Butterflies and bugs

Hi there friends of hive, I am back after my weekend break from Hive. My garden is a place for butterflies and bees and there is nothing strange about it. However there is one thing that is strange (or maybe not) there aren't too many bugs around here. I am not complaining, I am just registering a statement here. I am happy without them bugs, not all are my friends. Even though butterflies are pests in a way too I can clench my teeth and bear with them. Caterpillars have been a huge nuisance in my garden eating away some of my favorite plants, but I spot them and get them out of my garden ASAP. I take them to the open fields where I leave them on the butterfly weed.

Today I saw a white butterfly in my garden. It seemed quite tattered and old. Since it is getting cooler in the morning these days this butterfly was trying to warm itself on the adenium flowers. Basking in the warm sunshine helps it to fly around and collect food.

I tried to take some close up shot of the critter but it was trying to hide under the flower each time I got closer. On looking at the images especially the face of the butterfly it would seem that it looks like a tiny kitten to me, all fuzzy and furry.

The eyes of the butterfly are very much like those of the dragon fly except that it is much smaller. This is the first time I got to see it this close.

I tried to move around as quietly as possible to take some pictures from different angles. Here you can see how the wings of this looks really battered.

In the last couple of weeks I have seen so many dead butterflies lying around my garden. I wonder if there is something that is killing them or they are dying as a part of their natural cycle. I don't use any pesticide or anything synthetic in my garden. At the most I use a neem oil soap spray which doesn't harm butterflies. They are mainly used against aphids and mealy bugs. I wonder if any of my neighbors are using deadly chemical stuff.

Then there was this beautiful bug, the Japanese beetle. This one attacks the blooms of the rose, hibiscus, crepe myrtle and even geraniums. These bugs have been absent from my garden for a long time it scares me to see them back again. They destroy the beautiful blooms and you can't see them until the bloom is half eaten. They hide skillfully deep down the layers of petals while they do their job.

Nonetheless they look very beautiful. The ones we have here have metallic green head and thorax and grey-green wings. They have some pretty polka dots on the sides which further enhances their beauty.

While I am happy that there aren't many bugs around, I am sad that I don't have much to photograph these days.There are the regular praying mantis and green grasshoppers. The grasshoppers have been chomping away at the leaves, but they don't seem to care too much about the soap or neem oil spray. I guess for now I will let them be.

Thanks for your support, have a lovely week ahead.