Asian bluetail (Ischnura asiatica) アジアイトトンボ（亜細亜糸蜻蛉）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Something makes you always feel happy, doesn't it? One such thing for me is this dragonfly, the Asian bluetail (Ischnura asiatica). The bright blue tip of the tail is so beautiful. 

At first, halberd shaped leaves (2nd photo) caught my eye and then the dragonfly on one of the leaves did. The dragonfly is male. Asian bluetails are common in Japan but because of their thinness, you wouldn't be able to find them easily.  

The halberd shaped leaves are Japanese bindweeds. I've seen the flowers many times but noticed the leaf shape for the first time. 

Asian bluetail (Ischnura asiatica)　アジアイトトンボ（亜細亜糸蜻蛉）

Japanese Horse Chestnut (Aesculus Turbinata) トチノキ（栃の木）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I thought that they were Japanese chestnuts at first but they have no burs. They're Japanese horse chestnuts (Aesculus turbinata). Japanese horse chestnuts resemble European horse chestnuts and Japanese chestnuts very much but Japanese chestnuts open when ripe whereas the Japanese and European horse chestnuts do not. Also, while Japanese chestnuts are edible and sweet, Japanese horse chestnuts are edible but very bitter and the European ones are poisonous. You cannot mistake one for another...   

 

Japanese horse chestnut (Aesculus turbinata)　トチノキ（栃の木）

The horse chestnut bur does not open even when ripe
熟しても栃の木の蒴果は閉じたまま

Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia Papyrifera) カジノキ（梶の木）

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I was photographing fruits on a Japanese dogwood tree and then these strange shaped leaves under the tree caught my eye. These are leaves of paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). The leaves are lobed with leaf margins sharply toothed, but they can be variable, like unlobed, round or heart-shaped, which is like Dendropanax trifidus leaves, which change from a lobed to an ovate shape.

Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera)　カジノキ（梶の木）

Japanese Winterberry (Ilex Serrata) ウメモドキ（梅擬）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are Japanese winterberry flowers (Ilex serrata). Despite their cute smallness, i.e., 3 - 4 mm in diameter, however, the Japanese winterberry is known more for its red fruits produced from September to December. These flowers remind me of longstalk holly flowers, which makes sense. They're both in the Ilex or holly genus.

Japanese winterberry (Ilex serrata)　ウメモドキ（梅擬）

Colorful Bitter Gourd カラフルゴーヤ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It's not a colorful doughnut. It's not a gigantic, colorful snail, either. It's a ripe bitter gourd! Bitter gourds mostly grow like the one in the third photo but they are all different like we are. The last photo is of a home bitter gourd for ants! 

A colorful bitter gourd　カラフルなゴーヤ

A home for ants　アリの家？

Female Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis Servilia) ショウジョウトンボ（猩々蜻蛉）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a female scarlet skimmer (ruddy marsh skimmer or Crocothemis servilia), or so I believe. In contrast to its name, the dragonfly is not scarlet because it's female. Only male scarlet skimmers are scarlet and each has a territory around a pond. I should find a pond first to see a really "scarlet" scarlet skimmer.  

A female scarlet skimmer　ショウジョウトンボの雌

Grasshopper (Atractomorpha) オンブバッタ（負飛蝗）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are grasshoppers. Simple and clear. The issue is, however, their relationship. For example, a man passing by me taking these photos said that they were a parent and a child. Ha ha! He's mistaken. They are a male and a female grasshoppers and you know what? The bigger one is female, meaning a female grasshopper is piggybacking a male counterpart😆! And that's why in Japan, the grasshopper is called "piggybacking grasshopper." I can't laugh at the guy however. I also assumed that they were a mother and a child😂!

A female grasshopper is piggybacking a male counterpart　雌が雄をおんぶ

  

Schoenoplectiella Triangulatus Roxb. カンガレイ（寒枯藺）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a Schoenoplectiella triangulatus Roxb. The plant is known to have stems of which the cross-section is triangular. I wanted to see the cross section but I couldn't break the stem.

Inflorescence　花序

Sawfly ハバチ（羽蜂）

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The orange, blue, and pink colors (2nd photo) and then the small but bright orange and black bug on a green leaf caught my eye. 

Sawfly　ハバチ（羽蜂）

Waterleaf (Talinum Fruticosum) and a Pale Grass Blue ハゼラン（爆蘭）とヤマトシジミ（大和小灰蝶）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I had to go there three times to take these photos yesterday. First, at 5 a.m. while on an early morning walk. Second, at 9 a.m. before going to a nearby library. Then, at 3 p.m. because at 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., the flowers were closed as shown in the last photo and as suggested by one of its Japanese names "sanjiso," meaning "3 o'clock plant," which I didn't know at these times. They are waterleaves (Talinum fruticosum). I walk by them almost every morning but didn't know until the day before when happening to walk by them at around 3 p.m. While I was photographing the waterleaf, a pale grass blue came to play with me, flying from one flower to another.  

2024/9/9

Yellow Damselfly (Ceriagrion Melanurum) キイトトンボ（黄糸蜻蛉）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It resembles an Asian bluetail (Ischnura asiatica) but the body color is different. The Asian bluetail is blue while this one is yellow green. This is a yellow damselfly (Ceriagrion melanurum). Asian bluetails and yellow damselflies are both difficult to find because they're so thin. While blinking after taking these photos, I lost sight of it.

Yellow damselfly (Ceriagrion melanurum)　キイトトンボ（黄糸蜻蛉）