Category Archives: Insects

Aphis nerii aphids

Aphis neni aphids on a Hawaiian Crownflower leaf
Aphis neni aphids on a Hawaiian Crownflower leaf

I like hiking, as indicated by my last few posts, but I’m equally happy with a walk around the yard, at home or at work.

Recently, we planted a Hawaiian Crown Flower (Calotropis gigantea) at work. This was a stick with two small leaves on top. The two leaves dried up and the stem turned brown. It looked doomed, but then new leaves popped out near the bottom and the plant took off. New leaves every day, steady growth.

Then one day these showed up, little yellow drops, like tiny lemon candies. Close examination revealed legs and heads. Aphids! I think these are Aphis nerii, otherwise known as the Oleander or Milkweed aphid. These little sap suckers can do a lot of damage so we hosed them off, though I doubt the ladybug in the bottom photo was best pleased since aphids are a tasty meal for them.

Still, with the aphids gone, the plant continued to thrive until … (to be continued)

Posted for Becky’s Squares theme of “Walking” (See more responses here).

Aphis neni aphids on a Hawaiian Crownflower leaf

Stink bug

A four-humped stink bug (Brochymena quadripustulata) in Hawaii
A four-humped stink bug (Brochymena quadripustulata) in Hawaii
A four-humped stink bug (Brochymena quadripustulata) in Hawaii

Recently, I posted (here) about a wasp I saw clambering through the grass. The reason I noticed the wasp was because I was down on my hands and knees taking photos of this creature. I think this is a Four-humped Stink Bug (Brochymena quadripustulata).

Like the wasp, the stink bug was going up and down blades of grass, though less frenetically than the wasp. After a while, it tired of my attentions and took off, flying directly towards my nose, a hard-to-miss target. I ducked out of the way and it whizzed by and disappeared.

Passing through

A Passion Vine Butterfly caterpillar in HawaiiA Passion Vine Butterfly caterpillar and fly in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Fleeting Moments.’ See more responses here.

The orange and black spiky thing is a Passion Vine Butterfly caterpillar, which I saw munching on a passion vine, as they do. The fly didn’t register with me until I processed the photos, but it was definitely a fleeting moment.

A wasp in the grass

A wasp clambers through the grass
A wasp clambers through the grass

I noticed this wasp clambering through the grass one day recently. It made no attempt to fly, but didn’t seem damaged in any way. Its movements were a bit frenetic and, frankly, it looked a bit insane. So naturally, I got down on my hands and knees and shoved my camera into its face, taking photos!

I shoved enough that at one point the wasp climbed onto the lens and up onto the camera. At that point I decided discretion was the better part of photography, set my camera down in the grass, and waited for it to finish its exploration and stagger away, which it duly did.

A wasp clambers through the grass

Passion Vine Butterfly on a Zinnia Violacea flower

Passion Vine Butterfly on a Zinnia Violacea flower in Hawaii

Following on from yesterday’s post about the lack of rain at Upolu, it occurred to me that I rarely see Passion Vine Butterflies there these days. They used to be all over the place, but now I’m lucky to see one or two. I don’t think it’s related to the lack of rainfall, but don’t know what other factors might be involved.

Cricket on a white anthurium

A beetle on an anthurium flower in Hawaii
A beetle on an anthurium flower in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Macro or Close-ups.’ See more responses here.

I saw this cricket climbing up the spadix of a white anthurium at Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden. As it neared the top, I zoomed in for a close up. I haven’t been able to find out what kind of cricket it is (open to suggestions), but I was very taken by its extravagantly long antennae.

For more information about Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve & Garden, go to htbg.com.

Updated 9-17-2022: Thanks to Forest and Kim Starr at Hawaii Insect ID for pointing out this is probably a cricket, though exactly which kind remains unknown.