Daphnis nerrii - Oleander Sphinx Moth

One day, I saw my Madagascar Periwinkle plant with wilting leaves and decided to examine it more closely. It was then that I discovered many wriggling green caterpillars amongst the foliage.


Here this juicy green crawling sausage was seen to be relaxing after enjoying one of its eating binges.

I can see three pairs of spindly legs in front and four more pairs of stumpy legs in the mid-section, where the feet seem to be shod in 'black boots'. At the posterior end, there is another pair (in boots too) to anchor it during movement.

 

They are flexible and can feed in any position. Apparently being upside down is not an issue. At its posterior end a yellow 'tail' is present.


 
They were plump and succulent from chomping greedily on the leaves. However they do not bother with the flowers at all.

 
Its amazing how the feeding frenzy of a tiny caterpillar can cause it ...


to balloon up in a matter of days.

I was watering a dwarf Tabernaemontana orientalis when ...

 I saw this caterpilar on the floor near the plant. It was drenched wet from the shower. The heavy watering must have caused it to be dislodged.

I gingerly transported it to a dry spot on the grass.

It appeared to have a yellow tinge and apparently ready to move to the next stage in its metamorphosis.


Two days after I've placed it in a cardboard box, it turned into a brown shape; its legs no longer visible.  This must be the pupa and looked like a nicely fried sausage. When I moved the box, it flicked from left to right.

 There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly.  ~Richard Buckminster Fuller

The is the newly emerged moth.  Its beautiful green pattern reminds me of   army camouflage material.


Thick feelers and resting with its wings down are some of the distinguishing features of a moth.

Moths are also more furry than butterflies.


It was sprawled almost motionless on the patio floor.

Its red eyes are similiar to that of the Giant Redeye or Gangara thyrsis butterfly.

It later flew off and settled on the wall.

Hooks at the ends of its front legs enable it to hang from the wall.

Tabernaemontana orientalis - The Perennial Bloomer

Tabernaemontana orientalis is a shrub that can be groomed into a small tree. This is a popular garden plant mainly because it is year-long profuse bloomer. It thrives well in almost any soil types and commonly seen growing robustly by roadsides. Pampered with good soil and plant nutrients it will flourish in all its glory.

  

A male Hypolimnas bolina jacintha (Jacintha Egg Fly) settled on an inflorescense before deciding to partake of its nectar. 

It continued to perch on the flower and basked in the sunshine.

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough" ~Rabindranath Tagore  

These numerous buds will in no time burst into large inflorescences.

  

The five-petaled white flowers are pin-wheel in shape.


This shrub branches readily forming an umbrella-like canopy. Lower branches have to be trimmed off for grooming into a tree.

The shiny, dark green leaves will bleed a milky sap when removed from the stem.

A shot at dusk of Tabernaemontana orientalis.

An ant scrambled at a frenetic pace to get at the goodies before night fall.

 

Caladium leaves growing cheek by jowl with the dwarf Tabernaemontana.

The dwarf variety needs no trimming.  It just grow into a bigger round bush. it needs minimal maintennance and is most ideal for the lazy gardener.

Tasha having a romp on the grass.

Tabernaemontana and Magdagascar periwinkle flowers afloat. Unwilling to relegate freshly-shed flowers to the compost bin, they were collected for watery baths such as this.

 

My goldfish went to piscean Happy Valley, so the bowl became a vessel for my flowers. 

Tabernaemontanas afloat with fragrant tea lights for a dreamy night ambience by the porch.

Posted from Cork, Ireland (I'm on a one-month sojourn in Ireland for the whole month of October)

The Grasshopper and the Ants

The Ant and the Grasshopper (Project Gutenberg etext 19994)

The fable of The Ant and the Grasshopper, is attributed to Aesop. The grasshopper frolicked and had much merriment all summer while the ants kept busy preparing for winter. The moral of the story is diligence and preparation. On the other hand it has often being quoted that “Some folks are so busy laying up for a rainy day that they cannot enjoy good weather”.

This grasshopper was an unexpected guest. He landed on the computer table right in front of me, basking in the limelight (the colourful light is from the monitor) instead of working. Tsk, tsk ... But as Mark Twain famously said, “Diligence is a good thing, but taking things easy is much more restful”

He was a teeny weeny thingy but has a big apetite for city lights and stayed motionless in the same spot, a perfect model for my shutterbugging. This vainglory trait in him proved to be his undoing as he finally ended up as a delightful mid-nite snack for Pickles the hedgehog. Pickles was extremely pleased to have this delicacy which was such a welcome change from her usual sanitised diet of hedgy or canine food pellets.
A tinge of guilt crossed me as I tossed him into Pickles 's food platter but then I rationalised that in the big scheme of things, the law of the jungle, "survival of the fittest" rules. To survive he should have the gumption to get out of the predicament. There was a big window of opportunity since at the time Pickles was still catching up on her beauty sleep.

Tabernaemontana orientalis

On the other hand, the ants were busy gathering and storing in preparation for a rainy day. A simple lesson but yet so insightful. The Gen Y born with silver spoons in their mouths should heed this. I observe that most of them live like they is no tomorrow. As the Greek Philosopher Aristotle observed way back in 300 BC, and still very relevant today, "The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things—and that means having exalted notions."

Some like the nectar and pollen of the whites while others prefer the reds (I can't identify this flower) Whatever their choice there is plenty for them in my little garden of Eden.

Aechmea Chantinii (Bromeliad)

Bigger, darker and aggressive-looking ants tend to seek out the more flamboyant blooms of the bromeliad to hoard up on their food supplies. These showy flowers last for months and always bring a bright spot of colour to the garden. The variegated leaves are thick but edged with viscious thorns, I suppose as a form of protection for its precious bounty. Propagation is simple enough; I started off with one but now there is a huge bunch of them.