Green Hawk Moth Caterpillar by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A beautiful Hawk Moth Caterpillar displaying its countershading colours, making it hard to see.

The horn is actually located at the rear of the caterpillar, rather than the head, and there are two fake "eyes" at the anterior part of the body, probably to scare predators.


Metallic green fly (Diptera) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Electric Blue Banded Phintella- Phintella vittata ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

This particular species of spiders has always been on my wanted list, not because they are rare; but rather because they are so damn fast and jumpy that a proper up-closed face shot is virtually impossible.


The Phintella vittata is rather tiny plus very sensitive and will flee whenever you get close or use your flash. What's more, the black-coloured face and eyes make camera focusing difficult and inaccurate.

Managed to get a so-so shot after many tries~

Note the extra long spider fangs! Scary!


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

A Common Scarlet (Crocothemis servilia ♂ imm) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Common Scarlets are very common dragonflies that can be found in grassy areas with still water. Adult males are red in colour whereas the females are yellow in colour.

Like many other dragonflies, male Common Scarlets are very territorial and will perch and guard their favourite spots. Doing this will allow the dragonfly to secure a mating partner and a good place to lay offsprings.


Green Whip Spider (Ariamnes sp. ♀) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

This is probably one of the most amazing spiders of the world! Whip spiders are usually green to turquoise in colour, and have a very long abdomen which tapers off at the end. The spider can easily press its legs together so that its entire body looks like a thin thread which is very difficult for its predator to see.


Brown Twig Spider (Miagrammopes sp. ♀) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Twig Spiders are brown in colour and often position their legs together to imitate a twig.

These spiders have short, thick brushes of bristles on the terminals of legs 1 and 4, and they also appear to only have 4 eyes (rather than the usual 8!).

Unlike other Uloborid spiders, the Brown Twig Spider do not build webs but rely on a single silk line to camouflage on, and believe it or not, to catch prey!

Lynx Spider (Oxyopes lineatipes ♀) with Tiger Moth Prey by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Lynx Spiders are efficient predators that rely on speed and accuracy to hunt for prey, and they are very abundant pretty much everywhere, particularly on shrubs and low vegetations.

Lynx spiders can be easily recognized by their unique, hexagonal-positioned eyes as well as their spiny legs.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

A brown skipper (Hesperiidae) sipping salt by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A common skipper butterfly resting on my arm. Apparently it was attracted to the sodium from my sweat. Most butterflies require minerals like this for proper reproduction.

The skipper stayed on my arm for a good 10 minutes before flying off (too much ajinomoto?)

Double-striped Carrhotus- Carrhotus viduus ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Probably an old individual, the characteristic "moustache" seems to be missing in this one.

The Double-striped Carrhotus is a fairly common Jumping Spider that can be found on shrubs and low vegetation. The males are usually wait on leaves or twigs for prey. However, they can be quite aggressive towards other males, often chasing and hunting down intruders.

Double-striped Carrhotus- Carrhotus viduus ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A female Double-striped Carrhotus. Although the females can be found in the same habitats as the males, they are a lot faster and jumpy.

It is also observed that this particular species of jumping spiders can jump a lot farther than average.


Mother Green-and-Red Long-Jawed Spider (Tetragnatha hasselti ♀) with egg sac by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A beautiful Tetragnatha spider which, unlike other Tetragnatha, prefers to live on foliages of trees instead. T. hasselti can also be easily recognized by their orange-green colours, providing great camouflage.

It is observed that Tetragnatha hasselti is probably the fastest among the other common Tetragnatha in Malaysia i.e. T. mandibulata and T. josephi.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Yellow caterpillar by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Moth emerging from chrysalis by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Apparently it has shed all its yellow hairs to be used as materials for its cocoon as the caterpillar metamorphosize into the moth you see above. Impressive!


Mangrove Cross Spider (Argiope mangal ♀) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A freshly moulted (likely penultimate moult) Mangrove Cross Spider! Note how beautiful the fiery orange-yellow abdomen is, and how reddish the legs are at first. However, like most other spiders, the colours tend to fade as the spider ages; the abdomen will become a lot yellower, before fading eventually to become yellowish white.

Brown Plant Hopper (Nilaparvata lugens) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

This tiny little Brown Plant Hopper is so notorious that scientists decided to give them nicknames- BPH!
BPH, despite their minute sizes, attack paddy in large numbers, causing significant to total losses. BPH is also known to transmit viruses i.e. rice ragged stunt virus and rice grassy stunt virus.

Much efforts are put in to handle this formidable agricultural pest.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Buy and pinjam pinjam

Belum cuba belum tahu ma

Great shots!
I look forward to owning a telephoto lens

Yeah, definitely not tele enough, its an awesome macro lens, but its not perfect haha Its not very sharp at F2.8 too, which is quite sad, otherwise I wouldn't mind getting a telephoto

There are just too much damn nice birds here, and I really want to photograph them haha

Mangrove Long-Jawed Spider- Tetragnatha josephi ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Mangrove Long-Jawed Spider- Tetragnatha josephi ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A spider named after the famous spiderman of Singapore- Joseph Koh.

Mangrove Tetragnatha spiders are in many ways similar to their common cousins found near freshwater habitats: They are long, skinny and have ridiculously large jaws!

Mangrove Tetragnatha spiders are confined to, well, mangrove areas, and have different jaw structure from other species.

Interesting question: How come the males need jaws this big? Is it really that better and capturing prey? Or are they just for show, to tackle the females? XD


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Back with spider spam!


Maybe Black-and-White Jumper (Carrhotus sannio ♀?) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A cute, common and cooperative jumping spider which can be found on low vegetation in gardens. Been trying hard to figure out the ID of this cute spider, could this actually be the female of a Carrhotus sannio? If it is then the common name may have to be changed haha


Brown Sailor Spider (Neoscona nautica ♀) ready to eat by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A Neoscona spider moving towards her just-wrapped termite fly prey. Neoscona spiders are nocturnal and will start spinning their moderately large webs for the night at approximately 7-8pm. There are plenty of insects at night, so food is usually not a problem.

Like many other orb weaver spiders, a Neoscona doesn't always eat its prey right away, especially when they are already full (like this one).

Multi-coloured Cross Spider (Argiope versicolor ♂) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A male Argiope versicolor releasing his bridge-line. These male spiders only have one main focus in life, which is to find and mate at least once, and ideally only twice. Male Argiope will only feed and drink every once in awhile; most of the time they will be on the move and hunt for females of the same species.

The males will use their specialized pedipalps to inject sperm into the epigyne of a female. After that, the males will often break one or both of their palps in the epigyne to prevent other males from fertilizing the same female.

The males are so efficient and evolved that they live only to mate, once the 2nd pedipalp is broken in the female's epigyne, the male spider dies immediately, and automatically, and very often it will end up becoming the food for the female- somewhat similar to the sacrificing males in redback spiders.


Boomerang Spider- Rhomphaea sp. ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

This bizarre-looking comb-footed spider iseasy to recognized based on thelong and curvy "tails".

Often hanging on the bottom-side of leaves or branches, these spiders don't really spin a lot of webs to catch preys.


Flat-Bellied Ground Spider (likely Gnaphosidae) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

An unidentified, fast-moving spider found on a tree trunk.

These bizarre-looking spiders are easy to recognized based on their long and curvy "tails".


Often hanging on the bottom-side of leaves or branches, these spiders don't really spin a lot of webs to catch preys.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Great shots man!

Curved Long-Spined Spider under UV- Macracantha arcuata ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Most, if not all spiny spiders have hard and tough abdomens that will fluoresce under UV illumination, even if they are coloured, as seen in this spider.


Check out Macracantha arcuata under "normal" light: https://www.flickr.com/photos/59583171@N07/15268284769

The abdomen is reddish-orange in colour. No doubt one of the most bizarre spiders on Earth.


Red Tent Spider- Cyrtophora moluccensis ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A red morph of Cyrtophora moluccensis. These spiders occasionally undergo population "explosions" where you can find hundreds of thousands of them building webs along the treelines- an amazing sight!

These spiders can grow quite large, and are fast and agile too. The reliable 3D webs that they build are very efficient at catching prey as well. I wonder why these spiders are not as common as the others as they seem pretty well adapted for survival.

Capped Black-headed Spider- Zygiella cf. calyptrata ♂♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

This particular orb weaver spider may be very small, but they usually occur in large amounts, and provide significant control of prey populations. These Zygella spiders prefers drier areas and will often spin their webs by curling up leaves or using dead twigs as the framework.

Based on observation, the males often seem to be slightly larger than the female (in the background).


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Bug (ID appreciated) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Ground Beetle and Pseudoscorpions by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Note the two small pseudoscorpions on the legs of the ground beetle.
It is said that pseudoscorpions display cleaning associations with beetles, helping them to rid of mites. This sort of symbiosis is often seen in marine fishes as well.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

White mantis (ID appreciated) by Ji Tan, on Flickr


Seen this white mantis a couple of times; it will often press its body flatly against the surface of leaf so that it is hard to notice.

The mantis is pretty quick as well, quite hard to photograph unfortunately.


Female Stag Beetle (?) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Parallel-spined Gasteracantha feasting- Gasteracantha diardi ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Gastercantha diardi is a common spiny spider that can be found near secondary forests or highlands. Female Gastercantha diardi spiders are capable of building amazingly large webs 2-3 meters apart, and will often wait at the centre of the web for preys.

Although the females are conspicuous and quite common, the same cannot be said for the males, which are a lot tinier, and often "on the run".


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Wah, very cute

Why no face shot?

A Jewel Beetle (Buprestidae) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles are highly popular because of their striking and wonderful, metallic colours (not that obvious in this individual though lol)

Found this one in a paddy field. The larvae of Jewel Beetles can be devastating on trees and grasses; not quite sure whether they affect paddies as well.


Long-Jawed Orb Weaver Spider- Tetrangatha sp. ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

According to available literature, there should be around 5-6 species of Tetragnatha in Malaysia. They all look quite similar in morphology, but a closer look at the jaws and reproductive structures will reveal otherwise.

Is this a different species than the usual? Guess we will find out soon enough.


A metallic green Frog Legged Beetle (Sagra sp.?) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Is this one of the other reasons why this is called a Frog-legged Beetle? This particular fellow raised both its hindlegs when it sensed my presence.

Frog-legged Beetles are so called because of their hind-legs that sort of resemble those of frogs. Even so, these beetles don't use their legs to jump. They are capable of flying, but they rarely do so, possibly because of their inefficient manoeuvrability.


These beetles are usually come in a variety of metallic colours, and can be found on foliages.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Macro spam!

Semi-coppered Heavy Jumper- Hyllus cf. semicupreus ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A cute female Semi-coppered Heavy Jumper, very easy to recognized due to her size, the two "horns" on the head and of course, the apparent white band across the "face".

These spiders can be found all the way to India, thanks to their amazing adaptability. Unlike most other large spiders, these spiders were able to live together with humans (in their gardens and parks), thus gaining access to a lot more food, especially flies!

By the way, did I mention these spiders are some of the nicest to photograph? They are always so tame and cooperative.... maybe they are just being lazy XD

Food-stealing Spider caught stealing food- Argyrodes flavescens ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A cunning food-stealing spider feeding on what appears to be a signal fly leftover on a web of a Nephila spider.

Food-stealing spiders resembles the males of Nephila and Nephilengys spiders and can often be found on their massive webs, waiting to grab a bite of the goodies trapped on the web. Most of the time the hosts appear undisturbed by their presence, possibly because they are too small to enjoy.

Argyrodes can also be found on webs of Argiope spiders.

Ropalidia wasps attending to larvae by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Ropalidia wasps are known for their cooperative nest-building and brood care behaviour. This one is seen caring for the larger-sized larvae which looks like its about to hatch (?).

Metallic Green Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sp.) by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Did you know? Tiger beetles are some of the fastest running organisms on the planet for their size?
Capable of running up to 9km/h, these beetles are so fast that their vision cannot keep up with their movements, so they are practically blind while moving, and has to stop every once in a while to reorientate.





More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

This post has been edited by [PF] T.J.: Sep 15 2015, 10:48 PM

Little Pardosa wolf spider with freshly hatched spiderlings- Pardosa pusiola by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A mother Pardosa spider carrying her newly hatched spiderlings on her back, something we usually see in scorpions. The roundish object is the remaining egg sac.

The spiderlings will remain on the back of the mother and feed on the remaining yolk within the remains of the egg sac until their next moult. After that, the spiderlings will begin to disperse. This is a strategy to ensure higher survival rates of the offspring.

A Giant Golden Web Spider wrapping her prey- Nephila pilipes ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A Nephila pilipes delivering a deadly bite into a helpless honey bee, and is now getting ready to wrap her up before beginning the feast.

This exceptionally large spider builds very large, sticky, and gold-coloured webs which can even trap birds and bats (which the spider doesn't mind eating)!

Stick insects mating by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Harvestman by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A giant-sized "daddy-long-leg"!

Harvestmen are not considered as spiders due to the lack of a true thorax and abdomen.

Harvestmen are usually omnivores and can be found in moist, shaded areas of parks or forests.

and man they can run!


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

This post has been edited by [PF] T.J.: Sep 17 2015, 10:14 PM

Common Flashwing- Vestalis amethystina ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A common, but very beautiful damselfly, often found in shaded parts of waterfalls and rivers.

Apart from having an attractive, metallic green body, Flashwings have purplish wings too, which will glitter under the sunlight- definitely a sight to behold.


Zebra Smiley- Theridion zebrinum ♂ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A male Zebra Smilley is pretty much the same size as the female: https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3814/19528979...f22e4d6a6_b.jpg

Much like the female, the glossy red male also build webs with characteristic, sub-parallel zig-zag lines on leaves. However, the males do not have any stripes or patterns on their body, and certainly not the fascinating"smiley face" seen only in the females of the species!

Turquoise stick insect by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A beautifully coloured stick insect resting on bamboo leaves. These stick insects try their best not to move so as to avoid attention. However, once their camouflage has been foiled, they will easily fall downwards onto the next piece of foliage in attempts to quickly escape.

ID appreciated


Parischnogaster stealing food from spider by Ji Tan, on Flickr

An in-flight shot of a wasp stealing wrapped food from a Tetragnatha big-jawed spider. These wasps are known to forage and steal food from many different types of orb weaver spiders, to be brought back to their nests to feed their young.

More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia

Lace sheet weaver spider- Psechrus sp. ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr
As the name suggests, Psechrus spiders build lace-like, messy webs which are usually associated with tree trunks. Occasionally they build webs on foliage of plants as well. These spiders often hang upside down in their webs, waiting for prey to fall onto their webs, when alarmed, they can simply retreat to the far end funnel of the web, usually with crevices for hiding.


Twin-Spotted Sylvan- Coeliccia cf. didyma♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A beautiful and relatively large-sized featherleg damselfly. Many of these damselflies will assume an opened wing position when perching.

Food-stealing Spider caught stealing food- Argyrodes flavescens ♀ by Ji Tan, on Flickr

A cunning food-stealing spider feeding on a fly stolen from a web of a Nephila pilipes.

Food-stealing spiders resembles the males of Nephila and Nephilengys spiders and can often be found on their massive webs, waiting to grab a bite of the goodies trapped on the web. Most of the time the hosts appear undisturbed by their presence, possibly because they are too small to be actually satisfying.


Argyrodes can also be found on webs of Argiope spiders.


Shadowdamsel- Drepanosticta sp. by Ji Tan, on Flickr

Shadowdamselflies typically have narrow hyaline wings, a light thorax and a long thin abdomen.
These damselflies are found in forests around streams and they fly slowly.

9 species of Drepanosticta were recordard from Peninsular Malaysia.


More on Macro Photography here: PixelsDimension
Check out Malaysia's wildlife here: WildLife Malaysia