Rose jatropha (Jatropha integerrima) is an ornamental shrub from Cuba with showy red flowers. Bees were all over this plant.
Category Archives: Insects
Ash grey lady beetle
I’ve always thought of lady beetles as little red creatures with black dots on their backs. So I was enlightened to see this one, also known as the ashy grey lady beetle (Olla v-nigrum). Apparently, this species can also have a completely different coloring. I learn something every day!
For more information about ash grey lady beetles, go to bugguide.net/node/view/8874.
Fiery skipper butterfly
A fiery skipper butterfly, Hylephila phyleus, dips its proboscis into a passion flower.
Chinese rose beetle
This is a Chinese rose beetle shortly after I evicted it from the house. They usually get in the house attached to laundry that was hanging on a line, towels being a particular favorite. Identifying this bug helped explain the condition of the hedge behind the house, where the leaves are so perforated they look like lace.
Green bottle fly
A green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, checks out a flower on a tree heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum).
Young praying mantis
I saw this little fellow gingerly making his was across one of the windows. He was no more than an inch long.
Ants clean up a dead centipede
Well, this is unpleasant and there’s no getting around that. Or perhaps not. This is nature at work. Ants discovered this recently-deceased centipede and for them it was a windfall. The centipede was gone later in the day.
Cuckoo wasp
I saw this small, bright insect flitting about on the new growth of a plumeria. The cuckoo wasp gets its name from its practice of laying eggs in the nests of other wasps and bees. Once hatched, the cuckoo wasp eats the host wasp or bee larva. Then it eats the food placed in the nest for the host’s offspring. Probably not an insect to invite to your next dinner party.
For more information about cuckoo wasps, go to bugguide.net/node/view/6946.
Graham's Island 