Category Archives: Insects

Countdown

Ten sheep, and ten cattle egrets, in Hawaii

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘A Numbers Game.’ See more responses here. I put all my fingers and thumbs to work for my response, starting with ten Sheep in formation (and ten Cattle Egrets, too, as a bonus).

Next we have nine Spinner Dolphins playing, eight Wild Pigs foraging, seven Cattle Egrets heading to work.

Nine spinner dlophins in the waters off Hawaii
A wild pig with seven piglets in Hawaii
Seven Cattle Egrets fly over the water in Hawaii

Then there’s six Dung Beetles at work, five Black Triggerfish feeling blue, four Japanese White-eyes bathing.

Six dung beetles in Hawaii
Black Triggerfishes in an aroused state in the waters off Hawaii
Four Japanese White-eyes bathing in Hawaii

And finally, three Horses watching, two Hawaiian Monk Seals resting, and one Pueo anticipating zero and lifting off.

Three horses in Hawaii
A Hawaiian monk seal and pup on a beach in Hawaii
A pueo takes off in Hawaii

Praying Mantis being shadowed

A Praying Mantis casts a shadow on a railing in Hawaii

It’s the end of another month and time again for Bushboy’s Last on the Card challenge. (See more responses here.) The top photo is the last one I took in May, a Praying Mantis that’s lucky to be alive after I nearly squashed it with a water bottle on the railing where it was perched.

The bottom photo is how I think the photo looks best, cropped and adjusted to focus attention on the mantis and its shadow.

A Praying Mantis casts a shadow on a railing in Hawaii

Circus in town?

Houses in Hawaii being tented for termites
Houses in Hawaii being tented for termites

The neighboring property to where I live has recently been sold. There are five rental houses on it and the new owner, wisely, decided to have them tented for termites.

When I saw the colorful tents going up I walked over to take photos. One of the tenants was there and we started talking about the process and, almost simultaneously said, “It looks like a circus.”

And it really does look like that, though the second photo suggests it’s one of those circuses with very scary clowns.

Houses in Hawaii being tented for termites

Bees on coffee flowers

A bee forages on coffee flowers in Hawaii
A coffee plant in flower in Hawaii

A couple of years ago, a hedge made up of several small coffee plants was planted along the edge of the old homestead. The plants have had mixed success thanks to uncooperative weather and a surfeit of chickens and pigs in the neighborhood.

However, several of the plants have thrived and this year, for the first time, produced blooms. When I noticed them, I immediately walked over and stuck my head down there to see if they had any scent. I didn’t notice much, but what I did notice was a loud buzzing noise and I realized that, scented or not, the bees were having a field day.

So I withdrew my head and took these photos. I’m glad I did because the flowers were short-lived and a couple of days later they were gone.

A bee forages on coffee flowers in Hawaii

Who, me?

A Gold Dust Day Gecko with a moth in its mouth

Most predators, on land and in the ocean, have a relatively poor success rate when it comes to snagging prey. Even when they’re successful, there’s no guarantee they’ll get to savor their prize.

I don’t know whether this Gold Dust Day Gecko was the one that caught this moth because, an instant after the capture, two or three other geckos swooped down to snatch it. There was a flurry of bodies and this one emerged from the scramble with the moth firmly stashed in its jaws. This look suggests it was guilty of robbery.

Emerald Cockroach Wasp

An Emerald Cockroach Wasp in Hawaii

I spotted this shiny creature on the trunk of a mango tree, but wasn’t sure what it was. So I searched online using the striking details – iridescent green, red on legs, Hawaii – and the first result was a post on whatsthatbug.com. It was headlined, ‘Emerald Cockroach Wasp from Hawaii turns Roaches into Zombies!!!’ (link here). That got my attention! Within that posting was a link to a longer post with more details (here).

In brief, the female Emerald Cockroach Wasp (Ampulex compressa) stings a cockroach to temporarily disable its front legs. It does this to buy time to deliver a second sting to a precise spot in the cockroach’s brain that controls the roach’s escape reflex. The roach isn’t paralyzed, but it just stays where it is, that is until the wasp takes it by the antenna and leads its zombie prey back to her burrow. There she lays an egg on the roach, before walling up the burrow’s entrance. Back inside, the roach just waits while the egg hatches and the larva eats its way inside the roach and devours the roach’s organs. Four weeks later, a new wasp emerges from the roach and the burrow.

I was astonished to learn about this, in particular how, for the second sting, the wasp locates the exact spot in the roach’s brain using sensors on the stinger.

The source of the whatsthatbug.com description comes from Carl Zimmer who has a great article here. More information about this remarkable wasp can be found here, here, and here. And finally, a must see video of the wasp in action, including leading the cockroach to its lair, can be seen here.