Up Close with Nature

Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitats. About four species are well known as pests. (Source: Wikipedia) So only 30 species out of 4,500 are associated with human habitats, and out of the 30 species, only 4 of them are pests! Just because of these four pest species, there's really no reason to

Some of the creatures I photographed during my macro/nature photography trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo). Pyrops heringi - the main reason for the impromptu trip to Kota Kinabalu :D Unfortunately, this rare beauty was on a tree on a slope and we couldn't get any closer. Cropped from this image. A 400mm F5.6 would have come in handy at that time! More amazing lantern bugs /

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

Some of the creatures we found while on a macro trip to Krabi, Thailand. A harvestman with raindrops and mites on its legs. Antlion larva we found under the stilt house Adult antlion, Myrmeleon sp. For more Neuropterans of Malaysia, click here. Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) For more cool reptiles and other herps of Malaysia, click here. A cute Acanthosaura cf. crucigera (ID credit: hisno

Some of the macro images from a recent 2D/1N road trip to a location in Perak. The total cost was RM150 per head including a nice dinner with steamed fish :). A male Rhino beetle, Chalcosoma atlasMore amazing beetles of Malaysia here. Siamese rhinoceros beetle, Xylotrupes gideon A mating pair of Siamese rhinoceros beetle (Xylotrupes gideon?). Tenodera sp. mantis Beautiful moon moth,

Top 10 New Species 2013 is published by International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE), Arizona State University. The top ten were selected from more than 140 nominated species out of an estimated 18,000 species named last year. My beautiful lacewing (Semachrysa jade Winterton & Guek & Brooks, 2012) is lucky to make it to the top 10! More gorgeous Neuropterans of Malaysia here.

Lowepro Photo Sport 200 AW. AW stands for All Weather! Yes, there is a built-in rain cover. It comes in either orange or black. I like both colors but opted for black only because I don't want the bright orange color to scare away my macro/nature subjects. The name suggests that this two-in-one rucksack/backpack is designed for the athlete who loves photography. Now you don't have to leave your