Tag Archives: Urchins

A plethora of purple

A Bee approaches a purple bougainvillea

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.

A Fiery skipper butterfly feeds on a Blue Heliotrope flower in Hawaii
A spider lily in Hawaii
Helmet Urchins on a rock on the coast of Hawaii
A Purple Ice Cream sign at Kapaau, Hawaii

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.

A purple orchid in Hawaii

Well red

A red windsock at Upolu in Hawaii
The windsock at Upolu Airport with Maui in the background.

This month’s Sunday Stills Color Challenge is ‘Red.’ See more responses here. A variety of subjects for this one!

A red pencil sea urchin in Hawaii
A Red Pencil Urchin in the shallows off Kohala.
A portrait of a chicken in Hawaii
The red crest of one of the many chickens roaming free around here.
A Northern Cardinal in Hawaii
A Northern Cardinal in a tree near the South Kona coast.
A red children's slide in Hawaii
A slide at a kid’s playground in Waimea.
A red buoy on a beach in Hawaii
A large buoy on the beach at Kawaihae Harbor with an inter-island barge arriving in the background.

Whitespotted Toby and urchin

A Whitespotted Toby and a sea urchin in Hawaii

The Hawaiian Whitespotted Toby is a small pufferfish that’s endemic to Hawaii. Like many small fish, and juveniles of larger fish, they will use the quills of sea urchins to shelter from predators. Not that tobies need too much help. When attacked they inflate themselves like a balloon, making them hard to swallow. In addition, this toby secretes a nasty skin toxin which will deter most predators.

Abstracts: Rock-boring urchin art

Channels made by rock-boring urchins in Hawaii

Yesterday I posted a photo of a crown-of-thorns star, with a few rock-boring urchins in it. Today’s post shows one example of the channels left by these urchins. This image initially looked like a brain to me, but then I began to see more of a tree in it.

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Spiky/Lines.’ See more responses here.

Crown-of-Thorns star

A crown-of-thorns star and rock borer urchins

I saw this crown-of-thorns star working its way across the rocks in shallow water. Those spiky spines are venomous so this is not something to handle. Also visible in this photo are some equally spiky, though not poisonous, rock-boring urchins

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Spiky.’ See more responses here.

Collector urchins and their collections

  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii
  • A collector urchin in the waters off Hawaii

According to my marine invertebrates book, collector urchins (Tripneustes gratilla) gather algae, shells, and other material on their spines. Why they do this is not entirely clear. It might be for disguise, protection from the light, or even to store food. These urchins are quite common in the shallows and their adornments are many and varied.

Posted in response to Becky’s October Squares challenge theme of ‘Past Squares – Spiky.’ See more responses here.