga Regional Park.

Near its northern shore, just before we headed back to full-tilt suburbia, I saw a large moth, frantic, flailing.

I quickly realised that it was trapped in a spider’s web.

Eventually, I realised that the small grey mark on the moth was in fact the spider, killing it.

By the time I took the next two photos the moth was still, and – I think – the feast had begun.

For a more arresting/confronting view, zoom in on/further enlarge these images.

 

At this point the struggle is over. All photos copyright Doug Spencer.
At this point the struggle is over. All photos copyright Doug Spencer.

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Published in nature and travel photographs Western Australia