In my ongoing quest to thwart leaf miners from devouring the basil plants, I’ve surrounded them with netting made from window screen material. One morning, I saw this little fellow perched on the netting. It’s easily the smallest stick insect I’ve seen. That’s a pretty fine mesh it’s clinging to.
Tag Archives: Macro
Seven-spotted Lady Beetle
I always like seeing lady beetles. They usually seem so busy and industrious. This one was pootling along a passion vine.
Neoscona theisi spider
I believe this is a neoscona theisi spider, which is one of the orb weaving spiders. What I know for sure is that when I walked up the trail 30 minutes earlier, the web wasn’t there. On my return, the sun caught the web and I was able to avoid blundering through it.
Passion vine butterfly
A passion vine butterfly takes a break on a windy day in Kohala.
Mock orange abuzz
A bee forages through the blooms of a mock orange.
Lesser grass blue butterfly
A lesser grass blue butterfly takes a drink from a small purple flower.
Prepare to pupate
This Hawaiian monarch butterfly caterpillar was getting ready to pupate. It attached itself to the underside of a ti leaf with a silk pad. Just a few hours later it had molted into the blue-green chrysalis to the left.
Only a small percentage of monarch eggs make it all the way to adulthood, so I hope the geckos don’t get to this one. I’ll keep an eye on it over the next week or so.
Praying mantis on basil
I suppose I should have a series about things found on my basil plants since they are many and varied. This praying mantis won’t harm the plant and it might eat some harmful bugs, but it’s equally likely to devour beneficial insects. Still, I think they’re fascinating creatures and I always enjoy seeing them.
Graham's Island 