A verbena's open invitation to a feast

The fragrant garden plant Aloysia virgata, often called 'verbena', blooms practically all year round but it is mostly during the onset of the rainy season that it attracts a wide range of insects, particularly butterflies. And along with them also come other nectar-seekers and predators taking advantage of the congregations. Fortunately, none of my cats ever bothered with any of the fliers and so the visitors were left on their own devices free from any aggravations.

 I believe this to be Scalloped grass yellow (Eurema alitha jalendra). I could be wrong though, and it may even be Gandaca harina.

During this time of the year, butterflies and other nectar seekers become so absorbed feeding that they can be approached quite easily. Even those that fly away upon your arrival comes back to the flowers almost immediately. 

The candy-scented flowers of Aloysia virgata

Lepidopterans, the butterflies and their moth cousins, consist the bulk of visitors, but other arthropods join in the fray. What is often beguiling in these occasions is that other unexpected guests appear, and there are dramas that unfold, but usually not seen by casual observers.

Brown pansy (Junonia hedonia ida)

An otherwise nocturnal moth from the genus Agrioglypta could not resist partaking in the bounty.

Crab spiders are a ubiquitous inhabitant of the garden and take advantage of opened flowers to wait for prey to come by. This one has found a spot to position itself. 

Common three-ring (Ypthima sempera sempera). Indentified as such by Leps Bago.

A mosquito from the genus Toxorhynchites. These are large, diurnal, often colorful mosquitoes that feed only on nectar, saps, and plant-derived juices. All mosquitoes need a diet of protein in order to produce eggs, which explains why many mosquitoes resorted to sucking blood; their larvae are detritus feeders. Toxos in contrast, obtain their protein needs while still at the larval stage by preying on other mosquito larvae, particularly of the blood-sucking types. Never in their life cycle do they require blood. This makes Toxos a welcome ally in controlling populations of their vampiric cousins. But there is one bad news: Toxorhynchites are very rare.

This is probably a Pointed ciliate blue (Anthene lycaenina villosina)

Grey pansy (Junonia atlites atlites)

Peacock pansy (Junonia almana almana)

Blue-banded bee (Amegilla cingulata). Alright, this one's got green stripes. The one below lives up to the name.

Striped albatross (Appias olferna peducaea), male.

A crab spider snatches a moth, while another moth walks by, oblivious of what just transpired. These spiders are very ubiquitous in the garden and lie in wait on opened flowers for their meals.

I absolutely have no idea what this one was, but it kept on lingering around the Aloysia flowers, without alighting on those.

Ace (Halpe dante luzona)

Rich brown flies with black markings also come in for a drink but are never common.

Bluebottle flies are commonly associated with refuse heaps and rotting flesh, but will also feed on nectar occasionally. This one made the fatal mistake of landing on flowers with a waiting predator.

Death must have descended quickly, for it may be one of those feeding on nectar only to suddenly fall dead on the leaf below. Ants move in to dismember the carcass.

Bamboo Longhorn Beetle (Chlorophorus annularis)

Possibly Halpe luteisquama

Common jester (Symbrenthia lilaea thimo)

Lemon emigrant (Catopsilia pomona pomona)

An explosion of color: a Scalloped grass yellow alights on a blue Clitoria, with flowers of Brunfelsia pauciflora lurking in the background.

 It has been said that a garden without fragrance is only half a garden. But I say, a garden without wildlife is only a shadow of what it could be. 

Sincerest gratitude goes to Andrea Agillon for identifying most of the butterflies shown here, and to Ann Cabras for her identification of the Bamboo longhorn beetle.