This is a Chinese rose beetle shortly after I evicted it from the house. They usually get in the house attached to laundry that was hanging on a line, towels being a particular favorite. Identifying this bug helped explain the condition of the hedge behind the house, where the leaves are so perforated they look like lace.
I like the different perspective when seeing things from the water, in this case Hualalai, the third most active volcano on the Big Island after Kilauea and Mauna Loa.
Yellow tang are the most easily identifiable fish, both in and out of the water. Their bright yellow schools, cruising the shallows, are easily seen from shore. In the water, they stand out, especially when the sun catches them.
I watched this pair as they performed what I assumed was some kind of mating dance. They shimmied up and around, dancing apart and then coming together again with the most delicate and touching moves.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
The hills of Maui seen through evening clouds.
A green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, checks out a flower on a tree heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum).
It’s exciting to see an octopus. They’re extremely hard to spot. If it’s not moving, chances are I won’t see it at all. The reason for this is that the octopus is a master of changing color and texture to match its background.
I’ve been lucky enough to see quite a few, once three in one swim. But sometimes there are weeks between sightings. As for photos, the good news is that when I spot an octopus it rarely moves, meaning I have time to get a photo. The bad news is that they blend in so well I invariably end up with offerings where I have to say something like, “It’s right there, near that coral. No, that’s not a rock.”
On this occasion, I spotted movement just before the octopus dipped into a crack in the rock and changed color. We then began a little pas de deux. When I drifted away, the octopus eased up onto the rock. If I closed in again, it slipped back into the crack. The nice thing, from my point of view, was that when it was on the rock it stood out about as well as it was ever going to against a fairly plain background.
I believe this is a day octopus. They’re active during the day and one most commonly seen around here. The passing fish are saddle wrasse.
In my attempts to identify what I see in the water, I use John P. Hoover’s book The Ultimate Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fishes, Sea Turtles, Dolphins, Whales, and Seals. His website is hawaiisfishes.com.
The Common Ironwood (Casuarina equisetifolia) is something of an invasive weed. It has, in my book, two distinguishing features. The first is the creaking noise it makes when the wind blows, which can be an eerie sound at times. The second is its foliage, which, under the right conditions, looks like a cascade of water.
For more information about Ironwoods, go to wildlifeofhawaii.com/flowers/774/casuarina-equisetifolia-common-ironwood/.
A view of Honoli’i Beach Park with Hilo Bay in the background. I do love the lush vegetation on the east side of the island.
Graham's Island 