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

wah damn sharp le the colours. Do u guys use spyder calibrators on ur monitor?

Fresh pics

DSC_6088 by GM Yong, on Flickr

DSC_6146 by GM Yong, on Flickr

No warranty card? Try calling
Audio & Photo Distributor (FE) Sdn Bhd
Sole distributor of Sigma Lens (Malaysia)
Tel: 03-7710 0050

Level 8-02, 03& 01, Wisma BU8, No.11, Lebuh Bandar Utama, PJU 6,
47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan

Source: Sigma Malaysia

No warranty card and if got also expired ady. I trade the lens with D300 body with a friend

EDIT: its the old 50mm 1.4 EX HSM one, not the ART series

This post has been edited by gnome: Sep 17 2015, 01:08 PM

Ah ok... anyway may just go to the said address for calibration, if required...

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

i wonder how much is the D300 going for in the 2nd hand market

around 1k something i guess

thing is , would anyone want to buy. lol mine jst wasted sitting in my dry cabinet.. wanna sell then eat holiao (good food) haha

https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=3699981&hl=d300

Sell to shop lo boss.

haha susah to find buyer i guess, even something like d700 also a bit hard to sell at 2-3k.

sell to shop sure less than 1 k la.. haha ppl wanna untung ley

yea.. sigh oh well.. maybe if i bundle with 17-55

17-55

New shot.

The Ninja by GM Yong, on Flickr

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

thats why when my friend wanna trade with the sigma i okay jer

D300 still good for studio work and if you're doing outdoor sports. Nikon still doesnt have D300/D300s equivalent crop sensor body

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

This shot super nice. You must have some ninja skills to photograph this beautiful damselflies. Never get to photograph one. So jelly.