Late Night Expeditions

[Inchante]

Really... I never knew that Fireflies actually like warm weather. I always thought they came out on cold nights, next to ponds and lakes :o . They definitely aren't aren't noticable if they are here.

If Hummingbirds are here, they must be really small, or elusive, because they definitely aren't common. In an Island full of flowery fauna, you'd think they'd be everywhere. We have butterflies and moths and bees feeding on flowers, but I don't think I've seen a Hummingbird. I'd have to definitely look that up. Cause I really want to see one .

When I have seen them, it has been between late May and early September. It seems like you would see them for a few days and then they would disappear for a week or two then they would pop up again for a few more days and it would just go like that throughout the warmer months.

Info from Wiki: About 2,000 species of firefly are found in temperate and tropical environments. Many are in marshes or in wet, wooded areas where their larvae have abundant sources of food. These larvae emit light and are often called "glowworms", in particular, in Eurasia. In the Americas, "glow worm" also refers to the related Phengodidae. In many species, both male and female fireflies have the ability to fly, but in some species, females are flightless.

This photo says it is taken near Nuremburg, Germany.

[Zet]

That's cute . Kinda odd with the upside down penis thing, but it reminds me of our Gombeys, except they aren't allowed to talk. It's all dance and no talk .

We're special, but atleast we aren't so extreme as the Japanese "Special" Festival

Gombey dance looked kind of cool, is it some kind of Indian (Native American) tradition or whats the story behind it?

[Inchante]

Really... I never knew that Fireflies actually like warm weather. I always thought they came out on cold nights, next to ponds and lakes :o . They definitely aren't aren't noticable if they are here.

If Hummingbirds are here, they must be really small, or elusive, because they definitely aren't common. In an Island full of flowery fauna, you'd think they'd be everywhere. We have butterflies and moths and bees feeding on flowers, but I don't think I've seen a Hummingbird. I'd have to definitely look that up. Cause I really want to see one .

I don't think that they are very common any place. Here, I have seen perhaps 15-20 in my life. I have seen more bald eagles than I have hummingbirds, and bald eagles were an endangered species most of my life. Though, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I have lived in a region "heavily" populated with cougar for 19 years and I have yet to see one, though they are large and unmistakable for anything else.

[zeon]

I hate over populated animals as too many can be a pain like our problem is seagulls and next month they start the shagging season and when they mate they dont do it discreetly like dogs they scream and scream so everyone knows mind u throw a piece of bread they soon have a domestic argument

[Inchante]

I hate over populated animals as too many can be a pain like our problem is seagulls and next month they start the shagging season and when they mate they dont do it discreetly like dogs they scream and scream so everyone knows mind u throw a piece of bread they soon have a domestic argument

Try driving around in a town of 60+ thousand people and having to stop periodically to allow a small herd of pronghorn or deer to cross the st.

But, I cannot complain about it. Some people never get a chance to see such things.



Though, I suppose the seagulls are the equivalent of prairie dogs here . . . more of a nuisance than anything.

I found this adorable picture online. It is entitled "prairie dog plague". They reproduce fast and they destroy the land . . . almost as badly as humans destroy the land.

[OrphanPip]

We used to get massive swarms of Shadflies for a few weeks in the Spring, but lately they've been gone, I think the city must have done something to control the population. I remember as a child they used to carpet the school yard, cause we lived right next to the river.

[Nick9]

I have never seen a shadfly (I needed to google it ), but I love dragonflies.

http://www.martinpustelnik.com/fotografi...19eY3mLq8p

Some of them are tiny, red or blue, but some are like three inches long and fat They can even scare small birds away :biggrin: When they fight and their wings collide, it makes a really loud sound. I love sitting at our little pond, watching them.

We don't have hummingbirds, but we have this nice little fella


Macroglossum stellatarum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroglossum_stellatarum

Wiki says they make noise, but I've never heard it even though I was close many times.
They like special flowers and when you bring them to your garden, they will appear within several minutes, even though they had never been there before.

we have quite a lot of butterflies too, they are not that bright-colored like yours probably are, Odi

Here you can find three pages of pictures of our daylight butterflies, if you are interested
http://www.biolib.cz/cz/article/id3/

Their canterpillars are usually very pretty too those very bright and furry sometimes bite though :biggrin:
We also have "measuring worms" :biggrin: I just love the way they move

[Sylph]

Seems like I have to stalk you all, and see those animals for myself...

:o who said that?

All those animals look so cool. The only animals that make noise or disturbance for us are the male Brown Tree Frogs (Litoria Ewingii), cause they like to make their mating call alllll night, all year almost :p .

"Weeeeee...Weeee...wee....we....Weeeeee....Weeee....wee...we"

This goes on on all night and can be loud if they congregate .

Here's a tiny update :p . (Last Night)

A Millipede (Narceus americanus, I'm pretty sure)


Pill Bug(Armadillium) Colony :o , right next to airconditioning exhaust


There was another orange one among them! :o


And that's it for this episode of; Late Night Expeditions :p .

It was a pretty dry and cold night, so all the creatures must've been sleeping . It's annoying though, because I can hear the Brown Tree Frogs, but the moment you get close, they stop calling and then I don't know where they are :p . That's the point I guess.

[Sylph]

We're special, but atleast we aren't so extreme as the Japanese "Special" Festival

Gombey dance looked kind of cool, is it some kind of Indian (Native American) tradition or whats the story behind it?

:p .

Actually, the Gombey is more of a Carribean thing, but I think some of it comes from Native American culture. (They carry Tomahawks and Bow and Arrows)

They dance and "posture" , kind of like a "dance off" but not exactly that. You aren't allowed to see their faces, nor are you allowed to talk to them or they to you. I'm not exactly sure why that is, but that's the way it is.

They invoke the "tribal" spirit and everyone gathers and dances around them, when they come. So I guess that can be somewhat considered as a native american thing.

It's a very very old tradition and has been around for about as long as we've been in existance (400yrs or so) .

The outfit is more modern now, but used to be made out of animal fur and various trinkets and what not. Now they use peacock feathers for the hat, mirrors and bright colours as the "trinkets" and now have a more "modern" look to them.

A few other countries like Trinidad and Tobago have them I believe, but are different from ours.

No two gombey's are supposed to be the same, even in the same group. Different face masks, weapons and colours.

[Nick9]

That's the point I guess.

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin: