Twig Spider @ Macro Marathon

Thanks to Victor for organizing the overnight trip to Pulau Ubin. We boarded the last boat at 8pm and returned to mainland only at 6:30am. In between was nothing but bug hunting and a macro marathon! My favorite shot of the night was a lovely Twig Spider (Ariamnes sp.) that Melvyn found. It did not stay still for long and it was hell trying to get everything in the same plane of focus. However, the result was well worth it. :)

1. There's the Twig Spider (Ariamnes sp.) when it was found! At rest, it straightens its legs to mimic a twig. But once it moves, it becomes a mess of twigs!


2. Ventral view of the Twig Spider (Ariamnes sp.)


3. Screwed on the Raynox to get a closer shot of the Twig Spider (Ariamnes sp.)


4. Yep, it refused to stay still!


5. Record shot of the eyes


6. With Sagita's help, I managed to adjust the angle with some dried leaves behind to finally get the shot I wanted of the Twig Spider (Ariamnes sp.)! A really awesome spider - at first glance, it looked impossible to get much details out of it. After several attempts, it turned out to exhibit a beautiful tone of red.


7. James found this Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae) resting on the leaves. Looked common but still beautiful. :)


8. Had to get a shot of the eyes


9. And go even closer...


10. Found a tree with some juvenile Ornamental Tree Trunk Spiders (Herennia sp.)


11. When observed up close, these spiders actually have very intricate patterns.


12. We also saw a few of these Ant-Like Sac Spiders (Corinnomma sp.) running about.


13. With a black body, the exposure will have to be precise to avoid over-exposing the leaf.


14. While we walked deeper off the path, I saw a Crown Wasp ready for ovipositioning (Stephanidae)


15. Its amazing how long the ovipositors are!!


16. Extremely challenging to get the hair-thin ovipositor in complete focus.


17. Just beside the Crown Wasp was this interesting looking Darkling Beetle (Platydema sp.) with a green metallic body


18. Melvyn found this cute Fungus Weevil (Anthribidae) peeping out from a tiny burrow


19. Also on the same log was this Comb-Footed Spider (Janula sp.) trying to balloon away. Only managed one shot unfortunately.


20. Found this "Pilot" Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae) that typically spreads its legs to the sides as if they were wings


21. There were quite a number of Net-Casting Spiders (Deinopis sp.) in the tall grasses


22. This particular Net-Casting Spider (Deinopis sp.) is a male, with visibly enlarged palps


23. Getting closer to the ogre-face!


24. Another pleasant find was this Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda lunula?). This is the first time I've seen this in Singapore!


25. This was a juvenile, but still possible to get a nice shot of the face. A curious ant seems to want to have a conversation with the big fella.


26. Just a few trees down, we saw another of the same Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda lunula?), but with 2 missing legs.


27. Lovely face still!


28. Record shot of the slightly larger Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda lunula?)


29. Victor found this beautiful red Ant-Like Sac Spider (Aetius sp.)


30. Face shot of the Ant-Like Sac Spider (Aetius sp.)


31. It ran to a lighter bark area


32. Note the multiple tufts of hair at the end of the abdomen.


33. This particular juvenile Ornamental Tree Trunk Spider (Herennia sp.) was feasting on what looked like an Argiope. Thanks to James for pointing it out!


34. One of the nicer finds of the night - Lichen Huntsman Spider (Pandercetes sp.). The lateral eyes seem to reflect a different colour spectrum when compared to the median eyes.


35. The unique character of this Lichen Huntsman Spider (Pandercetes sp.) would be the tufts of hair on the legs. Not too clearly seen in this photo due to the camouflage though!


36. Found a more mature Ornamental Tree Trunk Spider (Herennia sp.) on the same tree below the lichen huntsman spider.


37. Lovely patterns!


38. Record dorsal shot


39. A common Huntsman Spider (Thelcticopis sp.), but I'm taking record shots of all spiders anyway :)


40. A very docile Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae), it remained in this position for quite a long time as everyone took turns to get shots of it.


41. Tucked comfortably on a leaf crevice


42. Customary face shot. :)


43. The rest found a very pretty Ant-Mimic Jumping Spider (Myrmarachne sp.?)


44. Dorsal view, really very ant-like!


45. The typical cute eyes of any jumping spider!


46. Another common Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda sp.)


47. Common cricket but happened to see it moulting when I walked by!


48. Spotted an army of big-headed termites on the ground


49. Big-Headed Termite not looking too happy


50. An amorous couple


51. Yet another Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae). Lots of Sparassids around!


52. Found a relatively small Atlas Moth larva (Attacus atlas)


53. Not sure what this is.. Hemipteran but what?


54. James and Melvyn spent a lot of time shooting this Comb-Footed Spider (Theridiidae)


55. Found a team of ants transporting a slug along a tree trunk


56. Interestingly, some left the team, and sometimes others joined. Never knew what they were thinking of.


57. Melvyn showed me this bug (Assassinbug?) that caught a huge termite


58. One of the loveliest Lynx Spiders (Oxyopidae) I have ever seen!


59. It seemed to contrast very nicely with a black background


60. Occasionally, it raised its legs as a sign of threat


61. Could never leave out the face shot. :)


62. Close look at the face of the Lynx Spider (Oxyopidae)


63. While fatigue was setting in, the rest found an entire bunch of equally fatigued Sweat Bees sleeping (Halictidae)


64. I went close to the tip of the branch to see them up close


65. It was really a HUGE gathering


66. They didn't seem to mind the crowd


67. I walking around aimlessly in the night.. and found a Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae) on my arm


68. Almost stepped on this Huntsman Spider (Heteropoda sp.) which was visited by a curious ant


69. Record dorsal shot


70. Surprisingly, a Common Taylorbird (Orthotomus sutorius) (Thanks Ivan for the ID) was found hiding under a leaf. Just took a record shot in case it got overly spooked by our presence.


71. A very small Nursery Web Spider (Pisauridae)


72. So small that I couldn't really see the eyes


73. Tiger Moths (Arctiidae) making out in the dark


74. View of the action from below


75. A slow moving Weevil (Curculionidae), which we jokingly called the peanut weevil for the lumpy appearance. We later called it the "David Weevil" because David spent a long time shooting it and even got a preflight shot of it.


76. A large Mango Longhorn Beetle? (Bartocera rubus)


77. Can't get enough of the face shot


78. Close up of the compound eyes


79. Dorsal view, very important for beetles


80. Lateral view for my personal documentation


81. Victor pointed out this Garden Spider (Eriovixia sp.) but left me to shoot it


82. Comb-Footed Spider (Theridiidae) hiding in her retreat


83. It came out for a little while to say hi (obviously not!)


84. As we returned to the shelter, the rest were shooting this Net-Casting Spider (Deinopis sp.) with the net


85. Interestingly, the net always seemed to appear blue in our photos.


86. It was almost 6am.. and the Net-Casting Spider (Deinopis sp.) started to close shop and devour its net


87. We roamed around the shelter, and found this purplish Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae). Apparently did not turn out too purple in the pictures!


88. Quite a fierce face too! It jumped onto our hands several times.


89. Closer look at the body


90. Since the Net-Casting Spider (Deinopis sp.) had kept its net, I could adjust the leaf to get a nice shot of the ogre-face!


91. In our last burst of hunting, we found a Robberfly (Asilidae). Somehow, it has been almost a year since I've shot this.


92. Customary shot of the eyes!


93. Tried to count the compound eyes but I gave up


94. A male Comb-Footed Spider (Argyrodes sp.). This is a kleptoparasitic spider, or a food-stealer. It is commonly found on the webs of other spiders to steal their prey.


95. Cute little Crab Spider (Thomisidae). Poor fella lost 4 front legs. :(


96. As usual, a grumpy face!

It was a ridiculously long night, and many ended up sleeping at the shelter by 4am. Some of us couldn't stop and kept shooting, so that we could go home with more good shots to show you. :) We only stopped when the rain came at 6am, and we phoned for the transport to pick us back to the ferry.

The complete album can be viewed here.