Albany lady wins worldwide wildlife pictures award for second time

An award-winning nature photographer dwelling in nation Western Australia has been named Wildlife Photographer of the Year for a second time after snapping an incredible photograph in her personal yard.

Georgina Steytler is a wildlife photographer from Albany, 420 kilometres south of Perth on WA’s south coast.

The area is an environmental hotspot and generally frequented by photographers hoping to seize distinctive pictures of killer and southern proper whales, amongst different pure wonders.

However, earlier this month in London, Ms Steytler was named Wildlife Photographer of the Year within the invertebrate class for her beautiful photograph of a gum leaf skeletoniser, a toxic caterpillar that wears its previous head like a crown.

“I’ve been looking for this caterpillar for a while after I saw it in a book and it is nuts, it’s absolutely nuts,” she mentioned.

Ms Steytler mentioned she had been looking out for the elusive bug for a while and simply occurred to likelihood throughout one whereas out for a stroll.

“I was walking the dog … And what I do is when I see funny markings on a gum leaf, I turn them over … I couldn’t believe I finally found them,” she mentioned.

Ms Steytler mentioned the caterpillar, often called the “mad hatter” will get its distinctive look from shedding previous husks however holding them connected to the physique.

“This caterpillar it’s a leaf skeletoniser, and he keeps his old heads on his head like a shrunken head totem pole.

“You see him after which he is bought a smaller one after which he is bought one other beforehand shed head, smaller on prime of that, after which one other one on prime of that, after which a fifth on prime.”

The invertebrates are common in the South West of the state, but often go unseen.

However, Ms Steytler said they were easy enough to find.

“They are proper throughout southern Australia, so they are not unusual, however we do not see them, most likely as a result of they’re on the underside of the leaf and so they’re really fairly small,” she mentioned.

“But relaxation assured, if individuals preserve their eyes out, they’re round us, they’re in all places, so these caterpillars with shrunken heads are in your yard.”

Ms Steytler said the reason for the caterpillar’s shrunken head totem pole-like structure was to keep the invertebrate from being eaten.

“It’s a predator deterrent,” she mentioned.

“They’ve accomplished research and so they’ve discovered that those with these heads really final seven instances longer.”

No stranger to successful

In 2018 Ms Steytler won the Invertebrates Behaviour category with her image of mud-rolling mud-daubers rolling balls of mud.

Last year, she received one of four highly commended awards in the Invertebrates’ Behaviour category, with her image of several Dawson’s burrowing bees in a mating ball.

Ms Steytler, who has photographed wildlife from all over the world, said the image highlighted just how unique her local environment was.

“What’s so thrilling, individuals assume they need to go all around the world to get wonderful pictures and these sorts of pictures, however you do not,” she mentioned.

“This was proper in my yard in Albany, backing onto Torndirrup.”