This moth appeared on the back door of the house a few days ago. It remained there through the afternoon and evening, posing a bit of a problem when going in and out. We didn’t want it to fly into the house, but it appeared unconcerned at our coming and goings. Next morning, it was gone.
This week’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Purple.’ See more responses here.
I’d like to say I have some kind of theme going here, but I don’t, outside the color.
First up is a bee approaching a very purple bougainvillea.
In the gallery, we have a Fiery Skipper butterfly feeding on a Blue Heliotrope (Heliotropium amplexicaule) flower, a purple and white spider lily, and some dark purple Helmet Urchins clinging tenaciously to a rock.
Then there’s a sign advertising purple ice cream. Not sure what flavor that is, but I’m a bit wary.
And finally, a lush purple orchid.
I saw this Painted Lady Butterfly and bee feeding on Tree Heliotrope flowers. Mostly, the various insects at work seem to accommodate each other, but I’ve seen occasional flurries of activities when one insects behavior disturbs the others. These two were very harmonious.
When I was taking photos of this butterfly, I was pretty sure it was a Monarch, but it didn’t look right. Monarch’s are a striking orange and black. This one looked washed out in comparison. It wasn’t until I got home and consulted my butterfly book that I learned a white morph exists on Oahu and the Big Island and this was undoubtedly one of those. There’s also a brown morph on Kaua’i.
A Fiery Skipper butterfly feeds on a Madagascar Ragwort flower. Both are introduced species and the flower is something of an invasive weed.
I’ve been seeing lots of butterflies around lately, and chief among them are Painted Lady Butterflies. Some I’ve seen when visiting areas I don’t go to often, but even my usual walking route at Upolu, where I rarely used to see them, is all aflutter with them. That’s where I saw this one, feeding off a tasselflower.
I saw this Xuthus Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio xuthus) flitting by a window at home. This is how I most often spot them and by the time I go outside, they’re nowhere to be seen. Still, I’m a sucker for butterflies, so I grabbed my camera and headed out.
Looking around, I couldn’t see any sign of it. I was about to give up the search when I saw movement by a tangerine tree. I should have anticipated this because the butterfly is also known as the Citrus Swallowtail (and Asian Swallowtail). I headed over and there was the butterfly, not only hanging around, but also settling briefly as it flew around the tree. I thought it must be feeding or possibly laying eggs, but it just seemed to be stopping at leaves, and later I saw that its markings meant this was most likely a male, so not laying eggs.
However, the butterfly was not alone. Winter is crab spider season and they love building communal webs in and between the tangerine trees. It’s a hazard for me when I’m collecting fruit, but for the butterfly it’s a potential death trap. While I watched, I did see this one get stuck once, but swallowtails are big butterflies and it was able to shake itself loose.
Many of the moths I see look like they’ve been in the wars, but this Achaea Janata moth was in excellent condition. It has some quite nice markings, but refused to spread its wings to reveal the striking black and white patterns below.
Graham's Island 