What About Bob? A select few butterfly photos courtesy of Bob Hillis

   

Arizona Sister, Utah August 2022

     Over many years of watching animals, I have been lucky enough to be associated with three superb field biologists,  which might in two of the cases be revised to animal finders.  These guys are able to see a bird or a fish where the average mortal sees only a bush or a rock. Mike Van Ronzelen has for a few years now been watching birds in the St. Peter's Cloud Forest.  I trust he is seeing some worthy birds on a daily basis.  Peter is, of course, still around and you can see his pictures and enjoy his ramblings on his blog, one breath kohala.  Of the three, Peter is the true field biologist.  Extensively trained, he brings a different aspect to the sport of listing animals, be they bird, fish or insect.

    Having named two, that brings me to my friend Bob Hillis. When he lived in Kona, Bob and I watched many a fine fish together.  And as above, he pointed out a few fish that I wouldn't have seen on my own, sometimes in situations that I would not have ventured into on my own. 

    Lucky for us, Bob is still around, and, I believe, mostly retired, but still getting out and seeing some really good stuff.  Perhaps I had a little influence on both Peter and Bob, for they started watching butterflies as Sandra and I got interested in them.  

 

Arizona Sister in resting position photos Bob Hillis

    At one point Bob started to write a blog, but it was more on philosophical lines, as opposed to highlighting the animals that he was seeing.  Lucky for me, he has continued to send me pictures of the animals he has photographed, mostly in Utah, where he now lives, and Southern California, where he lived and worked for many years as a State Parks ranger.  And where he still has some nature loving friends.  

    Last week he sent me yet another excellent picture of a butterfly that I will probably never see and,  I thought, many of you who read my blog have heard Bob mentioned from time to time, why wouldn't you want to look at a few of these pictures.  With that in mind, I have gone through my cell phone and extracted some of the better pictures.  And with Bob's permission I'm presenting them to you here along with a small bit of explanation. 

     The first is an Arizona Sister.  For those of us who live on the West Coast, the related species is California Sister, which I have yet to see.  My feeling is that Bob hasn't seen one either.  The California Sister lives in canyons populated with live oaks, although its preferred host plant is Golden Chinkapin.  Being a poor botanist, which is a sad state for a butterfly watcher, I wouldn't be able to tell a Golden Chinkapin from a golden retriever.  Supposedly the sister can be seen in the arboretum on Mt Pisgah in Eugene, which is the northern limit of its range.   It becomes more common as you head south towards California.  What a surprise!  

    Last summer Bob met up with a friend in Bellingham, Wa.  They went to Larabee State Park where he took this picture of starfish on the beach.  This was of interest to me, because starfish have been virtually exterminated in Puget Sound.   Sandra and I have a favorite little beach in Anacortes where, three  years ago we stumbled upon  a handsome statue that serves as a memorial to the starfish.  Up to that point,  I was oblivious to this catastrophe.

      There has been some debate about just how Homo sapiens accomplished this unfortunate feat.  Puget Sound now has a pH south of 7.0 which, one would suspect, may have something to do with it.  As a depressing aside, the lowered pH prevents oysters from breeding in places which have given a variety of oysters their name.   Anyway, Bob found this photogenic horde of echinoderms literally less than fifty miles from that memorial.  That should cheer us up!

    He and his friend went snorkeling at Larabee and he caught this handsome nudibranch at 30 feet.  While I am a big fan of snorkeling, I draw the line at snorkeling in 63 degree water which was what he recorded.  What can I say, I'm a wuss.

 

Sonoran Blue Butterfly, Bob Hillis

The photo that set me off on this tribute was this one of a Sonoran Blue Butterfly.  This was taken in Anza Borrego State Park in the mountains east of San Diego two weeks ago.  Suffice it to say, Butterfly Season is much longer in So Cal than in northern Oregon. 

   On the same day, Bob saw West Coast Lady, one of three species of "ladies" on the west coast.  It is also found n Oregon and our friend Caitlin advises us to keep an eye out for it.

     Like any other butterfly watcher in the western United States, Bob sees lots of fritillary butterflies.  In part, he does this with the misguided idea that I can help him identify them.  There are about a dozen species of medium sized frits in Oregon.  They come in a variety of oranges and all have a very similar complex maze of black markings on their dorsal wing surfaces and a complex pattern of paisleys on their hind ventral wings.  Getting a good look at that surface is often the key to nailing down the identification.

Speyeria mormonia, Utah, Bob Hillis

   The problem is, there is so much local variation that in many instances, even experts like our friend Caitlin LaBar, are unwilling to identify these insects outside the range they are familiar with.  This is quite a bit different from bird watching.  If one sees an acorn woodpecker in Oregon it will be virtually identical to one seen elsewhere in its range.

   All of this leads to an amusing story.  Around the time Bob went to Bellingham he sent me two butterfly pictures.  The first one you see is a Mormon Frit nectaring on an aster.  This is a butterfly with a wide range and is very similar throughout.  It is smaller than many other Speyeria frits and it has those distinctive rounded wings.   So in a way we can think of it like the aforementioned acorn woodpecker.

    At the same time, he sent me the picture that you see below.  And as part of that text, he mentioned that he saw this butterfly near his yard (in St. George, Utah).  And he even named it, Western Pygmy Blue. 

  But sometimes I don't pay attention.  The Redoubtable SKG will be happy to verify this observation.  In that vein, I thought he was identifying it as an Acmon Blue seen on Mt. Baker, the snow capped volcano that towers above Bellingham.  I was sure, even as a tyro lepidopterist, that this was not the case.  And so I presented both photos to Caitlin telling her that I thought they were taken on Mt. Baker and asking her what the blue was.  And this is what she replied:

Western Pygmy Blue  St. George, Utah  Bob Hillis

Hi Jeff, 

  Yes, the frit is a female momonia.    

   The mating pair of blues are Western Pygmy Blues, which I highly doubt were taken at Mt. Baker, maybe the locations got mixed up? They are very common in Utah, and were common in SE WA in 2022, but hardly seen in 2023, and have never been found north of the Tri Cities area.

     In this way Caitlin reaffirmed her virtuosity by avoiding all my sand-bagging misinformation.  What a girl! 

    Living a life of faux pas can make things just a little more interesting.

    Last year Bob sent me a couple pictures of larger butterflies.  One was of the curiously named Southern Dogface.  This is a widely distributed butterfly, from New England to California, south to Mexico and the Caribbean.  It is so named because the person who had the honor of giving the insect its common name thought the spot on the wing reminded him of his pet poodle.  Says so on the internet, so it must be true.  Right?   

Southern Dogface Butterfly Utah   Bob Hillis

    The Southern Dogface has been the California State insect since 1929.   I suspect that there is some variation in wing pattern in California, as there are articles on the internet calling it the California Southern Dogface.  So this picture was probably taken in Utah.  

   I could ask Caitlin for verification, but I fear I may be in her doghouse.

   Look carefully and you will see that Bob has captured the proboscis of this nectaring butterfly.  And how about those eyes?  Creepy!

  I am a sucker for checkerspots.  Sandra and I  saw our first one, the Snowberry Checkerspot, near Dougan Falls and attempted to identify it on our own.  Sandra posted it on the northwest butterfly website and all the little old ladies got their undies in a twitter correcting our mis-identification.  Since then, Sandra and I have seen two more species, which you will recall if you are a faithful blog reader.  

Anicia Checkerspot, Cedar Breaks National Monument  BH

    Many checkerspots are not widely distributed and Bob sent us a picture of a beauty that I have yet to see in the PNW.  As I don't have any books here in Hawaii, I am stuck using the internet, which is a terrible way to identify almost anything, especially butterflies.  So Caitlin helped us out once again and said:

That’s an Anicia Checkerspot, they look much more red and yellow the further south and east you go, compared to what you’re used to in the northwest  

    So now Bob can put it down definitively on his list.  We'll keep it as a surprise until he reads it, just like you, in the blog 

    Spring is creeping in, so get out your cameras and nets and see some butterflies,

jeff

Kahalu'u on Pi Day, Houndfish and the Association and the Kieki Museum Expands to Waikoloa

    There has been a hiatus in blogs for which I apologize.  The weather has been cool, making a dip in the ocean unnecessary from the standpoint of personal comfort, but that's no excuse. If there is an excuse, it has to to do with the Keiki Museum.  

Jyness documents the butterfly installation    photo SKG

    Yesterday, March 14th, Pi Day to those interested in circular geometry, welcomed the opening of a second museum.  The museum in Kailua, where my complete set of reef fish swim happily above the rampaging toddlers, may not be making it from a financial point of view.  Looking for a more solvent location, the ladies in charge have leased a location in the Queen's Shops at Waikoloa.  It was always their hope to attract visiting children of means and this sprawling resort is rife with them. 

    Several large luxury hotels, a dozen condos and a golf course now exist near the waters of Anaeho'omalu Bay.  Back in 1980, when I first came to Kona, there was a single small Sheraton and virtually no shops.  Now one has to search to find the bay and the lodging and shops border on the overwhelming.  Luckily for the keikis and those of us who pander to them, Macy's at the Queen's Shops has ceased to exist and my patrons at the museum have snatched up the lease.  

A Snidely Freckled Hawkfish Trumpets the Legacy

    My occupational therapy coordinator, the lady with the heart of gold, the one and only Jyness Jones, has given me two windows facing the courtyard in this luxury mall.  Ever since I started doing art, I have salivated like one of Dr. Pavlov's canines at the thought of decorating one of those windows.  And now I have two!  Additionally, the butterfly exhibit from the Kailua library has found a permanent home in a display case that once displayed fancy merchandise.  The legacy is alive.

   So the last month has been taken up with making larger fish and butterflies, some of which turned out rather well.  And the last two weeks have seen Sandra and I trekking to Waikoloa to install our art in the windows.  Jyness has held back control, promising to fill out the displays around our paper mache animals.  So here we are showing you a couple pictures of what must be considered a work in progress.  

A Houndfish in Clear Kahalu'u Water  March 2024

    At the last minute, my beloved convinced me to place an "About the Artist " placard in the fish window.  We'll see if it survives.  Maybe I'll be famous for more than a day.

 

 

 

 

   

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    As there was a fantasy baseball draft yesterday afternoon, we could not go to the museum for its gala opening.  Instead, we spent a blissful hour in the welcoming waters of Kahalu'u Bay.  My poor sweetie's jaw is still giving her problems, so she dropped me off for snorkeling and went to the Keahou shops for fish and make up.  (The mascara tasted great and the marlin looks great on her, one filet on each cheek.)

    The water was not too cold and in some spots fairly clear.  One would always want more fish, especially in these days when the coral is on the decline, but I did see a couple things that might titillate your ichthyological fancy.

Pearl Wrasse male,  March 2023

    Early on I didn't see much.  But when I turned up the middle I found a pair of Crocodile Needlefish, sometimes referred to as houndfish.  This twosome was cooperative and permitted three photos before swimming away.  These guys were only mediums, probably under two feet in length.  Rarely have I encountered really big houndfish and they are an intimidating beast.

     Over by the rescue shelter I spotted a male Pearl Wrasse who got away before I could capture a good photo, (I'm including a really good picture of one taken in the same spot exactly one year ago)  At the end of the chase I found myself in a bit of fishy activity and nabbed this video of a hunting Whitemouth Moray Eel.

Female and male wrasse trail the Ember Parrot

    I had ten minutes before my hour was up and I swam over to the near edge of the bay.  Here I was in front of the bar at what was once the hotel.  The Keahou Beach Hotel has been gone for ten years and whoever is in charge of the project has removed everything, including David Kalakaua's beach house, but they left standing the building that was once the bay front watering hole.  Go figure.

   Regardless of the structures remaining on land, here by the lava reef I encountered a juvenile cleaner wrasse.  I took her picture and she was immediately in the company of a female Ember Parrotfish accompanied by a big adult cleaner wrasse.  At least at Kahalu'u we see this association with some regularity.  Its hard to know who is getting what in the way of an advantage.  the best I can tell, the parrotfish gets nothing.  Perhaps the Christmas Wrasse, who eats mostly invertebrates like brittle stars and crabs, uses the parrot like a stalking horse.

     Usually this mis-matched pair is fast moving and one doesn't have the opportunity to to get a picture close up.  In this case though, they stayed close enough for me to get a couple good pictures and the video you see here.  Its interesting to watch the wrasse zipping over the reef, darting down to attempt a capture. 

    Back ashore we met Sandra with her purchases and bid sayanora to Yasuko.  We have one more month in Hawaii before we return to the lad of lepidoptery.  We'll try to find something interesting soon.

jeff

 

Pine Trees...Camping With Stilts

    Pine Trees is well known to those of us who live in Kailua Kona, if only by name.  Since time immemorial it has been one of the renowned surf breaks here in the land of King Kamehameha.  While Pine Trees is a little out of town, the other two, Kona Bali Kai and Lyman's are one mile straight down the hill from Casa Ono.  In fact, one of the criteria we use when deciding if it is a good day for snorkeling is to look down on the latter from our lanai.; if there are a bunch of surfers at Lyman's, maybe it isn't such a hot day for snorkeling.   

   But what about Pine Trees?  Pine Trees is north of town.  Turn left on Hulikoa, one light past Hina Lani, where one might look for Costco.  If you turn right on Hulikoa you can head for the Pine Trees Cafe.  Like forever, one turned left and headed for Pine Trees. 

Kohanaiki Beach, aka Pine Trees

    As I don't surf, there was little reason in the past for me to risk the undeveloped road that led to the surfing beach.  (For those unfamiliar with surfing on the Big Island, a surfing beach is not a sandy beach.  At best it is rough gravel, but it might be boulders .  What's important is the surf break.)  So I remained  blissfully ignorant of the change that had taken place in access until my new Occupational Therapy Director, Jyness Jones, reported that about a month ago  she had gone camping there with her family.  A little internet investigation revealed that things had changed dramatically. One now drives about a mile on a paved road to a park that extends along the beach for at least half a mile.  

     After about a mile, one has a choice.  A left turn would take you to an exclusive new resort named the Kohanaiki Private Club Community.   There is a gate house with a nice man who probably has an arsenal  under his desk and no intention whatsoever of letting you in to look around.  

Hawaiian Stilt, Kohanaiki Beach, photo Chuck Hill

  The average Kimo is encouraged to drive ahead on a new road with multiple speed bumps and marked Kohanaiki Beach Park.  This is much different from years ago.  Before the resort community arrived, there was a post and wire gate and a sandy road that wound down about half a mile to the surfing beach known as Pine Trees.

     A decade ago, the development company was hoping to extend the private club community to the shore.  One saw signs around town to "Save Pine Trees!"  The state stepped in and acquired the beach for 6.7 mil, the negotiations that led to this transfer are not readily available.  Starting in 2014 the state began work on this modern facility.   

   If one is knowledgeable, one can find an unimproved sandy road to the north near the park entrance leading to O'oma Beach.  This is also now owned by the state and may, in fact, be the original Pine Trees surfing beach.  Camping here may be unregulated.

     We went exploring during a recent visit from my son.   We didn't see any inviting sandy beaches and no numbered camping sites.   In fact, camping is on a first come, first serve basis and you select the spot in which you intend to camp.  apparently any old spot is permitted.  You can acquire a reservation to camp on the internet for a nominal fee.  Then print your receipt and present it to the attendant at the gate. 

Its da stilt. photo Chuck Hill

    Once we were in the park, we saw several signs admonishing us not to bother the Rare Hawaiian Black Neck Stilt.  It is my impression that this is the same species that occurs in the lower 48 and that it is not especially rare in Hawaii. We parked at the very end of the road,  and after walking on the rocky beach, we crossed inland where there is an open kiosk and a large pond.  There we found a pair of stilts and one loner.  My son Charles took the pictures you see with his cell phone.  

    If one has the urge to camp at the beach, albeit one where you might not swim on a sandy beach, you should check out Pine Trees.  And if you need a look at the stilts to get them on your bird list, you could hardly ask for an easier opportunity.

jeff