Is it somewhere you can go back to monitor to see if it blooms? It looks like it might not be too far off…
My favorite lifer from the week was actually found just inside our back door fluttering around on the tile floor. I took photos, of course, then took it outside and watched it fly to one of the coconut palms, where it stayed for some time, allowing me to fall deeply in appreciation with how it seemed to truly have almost feathers! (I know it does not, but those antennae are just gorgeous.)
Behold Silvered Prominent (Didugua argentilinea), my first Prominent Moth and a member of Owlet Moths and Allies. Here is the Observation, made with the photos from inside.
It may seem odd to select this invasive, noxious weed as a “favorite”, but it’s certainly impressive, with fruit that look like golf-ball sized watermelons (Wikipedia says the fruit turn yellow when ripe) and with thorns covering its stems and leaves.
Now that I’ve caught up with my observations from last week, I should add this lifer as an honorable mention. Another invasive seen on the same hike, but this one appears to have been vulnerable to a native predator.
I found the first rose of Hispaniola which is very special for me as my name is Rose and I think they’re my most loved genus. They’re undoubtedly not native here but they still make me so happy that I took cuttings to propogate them! They are probably remnants of the French occupation. The owner if the propery that I found them on said that he remembers the same bush growing when he was a child.
Woah, nice cuckoo wasp. In Mexico, where I live, I was in the woods once and I will never forget that time when I saw one of those cuckoo wasps. I was in the woods when I suddenly saw the brightest blue I’ve ever seen in my life. Then I think it landed and there I saw the bug, even brighter and completely blue. I didn’t know what was it but I knew it definitely wasn’t a sweat bee (halictidae). Sweat bees are very common here. But this extremely brightly colored bug had like a granulose, glittery appearance, instead of being plain blue, which is explained by the porous texture the’ve got on their exoskeletons, and the eyes were very dark, contrary to bee eyes.
I will never forget what I felt when I saw it. In real life it is extremely impressive.
It must be an insect! I took some photos, then started second-guessing myself. Could the movement just be from the wind? For closer examination, I tried prying it off of the log onto a leaf with a stick. It clung tightly to the stick and started crawling back and forth on it. An insect, indeed! But could there be such a thing as a lichen-mimic?
It’s only carrying the lichen around, at least according to bugguide. I have no idea how it gathers that camoflague, but it was incredibly effective. Even after I put on my reading glasses, I couldn’t notice the legs or any other part that was identifiably an insect… Luckily, my camera captured those details.
Green Lacewings are one of my favorites! The eggs look like little pearl tipped pins, the juveniles look linty, as you note, and each is distinct, and only once have I seen an adult but it was stunning.
I saw three new moths this week: White-tipped Black (Melanchroia chephise), Steniodes declivalis which has no common name, and an Eight-barred Lygropia Moth (Conchylodes octonalis).
But my favorite “new to me” I spotted in the larger of our limón trees and it looked like a little limón hopping from branch to branch, both in color and shape! Finally it made its way to one of the coconut trees where I was able to see it better.
Thanks for that link, @erin-816! That explains why these larvae camouflage themselves, although I still don’t know how their mandibles give them the dexterity to decorate their backs, this way.
And I’m still amazed that I was lucky enough to notice this while on my hike. How many more get passed by, every day?
Hi @larry216 - I dug a little deeper and found a nice video on the subject! If you prefer to skip to the part specifically on how they apply the camouflage, it’s at 1:51, but I think it is worth watching the whole thing. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/C-IlbCGfwf0?si=MkSflzkHFEWE6M19
I know it’s pretty common but I just saw an Atala for the first time today! The contrasting colors were just so beautiful! always happy to add a new Lepidopteran to my lifelist