I’ve been falling down on the job here! It’s been ages since I have posted photos of bugs.
But first, a few birds. Here is a beautiful Crimson-Backed Tanager in our front yard.
One day I saw this Crimson-crested woodpecker on the other side of our chain link fence.
We also have Gray-Headed Chachalacas which the locals call paisanos. Small groups of the tend to hang out in trees making delicate peeping sounds almost like baby chickens until they get excited about something. Then they can make a heck of a racket! The other day I saw some in a bare tree beside our yard.
OK, now on to the bugs. This is one of the more bizarre things we’ve seen. Joel was clearing some weeds next to the house when he hollered “Come over here. The ground is moving!” The ground was indeed moving and when he dug down a little more, he uncovered this huge grub. That was Friday, and it’s still there. We buried it back in the dirt like we found it, but since then it has had the tail end sticking out, and sometimes moving. What on earth is this thing?!
We have also had a fairly large beehive in the orange tree, or at least fairly large for the little bees that build these hives. Yesterday I found it in the grass where it apparently fell. There were no bees but some ants were scavenging a few larvae and bits of the hive. It is very delicate, like delicate paper so I don’t know how long it will last, but at the moment it is hanging up on the gate of the terrace.
I was doing some weeding yesterday and saw so many interesting little bugs, I had to get my camera with my macro lens.
So, that’s just a little bit of what I have been seeing in the yard lately. It got a bit overgrown when I was gone and of course, with all the rain we have been getting everything is growing. But, I enjoy working outdoors where I often see interesting and beautiful wildlife, large and small.
The Panama Adventure 
It is indeed weird bug season.
I’ve been hearing a lot of peeping birds lately also that sound like chicks. I haven’t been able to see anything different in other than our normal group.
Great photos. 🙂
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Now I wonder what weird bugs have been coming to your neighborhood!
Do you hear loud squawking occasionally? These birds here can get really loud, but they only do it occasionally.
Thanks, glad you like the photos.
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I have a gooder photo of one and of course my fascination with leaf cutter ants continues!
We always hear squawking and carrying on. But there is very pretty peeping in the morning. I have a feeling that there is something nesting over in the cashew trees across the road or possibly in the trees along the quebrada.
And de nada!
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Maybe you have paisanos in your neighborhood too.
Leaf cutter ants? There are lots here for you to enjoy!
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Yes here in Santa Lucia (Boquete) too. Birds lay their eggs mostly in May. A lot of bugs in May and June. That is the cycle of nature. Food for the birds.
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It seems we always have bugs everywhere, though sometimes the type of bug varies depending on time of year. The rain coming back brings out some new ones every year.
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Wonderful photos, Kris, I always love to see the wildlife in other countries.
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Thanks, glad you enjoyed them 🙂
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I love the birds and bugs posts. Thanks for sharing!
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My pleasure 🙂
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Nice post Kris – love the photographs. I’ve seen that strange grub in India too – but can’t remember what it was (if I ever knew).
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You’ve seen the grub too?! Ours has quit moving, not sure if it is cocoon phase or what. It’s in a jar on the table now so we can see what happens.
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I believe it’s in a pupae or cocoon stage – not sure it’ll “like” being kept in a jar on your table. It might die – needing the soil and outdoor conditions to complete its maturing process. I’ll see if I can come up with what it is.
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http://normalbiology.blogspot.com/2010/12/its-hard-to-be-hornworm.html – Found it – it’s a “hornworm pupa” – a stage in the development of a rather attractive moth, the Manduca Sexta. (Sorry, I posted this to a single image of your image found separately somewhere on this post. Thought I should repeate myself here 😆)
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I thought it might be in cocoon state too. It’s a gallon size jar with a few inches of dirt from where it was living, and it’s on the table about 6 feet from where it was found. I tired to duplicate its conditions as well as I could so we’ll see what happens. If something emerges I’ll set it free, but I’m very curious to learn what it could be. I found a couple pictures on google but nothing that identified it, though one thought it could be a beetle.
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We appear to be posting simultaneously here! It’s the pulp stage of a moth, the Manduca Sexta. I posted a link to a very interesting page that tells you all you want to or need to, know about it – and how to look after it should the moth emerge – and then set it free of course.
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Oh dear autocorrect. That was supposed to be ‘pupal’ stage, not pulp stage…
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that’s what I figured. 🙂
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Wow yes, that’s it!!! Thank you so much! I have seen the caterpillars and the moths around here, so it all adds up perfectly. This one no longer moves when touched though, so I hope it’s still alive.
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Hopefully it’s still alive – let us know if there’s any progress
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I’m concerned. I notice today there is a slightly “off” smell in the jar. We shall see…
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Oh dear… One’s sense of smell never fails one…
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I was concerned when I realized it was no longer moving. Before I often saw it moving even when nothing was disturbing it. We shall see…
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Will hope for the best – if the worst happens, at least you’ve learned something about that moth, and it’s lifecycle…
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