The one with two pairs of legs per segment

Encountered a giant millipede marching along the wooden railing one morning. It was at a perfect height for me to photograph it and get lots of details with my macro lens. My subject was also covered in dew which made it all the more interesting.
Millipedes have two pairs of legs per segment (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any appendages at all, and the next few which only have one pair of legs). Each segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one.
The head contains a pair of sensory organs known as the Tömösváry organs. These are found just posterior and lateral to the antennae, and are shaped as small and oval rings at the base of the antennae. They are probably used to measure the humidity in the surroundings. The Millipede's eyes consist of a number of simple flat lensed ocelli arranged in a group on the front/side of the head.

The Perfect St Andrew's Cross Web

Not many people will get excited at seeing a large spider sitting on its web. Then again, I not like many people. Came upon this large St. Andrew's Cross spider with a perfect web on Island Country Club Road. Fantastic opportunity to photograph this spider with relatively good lighting and background that allowed me to photograph the spider from both sides. It had already sucked its breakfast dry.Day two, the same spider with a large breakfast this time. The web is slightly damaged probably from the struggle that the Katydid put up before the spider over powered it by wrapping it up in silk.Close up of the unfortunate Katydid all wrapped up.Click St. Andrew's Cross spider to find out more on the spider such as how it got its name and how to tell male from female.

A Bountiful Harvest That Is Not Wasted

I was reminded of a conversation I had with someone about a rambutan tree on the edge of the reserve when I was walking my regular route. Lots of ripened rambutans scattered on the ground, which is not unusual during the fruiting season. This morning I found bees feeding on the fruits. This person remarked to me that it is strange the rambutan tree that stands tall and heavily laden with fruits did not attract the long-tailed macaques. To which I responded that the tree's fruits are sour. This person then remarked that the tree should be chopped down and a new one that bears sweet fruits planted in its place. I told the person that despite the sour fruits, the tree provides food to butterflies, other insects, birds, and bats, and that the tree should be left alone. Like dead standing trees, this tree and many others in the nature reserve have a purpose within the ecosystem.

Life On A Piece Of Wood

Stopped by a piece of wood that was covered with bracket fungus. First thing that I noticed through the lens was puffs of brownish smoke rising above the fungus. It was surreal but the lens couldn't capture the smoke. What is was, was the fungi releasing spores.Then I noticed movement on the tops of the fungi. It took some time to make out the Toad Grasshoppers as these were just as tiny and blended into the wood work. They were eating the fungi.Then the other toad grasshopper came into sight on a leaf.This one eats rotting wood.

Not Your Normal Bugs

Last week has been a week of rather interesting chanced encounters with the weird and not so normal bugs of insectdom.
Ittybitty bug #1 was a tiny green something or other with a bushy tail. I'm calling it Conehead with a light sabre as it was swishing it around. Rather comical critter but darn hard for the camera to focus. Just managed one good shot. Bug #2 is just as interesting, a Derbid Bug. Spotted it in the house and it became the subject of a photo shoot. Bug #3 was a lucky find. It resembles a dried shrivelled up leaf stuck on other leaves. If it hadn't jumped, I wouldn't have noticed the Dead-leaf Grasshopper.See it has eyes and legs...even a hole just like a leaf. Who would have thought a dead leaf was a living breathing creature.Bug #4 was a baby stick insect. However, there are no photos of that encounter. Rescued it from becoming beetle juice, plucked it off the ground before a shoe landed on it.
Bug #5 was an Ant Mantis.

A Gem Of A Find

It was time to tend to the plants to ensure that they are fed and protected from harmful bugs. While spraying the Plumeria plants, two tiny insects caught my eye as they tried to avoid the insecticide. Realizing that both were mantids and beneficial insects, I carefully removed them and washed them down.
One of them was a tiny Ant Mantis. I heard about this mantis from Shawn, who is a follower of my blog. Thank you for educating me on this tiny wonder and it shows we're never too old to learn. These photos are for you, Shawn.
This mantis mimics a red ant all the way down to the mandibles.

A Dragonfly Having Breakfast

Nice red dragonfly in the right position. Took the shot and decided to try a different angle. Oops! dragonfly is having its breakfast. Finally, a shot that shows a dragonfly dining on a prey.

Insects of Mossie Alley

I braved the hoards of hungry mosquitoes in infamous Mossie Alley again to find my pair of sunglasses. I dropped it in the morning and had to retrace my steps to retrieve my sunglasses. The first trip took me only to 3 meters in and I found a pretty Branded Imperial.It was also where I dropped my sunglasses as I swatted and smacked mosquitoes. Argh!!!! I hightailed out of the place with the mosquitoes hot on my heels.
Next I tried the other entrance with similar results but I did manage to photograph these insects. I finally found a green Cicada.The second trip to find the missing sunglasses yielded, my sunglasses, a pretty Cycad Blue, and a dragonfly before I fled again. No amount of insect repellent will keep the mossies away as they are attracted by sweat.

A Rescued Trilobite Beetle

While walking on my usual route, I avoided stepping on what looked like a flatten insect or scorpion that had been squashed under some one's foot. However, curiosity told me to take a closer look as it seemed to have a strange looking skeletal structure much like a Horseshoe Crab turned upside down. The strange looking thing wasn't dead but very much alive. Upon picking it up, I realized that it was some unknown insect that I've not seen before.

My guess was some kind of leaf insect but it turn out that to be an ancient species of beetle that lives in tropical rain forest.

The trilobite beetle lives on rotting wood. These beetles are threatened by degradation of forest habitat, and in some places, also over-collection by collectors.
Trilobites literally have three lobes and one each are a pair of legs. The specimen that I plucked off the walking path is now safely back in an area that is not near a walking route. Follow the Flickr link to see more photos of the Trilobite Beetle.

Shooting Macro With A Telephoto Lens

I was at Botanic Gardens looking for birds but I didn't find any. Instead, I found two drangonflies that were interesting to me.
With no macro lens in my backpack I decided to experiment using my 300mm telephoto lens to shoot macro subjects. To get sharpness, I switched to manual focus to allow me to take over control over the lens.
The results were quite interesting.

The blue eyes of this damsel are very striking.I was sprawled on the ground to get to eye level with the damselfly. It also enable me to steady the camera to get a sharp focus.

Randomness

It seems like the animals have all gone on a hiatus as the forest is truly still and lacking life. My outings on Sunday turned into a session of randomness as I walked around photographing what caught my eye.
This blue dragonfly had a nice contrast sitting on the brown leaf.

A dragonfly caught in a spider's web. Seeds ready to be scattered in the wind.To the beauty of a young leaf that is beginning to grow.Sometimes, you've got to slow down and just appreciate the little things around you.

Can You Spot The Butterflies?

I've been leaving the camera home these past couple of weeks when I go for my morning walks. There hasn't been much wildlife and the forest has been still.
On my way home this morning I walked past this vine and a bunch of tiny butterflies on the tip of the vine caught my eye. Such vines are getting to be scarce as they have been cut back and the butterflies I use to photograph like the Branded Imperial,and the Common Posy. These days I see only a couple of Branded Imperial but the Common Posy have all disappeared.I had to call home to have my help bring my camera to me. I wasn't going to leave the butterflies for fear that someone would come by and scare them away.
These are two of the six butterflies that were feeding on the vine. They were like small flakes amongst the black ants. These little jewels are Logania Marmorata Damis, I've only found one previously, and this is the first time I've seen them feeding.

Giant Moth

This is the Giant Uranid Moth (Lyssa zampa), a very large moth, which looks more like a butterfly. It's usually encountered in forested areas. Managed to snap this shot before it disappeared deeper into the forest.

I Looked And I Found It

I went back to look for the black damselfly and it took me a while to find it as it is small and it blends in with whatever it is resting on.Can you spot the damselfly in the photo above? Once I found it, I had to climb in to be closer to get a shot. No where to set-up a tripod as I was precariously balanced on a log over a stream and I have a number of blurred shots.Unlike, other damselflies this one does not fold its wings. It rests with wings open like a dragonfly.

Locust Nymph?

Walking every morning again with the camera in a backpack. Great way to burn off the calories acquired over Christmas and the New Year. Being a firm believer in multi-tasking, the morning walks also give me an opportunity to spy on my wild neighbors. During this morning's walk, what looked like a piece of wrinkled brown leaf turned out to be this.A golden colored locust with new wings. It looked similar to an earlier specimen that I photographed, which was smaller and a darker color. I've pulled out the earlier photo for easy comparison. Could this be a locust nymph in its various growth stage?