Mourning gecko

Mourning Gecko

Mourning geckos are nocturnal so it’s a bit unusual to see one, especially an adult, out and about in daylight. That this one was sporting a still raw stump of a tail suggests it was ousted from its daytime resting place, losing its tail in the process. I say ‘its’ tail, but I could confidently say ‘her’ tail, since mourning geckos are an all-female species, reproducing through parthenogenesis.

For more information about geckos, go to geckoweb.org.

Juvenile threadfin jack

Juvenile Threadfin Jack

Threadfin Jack Juvenile

 

This little diamond-shaped fish is probably my favorite to see on the reef. The first time I saw one I thought it was a jellyfish, shimmering along with its long filaments wavering behind it. I got a little closer and realized it was actually an extraordinary fish.

The juvenile gives no hint of what it will look like as an adult. It grows to four feet in length, becomes stocky, loses the filaments entirely, and ends up looking like a nightclub bouncer.

It’s always a thrill to see one of these, its little tail thrashing back and forth, hauling the long filaments behind it as it putters through the water.

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.

Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve

Puako Petroglyphs
Puako Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs can be found at many places around the Big Island. The most extensive display is the Pu’u Loa field at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but the Puako Petroglyph Archaeological Preserve also has numerous examples. More than 2,000 petroglyphs, dating back hundreds of years, have been identified. Not all are visible from the area where visitors can go.

Somewhat weirdly, the field is found on the north edge of Mauna Lani resort. This means that in order to see these examples of ancient Hawaiian history and culture, it’s necessary to drive through a swathe of condos and golf courses.

The bulk of the petroglyphs are found at the end of a hot, half-mile trail, bordered by kiawe trees, which are notorious for their long, sturdy, footwear-penetrating thorns. It’s an easy hike and well worth a visit if you have any sort of interest in the history of the island.

Puako Petroglyphs

Assassin bug

Assassin Bug

This striking creature is an assassin bug, (Haematoloecha rubescens). Got to love a name like that, which lets you know right away what it’s about. This one is a predator of millipedes, which is no bad thing either. This species is believed to have arrived in Hawaii in the 1970s, probably from Asia.

Partial solar eclipse

Partial Solar EclipseWe had a partial solar eclipse yesterday afternoon. I thought about going somewhere to see it, but the vog was thick, I didn’t have anything to safely watch it through, and my camera isn’t set up for taking such photos. So I stayed home.

When I realized the eclipse had started, I made a hole in a piece of cardboard and went outside. Sure enough, I was able to project a tiny image of the eclipse onto the front door. Later, when the eclipse was reaching its peak here, with around 70 percent of the sun obscured, I went outside again. I was about to deploy my cardboard pinhole, when I noticed a larger image of the eclipse already showing on the door. It hadn’t been there earlier.

It turned out that a hole on the edge of the roof was perfectly aligned for projecting the image at the peak of the eclipse. A few minutes later, clouds rolled across and the image disappeared. A case of being in the right place at the right time, at least, for that little hole.