Preening Bulbuls on Bauhenia kockiana

Yellow Vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier) are one of my favourite birds. I love the spiked hair tufts on top of their heads. They are much bigger than sunbirds and almost the size of doves.

The throat and underparts are mostly white with an attractive yellow patch at the base of tail. This Bulbul was perched on the vine of Bauhenia kockiana.




Flowers of the Bauhenia kockiana which trailed along the outer edge of the RC rain gutter.



 

 

This Bulbul has completed one part of its grooming routine and ...


... pause for a break.


Intertwining of two vines.

 
A cluster of Bauhenia kockiana buds and flowers.

 

 
 
It then embarked on a second cycle of preening. Somehow it only groomed the right wing and totally ignored the left wing.

This vine extends to the back of the house too.

Ladybirds on Mexican Sword Plant

From my observation, Ladybirds that come visiting to my garden come in four patterns on their hard cuticles. There could probably be many other types. The Mexican Sword Plant (Echinodorus palaefolius) is one of their favourite destinations as aphids love to congregate there too.

This type go for minimalism aka 'Plain Jane'.




Another type jazzes up its coat with some circular markings which can vary in numbers. This one has 10 polka dots.



Here's another lady bug with a stripy design instead of the discrete spots, giving the appearance of a red zebra of the ladybird world.

Yet another species did not want to stay mainstream and had stripes which join up forming a net like pattern or a red tortoise shell.

AFTER A HEAVY SHOWER

Several ladybugs were washed down into the murky waters. Some were saved in time but there were some that drowned. I saw a few struggling on the surface of the water and picked them up. 

This one was flailing in the water on the same spot. As it did not make any progress to the plant. I lifted it up and ...

placed it on the surface of the leaf. After a while, it started to walk along the edge of a leaf.

They love to walk precariously on the leaf margin, so its no wonder that they easily toppled over into the water. It is strange for this mishap to occur as  they are perfectly capable of flight.

The ladybugs seemed to be voracious eaters as by the next day almost all the aphids were gone.

After the feast, it was time for some tomfoolery. As it is conjugation of plain and spotted, I wonder how the offspring will turn out to be; probably one with fewer spots.

A puny little snail came out to explore the world too.

A budding flower stalk.

Cascading flowers of the Echinodorus palaefolius (Mexican Sword Plant).


The tall Bucida tree nearby was reflected on a water drop.

Lyssa Zampa - Tropical Swallowtail Moth

Lyssa zampa is a large moth, measuring around 6 in across. It is also known as the Tropical Swallowtail Moth due to its long trailing hindwings. This moth presents in shades of chocolate brown varying from light to dark. A distinctive oblique white stripe runs across both the fore and hind wings giving it a striking 'V' pattern.

 

A large moth, Lyssa zampa appeared in my garden with a torn right forewing. It perched on the vine of Bauhenia kockiana (Rangoon creeper) for some respite from its misadventures.

 
 
Masses of Bauhenia kockiana along the vine add much hot and vibrant colours to the garden.

 
 Pendulous branches carry terminal inflorescences. A single seed pod forms on one of the older clusters.

   A Lyssa zampa moth made a  surprise visit to our garden. Later in the evening it perched on the wall of the outdoor/ Asian kitchen.


The eyes generally appear black as in the previous photo (also the first and second ones too) but may manifest as an iridescent red globe from certain angles and under bright lighting.

 

The anterior edge of the forewings has an interesting band of black and white zebra hide markings. As with most moths a luxuriant coat of fur covers its back.

 
The hind wings are elongated like those of swallows ...

 and end in white.



 Cuttings from The Star, Updated on 5 June 2014: