This ground beetle, possibly Carabus nemoralis, might not have anticipated finding a butterfly or moth squashed on a dirt road, but it wasn’t about to pass up a free meal.
Category Archives: Animals
Pinkhead smartweed
This cheerful, but somewhat weedy plant grows along roadsides. It’s particularly striking on Saddle Road where it adds color to the otherwise lava-rich landscape. Also, I like the name. It sounds like the not-too-bright son of a moneyed family on the east coast.
Green anole warning
This green anole has turned brown to better blend in with its location. It’s also puffing out its pink dewlap as a warning to another male encroaching on its territory. In this case, I think I was the target of its ire.
For more information about green anoles, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_anole.
Roseate skimmer dragonfly
While I was at the Queen’s Bath in Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, I saw this striking roseate skimmer dragonfly looping back and forth above the water. It’s an introduced species and this one is, I think, a male.
Cast a giant shadow
This rusty millipede cast a giant shadow as it wandered back and forth on a dirt track. Every so often the strong, blustery wind would blow it over like a many-legged tumbleweed.
Demon kitten?
While out walking, I saw three, probably feral, kittens by the side of the road. When they saw me, they promptly rushed into the tall grasses bordering the road. I waited a while and this ghostly kitten duly reemerged, sat down, and fixed me in its icy blue stare.
I took a few photos and went to turn off my camera, but it wouldn’t respond. Instead, the screen broke into a display of blue flashes. I had to pop the battery out to end the show. When I put the battery in again and turned the camera on, it worked fine. I looked back at the kitten. It hadn’t moved, still staring.
A glitch in the electronics? Or something more sinister? Hmm.
Sphecid wasp
I saw this creature on a wall being eyed by a gold dust day gecko as a possible meal. Eventually the gecko thought better of it, which is probably just as well. This is a sphecid wasp and they can pack a sting, though they aren’t aggressive.
From searches on whatsthatbug.com and bugguide.net, it appears that this sphecid is in the genus Prionyx, probably P. fervens.
Milking time
Cows are rounded up for milking on one of the Big Island’s two remaining dairy farms. These days most cowboys, called paniolos in Hawaii, do their work on four-wheelers, though horses are still sometimes used.
