Category Archives: Animals

Tree heliotrope and potter wasps

On one of my coast walks I was surprised to find a tree that I visit regularly, abuzz with wasps and other insects. The tree is a Tree heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum) which, as the photos suggest, is hardy and salt tolerant. This was the first time I’d seen it with striking tentacles of flowers and berries, hence it’s other common name of Octopus bush.

The majority of the wasps attracted to the tree were potter wasps, specifically Eumenes bollii I think. They were focused on their task for which I was grateful, since I was shoving my camera quite close to them on occasion.

Look out behind

This green anole was busy looking at something, unaware he was being observed.

For more information about green anoles, go to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_anole.

Passion vine butterflies

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.

Abstracts: Do I smell a rat?

Not sure how abstract this is, but it made me look twice. I was just about to walk under a shed roof when I noticed this. The rat was still very much alive so I gave it a wide berth.

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 garden spider

Sorry arachnophobes, but there are spiders in Hawaii. These are Hawaiian garden spiders (Argiope appensa), which came from Asia originally. Mostly it’s the female spider, the large, colorful one in the center of this web, that is seen. Indeed, this was the first time I’ve noticed a male, the much smaller, brown spider. Another web nearby also sported a male and female pair.

Their distinctive webs usually feature one or more broad zigzag lines of silk, called stabilimentum. I’ve read that this is to stabilize the web, but might also serve to lure prey or as a marker to birds and the like, so they don’t fly in to it.

For more information about the Hawaiian garden spider, go to insectidentification.org.

Baby mourning gecko

This little mourning gecko has already been in the wars, having lost most of its tail. The tail will grow back. Geckos can shed their tails as a defensive mechanism, the idea being that the discarded tail, still wiggling, distracts an attacker long enough for the gecko to escape.

There seems to be a regular gecko cycle in the house. A new batch of eggs hatch and the number of baby geckos jumps. They can be seen scurrying over the walls and ceilings with great industry, if no apparent purpose. Over the next few days, their numbers decline until only an odd one or two are seen. Then, a couple of weeks later, a new batch hatches and off they go again.

They seem to succumb to three things: failure to find enough food, getting eaten by larger geckos, and being squashed by the large feet of yours truly. They’re hard to spot on the floor, especially in low light.

For more information about geckos, go to geckoweb.org.

Feral cats at a county park

These cats look cute, but they’re wild and feral cats are something of an issue on the island. Besides the usual problems, their feces can carry Toxoplasma gondii, a microscopic protozoan parasite, which can be washed into the water in runoff. This parasite is potentially fatal to monk seals with several deaths attributed to it.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii