Category Archives: Animals

Gold dust day geckos slithering by

A gold dust day gecko slithers over a larger gecko.

I love watching geckos in their daily activities. This can vary from the comical – those goofy expressions, to the impressive – leaping into space and landing safely, to the disturbing – an adult swallowing a young gecko.

Then there are things, such as in the photo, that I don’t entirely understand. I watched as the two geckos approached each other thinking a display of aggression was on the cards. Instead, the smaller gecko slithered over the larger one. I don’t know whether this was part of a mating ritual or one of the ways the smaller gecko acknowledges the territorial rights of the bigger one.

 

Green anole bridge

I have a laundry line strung up between the house and a tall hedge. Besides its intended purpose, it also serves as a bridge for geckos and anoles commuting between the house and hedge. They can scurry across the span in a hurry when they want to, but usually they go a little way, pause and look around, then repeat the process. They’re entertaining to watch, the experience sullied only slightly by the knowledge that this rope bridge could also serve as a freeway for rats.

Garden skink

A garden skink works its way through the grass.

A garden skink fights its way through the jungle. OK, it’s just what passes for a lawn around here, but for the skink it’s heavy going.

 

Fruit flies on a mango

Fruit Flies feed on a mango

This week’s posts are in response to the WordPress photo challenge on the theme of ‘transient.’

This little scene could be considered transient on three counts. First is the fact that this is a mango that has fallen from the tree. In the life cycle of a mango, it’s a very short interval between ripening on the tree and rotting on the ground. Second, this mango has clearly been chewed over by one of the transient wild pigs that pass through from time to time, more so during mango season. And third, these fruit flies won’t be around long either, having a lifespan in the region of 30 days.

This fruit fly, also called the vinegar fly, is probably Zaprionus ghesquierei, an invasive species known to have reached Hawaii. Zaprionus indianus also looks like this, but hasn’t been seen in Hawaii yet, as far as I know.