We held the second annual Tacousteau on the roof deck of our new apartment and it was a great success. We enjoyed the delicious Mexican food, tacos, and watched two episodes of the first Jacques Cousteau series. Fish were trapped in plastic bubbles, sea turtles were saved by Falco and much, much more. Everyone wore red hats, including our video projector. Special thanks to Big B for taking the photos!

Pic Paradis is the tallest point on St. Martin, and both varieties of anole lizard are present there. Anolis pogus, which prefers higher-altitude woodlands seems very common in the forested areas, and Anolis gingivinus is common on the fences and trees surrounding Loterie Farm.

I noticed a couple variations in the coloration of these lizards from others I have seen. Gingivinus seemed to have a greener tail than in most areas, while pogus specimens often had more light orange markings. One pogus even had a clearly defined ridge from its head all the way down its back. As a special treat, we also found a gingivinus with two tails, the result of regeneration gone wild.

I didn’t just look for very tiny lizards on Pinel Island the other day. I also found a variety of other interesting creatures, including a wasp with brilliant blue eyes that bobbed its thread-waisted abdomen up and down as it walked our table. I also found more vinegaroons, a very interesting spider and some termites that I’m guessing may be an important source of food for the various dwarf geckos.

When I returned to the little wooded spot on Pinel Island where I found dwarf geckos previously, I was able to find a number that correspond to a couple images of Sphaerodactylus macrolepis that I found online. In fact, all the geckos that I was able to photograph well seem to share the same characteristic double white dot patch on the back of the neck. These very small lizards will need further study, and I may need to have less Rosé before exploring my little forest next time. Bonus fact: apparently the common name for this species is the cotton ginner.

Below is a continuation of the last series of butterflies in flight. The flash serves as a powerful tool to capture the acrobatics of these animals that would otherwise be impossible to see. Even frozen in a thousandth of a second, however, the typical result is still a blur of motion.

Madam J noticed these small insects that had been trapped in rainwater on the table on our balcony. They look a little like the insects that were trapped in amber and preserved for hundreds or thousands of years, but these were only there for a couple hours.

When photographing butterflies, I typically end up with three main types of photos: photos of butterflies at rest on flowers or other plant parts, photographs of butterflies as they start to fly off somewhere else, and photographs of plants that, until just a moment before, had a butterfly on them. This series of photos is from the middle group, many of which were taken as I was trying to distinguish between the two whites (the florida white and the great southern white).

Back in January we had the pleasure of watching checkered swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) caterpillars devour every leaf and twig that was sprouting from a poor tree stump in our yard. These interesting caterpillars start off looking like bird poo for the first few instars (i.e., the first few times they shed their skin). Later, they develop a lovely green color.

It all started with adult butterflies laying eggs on the stump. Butterflies visited daily, even when there was almost no foliage left. Soon the stump was crawling with caterpillars, and within a few more days every leaf had been eaten. Once this happened, the caterpillars resorted to a variety of strategies: eating green twigs that remained, leaving the stump in search of edible plant life, and pupating. When we left the apartment, the stump was home to a few caterpillars wandering over the barren stump and a chrysalis that was half-eaten by lizards.

Subsequently I read that it is not uncommon for caterpillars to strip trees entirely bare, particularly before the dry season, when many trees lose all their leaves anyway to conserve water. Just ask the frangipani, which loses all its leaves to tetrio sphinx caterpillars.

Here are a few shots from a walk we took to Eastern Point on the nature trail with Jeff and Debbie. Climbing down the rocks to the edge of Eastern Point we found a number of large, clear tide pools that were home to many small urchins and a few fish. It’s definitely a potential Extreme Shallow Snorkeling location, although as you can see, when the tide comes in waves crash violently into the pools.

While walking near an artificial pond at Happy Bay, I found this bird doing a curious song and dance. Of course, my Birds of the Caribbean book is still on the dive boat where I left it, so I’ll have to identify it later. Below are some photos of the male’s display, the female he was putting the moves on and a short video where you can hear his song.