This Large Orange Sulphur Butterfly blends in rather well amongst these Plumeria flowers. I didn’t see it feeding here, but that likely was its intention.
Large Orange Sulphur Butterfly on a Plumeria
Tag Archives: Butterflies and Moths
Orange is the new theme
This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Orange and Gold.’ See more responses here. First up is a very orange Passion Vine Butterfly taking a break.
Next, orange is the official color of the island of Lanai, represented here at this year’s Kamehameha Day celebrations.
When I was putting this post together a few days ago, I thought a sunset photo would be a nice way to wrap it up. I trolled through my files before picking a suitable one out, and was on the verge of processing it, when I happened to glance out of the window and saw this developing. Another reminder to live in the present and not the past!
Asian Swallowtail Butterfly
What I like about this photo is the movement and the sense of fluidity in the colors.
There’s something bugging me
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Let’s Get Small.’ See more responses here.
Sorry to start off (above) with spiders, for those with aversions to them, but this one is very small. It’s a tiny female Hawaiian Garden Spider, probably no more than a quarter-inch across, though if it survives, it will grow to be as big as the other one in the photo.
In the gallery below, a Seven-spotted Ladybug putters about in some very green leaves. Another spider, this time a jumping spider no bigger than the little one at the top, has jumped a moth bigger than itself. Finally, what I think is a hover fly pretending to be a wasp with its black and yellow markings.
Finally, a Camponotus variegatus ant or carpenter ant. Next, a bee collecting pollen on an agave attenuata. Note the tiny aphids sharing the flower. And finally ants and aphids on the leaf of a Hawaiian Crown Flower. In this symbiotic relationship, the aphids produce sweet goodies for the ants to eat and the ants provide protection against the aphids’ predators.
Painted Lady Butterfly and Ma’o flower
These photos were taken at Lapakahi State Historical Park. This year, North Kohala was awash with Painted Lady Butterflies and the park was no exception. The butterflies were all over the Ma’o flowers and pretty much anything else that came into bloom.
Passion Vine Butterfly on Blue Heliotrope
At Upolu Airport, there’s a mock orange hedge and through it grows a passion vine. The hedge used to be trimmed once in a while, but the flowers attracted to all kinds of insects and was teeming with life. Passion Vine Butterflies laid eggs there and their caterpillars ran amok munching on leaves.
These days the hedge is kept trimmed and is the poorer for it. It’s basically lifeless. I see the odd butterfly, an occasional caterpillar and that’s it. So Passion Vine Butterflies, which I used to see all the time, have thinned out considerably in that area. However, I did spot this one feeding on Blue Heliotrope flowers not too far away.
Black Witch Moth on a red door
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.
A plethora of purple
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.
Graham's Island 