Sunday, July 10, 2011

Hairs and Wings


I guess that morning when I went out of the house to look around, these black hairy creatures were also in their exploratory mode. I saw a lot of them individually crawling on the ground instead of some leafy bushes. Maybe they are looking for corners or silent nooks to hang for pupation. However, they didn't know that they are trespassing on open grounds, where they are very vulnerable to walking heavy animals like me. I almost stepped on one of them, while taking the photos of butterflies. I saw two of them already dead, flat on the cemented road because of motorcycle tires. I will still search around what butterflies or moths they will become. 

Ideopsis juventa 'manillana'

I am sure this is not the adult butterfly, which came from the black hairy larvae. It loves the yellow Turnera than the pentas. It closes its wings fully when dipping its proboscis inside the flower. This type really love to roost on the drying stalks of dill. When i realized they love that, i purposely crack-bent some dill branches to dry, which was the stage much loved by butterflies (as in the top center). They seem to fly slowly, seemingly hallucinating after staying a long time with dead dill branches. Maybe dill is their equivalent for the Canabis sativa.

Dragonflies are very seldom seen in our area. I did not let the presence of this red go unnoticed. At least i got three shots before it went away, and it did not return when the sun is up.

17 comments:

  1. The red dragonfly is wonderful!

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  2. Wouldn't it be nice to see what kind of butterflies/moths those hairy caterpillars would turn into? Maybe you could collect some in a small enclosure and watch their transformation.

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  3. The red dragon fly is amazing. None like that here.

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  4. Andrea, those are amazingly bright red dragonflies in your part of the world. Oh, just read the other comments, not just me that found them special!

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  5. I've never seen a red dragon fly. Thank you for sharing your find! Your butterfly pictures are very nice.

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  6. I also wonder what kind of butterfly the hairy caterpillars will become. After seeing them, I have this 'itchy' feeling.

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  7. It is amazing you got some of these shots...very well done! I enjoyed this post very much.

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  8. Beautiful pics, especially the red dragon fly.

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  9. Love your red dragonfly! Glad you got to take pictures of it. I hope it comes around you again soon!

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  10. great eye - The red dragonfly is so cool.

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  11. Thanks everyone for your generous and inspiring comments:

    Phil,
    Donna,
    Alistair,
    Bridget,
    Holley Garden,
    Wendy

    Solitude Rising - If only i am living in the farm i will do that, but i am in the big city.

    Linda - maybe they are tropical so they dont like it there.

    AB - usually the caterpillars have some semblance to the adults, maybe this one is a totally black butterfly! haha

    Sage Butterfly - thanks for your appreciation.

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  12. The red dragonfly is simply stunning. I was surprised to find a lavender one outside the window of my mom's room at the rehabilitation center but unfortunately she couldn't see it from her bed. I do love how they munch on mosquitoes.

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  13. Rainforest Gardener - oh hi Steve, that info is great, i didn't know dragonflies eat mosquitoes. How i wish to see them in the act. However, we don't have bodies of water near us so they are very seldom seen there! God bless your mother.

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  14. Very nice dragonfly capture. Do you really follow through from caterpillar to butterfly to identify which is which?

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  15. gorgeous shots, I was paining outside yesterday and a dragonfly landed right beside me, I ran to get my camera and he never came back! darn

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  16. That is a stunning red dragonfly!

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  17. Fantastic mosaics! The hairy caterpillar is kind of interesting.

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