Category Archives: Insects

Spiders and stick insect

A Hawaiian garden spider and a stick insect snared in its nest
A tiny spider on a stick insect snared by a Hawaiian garden spider

Outside my bathroom window, a colony of crab spiders has created a vast network of webs between the house and utility lines. The image (bottom photo) would have been a good one for Halloween.

In amongst the crab spiders, a female Hawaiian garden spider has staked out a spot. It’s close to the window and I get a good view of what she’s up to. Usually there are one or two little cocoons of white webbing where she has captured and stashed a wee bug for later.

On this morning I glanced outside and saw a large brown shape stuck in the web and lightly wrapped in white. So I went outside and took the top photo of the unfortunate victim. When I looked at it, I realized the garden spider wasn’t the only one in the photo. I noticed a much smaller spider on the stick insect. So I went out again and took the second photo.

I don’t know what kind of spider it is, but I liked its shiny metallic abdomen. I assume that spider was in the process of snagging itself a free meal. The garden spider didn’t seen too bothered, I presume because she figured such a small spider wasn’t going to deplete her larder very much.

Spider webs on utility lines

A spiky passion vine butterfly caterpillar

A Passion vine butterfly caterpillar on a passion vine in Hawaii
A Passion vine butterfly caterpillar on a passion vine in Hawaii

This is a caterpillar with a message and the message is ‘Back off.’ This is illustrated by the orange and black coloring and black spikes, which in this case conveys that these caterpillars are poisonous. Fortunately, I wasn’t hungry at the time so no harm done. Passion vine butterfly caterpillars, on the other hand, seem to be permanently hungry. Whenever I see them they’re munching leaves like old time video game characters.

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Spiky.’ See more responses here.

Alright, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.

The current Friendly Friday challenge theme is ‘Close ups and Macros.’ See more responses here. Here’s a selection of some little creatures up close and personal.

  • A Bee on a clover flower
    A bee on a clover flower.
  • A Wandering glider dragonfly resting
    A wandering glider dragonfly rests on a stalk.
  • A female Hawaiian garden spider in her web
    A female Hawaiian garden spider on her web.
  • A grasshopper in Hawaii
    A grasshopper (Schistocerca nitens) sunning itself.
  • A Giant African Land Snail in Hawaii
    Run for your life, it’s a giant African land snail!
  • A praying mantis eyes two flies
    Guess who’s coming to dinner?

Fiery skipper butterfly on aptenias

A Fiery skipper butterfly feeds on an aptenia haeckeliana flower
A Fiery skipper butterfly feeds on an aptenia cordifolia flower

I often see fiery skipper butterflies on what I know as ice plants. I thought the different color flowers were just variations within the plant but, while they’re members of the same family (Aizoaceae), they’re different plants. At the top is an Aptenia haeckeliana with its yellow flower. To the left is an Aptenia cordifolia with a magenta flower.

It’s a different butterfly on the two flowers, but both are fiery skippers.

Whitecrossed seed bug

A Whitecrossed Seed Bug in Hawaii

I was doing some cleanup work outside, when I noticed this bug on my hand. I headed in to where my camera was and the bug stayed in place the whole way. I got the camera organized and took a few photos before it finally flew off.

I knew I’d seen one of these before, but couldn’t remember where or what it was. A quick search revealed that this is a whitecrossed seed bug (Neacoryphus bicrucis), a resident of fields and meadows.

My previous sighting had occurred after a hike on Mauna Loa. It was on a water bottle I’d left in the cooler in my truck while I hiked. I suspect that one had inadvertently taken a day trip with me and was probably stunned to find itself at 11,000 feet, surrounded by barren lava!