A Fly by David Wong
Blogging in progress . . .
Participants (12): Kyaw Htay, Catherine E, Choy Kagh Wai, Seah Tock Moh, Sharon SongLim, Samuel Dai, Henry Tan, Dion Wong, Lee Yue Teng, Alaster, David Wong, Endy (trip leader)
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06/2018 – Laurel Woods, 25Aug2018 (T_211)
The night before, the weather forecast indicated that there will be thundery showers on the island. We were disheartened but nevertheless hoped for the best, as always.
So I woke up at 615am to check on the weather and it was all clear! A group whatsapp message was sent to all participants at 645am to proceed as planned. By 730am, all have gathered at the meeting point. It was a hot and sunny morning.
There were dews everywhere! Anthony had many choices and was busy looking for the perfect sparkle.
Anthony Quek
We found several common subjects as well as weird ones. Hope u enjoy what we found at Laurel Woods.
Endy
Alaster
Cathy
Anthony Quek
Mushroom by Nian Huei
Bark Lice by KT Sia
Cathy
Yin Leng
Sumatran Paper Wasp by Yew Teng
Larva of a Green Lacewing by Samuel
Kyaw Htay
Sharon
Alaster
Grenadier by Yew Teng
Samuel Dai
Endy
John Chung
Mushroom by Anthony Quek
Day moth by John Chung
Endy
Yew Teng
Endy
Participants: Cathy, Sia KT, Kyaw Htay, Nian Huei, Samuel Dai, Yew Teng, Yin Leng, Endy and Anthony. Trip leader: Sharon S. Lim
05/2018 – Durian Loop, 18 Aug 2018 (T_210)
After almost a 2-month break, I was glad to see many familiar members joining this outing. It was also nice to meet Phoebe, a new and probably our youngest member of iMOG.
All participants arrived punctually at the meeting point. We set up our gear quickly and proceeded to the Kampong Trail. But we soon realised that dark clouds formed and we knew it was going to rain in our shooting area. We headed back to take shelter under a bridge.
(A group photo taken under an overhead bridge)
The rain came fast but, fortunately, it stopped quickly about half an hour later. Hence, we were able to continue with our macro photography.
We entered the Durian Loop Trail and the first subject found was an egg capsule of an unknown insect.
Durian Loop, as the name suggests, is a peaceful nature trail surrounded by durian trees.
(Shooting along the Durian Loop Trail)
As the durian season was just over, there were no durians to be picked. But many other fruits can be found on the forest floor such as star fruits, rambutans and even “Buah Duku”!
Yan Leong found the exoskeleton of a large huntsman spider. He took this opportunity to take close-up shots using his newly bought Laowa 25mm lens.
(Huntsman Spider Exoskeleton by Yan Leong)
(Extreme close-up shot)
I decided to try out a creative shot of this spider too.
(Spider on a backlit leaf by Anthony Quek)
Exoskeleton is very easy to shoot as it doesn’t move. Unlike a real moving spider especially on a web where the slightest wind would result in blurry images. Not if you are an experienced macro photographer like Lester.
(Spider having breakfast by Lester Koh)
Foong managed to shoot an uncommon Ichneumon Wasp. This slender insect has extremely long ovipositor for laying eggs.
(Ichneumon wasp by Foong Kam Tho)
Seah spotted a tiny Plant Hopper nymph and shared it with some of us to shoot.
(Seah Tock Moh)
(Lee Yan Leong)
(Lester Koh)
Robber fly is one of our favourite macro subjects and Sia was lucky to find one with prey.
(Robber fly with prey by Sia Kian Teck)
Green Crested Lizard is a stunning species because of its strikingly bright green colour, sometimes with a bluish tinge on the head. Here is one nicely captured by Seah.
(Green Crested Lizard by Seah Tock Moh)
The Common Mormon is a large butterfly species which can be found in our forests. Not an easy subject to shoot but Kyaw Htay managed to get a decent shot.
(Common Mormon by Kyaw Htay)
Ben shoots both birds and insects. Although this was a macro outing, it didn’t stop him from shooting a friendly Yellow-vented bulbul using his 180mm Macro lens.
(Yellow-vented bulbul by Ben Ee)
While others were focusing on insects, Endy felt that leaves can also make great photography subjects. With the help of the sunlight as natural backlighting, it brought out the beautiful patterns, lines, textures and colours of this leaf. You really need creative eyes to produce this shot.
(Backlit leaf by Endy)
Scambophyllum sanguinolentum is a forest-restricted katydid species. The national conservation status of this katydid is classified as Endangered. The young ones are distinctly different in appearance and colouration from the adults. Here is a dorsal view of a nymph where its body is black with white and turquoise spots on it.
(A young katydid by Catherine E)
The adults have bright orange and red hind wings but often hidden under the tegmina. Durian Loop is one of the few places in Singapore that we can find this attractive katydid species which was why almost all of us have some shots of it.
(Side view by Yan Leong)
(Front view by Lester)
(Dorsal view by Catherine)
The image below is where we took turns to photograph these pretty creatures. A nice place to also rest and chit-chatting.
Other subjects captured during the trip include fungus beetle, tiger beetle, butterflies, cicada, flatworm, dragonfly, weevil, etc.
(Ben Ee)
(Bee Ee)
(Endy)
(Catherine)
(Kyaw Htay)
(Fungus Beetle)
(Seah Tock Moh)
(Seah Tock Moh)
We ended the shoot at 11.30 am and headed to Bukit Timah Food Centre for lunch. While on our way, we found a Blue Malayan Coral Snake. This is one of the most venomous snakes in Singapore.
(Blue Coral Snake by Ben Ee)
As this outing (Trip 210) was also our 10 years anniversary of iMOG since our first outing on 16 August 2008, some of us had a small celebration near Tony’s place. Cathy even made a very nice birthday tag for this occasion! A great achievement indeed!
Participants (13) : Cathy E., Ee Tiang Hwee, Foong Kam Tho, Kyaw Htay, Lee Yan Leong, Lester Koh, Phoebe Zhou, Sia Kian Teck, Seah Tock Moh, Victor, Endy, Sharon S. Lim, Anthony Quek (Trip Leader)
04/2018 – Dairy Farm Nature Park, 23June2018 (T_209)
Caterpillar of Malayan Eggfly by Endy
It was a nice outing with good company!
Participants (8): Endy, Flor Juera, Kyaw Htay, Linda Phua, Phang Wai Keong, Victor, Lee Yue Teng, Cai Yixiong (trip leader)
03/2018 – A Trail Less Travelled, 26May2018 (T_208)
The path
We visited an almost forgotten trail at Kent Ridge park. The paths were heavily covered by fallen leaves and some parts were even damaged. Not long after entering the forested area, our shirts got very wet as we sweat a lot. It was very humid and a little dark, probably due to recent rain. It was very different from what we experienced last year, during first exploration.
Cicada Beauty by Allan Lee
It seemed not many subjects, but in the end of the trip, when we combined our findings, there were actually quite many insects and fungus at the site:
A Young Cricket by Nian Huei
Black Forest Grasshopper by Allan Lee
Busy Weaver Ants by Kyaw Hray
A Colony of Ants built their nest just above the path.
A Closer Look at Weaver Ant Colony by Lester Koh
Then we saw a beautiful green and yellow caterpillar on Simpoh Ayer Leaf.
Photos by Endy, Top : Mid instar of Hawkmoth Caterpillar, seen in this trip. Bottom: Late instar of Hawkmoth Caterpillar, recorded in the 1st visit in 2017
Caterpillar Side View by Phang Wai Keong
Photos, Left: Caterpillar Top View by Allan Lee. Right: Caterpillar Front View by Lester Koh
Below a Robberfly by Allan Lee
A couple of Robberflies were also there.
Robberfly Side View by Allan Lee
Some spiders were seen too:
Yellow Lined Epeus by Victor Ong
Ant Mimicking Spider by Allan Lee
Slender Sac Spider by Phang Wai Keong
Web of a Net Casting Spider by Yue Teng
Some other insects:
Mycalesis Visala Phamis by Ben Ee
Bark Lice by Allan Lee
Some areas were grown with many pitcher plants:
Photos, Left: Pitcher Plants by Endy. Right: The Pitcher by Allan Lee
There were many fungus under the canopies:
Fungi on fallen palm by Endy
Beautiful Little Fungus by Allan Lee
Little Gilled Fungus by Endy
Spiky Coral Fungus by Endy
Bracket Fungus by Endy
And there was one so big, can you compare it to the golden $1 coin in the photo below?
a BIG fungus by Endy
There were also birds singing up on the trees. Here’s one example:
Olive Winged Bulbul by Yue Teng
That is all for this trip. Hope to explore more new places for outings. See you again, soon.
Participants (13): Allan Lee, Ben Ee, Choy Kah Wai, Dion Wong, Henry Tan, John Chung, Kyaw Htay, Lester Koh, Nian Huei, Phang Wai Keong, Victor, Yue Teng, Endy (trip Leader)
02/2018 – Gaharu Forest, 14 Apr 2018 (T_207)
At about 6 am, it was raining lightly in Jurong West. A few members reported that it was drizzling in the northern and eastern sides too. Fortunately, the weather turned to our favour when we reached the meeting point at 7.30 am. It was bright and sunny for the next few hours!
A relatively large katydid was spotted at a nearby forested area.
(Henry Tan)
(Anthony Quek)
We realised later that there are many katydid of different species as we explored further in.
(Front view by Lester Koh)
(Side view by Seah Tock Moh)
Katydid nymphs were much smaller in size but they were equally photogenic.
(Henry Tan)
(Katydid nymph by Seah Tock Moh)
(Katydid nymph by Kyaw Htay)
Grasshopper and cricket are closely related to Katydid as they all come under the same Order called Orthoptera.
(Grasshopper by Endy)
(Crickets by Endy)
Spiders of different species were plentiful. One of them is St. Andrew Cross Spider.
(Lester Koh)
(Tan Chuan Yean)
(Sia Kian Teck)
(Seah Tock Moh)
As St. Andrew Cross spiders prefer to build their webs on grass close to the ground, you may need to go really low in order to get to good shot of it. Let’s see how Lester did it.
Other spiders spotted include Lynx Spider, Big-Jawed Spider, Portia Jumping Spider, Striated tylorida, etc.
(Portia Jumping Spider by Seah Tock Moh)
(Lynx Spider by Seah Tock Moh)
(Big-Jawed Spider by Alfredo)
(Striated Tylorida by Tan Chuan Yean)
Butterflies is one of Ben Ee’s favourite subjects. He did not disappoint us in this outing.
(Ben Ee)
(Ben Ee)
Others were also keen in photographing the beauty of the flying jewels.
(Henry Tan)
(Endy)
(Lee Yue Teng)
(Lester Koh)
Here is a dead moth spotted by Endy. It was so easy to shoot a non-moving subject!
(Anthony Quek)
We found a few praying mantises of different sizes.
(Kyaw Htay)
(Lester Koh)
(Seah Tock Moh)
The Dark-tipped Forest-skimmer (Cratilla metallica) is a moderately large dragonfly which is often found in closed forests. Yue Teng and Chuan Yean had no problem capturing its beauty.
(Lee Yue Teng)
(Tan Chuan Yean)
Mating dragonflies are very difficult to shoot. Only Ben Ee was quick enough to have a record of them. This is a pair of Slender Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum luzonicum).
(Ben Ee)
We spotted a few species of True Bugs but we are not sure of their IDs. They should be some kind of Squash Bugs.
(Lee Yue Teng)
(Kyaw Htay)
The orange or yellow assassin bug is fairly common in Singapore. Most macro photographers would you shot it already. But very few people have seen a red one in the wild. Have you?
(Side view by Tan Chuan Yean)
(Doral view by Anthony Quek)
Tortoise beetles are much harder to find in Singapore. We found a golden one but it flew away. Fortunately, Endy found an unique beetle in the forested area. It should be a young leaf beetle known as Callispa dimidiatipennis. Many of us have never seen it before.
(Seah Tock Moh)
(Seah Tock Moh)
After more than 3 hours of shooting under a hot weather, we were all tired but certainly not this pair of orange leaf beetles which were having a good time while we were heading to the nearby food centre for lunch!
(Lester Koh)
Participants (14) : Alfredo, Ben Ee, Cathy Wong, Dion Wong, Henry Tan, Janielyn Kong, Kyaw Htay, Lee Yue Teng, Lester Koh, Seah Tock Moh, Sia Kian Teck, Tan Chuan Yean, Endy, Anthony Quek (trip leader)
01/2018 – Laurel Woods, 10 March 2018 (T_206)
This is our first outing of the year!
The rain was playing tricks on us … rain … no rain … rain … no rain … we waited … and it did passed.
Drenched Leaf by Allan Lee
Many rain drops, every where, on leaves.
Rain drops by Anthony Quek
Then, like magic! Subjects appeared to us one by one:
Hatched by Allan Lee
Egg shells, whose?
Ledrinae, Flat-headed LeafHopper Nymph by Anthony Quek
This flat nymph looked so strange, it was my first time to see. Have you seen it before?
Cocoon by Allan Lee
A Cocoon with very unique structure.
Mating bugs by Anthony Quek
One of Anthony’s favourites … couple.
Guardian Spider by Kyaw Htay
A Parent was guarding its nest before Mr. Kyaw Htay.
Left: Open wings by Endy. Right: Mormon Side View by Ben Ee
Butterflies were aplenty.
Painted Jezebel by Ben Ee
There was a big branch of flowers at low level. Ben just waited there patiently and observed.
Skipper by Ben Ee
The butterflies were busy, feeding.
Burmese Lascar by Ben Ee
Sometimes stop for a rest.
Dragonfly by Ben Ee
Dragonflies were also in the crowds.
Resting dragonfly by Anthony Quek
Many were still resting under foliage.
Up on the Leaf by Endy
Turning back from one end, i looked up and there … a pretty longhorn beetle on leaf.
Red dots, white dots by Allan Lee
Two red dots, Five white dots, each dot is encircled by black lines. Nature is indeed an artist!
The Caterpillar and Ants by Endy
An unusual caterpillar was seen on a leaf. So many weaver ants were surrounding it. but why? After checking, it was a caterpillar (5th instar) of Centaur Oakblue butterfly. The protective ants feed on the nectar from the caterpillar’s dorsal nectar organ. A Win-Win relationship, eh? smart!
Ants and Caterpillar, A Closer Look by Allan Lee
The Colour of both creatures actually matched.
Patterns by Endy
Overall, we had a good time, we saw so many little creatures, nature is so beautiful!
Yes, It was another successful outing! See you again in the next trip : ) .
Participants (10) : Anthony Quek, Allan Lee, Tan Chuan Yean, Henry Tan, Dion Wong, Ben Ee, Kyaw Htay, Choy Kah Wai, Syn Chue Pui, Endy (trip leader)
