Category Archives: Insects

Passion Vine Butterfly on Blue Heliotrope

At Upolu Airport, there’s a mock orange hedge and through it grows a passion vine. The hedge used to be trimmed once in a while, but the flowers attracted to all kinds of insects and was teeming with life. Passion Vine Butterflies laid eggs there and their caterpillars ran amok munching on leaves.

These days the hedge is kept trimmed and is the poorer for it. It’s basically lifeless. I see the odd butterfly, an occasional caterpillar and that’s it. So Passion Vine Butterflies, which I used to see all the time, have thinned out considerably in that area. However, I did spot this one feeding on Blue Heliotrope flowers not too far away.

Upon reflection

I saw this praying mantis on a window reflecting the nearby hillside. That and the strong shadow of the mantis is what I like about this image.

It’s not blood, but it could be

A mud dauber wasps prepares a looper caterpillar before taking it to her nest to lay eggs on it

I saw this mud dauber wasp trussing up a looper caterpillar on a bright red fire bucket. The wasp doesn’t kill the caterpillar, but immobilizes it. It will then be stashed in the wasp’s nest and have the wasp’s eggs laid on it. What happens then is the stuff horror movies are made of!

Cow on the run

Heading down for my walk at Upolu, I saw this cow on the loose. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but the main road is a mile up the hill and the escapees rarely get that far.

This one gave me a suspicious look as she passed. Perhaps she was trying to get rid of the ever-present cluster of flies on her back!

Black Witch Moth on a red door

This moth appeared on the back door of the house a few days ago. It remained there through the afternoon and evening, posing a bit of a problem when going in and out. We didn’t want it to fly into the house, but it appeared unconcerned at our coming and goings. Next morning, it was gone.

One of these is not a sparrow

Three House sparrows and a praying mantis on a rail

The praying mantis had been on the rail for some time when the sparrows arrived. I feared for its chances, but it remained very still and the sparrows never seemed to notice it, even though they hung around for a while.

A plethora of purple

This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Purple.’ See more responses here.

I’d like to say I have some kind of theme going here, but I don’t, outside the color.

First up is a bee approaching a very purple bougainvillea.

In the gallery, we have a Fiery Skipper butterfly feeding on a Blue Heliotrope (Heliotropium amplexicaule) flower, a purple and white spider lily, and some dark purple Helmet Urchins clinging tenaciously to a rock.

A Fiery skipper butterfly feeds on a Blue Heliotrope flower in Hawaii

A Purple Ice Cream sign at Kapaau, Hawaii

Then there’s a sign advertising purple ice cream. Not sure what flavor that is, but I’m a bit wary.

And finally, a lush purple orchid.

Let’s work together

A Painted Lady Butterfly and a bee forage on tree heliotrope flowers in Hawaii

I saw this Painted Lady Butterfly and bee feeding on Tree Heliotrope flowers. Mostly, the various insects at work seem to accommodate each other, but I’ve seen occasional flurries of activities when one insects behavior disturbs the others. These two were very harmonious.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii