A Bridge with Bougainvillea and Wagon Wheels

What more could you ask for ?

The recently, re-opened Southeast Botanical Gardens has it all.

We just made a quick trip through about half the place and called it a day.

It was so hot, I couldn't get the fish to jump out of water.

The place had been closed for a few years and, I really missed it.

It seems like it will be a while before the attraction gets restored to what it was years ago.

When they get signs on all the plants and flowers, I can spend weeks there.

That's because they write the names in English, Japanese and, Latin.

Imagine, being able to shoot some unknown flower or, bug and have its name right alongside it.

Just snap a photo of the sign and the research is all done.

Anything beats, squinting at a monitor or, thumbnails in a library book, trying to ID stuff.

Another thing, I noticed while touring the gardens.

They have some statues of naked ladies in the pond.  I didn't shot them, though.

It's because, I'm not that type of photographer.

And, the light wasn't right !

If you want to know more about the Botanical Gardens or, squint at a naked lady statue go 

HERE.

Flower Photo: Purple Asian Melastoma in Okinawa

These flowers can be tricky when it comes to identification.

Another one gets out of my pending files, today.

A book from the local library, ISBN4-9901917-3-0, deserves all the credit.

You are looking at a Melastoma candidum.

Some folks use them for landscaping or, like their fragrance.

Others, have medicinal uses for them.

Here's what I do.  Shoot photos and save them for a non-shooting day.

Then I use them to drive myself crazy trying to get an ID on them.

There are 50 species of this flower the locals call, Nobotan (のぼたん).

This one was found on the Motobu Peninsula During the month of June 2013.

They grow, in the wild, all over Asia.

But, I guess they got out of control in Hawaii, because over there, they call them weeds !

Related Posts:

Asian Melastome in Higashi Son Okinawa

Asian Melastome a Wildflower in Okinawa

Travel Photo: Could Use Some Help--Need ID on Gal

Getting Up There in Age

 

Not that I'm getting old or, anything like that.

Sometimes, I just forget little things.

Like, I promised this gal, I'd send her a photo if she consented to me taking her picture.

Now, I made a nice print and can't remember her name or, address.

They have some government people who watch Facebook all the time.  Don't they ? 

I reckon, they might know who she is.

Or, do you think they are too busy watching ships go through the Panama Canal ?

Anyway, I'll post this over on Facebook and see what my friends can do.

Give me a holler, anytime, if you can ID her.  OK ?

Grasshoppers on Minna-Jima Ain't that Big

This Bug Still Pending ID

 

Three quick shots today will show how I nab these critters.

If someone knows the name of this grasshopper it would save me a lot of work.

First, I'll show a screenshot of the photo enlarged while it's being processed.

This is what the scene really looked like when the shot was composed.

The Sigma 50-500mm lens is at 360mm.

Center (spot) focus, is what I use to eliminate the motion of grass, blowing in the wind.

The cross-hairs you see in these screenshots, is not what I see through my viewfinder.

This is the final product, after development.  The photo has been cropped.

The grasshoppers on Minna-Jima ain't really that big.

But, you can make them larger that life-sized, if you really want to scare someone.

I should start making refrigerator magnets.

There must be millions of fat people who could use them to get their diets under control !

Free to a Good Home: This Defiant Butterfly Photo

The L'il Critter Refuses to be Identified

 

An unbelievable amount of time has been spent trying to ID this Butterfly.

Waiting for the expert resources, I use, is taking too long.

It's time to call-in my normal reader's, for help.

Did I ever tell you, I get impatient, sometimes ?

The folks up at the Yanbaru Wildlife Conservation Center might have the answer.

But, I ain't planning on heading up that way, anytime soon.

Here's the deal.  Get me a scientific name with a verifiable link and I'll give you this photo.

The first person to correctly identify the butterfly wins.

Comment on this blog, through Google+1, or Facebook.

There will be only one winner.

And, one defiant butterfly, will be off my things to do list !

The Nuts and Bolts of Butterfly Identification (Photo Essay)

Today We Have a Positive ID

 

This butterfly is a Polygonia c-aureum or, Asia Comma.

In Okinawa, Japan where the photos were taken, it's a Kitateha (キタテハ).

Here's where the nuts and bolts idea came from.

The only place this guy would hold still for 1/640th of a second was here.

It's important to get photos, from as many angles as possible, to help with the ID.

The antennae, nose, eyes, legs, inside and outside marks on wings, all tell you something.

So, even when he turns his back on me, I keep shooting.

Once all the photos are processed, the search is on.

Butterflies of Japan is the first place, I look.  If the photo was taken in Hawaii, I'd look at their site.

It might take, scrolling through a thousand thumbnails, to come up with an identification.

Once a scientific name is discovered a lot more research gets done.

Education and government websites are the most reliable references, I think.

Before I post a new critter's name online, it has to be verified or, I won't do it.

Now, you know the nuts and bolts, of how I would ID a butterfly.

It isn't all that easy, you know. 

It could drive a man to drinking.

Gotta run.  

I think I heard a cold beer calling me, down the street !

Blue Butterfly Can Remain a Mystery (Photos)

These photos of little blue butterflies were taken in Okinawa, Japan.

Since mid November I've been trying to get a positive ID.

So far, I have it narrowed down to a Japanese name.

Yamato shijimi sounds cool.

Yamato, is the ancient name for Japan.

But, I'm not sure what we would call this critter in English.

  

Shooting butterflies isn't what's in the plan when I go looking for wildlife.

But, when nothing else shows-up, I use them for target practice.

These little rascals are smaller than a thumbnail and, don't like to sit still.

A Scientific Name Would be Great

 

But, in this case I've decided to let this guy remain a mystery.

See, I figure, what the heck. 

How many people, really consider butterflies, wildlife ?

If you were planning a wild party, would invite butterflies over ?

Me neither !


RESOURCES: Butterflies of Japan and Flickr

Visit me homepage for today's Feature Photo

Unidentified Flower but Know the Butterfly Name

This flower photo was taken in northern Okinawa, Japan.

Talking to a woman in the village office, I got the name Tokuri.

So, I figured, that would narrow my search for a scientific name down.

It didn't.

Groan.

This butterfly came onto the scene and I know what his name is.

He's an Orange-tip.

If somebody comes along and correctly ID's that flower, I'll give them a printable photo file.

They can have one with, or without the insect.

Visit my website for today's Feature Photo

Bird Photos: The Cinnamon Bittern

A Cinnamon Bittern is also called Chestnut Bittern.

The scientific name would be Ixobrychus cinnamomeus.

This bird was at the bottom of a dam and I was too far away for a sharp shot.

From the top of the dam, I had the Sigma 50-500 lens stretched all the way to 500mm.

Whenever I see some wildlife I can't identify, I take plenty of shots.

When I get time to do the research, ID the critter and learn its habits.

Cinnamon Bitterns are real skittish birds.

The hang out in fresh water .

For food, they go after small fish, frogs and crustaceans.

If you spook one of them and it doesn't want to fly away, they trick you.

The bird just sticks its beak straight up in the air and pretends to be a reed.

Their colors help them blend-in with the environment.  Camouflage, eh ?

It works.  I never saw the bird's mate in the upper part of this frame.

Now that I know the Cinnamon Bittern's habits, I'm going back to get some better photos.

It just means, quit trying to take satellite photos from the top of the dam.

Get down on the bird's level with that big lens and sneak-up on them.

Like maybe, do some belly and elbow-crawling.

Go back there and get an award-winning, close-up shot.

Even if I have to make little crustacean noises while I'm doing it !

Wildlife Photo: A Dragonfly Named Blue Dasher and a Rant

A few nights ago, I was too burned-out to continue my research.

So, I went and posted this dragonfly as either a Orthetrum Triangulare or Glaucum.

The next morning, I came in and checked my Facebook Page.

BINGO !

A gal, all the way over in Texas, posted the correct ID on the critter.

My hat goes off to Vicky Vivona, a Facebook Fan who found me through MAP IT OKINAWA.

Researching these bugs can really drive a person crazy. 

And, I don't like misidentifying anything I post online. Scientists will jump all over you.

So, I'm glad somebody came along and corrected me, on this one.

The Blue Dasher got a doozy of a scientific name:

Pachydiplax longipennis

What could those scientists have been thinking of when they named this critter ?

I try to keep this blog family friendly.

Are you scientists ashamed of what's under your lab coats, or just some kind of nuts ?

You could have said longiwingus, er something like that. 

Dang !

END OF RANT

Dragonfly Photo: Orthetrum Triangulare or Glaucum

This dragonfly has me stumped.

It was photographed today at Kanna Dam in Okinawa, Japan.

It's going on 9PM and I decided it's time to go home.

Looking all over the internet for the proper ID can drive you buggy.

So, I figure I'll let you decide.

Is it a Orthetrum Triangulare, or a Orthetrum Glaucum ? 

It beats the devil outta me !


THIS JUST IN: THIS DRAGONFLY IS NEITHER OF THE ABOVE

HAVE A PEEK AT MY FACEBOOK PAGE

THERE WILL BE AN UPDATED DRAGONFLY ID, SHORTLY.

Name That Shroom or A Fungi ID (Photos) and a Freebie

Two months ago I shot these photos of mushrooms in Ada Okinawa, Japan.

Just trying to get caught up here so, I decided to research shrooms a bit.  Hah !

There must be more types of mushrooms than types of people on this planet.  I give up.

There are plenty of mushroom ID sites online but, they want you to email them a photo and probably sign up, create a password, account, profile and all that stuff.  PHBtttt.  Nope !

Mushrooms, in the wild, can kill you if you eat them and you grabbed the wrong kind.

One site, I found interesting, had this to say,
THE NORTHERN IRELAND FUNGUS GROUP CANNOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR A POISONING BASED ON THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE

People even eat or smoke mushrooms thinking they're just putting good hallucinogens in their bodies.

Well, I wasn't planning on eating the things, being the non-fungi-eating creature I am.

It'd just be nice if someone could tell me the name of this shroom, or fungi, whatever it is so, I can give it a proper title.

Now, if you or some fungus association can give me an ID, or name for this shroom

I'd be willing to email a file suitable for printing to the first one who names that shroom.

Thataway, I don't need a buncha new accounts, passwords, profiles, and all that jazz and the winner gets to hang some free fungus on their wall!

Butterfly ID: I FEEL SO DUMB !

The Critter was Identified a long, long time ago; I just forgot !

Well, so much for my idiotic idea to have a Contest: Name This Butterfly.

A whole flock of people, over 300 took a look but, probably really didn't have any more time than I do to research it. Or, they all lived in New Jersey, had Butterfly Phds or something like that and were disqualified. Could be they just didn't want the photo of butterflies reproducing hanging on their wall. Who knows? Anyway, I got the contest thing outa my system, for awhile, until I come up with another brillaint idea.

There really is a winner, sorta. A guy I haven't seen in years posted something about it on my Facebook account. I'll buy him a beer and give him a photo but, won't post his name without his consent. At least the contest got me back in touch with someone I haven't seen for awhile.

Last night I went through all the trouble of resizing, retrieving lost passwords, even making a donation to one of the best sites, I've ever come across for identifying critters.

This one is worth bookmarking. Don't laugh, it's called the BIRD FORUM.

The site, I think may be in the UK, or somewhere like that. They use different English than I do and when you donate money to help them run the place they charge you in pounds, I think.

Whatever it is, they must not be worth as much as the last time I donated because it took less dollars to pay this year than last time I sent them some.

Really, you don't have to pay a dime to use the site; IT'S FREE !

There's probably several million members, from all around the world and real serious bird lovers. They call themselves Birders. Well, I irritate some of them when I tell them I'm not really a Birder. I'm a Wildlife Dude. I like all critters, not just birds. They are a great bunch of people; they tolerate me, humor me and sometimes, tell me what a crackin good shot I made when I post a picture in the gallery.

Some of these folks are probably scientists. A bird, bug or a furry critter, if you want to know what it is, just submit a photo to their ID Forum and you'll get a reply. It won't be some bogus answer like you'd find on the Wiki-peoples sites, either. It'll be TRUE and you'll even get the correct scientific name, everytime.

So, why do I feel so dumb? I'll tell you why:

I POSTED THE RED HELEN (Papilio helenus) ON THE BIRD FORUM OVER A YEAR AGO !

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