Four Blue Moon Images from MAR 31 2018

Final Blue Moon of the Year

Last night I got outside early, just in case cloud conditions would block the full moon.

Using the Pentax K1 and a tripod I shot photos at 420 and 700 MM with different lenses.

Shortly after 7 PM, I posted some photos on Facebook and waited.

The moon wouldn't be 100 percent full until 9:36 PM.

Clouds rolled in and out and, I nearly packed up to go home. But, by 9:30 skies cleared a bit.

9:36 PM

9:37 PM

9:37 PM

9:41 PM

Great Full Moon Resources

Skywatchers use Space (dot) Com for all the scientific information. 

Time and Date can be used to determine when the full moon will appear in your area.

Butterfly Images -- Possibly Pale Grass Blue

Small as a Fingernail

 

 

These photos were taken over the past two days, right behind my office.

Some were shot using a 300MM lens and, others with a 50MM, when I could get close enough.

It's a fast moving critter with blue wings.

When it lands on something, the wings close up and, you won't see any blue.

A Pale Grass Blue  (Zizeeria maha) can be found throughout Asia.

Some, were brought to Okinawa from Fukushima for observation.

The scientists, fed them contaminated (radioactive) food for their studies.

Now, don't panic when I tell you this but, nuclear stuff deforms the poor things.

Not to worry, I think all the contaminated freaks, were locked up in a labratory.

If I ever see one with three antenna, I'll only use the 300MM lens from now on !

REFERENCES:

In Photos: Fukushima Butterflies Plagued with Defects

The butterfly effect of Fukushima

Insect Photos: Pellucid Hawk Moth Not A Hummingbird !

These Things Can Fool You

 

 

Without sharp eyesight they might be mistaken for hummingbirds.

They could look like large bees, too.

But, have no stingers.  They are moths and won't bite you.

Instead of a stinger, it has a feather-duster of a tail.

And, that's good for spreading pollen from flower to flower.

So, people shouldn't go around killing these creatures.

They buzz around just like hummingbirds and eat the same nectar.

If they didn't have six legs and antennae, they'd look almost like a hummingbird.

Hummingbird Moths, are closely related to these insects.

 The Pellucid Hawk Moth has clear wings.

In Japan, they are called Oosukashiba (オオスカシバ).

 The Latin name is, Cephonodes hylas, for this species.

Having spent half the day getting a solid ID on this character, I give you some links.

That way, if you spot something like this in your garden, you'll know what it is.

This one, I'm calling a Ryukyu Oosukashiba (オオスカシバ) because I have proof...

from  the Okinawa Yanbaru Wildlife Field Guide ISBN978-4-408-32351-0

Those scientists should put RYUKYU in the name for ryukyuan stuff !

REFERENCES:

TpittawayTripodChina

WhatsThatBug  

What's Wrong With That Picture ? Nuclear Butterflies

Never Ending Surprises at Fukushima

This butterfly is normal, I think.

While searching Swallowtail Butterflies, for its scientific name, I got sidetracked.

An article, in the BBC News, caught my attention.

Scientists used to think insects, were kind of immune to radioactivity.

Now, they are finding mutated butterflies around Fukushima.

Go on over there and take a look.

Then, come on back over here and tell me.

What's wrong with that picture !

Butterfly: Ryukyu Hime Janome (リュウキュウヒメジャノメ)

After a Month of Waiting for the Experts

 

Finally, there has been a positive identification made on this butterfly.

It's a Mycalesis madjicosa or, Ryukyu Hime Janome.

Probably, none of the scientists, online, have spent much time in the Ryukyu Islands.

And, that may be why none of them answered when I asked for help.

Sometimes, you have better luck, talking to street people.

But, that wasn't how I got the ID today.  

What I did, was take the wife on a little date.  We went to the Kin Town Library.

See, I had some overdue books to return.

She does a lot better explaining those sort of things, than I do.

So, while the gals were busy at the counter, I went and looked at pictures in a book.

 There it was, a picture of this butterfly !

They had the Latin name and リュウキュウヒメジャノメ in the caption.

Man, I could hardly wait for our date to get over, I was so excited.

Just kidding !

As soon as I got back to the office, I did some verification.

This butterfly is a Ryukyu Hime Janome for sure.

References:

Focus on Nature 

Animal Diversity University of Michigan  

And, lots of photos on Flickr 

Summer Officially Starts Tomorrow !

Summer Solstice June 21, 2013

 

It all depends on where in the world you live and a lot of other scientific stuff.

Some people call it the longest day of the year.

It's really the day we get the most daylight.  That's if you live north of the equator.

Here is a photo I took in June of 2011 as the sun was setting on the west coast of Okinawa.

Tomorrow the sun will rise at 4:25AM and set at 6:59PM Japan Standard Time.

If the silly tropical storm we're having, gets done blowing, we may have sunshine.

Like, about 14 hours worth of sunshine on the first day of summer !

Now, I'm not sure what normal folks will be doing.

Grabbing the cameras and heading for the hills, sounds like a good plan to me.

If you have trouble thinking of things to do for summer solstice, check this out:

10 Ways to Celebrate Summer 

While you are there, do what (typical redneck fashion) I did.

The Old Farmer's Almanac, gives away all kinds of neat things, for free.

I got a whole pile of stuff and didn't spend a dime. Don't tell them I sent you.  OK ?

For more scientific minds:  Everything You Need to Know: June Solstice 2013

Another informative resource: AboutComGeography: Summer Solstice

Not Excited Enough Yet ?

 

Another goodie, I found while Googling June 2013, has to do with this month's full moon.

This will happen just after I recover from the first day of summer.

We are going to have an extraordinary Supermoon the 22-23 of June.

Don't miss out on all the summer fun !

Fly United From Okinawa, Japan (Photo) This Is Science OK?

That's right. The photo you're looking at I wanted to title "Fly United" but, I don't want the guys from some big airplane company coming after me so, I decided I'd better make a scientific title and caption.

This couple of flies were discovered in Okinawa, Japan.  They can be found just about anywhere around the world.  Their common name is Green Bottle Fly or a Blow Fly. 

The science part is where it gets a little confusing and I'm really no scientist so, I'll give you the references I found.  Then, you can decide who you want to believe.

WIKIPEDIA calls these flies Lucilia sericata.

1ST RESPONSE PEST CONTROL just says their scientific name is Calliphora or  Phaenicia species.

If you are really interested in bugs, there's plenty of information for you at both these sources.

Should you be looking for work, the guys over at Pest Management got a big banner you can click on that says "We're Hiring".

Now, that's got me wondering. 

If I applied for a job and had to go for an interview, I wonder if I could Fly United from Okinawa, Japan !

What's Karst ? Photos and Links to Learn Rock Science

I just saw this word recently.  It's in a brochure from the Dai Sekirinzan mountains in northern Okinawa, Japan.

When I read that,  I thought "Karst. Hah!  They spelled something wrong and I gottum good"!
It sounds like something you'd hear on the Redneck Channel.  "Hey, Bubba.  What'd that karst ya"?

 Well, I took plenty of pictures of these rocks and could hardly wait to get the research done.

 The mountains in the Okinawa Quasi-National Park are full of these limestone-looking, jagged rocks.

 Some of them have flowers and ferns growing out of them and nice green grass grows around others.

 When you get back in the forest where there isn't so much sunshine, not much grows on them.

 In some spots, trees grow between the rocks and stay there until they get blown over or fall over dead.

It's some rugged country.  Some of those rocks are sharp as a knife so, I wouldn't recommend walking around there barefoot or in flip-flops, because I can testify, it'll mangle your feet.

Well, I did my research for you.  Karst is a word that came from GERMANY.  No wonder I never heard of it. 

Now, you know what it looks like.

If you want to learn more about it, all the scientific descriptions are in WIKIPEDIA.

You can study-up on rock science to see if there's any karst where you live.  

That way you'll know where not to go in flip-flops.  Rednecks would say "It won't karst you anything at all"!