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.

Nature Notes/ A Busy Yard!

My little clump of blue salvia is attracting several butterflies. I caught this Peacock Pansy butterfly through the window pane on a hot and sunny afternoon a few days ago.

My potted Maidenhair fern has a rather colourful visitor!

While weeding in the garden I came across this pale frog on a day lily plant. I think I'm seeing more frogs this year. Although I don't know much about frogs, it's always nice to find a new one amid my plants!

Last night's shower must be the reason the damselflies were around this morning. I saw three of them today but they are so tiny that it's difficult to see the actual colours in my photos. 

One of those pretty blues on the blue salvia. This was also photographed today.

 

And now a collage of the latest finds around my house and yard.. Clockwise...a green spider on the floor of the corridor leading to my kitchen, a green insect on the tender leaf of the Cardboard Palm, a tiny beetle on the wall, and a newly opened zinnia (I don't think I've grown this shade before).

To see more on what's going around in the world of nature, visit Nature Notes at Rambling Woods.

Nature Notes/Around My Yard

Now with the warmer weather and the hint of rain, there's plenty happening by way of garden wildlife. Every time I step out of the house, there are  birds, spiders, lizards, bees and butterflies drawing my attention. I usually see the garden lizards outside but sometimes they land on the wash-basin in the guest bathroom and find it difficult to get out.

This one nearly barked at me to hurry up. So I got a pair of tongs, lifted it, went to my terrace garden and placed it on the Cardboard Palm/Zamia furfuracea (first picture). I got a most disapproving look for my efforts and it quickly jumped to the thorny branch of the bougainvillea.

After a little game of "Now you see me, now you don't", I left it to return to my chores.

An itsy-bitsy spider

...and its prey

With the rains we get to see several colourful damselflies but I was happy to photograph the first damselfly of the year. It's the most common one in our area, black with yellow stripes near the head.

The few poppies that I am growing next to some phlox are attracting several bees. The yellow allamanda as well as the nasturtiums are attracting a few butterflies as well.

Caterpillar Update

The swallowtail caterpillar that I had posted last week now looks like this! Egged on (pun intended) by the sight of these butterflies-in-the-making, I stopped by a nursery today for a few more lemon plants. Imagine my delight when I saw that one of the plants I bought had five of these caterpillars. It remains to be seen how many of them make it to the butterfly stage. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

To see what's happening in the world of nature, head over to Rambling Woods where many bloggers share pictures and posts on Nature Notes.

 

Critters!

Some of the unique insects seen on our homestead in my hometown. All these photos were taken in July. I don't know the names of most of these insects but it was a treat to observe and photograph them. The spider was magnificent. Despite the size and the bright colours, they are not dangerous. It's a common sight to see them in their huge webs.

And now the dragonflies...........

My internet connection is very slow which is why I haven't been able to post sooner. There are are many photos I have taken and I'm simply dying to share them. Hope my computer woes will end soon....

A Skink And Moulting Lizards

Guess who strayed into the house one sunny morning? A baby skink! If it hadn't come in I'd never have managed to take a photo like this one. Anyway after about ten shots I held out a newspaper for this baby to climb on. Then I took it outside where it disappeared amidst my plants!

 My garden lizards are going through their rite of passage...moulting! I found one on the branch of my mango tree where it certainly didn't want its privacy invaded. I understood.:)

And this one has shed more skin than the first one. Lizards shed skin in scraps often starting by a split down the back.

Lizards, again!!

Readers of both my blogs will be familiar with the many lizard pictures that I take. Most of them look pretty similar (see the one on my sidebar) but last month I was amused to see the clever way in which this baby lizard was sheltering from the rain. The photo was taken right after a sudden shower.