Hunt for the Tree Stump Orb Weaver

Ok the title wasn't meant to rhyme.. knew that some regulars found a Tree Stump Orb Weaver (Poltys illepidus) and I really wanted to go take a few shots of it. As it's name implies, it looks like a tree-stump and camouflages itself by perching itself at the tip of a branch stump. This is a nocturnal species and builds a web every evening. After a night of catching prey, it dismantles it's web in the morning and goes back to sit on the stump of a branch. I always wondered why it doesn't get burnt under the HOT sun... many trees at Admiralty Park got uprooted due to a storm, and this guy was stood firm at the same spot for over 2 weeks!

It was my last subject of the day but I'll just put the pictures in front. :)

#1 Front view, most people won't even notice it. It was the web that gave it away.

#2 Closer view from the side. The legs are positioned to cuddle it's face!

#3 Another side view but re-positioned to get a green background from the grass and trees

#4 View from the top. Looks like the face of a fox or mouse yeah?

#5 Close up on it's face in case you still can't see the well camouflaged dude

Thats all for the tree-stump orb weaver! Next up are some common finds in Admiralty Park.

#6 A pair of pupae of the Leopard Lacewing. They just eat and eat and eat.. won't stop moving!

#7 Took us a while to figure out where the head was, it became obvious when one of them decided to poop!

#8 Spotted a huge Lynx Spider attacking a wasp, holding it's prey up high

#9 It got irritated and turned around when I moved around in the bushes. The wasp was still alive, and seemed to be asking me for help. :(

#10 Playing with natural back-light

#11 While the rest were shooting the lynx, I found this green crab spider having an ant for it's meal

#12 It kept running around and the wind was strong, took quite a while to get a shot after it settled down here

#13 And that's how the face looks like!!!


The complete album can be viewed here.

Sungei Buloh with Macromaniacs

Had joined this groupie for awhile but never had the chance to meet. So here's the long awaited gathering! Lots of shooters, but I went slowly and ended up last again. heh heh.

#1 Funnel Web Spider found perched on a tree bark

#2 A curious jumping spider

#3 Spent quite alot of time shooting this fella, refused to stay still!

#4 Yet more shots

#5 View of it's metallic green body

#6 Praying Mantis with the water (swamp) in the background

#7 Atlas Moth caterpillar, about 2 inches long and will grow up to 4.5 inches! It's the largest moth in the world, so expect no less!

#8 View of it's head

#9 Dragonfly's smile. Notice that it looks like a beetle sitting on it's face?? lol

#10 Body of a weevil but no weevil snout! Background belongs to the tshirt of a boy staring at what I was shooting

The following shots are of the Eight-spotted Crab spider (Platythomisus cf octomaculatus) which I found out to be extremely rare in Singapore. Very distinct yellow body with 7 spots (no idea why it's called 8-spotted!) and translucent legs.

#11 Hi there!!

#12 At first, I didn't know it's name and called it the Tiger Crab Spider

#13 Praying for rain! Or complaining to others that my flash was too glaring....

#13 It lies very very flat on the leaf

#14 Trying to fly kite.. the web was connected to my finger

#15 RAWR!!! and a tiny bug walks past

#16 Found this fresh load of spiderlings under a leaf. Guess how many? :)


The complete album can be viewed here.

The ant, the fly, the flying ant

Back to the Republic Poly Trail, and the vegetation has grown into the path! Getting difficult to navigate, but still a little scary when going through deserted areas alone. Gonna grab other shooters over next time!

#1 Ant mimic spider with it's nest. Master architect at work!

#2 A normal ant

#3 Spotted this poor ant with only 1 wing wandering around aimlessly. It was quite dark so I used a long exposure to capture a brighter background.

#4 The other side of the ant, you can see the wound where it's wing used to be

Actually, only some ants in each colony will have wings, and they venture out to mate and form new colonies. The queen would shed it's wings after settling down to start the new colony. Some or most may fail, like this one.

#5 Moth

#6 Hoverfly in flight, with a strand of what looks like a web behind???

#7 Creeping up from behind


The complete album can be viewed here.