The overlapping fronds of an areca palm create patterns of light and shadow.
Category Archives: Trees
Cuckoo wasp
I saw this small, bright insect flitting about on the new growth of a plumeria. The cuckoo wasp gets its name from its practice of laying eggs in the nests of other wasps and bees. Once hatched, the cuckoo wasp eats the host wasp or bee larva. Then it eats the food placed in the nest for the host’s offspring. Probably not an insect to invite to your next dinner party.
For more information about cuckoo wasps, go to bugguide.net/node/view/6946.
Better Days: Dead tree
It’s been a while since this tree saw leaves.
Abstracts: Where’s the dragonfly?
I was walking through a stand of kiawes when a dragonfly jitterbugged by. I hoped it might loop back so that I could get a photo of it, but instead it headed toward the top of a tree and disappeared. I thought I saw where it went and got as close as I could, which was still a good distance away. I trained my camera in its direction and took a few photos, not sure if it was even in shot. I thought I might just be taking pictures of a twig. It wasn’t until I got home and looked at the photos that I saw I’d been right about its location all along.
Yellow-billed cardinal
A South American bird, the yellow-billed cardinal was introduced to Hawaii and is quite common on the Big Island. I saw these two birds flitting through a stand of kiawes. The bird in the top photo was working hard on the bit of foliage in its beak. I assumed this was something for a nest, but didn’t see where the bird went. The second bird just hung out in the trees, possibly keeping watch.
Coconut palm
A coconut palm, the quintessential tropical plant. Not a tree to picnic beneath for obvious reasons.
Better Days: Tree house?
More of a shed than a house, but the tree is definitely winning.
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.
