I was out whale watching (not much activity there) when I saw these two butterflies engaged in a mating ritual, I think. They have somewhat similar markings to monarch butterflies, though not as delineated. They get their name because the caterpillar feeds only on passion vines.
Category Archives: Insects
Gold dust day gecko snares a stick insect
When I first saw this gecko it had already snagged the stick insect and was fending off a larger gecko that had taken an interest. It scurried up the wall with its prize and, the last I saw, was preparing to deliver last rites.
Hawaiian monarch butterfly
The Hawaiian monarch butterfly comes from the same stock as the mainland variety. It made its way to Hawaii in the mid 1800s, shortly after the milkweed plant (one of the Monarch’s host plants) was introduced. There’s a white variant that’s been seen on Oahu, but not on the Big Island as far as I know.
Gold Dust Day Gecko and Black Witch Moth
What’s this then?
Perhaps it hasn’t seen me.
Should I or shouldn’t I?
Here goes.
So far, so good.
Rats!
This gecko initially wasn’t quite sure what to make of such a large moth (that’s a 2×4 the moth is sitting on). But geckos are nothing if not optimists and dreams of glory spurred him on (well, I like to think so.). Ultimately a case of so near, and yet so far.
Hop little grasshopper, hop
I’m not sure why this little grasshopper sitting on the trail caught my eye, but it’s probably a good thing it did because it was about to be stepped on. I took some photos and thought, ‘Maybe I can get one of it jumping away.’ So I scuffed a foot in its direction. I knocked my water bottle over with a thud. I leaned in, casting an ominous shadow its way. It twitched a couple of times, skittered to face a different way, but no jump. Of course, I knew exactly what would happen. I straightened, putting my camera away and admitting defeat and the grasshopper duly pinged away into the grass.
With those kind of survival skills it will have a good chance of attaining the size of the grasshopper below, which I saw on the lanai some time ago. When I got close, it leapt straight into a railing, but it too survived. They’re both Schistocerca nitens I think. It’s one of those troublesome invasive species so common in Hawaii.
Abstracts: Flies on a horse
What can I say? I liked the contrast of the horse hair, the flies and the shadow made by the barbed wire fence.
Praying mantis
Praying mantis are fairly common around here, though they can be difficult to spot since they blend in so well on various plants. This one wasn’t hard to spot for obvious reasons.
