A katydid waits on the corner of the lanai, its stick-like legs at odd angles, appearing broken in the middle. But if I get too close it will ping away, as those same legs rocket it to safety.
Category Archives: Insects
Lesser grass blue butterfly
A lesser grass blue butterfly spreads its wings before taking to the air again.
Bugs on a passion flower
This passion flower was drawing great attention from various bugs including a fiery skipper butterfly, a variable lady bug, and a host of flying ants, or possibly parasitic wasps.
Fruit flies on a mango
This week’s posts are in response to the WordPress photo challenge on the theme of ‘transient.’
This little scene could be considered transient on three counts. First is the fact that this is a mango that has fallen from the tree. In the life cycle of a mango, it’s a very short interval between ripening on the tree and rotting on the ground. Second, this mango has clearly been chewed over by one of the transient wild pigs that pass through from time to time, more so during mango season. And third, these fruit flies won’t be around long either, having a lifespan in the region of 30 days.
This fruit fly, also called the vinegar fly, is probably Zaprionus ghesquierei, an invasive species known to have reached Hawaii. Zaprionus indianus also looks like this, but hasn’t been seen in Hawaii yet, as far as I know.
Better Days: Tattered passion vine butterfly
So you think you’re having a bad day? This passion vine butterfly is marked by fading color and missing chunks of wing. To top it off, every time it got airborne, a strong wind whipped it westwards, regardless of where it wanted to go.
Abstracts: Black stink bug
I was trying to photograph this black stink bug in a hedge when it jumped off and landed on my shirt. So I took a photo of it there, which I like for the strong colors, shapes, and textures.
Banana stalk flies mating
This is a pair of banana stalk flies (Telostylinus lineolatus) mating on a …wait minute, that’s not a banana stalk. In fact it’s the spadix of an Anthurium schlechtendalii or Pheasant’s tail.
I had to hunt around a bit to identify the insect, but found useful information at whatsthatbug.com. One thing I liked was where it stated, “With enormous eyes, this tiny, tropical, stilt-legged fly maintains a confident distance from human approach, by swiftly running around the blind-side of whatever surface it is on.” This made me laugh because that was EXACTLY what this pair did when I tried to photograph them.
Hawaiian beet webworm moth
While Hawaiian beet webworm moth (spoladea recurvalis) sounds quite local, this moth is actually widespread in warm regions of the U.S. and other parts of the world. Also widespread is the damage its larvae does to chard, spinach, weeds in genera Chenopodium and Amaranthus, and of course beets.
Graham's Island 