Lantana is such a colorful flower – pink and purple, yellow and orange (and invasive here, but let’s not talk about that). Curiously, it doesn’t seem all that popular with bugs, at least by my observations. But at certain times I see butterflies very interested and on this occasion, several bees were going from bloom to bloom.
Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Macro-Photography of Anything.’ See more responses here.
Two photos of indomitable melipotis (Melipotis indomita) moths, a female above and a male below. This species is common across the southern United States, but many sources do not include Hawaii in its range. However, it was first recorded here in 1969 according to this paper (https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/11031) published in 1974.
Caterpillars of the moth were first found on kiawe trees but soon after turned up on defoliated monkeypod trees, hence it also being known as the monkeypod moth, because of its fondness for shrubs and trees of the legume family. They’re certainly quite common up here on the northern tip of the Big Island as I see them often when I’m out and about.
Many thanks to Daniel at whatsthatbug.com for help with the identification. For his detailed information about the moth, see https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2018/05/01/indomitable-melipotis-moth-from-hawaii/.
This bryophyllum is probably bryophyllum x houghtonii, but there are several similar looking varieties of bryophyllum. Their common names are telling, however. Bryophyllum x houghtonii is known as ‘hybrid mother-of-millions.’ Common names for other bryophyllums include ‘mother-of-millions,’ ‘prolific mother-of-millions,’ and ‘mother-of-thousands.’
Such names make it no surprise that bryophyllums are invasive. They’re also poisonous to both livestock and humans, which is problematic since these photos were taken at Pu’u Wa’awa’a, in an area occupied by sheep and cattle.
For more information about Pu’u Wa’awa’a and its trails, go to puuwaawaa.org.
While on a hike south of Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, I saw this pair of large orange sulphur butterflies. They were flying around, joined together, before settling on this seed pod. I assume they were mating, though this discrete view is the only one I had of them.
To see what was going on on the other side would have involved thrashing around in some nasty-looking brush. This would have added to the usual assortment of lacerations that I seem to acquire on a daily basis, and would undoubtedly have caused the butterflies to take to the air again. So I let them be.
The bright red to magenta flowers of the ornamental ground cover Aptenia cordifolia stand out against its green leaves. The plant is also known as heartleaf iceplant, baby sun rose, and rock rose. Adding further contrast is a black and white leafcutter bee.
A black witch moth blends in on a large branch of what I think is a kiawe tree. I would never have noticed it if I hadn’t seen it land there.
I always tend to think of animals and birds as being supremely graceful, swooping through the air, leaping from tree to tree, twisting and turning at high speed. So, while I don’t wish them any harm, I get a secret pleasure when I see one of nature’s creatures looking a bit clumsy. I’ve seen turtles bumping into rocks, birds landing with an ungainly stumble, geckos leaping and missing their target.
I saw this grasshopper jumping from one branch to another but, alas, it did not quite stick the landing. Mind you, if I was a grasshopper and tried the same stunt, I’d probably impale myself on that nasty-looking thorn.
A final response to the last edition of the WordPress photo challenge with a theme of ‘All time favorites.’
I headed back to Pu’u Wa’awa’a last week, because this is the time of year when several kinds of trees are in bloom. One of those trees is the jacaranda, which blooms from April to June, and produces masses of blue to lavender flowers. Jacarandas prefer cooler elevations so the lower areas of Pu’u Wa’awa’a are right in their zone.
I wasn’t disappointed. Several trees were covered with these delicate flowers, which somewhat made up for the fact that the entire hill was shrouded in thick vog, exacerbated by the ongoing eruption down in Puna.
Graham's Island 