Not all #butterflies start out as caterpillars.
Never let anyone tell you where your limitations lie.
Not all #butterflies start out as caterpillars.
Never let anyone tell you where your limitations lie.
Life continues for the majority of the planet that did not invest in Bitcoin, including these Tetramorium lucayanum ants.
Life continues for the majority of the planet that did not invest in Bitcoin, including these Tetramorium lucayanum ants.
Each season I do four nights of moth lighting in my garden in suburban Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ. My summer moth lighting this year started on Saturday. I photograph every moth that settles at my light and today I've been uploading my photos to #iNaturalist.
I've been doing this consistently each autumn since 2015 and every season each year since (at least) 2021. You might think I would have found all the moth species that visit my garden, but no.
So far I've finished uploading Saturday's moth photos and have found six new species to our garden. Here are four of them.
There's the endemic moth *Gymnobathra hamatella*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337290749
There's the "nationally vulnerable" endemic species *Gadira leucophthalma*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337263605
There's the endemic Clematis triangle *Deana hybreasalis*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337285888
Also, less ideal, there's the introduced Case-bearing Clothes Moth *Tinea pellionella*:
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/337285916
#mothodon #moths #Lepidoptera #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #NZ #insects #EcologicalMonitoring
An oak gall I found in a Banj oak tree near home. Once it "hatched", I sent some specimens to ICAR-NBAIR (National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources), who told me that the specimens were Torymus sp. and Cynipoidea.
I didn't even know you could get two kinds of wasps out of a single gall.
Rainbow Leaf Beetle (Spilopyra sumptuosa), family Chrysomelidae, SE QLD, Australia
photograph by Hongming Kan
via herpsandbirds
An oak gall I found in a Banj oak tree near home. Once it "hatched", I sent some specimens to ICAR-NBAIR (National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources), who told me that the specimens were Torymus sp. and Cynipoidea.
I didn't even know you could get two kinds of wasps out of a single gall.
Rainbow Leaf Beetle (Spilopyra sumptuosa), family Chrysomelidae, SE QLD, Australia
photograph by Hongming Kan
via herpsandbirds
Check out this big gum emperor moth that visited my moth light at home last night, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.
I first thought there was a bird flapping in the bushes, before it appeared. This one was pinker than most I've seen, and it happily clambered about on its big fluffy feet.
They're more like Pokémon than real moths.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/336921630
#moths #mothodon #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #insects #entomology
Check out this big gum emperor moth that visited my moth light at home last night, in Ōtautahi-Christchurch, NZ.
I first thought there was a bird flapping in the bushes, before it appeared. This one was pinker than most I've seen, and it happily clambered about on its big fluffy feet.
They're more like Pokémon than real moths.
https://inaturalist.nz/observations/336921630
#moths #mothodon #Christchurch #NZ #Ōtautahi #insects #entomology
A leaf katydid or bush cricket from Sabah. This extraordinary fellow was sitting on the chair next to me at lunch. When it tired of me moving the chair to take photographs, it crawled over the edge and hung from the underside with its legs folded, looking like just a pair of leaves. 10/10 camouflage, 0/10 location.
A leaf katydid or bush cricket from Sabah. This extraordinary fellow was sitting on the chair next to me at lunch. When it tired of me moving the chair to take photographs, it crawled over the edge and hung from the underside with its legs folded, looking like just a pair of leaves. 10/10 camouflage, 0/10 location.
Macro of a Julia Butterfly family (Dryas iulia). They engage in lachryphagy, where they drink the tears of caimans and turtles. The tears contain minerals they need and can't get from flowers. #butterfly #insects #biology #nature #photography #wildlife
⭐️JANUARY SALE⭐️
Original art sale - Last 2 days, sale ends on Saturday!
Monarch butterflies in flight now only £15.
https://folksy.com/find/item/8530260
#FediGiftShop #ScottishArtist #MastoArt #CreativeToots
#Butterflies #insects #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #TraditionalArtist #ArtFromScotland #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #SupportSmallBusiness #Sale #Bargain #Clearance
⭐️JANUARY SALE⭐️
Original art sale - Last 2 days, sale ends on Saturday!
Monarch butterflies in flight now only £15.
https://folksy.com/find/item/8530260
#FediGiftShop #ScottishArtist #MastoArt #CreativeToots
#Butterflies #insects #OriginalArt #Drawing #Painting #Artwork #TraditionalArtist #ArtFromScotland #GiftIdeas #ArtShop #ShopIndy #SupportSmallBusiness #Sale #Bargain #Clearance
Macro of a Julia Butterfly family (Dryas iulia). They engage in lachryphagy, where they drink the tears of caimans and turtles. The tears contain minerals they need and can't get from flowers. #butterfly #insects #biology #nature #photography #wildlife