Garden Visitors

[gyuseppe]

2 hours ago, happypalms said:

Dam goannas in the garden again. They eat anything that they can shove in the mouth, especially baby chickens! 

Richard I didn't know that monitor lizards existed in Australia too. I thought they were only in Asia ? never seen one in my life

[Silas_Sancona]

Some recent guests:

Apparently enough rain in September and early October to bring out da' " flutter - butts wit da'  beak ",  Libytheana carinenta 






Danaus gilippus





Possibly Sympetrum..






Neoscona oaxacensis   ..or orbizabensis




Vanessa sp..  Which one, i'm not sure ..but they've been around much later than usual this year..  About a half dozen fighting with whichever sps of Hylephila are around for primo spots on the Zinnias atm..








Probably Euptoieta claudia,  but could be a very pale E. hegesia.  Smiling, Lady's face marking on the inner, upper wing ( look carefully ) certainly leans more claudia than hagesia, imo. 







Nathalis iole  ..Another rarity, unless it has been wet and warm enough in the summer / fall










Unusual to see any Toxomerus  around this time of year..





Same with any of our locally common Agapostemon sps.




...The other famous Danaus,  first time seeing any making a stop in the yard, instead of casually passing through. 

[Silas_Sancona]

The rare, occasional vagrant found wandering far from home after being blown off course during a storm?    ..or pioneering pioneers sus-ing out future new homes in a warming world?

I'll dive deeper into this later but,   some interesting reflection and research on exactly what seeing that Broad - Billed Hummingbird, Swallow - tailed Kite,  or American Oystercatcher in or near Los Angeles,  instead of where each is more " at home " ,   or a  Cattle Tyrant in S. TX,   instead of  ..Brazil..   might mean in a warming world.. 

Obviously, birds aren't the only critters that would be lured to new real estate in increasingly -suitable areas,  beyond where they roam now,  either. 


https://aces.illinois.edu/news/lost-or-leading-way-rare-birds-may-signal-shifting-migration-routes

[Silas_Sancona]

A few recent visitors...


Agapostemon sp..  Hard to believe these are out this early in the year.. Or,  in reality,  haven't really disappeared all winter. 








Hyles sp.    ..another " warm season "  flutter -butt i shouldn't see around until -at least- mid May..  First time i've seen more than one zipping between flowers in the yard at one time..    Hopefully a good sign for the year ahead since Hawk / Sphinx Moths are thought to be major pollinators of Plumeria.. 












Due to being gravely detached from the world around them / their  " fears "  .....bought and paid for by the big Ag companies,     some people hate these moths because the larvae of one  ...or a couple..  species,  ..often referred to as " Hornworms "     can munch on Tomatoes and some other plants in the Tomato / Pepper Fam. 

I myself would rather have these kids buzzing around the yard fighting with real Hummingbirds for favored position among flowers rather than whine and moan about any future moth -sized hummers trimming my Tomatoes..   They,  ...the T  'Maters,    will grow back. 

Where applicable, planting Sacred Datura ( Datura wrightii ),  a random, wild Tomato or two in an out of the way spot,  ..and / or    leaving a patch of Boerhavia ( Spiderlings ) < where this genus is native >   somewhere in a yard will often deflect attention from ones " sacred " ( 🤣  ) tomatoes as well..  

Don't be a jagoff,  unclench from those overly dramatic fears purposely drilled through one's skull about the " dreaded " Hornworm,  leave the Sphinx alone.



Isn't the only " unusual "  Flutter Butt that i've seen around lately either..  Monarchs ..and Queens..  are still around..  As are the Snouts. 

Shy and quick to dart off when approached but,  stumbled upon of these https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/122374-Eurema-mexicana#similar-tab      hanging out below one of the Baja Petunia out back last week. 

Visits from the usual suspects,  " Yellow  / Yellow Orange " colored Butterflies you typically don't see out this time of year. haven't decreased since October either.  




Horrible shots but,  a couple pictures of another winged, rare visitor to the area captured while sniffing out a new -to me- birding / wildlife survey spot in Tucson a couple weeks ago... 

Bucephala albeola.  ...Slow your roll guy,   Hard to get good shots when you're moving around so quickly.. 




 

[Silas_Sancona]

Warm evenings = more visits from the Sphinx ( Hyles sp )











Missed the chance to grab it but, while getting shots of this moth roaming the bigger group of Penstemon, one of our neighborhood Anna's Hummingbirds swooped in and decided the Penstemon were his and his alone.  Kind of funny watching the hummingbird chirp at the moth while trying to drive it off before succeeding in his mission. 

Said, male Anna's Hummingbird on subsequent visits after his argument with the Sphinx..















Hirsute Paradise Jumping Spider,  Habronattus hirsutus,  one of two species that belong to the species complex H. tranquillus.  Many species within this sub family of Jumping Spiders belong to higher complexes. They are also among some of the most colorful of the New World Jumping Spiders as well. 











As much as people might fear spiders,  these are harmless ..and actually won't hesitate to confront ..and consume...  the " bad " spiders ...Widows / Recluse species. 

Compared to most terrestrial invertebrates,  Jumping Spiders have exceptional vision capabilities that closely match that of humans and can even clearly detect and discern certain colors and even human movement.  Would be interesting to study whether or not they can recognize / easily detect differences between human faces. 

[miamicuse]

No picture of the actual visitor but I know it's the squirrels.

They like to take nuts, seeds, acorns, and hide it all over.

I got a 40' long horizontal bar mounted on my wood fence and I made it out of 4 sticks of 1/2" EMT electrical conduits.  During the recent cold spell I moved all these orchids inside, and I noticed there is something rolling around inside the conduit.  Hmmm...what is it?  I took the conduit and tilted it and a few dozen acorns rolled out onto the ground.  The squirrels have been stashing acorns inside the conduit, probably just keep pushing new ones inside...BUT how the heck are they planning to dig them back out?

Last night I noticed in one of my potted palms, a peanut has germinated.  Again, the squirrels put peanuts into my pot.

 

[tropicbreeze]

Flying Foxes love mangos and make quite a mess of my trees. However, mango season is over so they're stuck with Carpentaria acuminata fruit. We get a number of species of Flying Fox, these are Black Flying Fox, Pteropus alecto. 

During the wet season when my dam is full, Shining Flycatchers, Myiagra Alecto, build their nest over water. Both male and female share the job of sitting on and hatching the eggs.

Whistling Kites, Haliastur sphenurus, are around all the time but have never seen them nesting at my place.

Northern Brush-tailed Possum, Trichosurus vulpecula ssp. arnhemensis,  not usually around during daytime, this one was grooming itself just outside the bedroom window.

 

[Looking Glass]

On 3/1/2026 at 7:32 PM, miamicuse said:

No picture of the actual visitor but I know it's the squirrels.

They like to take nuts, seeds, acorns, and hide it all over.

I got a 40' long horizontal bar mounted on my wood fence and I made it out of 4 sticks of 1/2" EMT electrical conduits.  During the recent cold spell I moved all these orchids inside, and I noticed there is something rolling around inside the conduit.  Hmmm...what is it?  I took the conduit and tilted it and a few dozen acorns rolled out onto the ground.  The squirrels have been stashing acorns inside the conduit, probably just keep pushing new ones inside...BUT how the heck are they planning to dig them back out?

Last night I noticed in one of my potted palms, a peanut has germinated.  Again, the squirrels put peanuts into my pot.

 

Blue jays do it at my house.  Cram them everywhere.  They put them in potted plants, into bromeliads, and in any crevice.   Squirrels tend to bury them.  The Jays “stick them” in small elevated spaces.  

[Silas_Sancona]

 

Hyles lineata enjoying the breeze created by a fan placed in a doorway after a hot afternoon..

 




While i knew we had several,  curious as to just how many species of Sphinx / Hawk / Hummingbird Moth species can be seen in the state, inc. those that frequently wander into the state from various areas nearby  (  S.Cal,  Baja, and Sonora ),  turns out  ..depending on what part of the state you're in / time of year  you may observe  ..at least a dozen < or more > of the 50+ species of these moths that occur here.  



Aggregation of Anthrophora californica  settling in for the night within the dense cover of Larrea tridentata..  Always interesting observing how solitary bee species sleep.