The Cicada

Quite amazing insects, these Cicadas!  

We often hear them singing away almost throughout the day in the rainforests, forest fringes, parks and where there are some greenery, but spotting them is a whole different story.  Just because you can hear them, it doesn't make it any easier to find them!  For an insect that makes such a loud, high-pitched, buzzing noise, they're actually pretty difficult to find in their natural habitats because they would usually be very well camouflaged.  The few times we do see them and get a good look is usually because they got a bit lost in the urban environment.  And that's when photo opportunities arise!

And then, there have also been times when these photo opportunities were there but I did not have a camera on hand.  Rats!

The National Geographic (http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/cicada/) has the following description for this insect:  Cicadas are members of the order Homoptera and are physically distinguished by their stout bodies, broad heads, clear-membrane wings, and large compound eyes. 

Anyway,  in the last few years, I have managed to get only three good photos of cicadas; two of which were in an urban setting.  Three photos for three different species.  It is easy to see how these cicadas could easily hide away on trees and plants to avoid predation.

 

This jade green Cicada is quite large, its total length is around 8-9 cm.  (I'm guessing Dundubia vaginata.)  Found it in the stairwell in a building in the concrete jungle.  Am certainly glad I had decided to walk several floors down the stairs rather than take the elevator.

This brownish-gray Cicada is quite well camouflaged against the tree bark.  Spotted it because I saw an object fly across overhead and landed smack on the tree.  Even then, it took me a while to find it and even longer to get the camera focused!  I am guessing its total length to be between 6-8 cm.

This black Cicada was found on the ground on its back and was struggling to get itself upright.  So I gave it my index finger to cling on to help it up and took the chance to snap photos of it.  It eventually flew away after a short rest.  Its total length is approximately 7 cm.

 And here are the cicada exoskeletons that have been left behind after the cicada nymphs emerge from the ground for their transformation to begin their adult life.  

So..... the male cicadas would now be ready to start singing and wait for the female cicadas to follow his song and find him!

Better sing it sweet!

A Little Trail Revisited

It has certainly been quite a while since I last went walking on a trail, spend a few hours feasting my eyes on dragonflies, butterflies, insects, etc., and getting myself immersed in nature!  

Today, the opportunity for that came about.

Just the usual common species encountered but it was great to have a little rendezvous with some of my favourite subjects out there.   So, here's a little bit of everything to keep the balance!

Heliocypha biforata

 

Trithemis festiva

Vestalis sp.

Another Vestalis sp.

Robber Fly

   

A close up of the Robber fly

Pantala flavescens

Orthetrum sabina

Tholymis tillarga

 A dragonfly exuvia

A fresh Cicada exoskeleton.  

There were lots of these everywhere!

Sun Skink

The black Hospitalitermes Termites!

 

The Fluffy Tit 

And could this be the The Knight (Lebadea Martha)? 

One of the species of grasshoppers, but which is this?

Water Skater

Those Ants.....

Caught sight of these little ants this afternoon. 

They were just passing through..... carrying their little treasures, including food and larvae, and hurrying across on the wall towards their destination... their next new home. 
Wherever that is! 

Busy!
Busy little ants!
They were definitely moving house!

What I see, what these ants are telling me..... is a sign that the big rains are coming within the next two, three or four days...

I may be wrong, but I do think it is quite likely quite right.

Anyone else with another theory?

The Katydid

Had a visit from this insect some weeks ago. 

I had first spotted it on my kitchen window as I was going out. 
And, as usual, I grabbed my camera and took a few shots before I headed out.

It's always great when these insects are perched on glass windows as I can get a view of its abdomen from the underside too!

Anyway, I had forgotten all about these photos till this morning.
A quick check in my insect chart and book confirm that it is a Katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae).


These are extracts from the Encyclopedia Brittanica website at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/313386/katydid:

-  Katydid, any of numerous predominantly nocturnal insects related to crickets and grasshoppers and noted for their loud mating calls.  Katydids have large hind legs and are distinguished by their extremely long, threadlike antennae and the thick, upwardly curved ovipositor (egg-laying structure) of the females. Often large and green, many katydids have long wings, but some common species are nearly wingless.

-  They live on trees, bushes, or grasses, often matching the appearance of their surroundings. Many species resemble leaves. Owing to such adaptations and their lack of daytime activity, relatively little is known of this group of insects, despite their ubiquity, abundance, and variety.

This Katydid is a very attractive-looking insect. 
Checking further on the internet, I guess this would be one of the species of Angular Wing Katydids.

Learning never stops!

Other Than Odonata!

It's been a great morning! 

And such a beautiful day for the outdoors!

I couldn't help myself and kept looking up to gaze at the beautiful blue sky!

I had wanted to look for dragonflies but apart from the Orthetrum sabina and two other species of damselflies, there weren't too many others about.  Instead of hanging out at the ponds, I took a stroll through the park to enjoy a bit of nature.

Getting to the park early in the morning had been a bonus. 
Not that I was so early and I caught the sunrise but early enough to be listening to a lot of bird songs.  A myriad of tunes from the Bulbuls, Orioles, Kingfishers and, of course, the Common Mynas.  The Starlings started their choruses a bit later.

This Collared Kingfisher has its hunting grounds in the ponds at the park.

 It took a while to finally get this photo of the Kingfisher.
Quite an elusive little bird!

As I walked along, a few Tree Squirrels were scrambling around on the branches overhead and stopping here and there to feed.  Then a pair of Tree Squirrels were playing peek-a-boo as they chased each other round and round and up and down a tree.
Playful and cheeky!

That was when I caught the movement of an insect flying smack into a tree.
I had to look quite hard to find it, but that was how I spotted this Cicada!

This large, brownish Cicada is quite well camouflaged against the tree bark!

It is usually difficult to find the Cicada inspite of their loud, high-pitched songs. 

Looking at the above photo, you can understand why.

This is not the sharpest shot, but it's the best photo of the two that I managed to take before it flew away!

Heading towards the shoreline, here's a view of Kuah Bay.

I was not alone on the beach though.

These crabs were busily feeding away!

The longer I sat there, the more crabs came out to feed once they realise I am not a threat.

A lot of these crabs faced away from me as they moved along to feed nearby.

Their mottled brown, algae coated carapace giving them a good camouflage on the rocky, muddy shores and making it difficult to see them.

After a while, some of the crabs turned around to look at me too!

The ones feeding a few meters away were not too bothered.

Even then, any sudden, abrupt movement will send all the crabs scurrying into their burrows and hiding under rocks.

Almost as if a predator was swooping down at them.

These crabs were not the only creatures feeding here at low tide.

A Little Heron was perched on the rocks at the edge of the water, standing still and motionless, while it stared intently into the turquoise blue water and waited for a catch.

The Great Egret was also out here catching fish.

It waded to and fro in the shallow waters, stepping carefully, stretching out its long neck to look into the surf.  From time to time, this Great Egret would retract its neck, then striking out into the water to catch a fish!

I sat there, enjoying the sun and sea breeze as I watched.

I watched the birds wading about and I watched the boats bobbing in the water.

Time stood still.

Eventually, hunger calls signalled lunch hour.

As I was walking back, I spotted this little brown bird perched on one of the branches.

The Asian Brown Flycatcher!

I think!

I hope I've got the id correct for this little birdie.

An awesome morning indeed!

That Row Of Eggs!

Am sure most of you have seen at least once before, a line of tiny, dark, brown eggs on a window or wall; each egg measuring barely two milimeters in length and there would be ten to fifteen eggs all lined up neatly in a row?

Have you ever wondered which insect laid those eggs?  Well, I have! 

And I've actually wondered about that for quite a long time.....

What caught my eye was the dark cast of a weird-looking bug on my sliding door so I went closer for a good look.  As it turned out, what I had thought was a long tail was the row of eggs and there was this bug standing over it laying its eggs.

I watched for a few seconds and then grabbed my camera...

Here's my first glimpse of the insect in the process of laying its eggs.
A ventral view of the bug from behind the glass door looking out.

And here's another view of the insect, this time from the outside. 
Am glad it didn't fly away and continued to finish laying the last of its eggs while I set up my tripod and got this shot.

Looks to be some kind of Squash Bug, though I can't be certain of its exact species id. 
Anyway, this bug measured approximately 26 mm in length.

One bug mystery solved! 

Almost!

Outdoors = Nature = ;-)

Today turned out to be one for enjoying the pleasures of being in the outdoors, be it rain or shine, and simply enjoying nature.  And as it turned out, I have added more photos to my collection for dragonflies, damselflies and grasshoppers.

One of the first damselflies I spotted was the Heliocypha biforata.

And here's the female damselfly.

The Vestalis gracilis.  These damselflies were practically everywhere today!

The Vestalis gracilis, up close.

The Neurobasis chinensis, male.

A very young, teneral dragonly.
I had assumed it to be the Orthetrum sabina but I stand corrected.  It is the teneral dragonfly of the Gomphidae family. 

 

Thanks to dragonflyman for pointing it out.

Due to its large size, this is likely an exuvia of a dragonfly. 
I was thinking... a stone carving that looks like this would be strangely fascinating as the centrepiece in a garden.

A grasshopper feeding on a leaf...

Also came across a snake, but that will be the story for another day.....