Category Archives: Places

Feather-legged Fly

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!

The Numbers Game #6

Lake Waiau near the summit of Mauna Kea.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar and then post a selection of the photos that turn up.

This week’s number is 127. As with last week’s post, three of these photos haven’t run before.

You can see more responses here.

An adult Black-crowned Night Heron in Hawaii — An adult Black-crowned Night Heron.

A pair of Saffron Finches in Hawaii — An adult Black-crowned Night Heron.

Bat Plant

Bat Plant (Tacca nivea) gets its name from its appearance, large white petals above dark flowers and long bracts, which look like a bat face. I love the plant and the name!

Some things to do on the Big Island

Skydivers in the air above Hawaii — Try skydiving, whether you’ve ever done it before, or not.

Paddleboarders in the waters off Hawaii — For something more mellow, there’s paddleboarding, at least on a morning like this one.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Something to Do.’ See more responses here.

There’s plenty to do here on the Big Island, with outdoor activities available year round. Here’s a selection.

Canoe paddlers practice in the waters off Hawaii — Another paddling option is in canoes…

A fisherman tries his luck in the waters off Hawaii — Perhaps a spot of fishing is more your style.

Going for a swim in Hawaii — There’s lots of places to go for a swim.

Sunbathing on a beach in Hawaii — Or you could kick back, relax, and do nothing, which is still something, right?

Hello, mate

On a recent walk, I noticed the Seven-spotted Lady Beetle in the top photo, wandering around on the ground.

Two Seven-spotted Lady Beetles in Hawaii

Soon, a second one came into view, then turned around and headed off again.

A minute or so later, it reappeared and, without so much as a “Hi, my name’s Frank. And you?’ he climbed aboard. The two of them lurched about on the little rock, so I took my leave, and left them to it.

Two Seven-spotted Lady Beetles mating in Hawaii

The Numbers Game #5

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 — Hawaiian Monk Seal resting.

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.

Hawaii Elepaio

The Hawaii Elepaio is a small, endemic bird found only on the island of Hawaii, though it has close relatives on Oahu and Kauai. It’s found mostly in the higher elevation forests on the island. This one was on the Pu’u O’o Trail off Saddle Road, a good spot for seeing these birds, at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet.

The Elepaio is a member of the flycatcher family and feeds on insects it catches on the wing or by probing tree trunks and branches.

Posted for Bird of the Week XLVIII.

Riding a wave

A Surfer catches a wave at Kawaihae, Hawaii

Two days ago, I posted some surf photos and here are more today. These are from yesterday morning, when I stopped at Kawaihae to see how the surfers were doing. The surf was down from the day before, but there were still some good sets rolling in.

There were several surfers in the water, but this was the only person I saw who caught a wave.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii