Winged Beauties for Nature Notes

The first insect that greeted me this morning was this stunning red dragonfly. This Fulvous Forest Skimmer is a common sight particularly in this season.

It had raining for the past week and I'm hoping to see more dragonflies in our area. Below is another dragonfly I hadn't photographed before.

A Grass Yellow on a gaillardia. The few blooms that I have are still attracting a fair number of butterflies. Below is a Lime butterfly. The Lime butterfly is said to be one of the most common and widely distributed swallowtails around the world. My current header picture is of the same kind of butterfly.

Lime butterfly/Papilio demoleus

The other day I saw a small winged insect on the wall. Thinking that it was a skipper, I took a series of shots with my phone camera. It was late afternoon and the light wasn't good. Imagine my surprise when I saw these colours jump at me on the computer screen later! I come across a lot of moths every year but this one is by far the most colourful that I have photographed in the vicinity of my house. The top right picture in the collage shows the moth with wings closed. Well, who'd have thought....?


For more posts in the fascinating world of nature, visit Michelle at Rambling Woods.

Nature Notes/Dragonflies

 Although I photograph a whole lot of dragonflies every summer, I have never seen or photographed dragonfly exuvia. Below is the photo that I clicked yesterday. At first glance I thought it was an insect I hadn't seen before. It was only after I compared Google images that I knew it was dragonfly exuvia. It was on the underside of an anthurium leaf.

And here's what I found a few days ago on one of my plants. The blue/green combination of colours was most striking.

And a similar one that I found this morning on my cucumber trellis. i couldn't capture that iridescence in today's cloudy rainy weather.


For more posts in the world of nature, visit the home of Nature Notes.

Backyard Birds For WBW

 

Continuing with my series of regular backyard birds, the first is the picture of a kingfisher perched on the top of my terrace. 

The Spotted Doves spend a lot of time amid my plants. Here's one foraging amid my small patch of ginger while the other looks on. They are usually seen in pairs.

The Common Indian Myna was busy pecking at some of the ripening berries on this tree while a pair of White-breasted water hens were taking a leisurely walk.

And this purple sunbird  was feeding amid the lilies growing wild near the roadside.

To see more of our feathered friends, visit World Bird Wednesday.

Nature Notes/More Winged Visitors

I'd never given the blooms of this yellow vein eranthemum much thought. The foliage being showy, gets all the attention. This flowering shrub does well in a sunny location. It's the third year that it's blooming and it's only recently I noticed the steady stream, or should I say wings:) of visitors? A blue-eyed bee paid a quick visit this afternoon. So did the other two butterflies pictured below. All along it's been the pentas that's attracting the most number of winged visitors. But I'm glad these small speckled blooms are doing their fair share.

Can you spot the tiny skipper?

Feeding time for the Grass Yellow

I usually see a lizard or two lying in wait for their prey amid the leaves and the blooms. In my small garden this plant attracts the most varied wildlife (including the sunbirds) and it's always such a joy to photograph them all. 

 

The next two pictures show the bees that come regularly.

In last week's post, I had posted a picture of the Peacock Pansy butterfly. This afternoon I found a Lemon Pansy resting on one of the bamboo stakes in the blue salvia patch. 

Another zinnia blooms and a tiny green spider finds its home!!


To see more posts by other participants, visit the home of Nature Notes at Rambling Woods.

WBW/Crows & Sparrows

For today's WBW I'm posting pictures of birds we see on a daily basis. In sunshine or rain, they are ever present! The house crow/Corvus splendens is black with a grey neck and breast. The depth of colour in the plumage and the thickness of the bill varies from region to region. With an omnivorous diet they can survive on anything edible that they find near human habitation. The sparrows in this collage were taking a breather after pecking at the purslane that have sprung up all over my yard.

A crow's nest on our mango tree

To see more of our feathered friends, visit the home of World Bird Wednesday.