...maybe not for this forum? Not sure what it is; anyone??

I don't post much this time of year because it's way too cold for insects here, but I do pop in occasionally to see what those in warmer locales are seeing. Nice sightings everyone!

Carole that last one is a hover fly. Here in the US there are many similar looking species of them and a quick search on iNaturalist shows the same for Australia. Yours might be one of the species at the link below that were submitted from Australia. Sometimes identifying them to species level means looking at very small subtle details or even dissecting them in some cases.

https://www.inaturalist.org/ob...

@ceci look forward to seeing what those caterpillars turn into after feasting on your passionfruit leaves. Enjoyed also the Monarch photos.

@molanic Morgan, thanks for the link and name for my photograph; appreciate that info'

Some of the "espejitos "caterpillars have turned into pupas.

Obviously, this photo was taken during warmer days. I only see these hummingbird moths two to three times a year if I am lucky. I like them, but they freak some people out since they the same coloring of a bumble bee but at twice the size.

An Australian native Blue-Banded Bee; I love to see these!




It's on

I just returned from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico via the coast road (aka Costalegre, Tortuga Road) and was delighted to see many White morpho (Morpho polyphemus) butterflies on the trip up. Sorry, this was not a leisure trip so i have no photos. But i was delighted to see these butterflies in abundance. They have a limited range from approx. Mazatlan to Manzanillo, including coastal and near coastal Nayarit and Jalisco. They used to be every where in Colima, but when our volcano started to explode at the end of 2014 and continued exploding through January 2017. These butterflies along with Malachites and others, have rerouted from the area of the volcano and i have seen very few butterflies for the past 3 years. I believe the White morpho is Mexico's largest butterfly with a wing span that exceeds the Giant Swallowtail. They are beautiful to see floating among the tree tops looking like angels. Coastal Nayarit and Jalisco are so rich in flora and fauna and this was the purpose of my trip to relocate to that area. Seeing all those butterflies was a sign that i am making a good decision. It is not that i don't love our naughty volcano, but i find myself missing the sea and the flora has left my head spinning, it is irresistible .

Thank you for letting us know about the White Morpho, I have never seen them, but it sound wonderful, maybe some day

Appreciate the name of this insect (on Flannel Flower)

Sam, I think most people here like the hummingbird moths! I'm planning to grow some tomato plants "in the wild" this summer to encourage the hornworms on plants that I don't care about, because I love seeing those hummer moths on my flowers.

carolem said:Appreciate the name of this insect (on Flannel Flower)

Looks like a beetle, maybe one in the genus Castiarina?

https://www.inaturalist.org/ob...

gradient said:Obviously, this photo was taken during warmer days. I only see these hummingbird moths two to three times a year if I am lucky. I like them, but they freak some people out since they the same coloring of a bumble bee but at twice the size.

I love hummingbird moths too, and they really love to nectar at my butterfly bushes. This one in the photo is the Snowberry Clearwing Moth (Hemaris diffinis). They lay eggs on Snowberry (Symphoricarpos), honeysuckle (Lonicera), dogbane (Apocynum), dwarf bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), and likely some other species.
https://www.butterfliesandmoth...

The very similar Hummingbird Clearwing Moth (Hemaris thysbe) uses Honeysuckle (Lonicera), snowberry (Symphoricarpos), hawthorns (Crataegus), cherries and plums (Prunus), some Viburnums, and likely others also. I had them lay eggs on my Viburnum dentatum and got to raise a couple from egg to adult which was really cool.
https://www.butterfliesandmoth...

They are both in the Family Sphingidae (Sphinx Moths, Hawkmoths) along with the other species. Some species eat tomatoes and are known as hornworms in their larval stage. I have yet to see a hornworm on my tomatoes... maybe the birds get them all here!
https://www.butterfliesandmoth...

Sandy, that's a good idea, too cool to get tomatoes to ripen here, but I like seeing the large moths too.

molanic said:

Looks like a beetle, maybe one in the genus Castiarina?

https://www.inaturalist.org/ob...

Well done; thanks to you I've been able to correctly tag the photograph. Appreciate that help

This monarch was laying her eggs on the asclepia curassavica

It's such a treat to see your butterfly photos while we are in the grip of a cold winter. Thank you for sending a bit of sunshine into our days.

Meadow Argus Butterfly
Species: villida calybe
Order: Lepidoptera

Beautiful Carol, it is very similar to our Common Buckeye

This " espejitos" butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is just born. It is openings its wings for the first time.

That is such wonderful thing to see!