I found this grasshopper cautiously climbing the slick surface of my truck’s windshield. I like the grasshopper’s reflection, as well as those of the truck’s surroundings.
Category Archives: Animals
Mourning gecko
Mourning geckos are nocturnal so it’s a bit unusual to see one, especially an adult, out and about in daylight. That this one was sporting a still raw stump of a tail suggests it was ousted from its daytime resting place, losing its tail in the process. I say ‘its’ tail, but I could confidently say ‘her’ tail, since mourning geckos are an all-female species, reproducing through parthenogenesis.
For more information about geckos, go to geckoweb.org.
Assassin bug
This striking creature is an assassin bug, (Haematoloecha rubescens). Got to love a name like that, which lets you know right away what it’s about. This one is a predator of millipedes, which is no bad thing either. This species is believed to have arrived in Hawaii in the 1970s, probably from Asia.
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.
