Metallic Green Fig Beetle, Cotinus texana

Metallic Green Fig Beetle, Cotinus texana, in the sand dunes among some Beach Primrose. I attempted to get a closer shot and ended up with a foot full of burrs. Sadly, by the time I got the burrs off of my foot, it had flown away... Perhaps, if I check the fig tree out back...

Coqui: How Can Something So Cute Be Such a Pest?

Coqui frog, Eleutherdactylus coqui, hanging out on the plate glass window eating the bugs attracted by the light. Well, lizards do it, why not frogs? This little frog is considered quite a pest on the island of Hawaii, where it has no natural predators and has spread uncontrollably. On the bright side, they do eat bugs...

Spathoglottis kimballiana

Spathoglottis kimballiana from the garden at Mele Kohola on the Big Island of Hawaii after a rain. These are native to Southeast Asia but do very well in Hawaii's warm, tropical climate.

Aerial View of Seaworld and Fiesta Island

Aerial view of Seaworld San Diego (below), Mission Bay (center), and Fiesta Island (center).

Power Outage Makes a Mess Out of San Diego's Airports

Lindberg Field at about 5:30pm after the power outage. After waiting for about an hour in the airplane on the tarmac, the one portable stairs finally came to let us out of the plane. As you would expect, none of the gate ramps were working due to the power outage. A long line of Southwest Airlines employees lined the route for us to the baggage claim area. The bags were being unloaded by hand.

Since I had nothing but a little hand carry, I figured I'd be able to phone the parking company and head immediately home. However, all the lines were busy! Luckily, the van was just coming by so I was able to hop on. Traffic was a ridiculous mess and, while most people were calm, there were a few horns honking and people driving on the wrong side of the road, some rushing to the airport to no doubt discover that all the flights were cancelled and some trying to get home.

The outbound travelers, however, were stranded in droves in the terminal, mostly waiting on security, when the flights were cancelled or delayed.

Blue Dragonfly

Blue Dragonfly resting on iris.

AOS Judging Results at Balboa Park

Aeridovanda Samsri Sunlight 'Merienda Lane' AM/AOS. Congratulations to Ed and Donna Wise!

Cattleya What'll It Be 'Julian's Delight' AM/AOS. Congratulations to Helen Pfister!

Cyr. McBeanianum 'Rustic Canyon' HCC/AOS. Congratulations to Howard Liebman, M.D.!!

Madagascar Day Gecko Hamming it up on Heliconia

Madagascar Day Gecko, Phelsuma madagascariensis, on Heliconia bihai (or perhaps Heliconia Kamehameha) at the Punalu'u Bakery, Punalu'u, Hawaii.

Cross Orbweaver Spider

Cross Orbweaver Spider, Araneus diadematus, San Diego, California. Pretty...or pretty spooky? You decide.

Lc Maui Plum 'Volcano Queen' AM/AOS

Lc Maui Plum 'Volcano Queen' AM/AOS at the Hilo Orchid Show in Hawaii.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle or Honu

Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, Punalu'u, Hawaii. Turtle basking on the black volcanic sand at Punalu'u beach to warm up after a busy day eating seaweed off the rocks.

Hawaiian Domino Damselfish

Hawaiian Domino Damselfish, Dascyllus albisella, Waio'Opae, Hawaii. There was a whole school of these little beauties and they swim right up to you to take a peak!

Otter's Just Gotta Have Fun...

A river otter have a grand old time chasing his tail on a hot day! It's simply amazing how agile they are under water!

Rainbow over Kapa'a

Rainbow over Kapa'a, Hawaii. In the distance is Mahukona Harbor. This is the dry side of the island of Hawaii. However, even on the dry side, there are beautiful rainbows in the middle of August.

Observatory

The observatory and surrounding volcanic craters on the Big Island of Hawaii

Variegated Hau Tree

Variegated Hau Tree, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Hawaii. This tree is typically found growing near the ocean in low lying, swampy areas. This, however, is a variegated variety. The Hau is in the mallow family, Malvaceae, and can grow to around 20 feet around but generally spreads laterally through spreading roots. The flowers closely resemble flowering hibiscus to which it is related.

Fresh Anthuriums at the Hilo Farmer's Market

Anthuriums, ginger and orchids for sale, $5, at the Hilo Farmer's market. Amazing, huh? Wow. The "vases" are old coffee cans (think Folgers) nicely wrapped in Ti leaves. It's one of my favorite farmer's markets. Ripe papayas, 5/$1; Ripe Pineapples $3. Just awesome!

Opihi

Opihi, makaiauli or Cellana exarata. These limpits are a Hawaiian delicacy, kind of like the Hawaiian version of abalone. So much so in fact that they're pretty tough to find except on steep cliffs splashed with huge waves like this nice cliff here. At this point, they are nearly extinct on Oahu and in decline on the neighboring islands.

There are three endemic species of limpit (aka Opihi) in Hawaii. Their ancestors probably drifted over to the islands on driftwood. The less-favored black-footed 'opihi, makaiauli (or Cellana exarata), was the first to arrive and speciate into a unique Hawaiian species. The two other species could have derived from that original species or from other later introductions into Hawaiian waters. The other two species include the yellowfoot 'opihi or 'alinalina (Cellana sandwicensis) and the bigger kneecap 'opihi or ko'ele (Cellana talcosa).

The Rare King Kamehameha Butterfly

King Kamehameha Butterfly or Pulelehua in Hawaiian; this is also Hawaii's official state insect! Latin name: Vanessa tameamea. Ironic how the Hawaiian to English spelling/translation changed over the years. In any case, I've wanted to see one of these for years and all I ever found were Gulf Fritillaries. Now I know why. It turns out that the King Kamehameha Butterly depends on the Mamaki, an endemic Hawaiian Nettle, as a host plant. As the Hawaiian endemic forest declined with the introduction of invasive non-native plant species, so too did the population of the King Kamehameha Butterfly. I had to go way up into an isolated "Kipuka" forest high on Mauna Loa to see this little butterfly.

One with the Nene

Nene Goose sitting in the neighbor's lawn, Mele Kohola, Hawaii. There she sat in the grass. I sat on the lava, watching and enjoying the peace of the moment.