Last week I posted photos of a Feather-legged Fly (here). What I was taking photos of, at that time, were these bees foraging on a Tree Heliotrope. I like Tree Heliotropes because they look like molecular models put together by a scientist trying to explain the meaning of life!
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!
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.
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.
Tree Heliotropes are blooming along the coast. They’re not showy flowers but there are lots of them and the bees are all over them.
A Lesser Grass Blue Butterfly (Zizina otis) feeds on a Blue Heliotrope (Heliotropium amplexicaule) flower.
The lesser grass blue butterfly (Zizina otis) was first seen in Hawaii on Oahu in 2008 (for an article, or most of an article, about the find, click here). They’re now well established on the Big Island as well.
Lesser grass blues are very small, with a wingspan no more than ¾-inch. With wings folded up they’re the size of a small fingernail. They also fly close to the ground, within a foot or two.
Lately, I’ve been seeing them in large numbers on these blue heliotrope (Heliotropium amplexicaule) flowers. When I say ‘seeing them,’ what I mean is that when I walk past a patch of these flowers, a host of lesser grass blues will flutter up from the flowers, dance around in a tizzy for a few moments, and then settle back down again. When they do this, it’s like blue confetti being thrown (a few inches) into the air.
I’ve tried to capture this image with my camera, but haven’t been able to (and I’ve taken LOTS of photos). The butterflies are so small, I’m tall, and the effect is fleeting. But the top photo gives an idea of what’s going on, with three lesser grass blues homing in on the small blue heliotrope flowers while a fourth has already found a spot.
It wasn’t until I processed the photos at home that I noticed the spider in the second photo. I don’t know what it made of all the butterfly activity. I hope they weren’t its prey.
Graham's Island 