Sea Roach (Ligia Exotica) フナムシ（船虫）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It was around 5 a.m. I was walking as usual along the river in my neighborhood and saw something small and black cross in front of me at GREAT speed. I automatically followed it but suddenly the small thing stopped. It stayed there for ten seconds or so and suddenly started to run again at greater speed. Its move was so cute but its appearance is not so. I didn't know at that time but it was some kind of sea roach (Ligia exotica) according to the research I did at home. Oh, that was a roach... That explains its agility. 

Sea Roach (Ligia exotica)　フナムシ（船虫）

Male Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum Albistylum) シオカラトンボ（塩辛蜻蛉）の雄

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It was my second time seeing a male blue skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum speciosum). I can say for sure it's male because it's blue! The female one is yellow. I have a question. This dragonfly and another one (i.e., the male ones) held its wings forward when perched like in these photos whereas the female one holding the wings straight out. Is this a common way of holding wings of blue skimmers? 

Blue skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum)　シオカラトンボ（塩辛蜻蛉）

A Small Pile of Roly Polies 団子状態のダンゴムシ

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

What the hell are they doing there? I approached them and observed for a while, just finding nothing. The pile tilted right, left, forward, and backward, but that was that. The temperature was nearly 30°C, so the inside of the small pile of pill bugs must be... say 50°C? I don't necessarily like roly polies but couldn't help but stare at them....    

Busy Ants on Common Lantana アリとランタナ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The flowers have lost all petals but are still popular among ants. They're common lantana (Lantana camara). Not only lantana but also almost all the flowers in my neighborhood have died because of the recent heat wave. The ants seemed very busy collecting pollen from decreasing food sources. 

Ants on common lantana　アリとランタナ

Morning glory アサガオ（朝顔）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The contrast between the pale blue flower and the deep green leaf is so refreshing!

Morning glory　アサガオ

Green Rose Hips バラの実

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Roses are gorgeously beautiful in every way, so it was surprising to find their fruits in such a funny shape. I thought (embarrassingly) that rose hips were the name of some herb and never thought that they were FRUITS of roses. I love rose hip tea and sometimes top yogurt with rose hips after brewing them.  

Green rose hips　バラの実

Cicada Shell セミの抜け殻

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The season for cicadas to shed their outer shells has started! The season usually lasts from early July to late September in Japan and surprisingly, the shells are used as an ingredient to make a Chinese herbal medicine (a cicada shell is not a herb though)! The medicine is pretty popular and effective to treat skin rash. I'm a big fan of Chinese herbal medicines but have never tried the ones which contain cicada shells. 

Cicada shell　セミの抜け殻

Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis Jalapa) オシロイバナ（白粉花）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are marvel of Peru flowers (Mirabilis jalapa). Its Japanese name is "Oshiroi bana," meaning "white makeup powder flower" after that the endosperm in the black seeds looks like white makeup powder.

Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis jalapa)　オシロイバナ（白粉花）

Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica) 百日紅（サルスベリ）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This year, almost all the crepe myrtle trees (Lagerstroemia indica) in my neighborhood have flowers too high for me to photograph, but finally I've found several trees with pink and white flowers as high as I can reach. Crepe myrtle flowers always make me feel cool.  

Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)　サルスベリ（百日紅）

White Cape Leadwort (Plumbago Auriculata F. Alba) ルリマツリ（瑠璃茉莉）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are white cape leadwort flowers (Plumbago auriculata f. alba). I've seen pale blue plumbago, but it was my first time to see the white ones. 

White cape leadwort (Plumbago auriculata f. alba)　ルリマツリ（瑠璃茉莉）

Princess Flowers (Pleroma Urvilleanum) シコンノボタン（紫紺野牡丹）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are princess flowers (Pleroma urvilleanum or Tibouchina urvilleana). The purple color of not only the petals but also the hairy stamens are beautiful.  

Princess flowers (Pleroma urvilleanum)　シコンノボタン（紫紺野牡丹）

I'm Philosophyzing 哲学してます

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is the second or third time this month to see bugs resting on leaves, but this fly on a leaf of Carolina horsenettle was so still that I named it "a philosophizing fry😆."  

A philosophizing fly?　哲学するハエ？

Blueberry ブルーベリー

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've seen blueberry flowers several times but it's my first time to see the berries! They aren't ripe yet but when they are, I want to try one or two (if possible)😁!! 

Blueberry　ブルーベリー

Female Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum Albistylum) シオカラトンボ（塩辛蜻蛉）の雌

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I did it again. I take a karate class every Saturday. So, I went to the dojo (i.e., a place for karate learning) this morning as usual to participate in the class starting at 7:00 in the morning and found it closed. I saw the website, finding a notice saying the dojo was closed because of special summer lessons this weekend! Why didn't they put the notice on the dojo calendar?  

A bit angry and blaming myself for failing to check the website more thoroughly, I was walking back home and then found this dragonfly resting on a leaf of East Asian mallotus, a female blue skimmer (Orthetrum albistylum). I'd seen a male one but not a female. Maybe I should thank the lazy😆 dojo website for this encounter!  

Female blue skimmer (Orthetrum Albistylum)　シオカラトンボ（塩辛蜻蛉）の雌

Pale Blue Golden Dewdrop (Duranta Erecta) 水色のデュランタ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've seen and written about deep purple golden dewdrops (Duranta erecta; fourth photo) but have never seen pale purple ones. The leaf shape and sprawling shrubs are the same but the flower color difference makes them different plants. I rather prefer pale ones. How about you?

White Morning Glory (Ipomoea Lacunosa) マメアサガオ（豆朝顔）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Summer has not started yet (i.e., the rainy season isn't over) but it's already been really hot and humid across Japan. So, I almost gave up on finding a plant for this blogpost and then I saw them, white morning-glories (Ipomoea lacunosa). They're a type of morning glories but very small, like 2cm in diameter, but beautiful enough to cheer me (who was exhausted from walking) up. 

White morning glory (Ipomoea lacunosa)　マメアサガオ（豆朝顔）

Longheaded Locust (Atractomorpha Lata) オンブバッタ（負飛蝗）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Yesterday it was about a fly on a yellow cosmos and today it's about a longheaded locust (Atractomorpha lata). As almost all flowers are gone but yellow cosmoses in my neighborhood because of the recent heatwave, the cosmoses may be the only place for bugs to rest now. The locust's Japanese name is "Ombu batta," meaning piggybacking grasshoppers because their females are often seen piggybacking the males (not vice versa!). I want to see such a couple someday!    

Longheaded locust (Atractomorpha lata)　オンブバッタ（負飛蝗）

A Fly on Yellow Cosmos キバナコスモス（黄花秋桜）とハエ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It was 26°C at 4:30 this morning and I went out to take a walk as usual. Soon after starting to walk, however, I began to look for something, something which allowed me to rest for a minute or two without making me feel guilty about that because it was too hot and humid... Then, I found this, a fly literally flying over yellow cosmoses (Cosmos sulphureus) and then landing on one of them. I stopped (for a reason😤), starting to photograph it and a couple of minutes later, recharged by the beautiful green fly and yellow cosmoses, I was able to start walking again!   

A fly on yellow cosmos　キバナコスモス（黄花秋桜）とハエ

Potato Vine (Solanum Laxum) ツルハナナス（蔓花茄子）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are potato vine flowers (Solanum laxum). The pale purple is so pretty. But to tell the truth, I ignored them because they resemble flowers of Carolina horsenettle so much that I assumed they were Carolina horsenettle. But of course, they are not. The potato vine is a vine growing like 2m tall while the Carolina horsenettle grows like 10cm tall. The potato vine has this name because of the resemblance of the flowers to those of potatoes. Its Japanese name is "Tsuruhana nasu," meaning "vine flower eggplant." The potato vine is very confusing in Japan....   

Potato vine (Solanum laxum) ツルハナナス（蔓花茄子）

Asiatic Jasmine (Trachelospermum Asiaticum) テイカカズラ（定家葛）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are flowers of Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum). The cream white flowers caught my eye. The Japanese name is "Teika kazura," meaning Teika vine. Teika is the first name of Teika Fujiwara (1162 - 1241), a Japanese anthologist, calligrapher, literary critic, novelist, poet, and scribe. The vine was named after the legend that Teika loved Princess Shikishi so much that he couldn't forget about her after death and was reborn as this vine to coil around her grave. The story is currently performed as a Noh play and made me want to see the Noh play. 

Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum)　テイカカズラ（定家葛）

Common Bluebottle (Graphium Sarpedon) アオスジアゲハ（青条揚羽）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I took a day off yesterday but it was not a day off actually. I went to vote for the Tokyo gubernatorial election. I had to go to a bank for some procedure, which made me feel frustrated. (Why not being able to do the procedure online?) To make matters worse, it rained, windy, and extremely humid, and the sandwich I had for lunch was terrible. I was exhausted, then I saw this common bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon) flying before me as if it had been guiding me somewhere. I followed it, praying for it to land on somewhere and voila! Thanks to the terrible weather, the sandwich, and the craxxy bank procedure, I was able to encounter such a beautiful butterfly.🦋