Up Close with Nature

Pardon the cheesy title. I posted an eye shot in my Facebook album and someone teasingly commented that I should create an album just for eyes shots! Peters' Forest Gecko (Cyrtodactylus consobrinus) Cat Gecko (Aeluroscalabotes felinus) Malaysia Bow-fingered Gecko / White-eyed Forest Gecko / Beautiful Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus elok) Marbled Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus quadrivirgatus

My Orthoptera collection. All from Peninsula Malaysia, and East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak in the Borneo Island) Up close with a Dragon Head Katydid. A male Lesina sp.. (IDed with the help of Ming Kai Tan) Selangor, Malaysia. Face to face Profile shot Full body shot. Lichen mimic katydid, Olcinia sp. Check out other amazing examples of camouflage in nature here. Unidentified katydid.

My assassin bug collection. All from Malaysia. Merged from 6 images (3x2) in CS3. Merging tutorial can be found here. Found this at night. Thread legged assassin bug with mantis-like claws. Not sure if it's a Emesaya sp. or Stenolemus sp. or something else? Another one, not sure if it's similar to the above And another.. A bunch of assassin bugs of different instar stages on a tree

Tropical reptiles and tropical amphibians. All photographed in West Malaysia and some from East Malaysia (Borneo). Edit: This post won't be updated anymore because it is getting way too long. While this post will remain, I have also created "Tropical Frogs", Tropical Lizards" and Tropical Snakes, which I will update from time to time. Lizards of Malaysia Cat Gecko (Aeluroscalabotes felinus),

Camouflage in nature. A bunch of dead leaves on the forest floor? Leaf mimic grasshopper, Chorotypus gallinaceus   A Cryptic katydid (Pseudophyllinae ) A cryptic Reduvius sp. assassin bug nymph with dirt/debris and ant carcasses on its back. Another Reduvius sp. on tree trunk This one took it to a new level. Not just debris/dirt but also moss, ant carcasses, and a roach ootheca too!

Caterpillars and/or larvae/worms I have photographed over the years. More will be added as we go. A wet and hairy caterpillar I found one rainy night. Lasiocampidae - Trabala sp. Snake-mimic caterpillar? Sphingidae -Eupanacra sp. - ID suggested by Roger Kendrick.  Selangor, Malaysia.  Map butterfly larva (Cyrestis sp.) - ID suggested by GC Gan. Bad hair day. Big Saturniidae

My ants collection. Please correct me if you come across any ID mistakes :) A bunch of Polyrhachis armata - (ID credit: Stephane De Greef)  ants with pupae, in between two leaves. Found them after a rather heavy downpour. A Camponotus sp. ant and a treehopper. A Camponotus sp. ant and a spittle bug nymph in the foam. A group of yellow crazy ants attacking a beetle. For more beetles of

Malaysian Mantids. All photographed in Malaysia (both Peninsual and East Malaysia i.e Borneo). Mostly by me unless otherwise stated.  Metallyticus splendidus(?) mantis nymph Hiding... Orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) nymph Orchid mantis (Hymenopus coronatus) nymph, younger instar. Portraits of a beautiful Asian Flower Mantis, Theopropus elegans. Asian Flower Mantis, Theopropus

All the spiders you see here were photographed within Malaysia - mostly in the Peninsula. Only a couple of them were photographed in Sabah (East Malaysia, Borneo), either Danum Valley, or Maliau Basin. Ant-mimic crab spider, Amyciaea lineatipes, mating! More bugs porn here:D A male ant-mimic crab spider, Amyciaea lineatipes, with weaver ant prey More ant-mimic spiders here. Crab Spider (

Lacewing and mantidfly are insects in the order Neuroptea (net winged insects). Both are quite rare, at least here in Malaysia. I have only seen like 7 lacewings in four years of macro photography, and even fewer mantidflies! Other Neuropterans like antlions and owlflies will be included here as well. My first mantidfly. What a gorgeous creature! Another shot of this beauty. Another one with

This is a collection of all the sleeping wasps and bees I have encountered during night macro. You won't find them sleeping like this during daylight. Sleeping blue cuckoo bee, Thyreus sp. profile shot I don't like to sleep alone :D (Halictidae: Nomiinae) Blue banded bee Hover wasp (Vespidae: Stenogastrinae) Another sleeping bee (Halictidae: Nomiinae)

Like most people, I like butterflies. (Who doesn't?:D). However, while i like them and think they are beautiful, I never really have very high regard for them. So the butterflies pollinate a few flowers, plants and crops, but they are no where as efficient as the bees in this aspect. I didn't realize how wrong I was until I stumbled upon this website: Langkawi-gazette Excerpt from the page:

Insects are really cool even as they are, but when they come in blue, they are just awesome. Blue is just cool. My favorite color too :). Here are some cool blue insects I have come across. Gotta love them! I also believe these cool insects are why most people take up slr macro photography! If you need more reasons to start liking and photographing insects, hear it from Sir David Attenborough in

A collection of some of my favorite weevil images, all shot in Malaysia. Funny how I didn't even know about these cute weevils before I took up macro photography. Mostly taken with a Canon 40D, MPE65 1x-5x macro lens and MT24EX Twin Flash. Episomus sp. weevil All full flash, normally 1/200, F11, ISO100, 40D, MPE65 and MT24EX twin flash with DIY Diffuser. A male giraffe weevil A female

Spiders are really cool, especially those ant-mimic spiders. I have come across and also photographed so many ant-mimic jumping spiders and ant-mimic crab spiders in Malaysia. Here are some of my favorites. More awesome Tropical Spiders here. All shot with 40D, Canon MPE65 1X-5X macro lens and MT24EX Twin Flash and DIY Concave Diffuser. A male red ant-mimic jumping spider, Myrmarachne

I have always loved beetles since I was a little kid. Used to be able to find those rhinoceros beetles so easily under the lamp posts at night. Nowadays, one has to go up to highlands to find them. Anyway, here are some of the cool and amazing beetles I have photographed since taking up macro photography. Mostly shot with a Canon 40D, Canon MPE65 1X-5X macro lens and MT24EX Twin Flash. Longhorn

Some of my favorites robber fly shots. It's always a plus when they have a prey with them. All shot with a Canon 40D, Canon MPE65 1X-5X macro lens, Canon MT24EX Macro Twin Flash and DIY Concave Diffuser. Full flash, 1/200, F11, ISO100, Handheld. First time finding one with silver and blue color scheme! Orthogonis sp. - ID credit: Eric Fisher. Giant robber fly with blue wings, newly molted

Jumping spiders must the be cutest spiders of all. Period. :D All taken with a Canon 40D, Canon MPE65 , Canon MT24EX Twin Flash. A female Epeus sp? Guarding her precious eggs...awww.... The same loving mother with her lovely bunch of spiderlings Epeus sp. mom with spiderlings Viciria sp. jumping spider life cycle: eggs to spiderlings. Complete series here. A male Epeus sp.