Category Archives: Flowers

In the pink, or in the red

A Pink hibiscus in Hawaii
A pink hibiscus.

This week’s Sunday Stills Color Challenge theme is ‘Pink and/or red.’ See more responses here.

A firecracker plant in Hawaii
I thought this was a firecracker plant, but I’m not sure now. Either way, it’s red!
Kamehameha Day parade at Kapaau in Hawaii
Kamehameha Day parade in Kapaau.
Kamehameha Day parade at Kapaau in Hawaii
I bet the guy in the photo is thinking, ‘I’d look good in that hat.’
A Pinktail Triggerfish in the waters off Hawaii
A Pinktail Triggerfish. How do they come up with these names?
Kamehameha Day parade at Kapaau in Hawaii
Fishing on the North Kohala Coast.

Bees on a Tree Heliotrope

A Bee on a tree heliotrope in Hawaii
A Bee on a tree heliotrope in Hawaii

Last week I posted photos of a Feather-legged Fly (here). What I was taking photos of, at that time, were these bees foraging on a Tree Heliotrope. I like Tree Heliotropes because they look like molecular models put together by a scientist trying to explain the meaning of life!

Two Bees on a tree heliotrope in Hawaii

The Numbers Game #7

A gray francolin ventures into the territory of some cats in Hawaii
A Gray Francolin ventures into the territory of some cats.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 128. You can see more responses here.

Two painted lady butterflies in a kiawe tree in Hawaii
Two Painted Lady Butterflies in a Kiawe tree.
An Undulated Moray Eel in the waters off Hawaii
An Undulated Moray Eel looking grouchy, as per usual.
Koi swim in Lily Lake at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Gardens
Koi swim in Lily Lake at Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve and Garden.

Feed me

A baby bird calling for food in Hawaii
A baby African Silverbill cries for food.
A Nutmeg Mannikin feeds on cane grass seeds in Hawaii
A Nutmeg Mannikin stuffing itself with cane grass seeds

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Feed the Birds.’ See more responses here.

I don’t feed the birds here, but they seem to have no trouble feeding themselves, with the notable exception of the one in the top photo. Here’s a selection.

A Hawaiian Stilt snags a meal in Hawaii
An Hawaiian Stilt prepares to eat a tasty morsel fished form the water.
A Hawaiian Amakihi feeds at a mamane flower in Hawaii
An Hawaiian Amakihi feeds at a Mamane flower.
A cattle egret catches an anole in Hawaii
A Cattle Egret snags an anole for lunch.
A Japanese White-eye feeds at a bougainvillea in Hawaii
A Japanese White-eye feeds on a bougainvillea flower.

Feather-legged Fly

A Feather-legged fly on a Tree Heliotrope in Hawaii
A Feather-legged fly on a Tree Heliotrope in Hawaii

I was photographing bees on a tree heliotrope in Kawaihae when I saw this fly. It’s a new one for me, so I was happy to get decent photos and to be able to identify it afterwards.

This is a Feather-legged Fly (Trichopoda pennipes). It’s one of those flies which lays its eggs on host bugs, such as leaf-footed bugs and stink bugs. On hatching, the larvae make for the bug’s interior and develop safely within. The end product is a new fly and a dead bug. Because some of the bugs it uses as hosts are crop pests, it’s considered a beneficial insect.

The bottom photo shows why it got its name!

A Feather-legged fly on a Tree Heliotrope in Hawaii

The Numbers Game #5

Plumeria blooms.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into your computer’s search bar and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. I typed in a few numbers and up popped photos I’d forgotten about, so I thought this would be a fun way to feature some photos that ran a while ago, but warranted another airing.

A Hawaiian monk seal rests on the coast of Hawaii
Hawaiian Monk Seal resting.
A Lesser grass-blue butterfly in Hawaii
Lesser Grass-blue Butterfly.

This week’s number is 126. Ironically, for this first response, it turned out that three of these photos haven’t run before, but have been languishing in my archives.

A Green Turtle dives in the waters off Hawaii
Green turtle diving.

You can see more responses here.