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?

Brittles Under Stones

2:24 AM  ,  

North-East Coast
Singapore
January 2013

Brittle Stars belong to the phylum Echinodermata and and sub-class Ophiuroidea which has about 2,100 known species, of which 300 brittle star species can be found in shallow tropical waters. They get their name from their ability to drop off their arms, for example, when grabbed by a fish. A new arm will regrow. Although often found on Singapore shores, Brittle Stars are seldom seen as they are active at night and shelter under rocks, beneath the sand and in even on other animals such as sponges.

Two Brittle Stars were spotted within close proximity of each other 
under some stones by the beach at low tide...
  

Sources


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The Rainbow That Ants Drop Off From

5:27 PM  , , , ,  

East, Singapore
July & August 2012

Merlion Wayfarer found the only Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree (Eucalyptus Deglupta, Mindanao Gum / Rainbow Eucalyptus / Rainbow Gum) in Singapore!

Located in a small cosy wood, it was tucked away in a little corner of the park with just a worn out sign denoting its "Heritage Tree" status.

The Heritage Tree signboard which was first spotted in July and
replaced with a brand new plate in August 2012...

What's so special about this tree?
  • This is the sole species of Eucalyptus that is native to an area above the Equator. (Well, Singapore is one degree north of the Equator.)
  • Found mainly in New Guinea, Sulawesi and Mindanao, there is only ONE Rainbow Eucalyptus tree in the whole of Singapore!
  • The spectacular bark shows off a wide variety of colors all at once.
  • Unlike most other trees, its bark flakes off by layered strips as it matures. 

Instances of its flaking bark with the active eco-system that it fosters -
Hasarius Adansoni (Adanson's House Jumper) Female Spider, Oecophylla Smaragdina (Weaver Red Ant, Kerengga Ant) Ants, Hasarius Adansoni (Adanson's House Jumper) Male Spider,
Menemerus Bivittatus (Common House Jumper)...

More about the rainbow colouring in this description:

"The tree gets its common name from the striking stripes of color on its trunks and limbs. While they look as though they were painted on, these  ever-changing colors are an entirely natural feature. Unlike trees such as oaks, rainbow eucalyptus does not have a thick, corky layer of bark on the trunk.

Instead, the bark is smooth and vibrantly alive, and as it grows, it exfoliates thin layers of spent tissue. This process occurs in irregular zones at different times. Once the layers come off, they reveal new and fresh green bark. As the newly exposed bark slowly ages, it changes from bright green to a darker green, then bluish to purplish, and then pink-orange. Finally, the color becomes a brownish maroon right before exfoliation occurs.

Since this process is happening in different zones of the trunk and in different stages, simultaneously, the colors are varied and almost constantly changing. As a result, the tree will never have the same color pattern twice, making it like a work of living art."

Merlion Wayfarer made one fascinating discovery about the Rainbow Gum tree today. Like the bevy of spiders and other insects that throng up and down the tree, the ants most visibly had the most difficulty climbing up the tree. Once they reach about the two-metre mark (from ground level), most of the ants started falling off the tree!

Possible reasons why could be the lubricating effect of the oil secreted by the leaves or the newness of the constantly-flaking bark. The real reason remains to be discovered. Merlion Wayfarer awaits to be enlightened by a learned scholar out there...

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Between The Stalks & The Gravel

12:41 PM  , , , , , , ,  

Pandan Reservoir
West, Singapore
January 2013

Pandan Reservoir is not really known for its spiders and avian subjects. It is mainly because the plants there are mainly cultured ones - those that are planted for aesthetic reasons to beautify the environment. Yet Merlion Wayfarer was there earlier this month. Why? To see the amazing sunset there. (See "The Sun Sets In The West At Pandan Reservoir")

What was more than ample were scores of Pacific Swallows (Hirundo Tahitica Javanica) busy zipping through the waters, some even came as close as an arm's length in their evening buzz...
  

Where water plants were visible, there were many old webs by big-jawed spiders. These were mainly loose webs which were at least a day old. However as it neared sunset, these dormant spiders started coming to live to rebuild their webs for the volley of night insects.
 

Here is one more Mangrove Big-Jawed Spider (Tetragnatha Josephi Okuma) within the periphery of Merlion Wayfarer's lens in its web-building process. As it zips up and down each strand of web, the spider alternatively faces the camera with its top and bottom surface...
 
  
Due to the hundreds of thousands of gravel bits lining the jogging path, Merlion Wayfarer did something interesting today - she looked down at her feet while she walked. She spots a shy ground spider (Spotted Ground Spider, Storena Cinctipes)...
  

It's a bit harder to spot these are they scuttle around at a breakneck speed - even for human eyes. Even when noticed, their colour and behaviour resemble worker ants exploring the gravel path. And when alerted, they will hide in the nooks and crannies of the stones. A good eye and a flash is required for these shots...
  
  
Look at the size of its saucer-like eyes and the beautiful rusty-brown spots on its back...

|  "The Sun Sets In The West At Pandan Reservoir"  |  "The Sun Sets In The East At Bedok Reservoir"  |

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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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