The Flying Saucer At Sunset

Lenticular clouds (Altocumulus lenticularis) are stationary lens-shaped clouds with a smooth layered appearance that form in the troposphere, usually above mountain ranges. One was spotted in Singapore recently...

Eyes Of 30,000 Honeycombs

With 30,000 individual facets, dragonflies have the most number of facets among insects. Each facet, or ommatidia, creates its own image, and the dragonfly brain has eight pairs of descending visual neurons to compile those thousands of images into one picture...

A Kaleidoscope Of Colours, Shapes And Patterns

Spectacular and innovative in design, the Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean regions like South Africa, California and parts of Spain and Italy. Home to a collection of plants from deserts all over the world, it showcases the adaptations of plants to arid environments...

Lightning Strikes, Not Once, But Many Times

Unlike light, lightning does not travel in a straight line. Instead, it has many branches. These other branches flashed at the same time as the main strike. The branches are actually the step leaders that were connected to the leader that made it to its target...

Are You My Dinner Tonight?

A T-Rex has 24-26 teeth on its upper jaw and 24 more on its lower jaw. Juveniles have small, sharp blade-shaped teeth to cut flesh, whereas adults have huge, blunt, rounded teeth for crushing bones. Is the T-Rex a bone-crushing scavenger?

Ghost Spider - Happy Halloween!

6:00 PM  , , , ,  

Punggol Park Connector
North-East, Singapore
October 2012
Cloudy

This Neoscona Punctigera (Ghost Spider) was spotted stationary on a leaf along the Punggol Park Connector. Belonging to the Orb-Weaver (Araneidae) family, it is from the Neoscona genus which has a characteristic longitudinal groove on the carapace which separates all species of Neoscona from species of Araneus (Wikipedia 2012).

  
Merlion Wayfarer has no idea why this spider has such an Halloween-themed name, but here are some clues:
  • For a start, it definitely does not look like a spider, especially with its bent-legged yoga pose.The carapace is M-shaped; It looks like two coconut husks joined together.
  • There are spots on its back which glow in the dark.
  • The black bands on its legs reflect light too.
  • Its deceptive colour signalling and body spot colouration visually lures prey.
  • It is a nocturnal sit-and-wait predator.
  • The spider is so full of "spikes" that it looks like a chestnut.
(Source : tokorozawadailyphoto)

Being a nocturnal predator, it constructs its web at night, shortly after sunset and removes the web next morning. During the day, it hides among the leaves. When at rest, it assumes a shape that looks like a monkey and that's why it is also known as "monkey spider". Hmm...
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The Ones That Leap & Fly

11:48 AM  , , , , , , ,  

Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West
North, Singapore
August 2012
Callosciurus Notatus (Plantain Squirrel) : Scores of these were leaping from tree to tree, creating an exhilarating acrobatic spectacle...

Moth [unidentified] : A gentle flying dustball rests near the shrubs in the sunlight...

Eudynamys Scolopaceus (Asian Koel) : Two males attempt in their utmost to court the discerning tastes of a single female. A love triangle and cacophony of calls ensues...

Lizard [unidentified] : A well-hidden one in the shade of a sealing wax palm...

Grasshopper [unidentified] : One of the many leaf destroyers that was spotted...

Houseflies [unidentified] : Seems these two are not shy about posing under studio lights!

| "Half The Bloodsucker That It Was" |  "The Hill Of The Golden Ants" |


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Near The Water

10:19 AM  , , , , , , , , ,  

North, Singapore
August 2012
Cloudy

Merlion Wayfarer spotted a few Argyrodes Flavescens (Red Silver Spider) in some old webs. These spiders are "food stealers", helping themselves to insects trapped in the web of the host, or prey stored by the host in the web, or a freshly-killed victim that is being consumed by the host.

There was also an orb-weaver. These spiders spin circular webs and normally hide in a rolled leaf nearby in the day and venture out into the web only at night.

Tis is the season with the whole pond is awash with the pretty blooms in pink. Powdery pink lotuses can be found every few steps around the circumference of the pond. It was a sight to behold!

A sharp-eyed Merlion Wayfarer spotted the Pardosa Pseudoannulata (Pond Wolf Spider) on the lotus leaves. Three were spotted.

 Lots of guppies in the pond - A healthy sign of life!
Living near the water were also a multitude of dragons and damsels. Here are the photogenic ones that appeared in her lens...
  • Dragonfly [unidentified], Aethriamanta Gracilis (Pond Adjutant)
  • Crocothemis Servilia (Common Scarlet), Aethriamanta Gracilis (Pond Adjutant), Aethriamanta Gracilis (Pond Adjutant)
  • Dragonfly [unidentified], Damselfly [unidentified]
  • Acisoma Panorpoides (Trumpet Tail) Male
  • Crocothemis Servilia (Common Scarlet), Acisoma Panorpoides (Trumpet Tail) Female



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The Hill Of The Golden Ants

8:20 AM  , ,  

Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West
North, Singapore
August 2012 
Cloudy

Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West seemed to have a huge number of golden ants. Here are a few of the more photogenic ones...

 

Polyrhachis Illaudata (Golden Ant) is a species of large ant found in Sri Lanka and India, and extending through Southeast Asia to the Philippines. The colonies have a single queen and nest within wood. Fascinatingly, this species uses its larvae to spin the nest. Note the spiny protrusion on metasoma (abdomen).



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Half The Bloodsucker That It Was

7:32 AM  , ,  

Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West
North, Singapore
August 2012
Cloudy

Calotes Versicolor (Changeable Lizard / Bloodsucker Lizard / Crested Tree Lizard / Garden Fence Lizard / Oriental Garden Lizard) are usually a dull brown, grey or olive with speckles or bands, but can can be seen in other colours such as bright green. These colour changes may reflect their moods.

Merlion Wayfarer spotted this one along the staircase near Mayflower Primary School. It was basking in the sun in mid-morning. A male, it was in the midst of a colour change in preparation for the breeding season. A fascinating example. It can be seen that colour change happens not sporadically, but from head onwards to the tail. Its throat is also turning black...

During the breeding season, the male's head and shoulders turns bright orange to crimson and his throat black. Males also turn red-headed after a successful battle with rivals. Thus their other gruesome name of "Bloodsucker Lizard". But they don't actually suck anybody's blood! Both males and females have a crest from the head to nearly the tail, hence their other common name "Crested Tree Lizard".

 
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Thump! Splat! Smack!

4:56 PM  ,  

Somewhere Out There
Singapore
October 2012

This morning Merlion Wayfarer was shocked out of her sleep by a loud THUMP! on her glass door. Thinking that it might be a broom or dustpan blown by the strong wind remaining from the rain last night, she ignored it. But curiousity got the better of her, especially since she opened the door and found no one there and all the items in place.

A closer look revealed this interesting sight - SPLAT! right on the ground...

Then it hardly moved at all. It was in such an awkward position that Merlion Wayfarer wasn't even sure it was alive! She decided to check out if it was ok. It wasn't zombied enough to stay still though, and it got up quickly. Merlion Wayfarer had to move real fast to prevent being pecked by that bright orange beak!


It recovered enough to start flying and SMACK! it hit another wall and landed on the ground again.
Ok, more recovery time needed...

You can see its pupils getting dilated with the dazed effect...

Getting better, starting to getting awake...

Hopping around to test its orientation and then... BYE!

Afternote
As this was not like any kingfisher that she had seen before, Merlion Wayfarer sent out a call to her fellow nature kakis to ID it. LC (Thanks!) reverted that this is a rare Halcyon Coromanda (Ruddy Kingfisher), an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor to Singapore. Usually found in a forest setting, this little kingfisher appeared disorientated in the urban setting. 

Referring to the first photo, Merlion Wayfarer had noticed a blue patch on its back. She thought it was due to the glass as it appeared less obvious after the door was opened. After doing some research, she realized that it was the blue sheen can only be seen in flight and when reflected against some light.

The "dazed look" was also explained as a nictitating membrane - The eye is covered with a translucent layer, as a protective function before the bird swoops down to attack prey, but in this case, it probably surfaces as as result of the knock on the head twice against the glass, then the wall. Interesting occurrence!
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