Up Close with Nature

I found this beautiful Eurybrachyidae planthopper, laying eggs on a tree trunk. I spent about 2 hours observing, photographing and taking movie clips of her and the egg laying process :) IDed as Chalia pulchra (GRAY, 1832). Family: Eurybrachyidae. ID credit: Jerome Constant. The tree was Endorspermum malaccense. Location: Selangor, Malaysia. GIF animation of the egg laying process at

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

The life cycle of lichen huntsman from mating stage, laying eggs, guarding nest, and protecting the spiderlings until their second molts. Thanks to SpiderJoe for sharing his knowledge which made this post possible. For more tropical spiders, click here. A mating pair of lichen huntsman in broad day light :P The same pair from a different angle. Mom-to-be lichen huntsman guarding her

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

I finally found my first Trilobite beetle. Well, actually, it was found by my friend, David Fischer. Anyway, when I saw it, I thought it was just another firefly larva (Lampyridae), just like the one I found in Sg Krau, Raub about a month ago! So here it is, the magnificent Trilobite beetle, natural light. Found in Selangor, Malaysia. Top view of the same Trilobite beetle: Side view A

I was the Featured Photographer for February 2012 in one of our local photography forums- PhotoMalaysia. Thank you, PhotoMalaysia. The thread can be found here.   Here is the interview: Q. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I am known as Kurt (orionmystery) to my real life photography friends and many more in some ten macro photography forums (and facebook!) I actively post in. I

Life cycle documentation for a Viciria sp. jumping spider family I came across recently, in chronological order: from eggs, to newly hatched to after first molting (first instar). Not a complete one, I know, but I am more interested in the initial stages. All images taken with 40D, Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5X Macro Lens ,Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Lite Flash and DIY Concave Diffuser. Jan 21, 2012