Exotic (looking) Caterpillars in Singapore

Caterpillars to many, are simply plain green or black little worms. However, they do come in all shapes and sizes, with exotic or even majestic looks.

I chanced upon a Death’s Head Hawk Moth caterpillar (Acherontia atropos), about 2 inches long and dangling from a leaf at night. With its bright yellow surface, I tried 3 different lighting methods to illuminate the background.

Which do you prefer? :)

#1 First shot with full flash, leaving the distant background black as it was night time. Highest contrast and clarity, but some may argue whether its natural or taken to a studio?

#2 Used a long exposure and directed a strong torch to the vegetation in the background. Looks almost like daylight now! Bokeh lovers may prefer this.

#3 And finally, an in-between. I preferred this as the dark green background gives a more natural feel, while preserving a dark background for the caterpillar to stand out.

Did a poll at Clubsnap....

• 11 chose the black background
• 5 chose the bright background
• 4 chose the dark green background

Looks like my choice was the least popular... lol

Here are some other odd-looking caterpillars found in Singapore's parks.

#4 Caterpillar of a Day Flying Moth (Pompelon marginata). It secretes fluids out of its little body spikes for self-defence. More photos of this caterpillar here.

#5 Some caterpillars can get extremely hairy with hair as long as their bodies!

#6 Head of a Plain Nawab (Polyura hebe plautus) caterpillar. The majestic crown reminds me of a dragon king!

#7 This caterpillar of the Archduke (Lexias pardalis dirteana) is beautifully coloured and donned with a long line of appendages like a Christmas Tree. We sometimes called it the Christmas Cat. :P More photos of this caterpillar here.

#8 When crawling around, these caterpillars can get into very interesting poses!

#9 But they eat without control, and tend to expose themselves to birds after eating up the leaves. :(

#10 Some may resemble some kind of brush...

#11 Many couldn't make head or tail of this larva of the Nolid Moth. Affectionately known as the big head cat to some regular park visitors. That ought to tell you where the head lies. :)

#12 Some may have bright colours to ward off prey like this pair of Leopard Lacewing caterpillars, as bright colours often co-relates to venom!

#13 Plain Tiger's caterpillar, very distinctly coloured as well.


Onto the other findings for the night... :)


#14 A common subject now at Nangka Trail, but very tiny - about 3mm big.

#15 A Katydid with some really radical looking legs. Someone mentioned it being called a marvelous katydid???

#16 Full length view of this katydid

#17 Another regular subject - Singapore Tarantula. This time with Raynox as it was really too troublesome to take it off.

#18 Got really close to the eyes

#19 An interesting looking fella at its burrow entrance. Not as hairy as the other tarantulas, and sports orange legs. Possibly a juvenile Damarchus workmani

#20 Here's how it looks like when guarding its home

#21 Possibly the Neogea Nocticolor Spider, but I've never seen it on a leaf before. This fella was resting on a leaf.

#22 Closeup on what could be a sac spider. It ran off after this single shot. :(

#23 A very interesting looking Harvestman (Opiliones). Suspect that it has 2 arms with little pincers at the end.

#24 Front view, but the arms are out of focus

#25 Another common resident - the House Centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata). Light kindly provided by Steven Tor. :)

#26 Closer view at the House Centipede


The complete album can be viewed here.

Be Wary of Spider Bites!

For macro and nature enthusiasts, many understand that spiders have their own store of venom for hunting purposes. But what many don't know of each spider, is the propensity to bite a human and the effect of the venom on humans.

Most spiders contain amounts of venom too small to really affect a human being. Most also do not go biting a human unless provoked. But that doesn't mean you should go sticking your fingers at any spider you see. (but if you do, please tell me how much it hurt) ;)

Today, I did some close ups on the fangs of what looked like a Sac Spider. The sac spider's venom contains a cytotoxin, which means that it poisons or kills cells. The bite would typically give a stinging sensation, and heard to be very painful. The effect of the bite may vary from person to person, from redness, to swells, and even blisters that take weeks to heal. For the record, sac spiders do not build webs but a silk tube or sac which it hides in - hence the name.

The alleged sac spider dropped on me while I was fumbling with my camera. Luckily for me, it didn't leave me any souvenir except for a couple of photos.

#1 View of the bottom of the sac spider.

#2 It shifted a little, so here's another shot!

#3 Side view, it was perched on the Y-junction of the branch. Good ya? More chance of catching prey at junctions? :P

#4 This is what you're up against if it decides to plunge its fangs on you. Don't play play.

#5 Didn't manage to shoot its face before it jumped on me, so here's a close up from the side

#6 This House Centipede was almost 3 inches long and busy munching on something

#7 This pic shows how long the legs were. It tried to "feel" me when I went in for a closeup

#8 Uncle James offered his arsenal of lights to help create a back-lit effect

#9 Closeup on its face! Fierce looking fella.

#10 Cryptothele sundaica, found hidden in a tiny crevice on a log.

#11 Quite skittish, it moved every time I fired a shot. Disturbed by the flash I suppose.

#12 Moved again!

#13 Face to face!

#14 A view slightly to the side

#15 Lovely pose, but the eyes were out of focus! No chance to retake as it moved after every shot.

#16 Closeup from the top

#17 A very small tarantula spotted by James. Very cute! He even pointed out 3 little mites on its back.

#18 Think it got scared by my flash and closed up

#19 Close up on the 3 little mites

#20 Odd looking Huntsman spider (Sparassidae) with yellow spots all over its legs and body

#21 Another huntsman, busy with some food

#22 Top view

#23 Close up of its face and food. The prey was so mashed up that we literally couldn't tell head or tail of it

#24 Going closer to the eyes

#25 Cropped view

The complete album can be viewed here.

James blogged about this trip here