The Tur†|e's Lair: May 2010

So here comes the Creepy Crawlies of Mulu. After trimming down the shots to the ~~best~~ presentable few I found, there isn't so many after all (guess it says something about my photography skills, ouch). Haha. Decided to name them Creepy Crawlies since not all of them fit into the 'bugs' or 'insects' category. Bugs really only include a specific family of insects, while insects... only include 6-legged stuff, so Creepy Crawlies would cover all (spiders, milipedes etc). So here we go, beginning with a bug-graveyard shot at the research centre, some researcher's work.

A Bug's Nightmare

Guess who? When you mess up your settings and the flash is set to full blast... The poor praying mantis suffers. It looks rather cute though, haha. Sorry dude.

We actually spent a good deal of time letting this guy crawl all over our hands

And these beautiful exhibitionists, ever present in groups if you were to walk through the boardwalks through the jungle in the morning-noon. They tend to congregate in sunny spots. Raja Brooke butterflies, real gliding beauties when they're flying. Wing span measures about 15 cm sometimes, yup, they're pretty big. That's why Brooke named them after himself (ya know, how males/kings tend to associate big things to 'themselves').

And always, Cheryl and I would notice this particular outcast butterfly who'll be hanging out nearby the congregation, looking rather emotional alone. Like a case of the ugly duckling, only, I kinda like how its body is spotted.

And here ya go, first of the furry caterpillars. They're deadlier than you think. Let the video do the talking. Where big active ant loses to lazy furry caterpillar.

Don't mess with the caterpillar.

Almost got fooled thinking these guys were part of the plant.

Leaf insect in the dark, nightwalk. This one was at least 15 cm long, big guy.

Zoomed shot of this flatworm, slimy, hammerheaded and somewhat handsome. Too bad it was too far and dark to get a better picture.

Pseudoscorpions, which were rather big. They're known to be ~4mm in length. These guys were at least 8-10 cm each. Interesting bunch of creepy crawlies. Not actual scorpions, nor do they fit as insects/spiders. They're in their own Order, known as Pseudoscorpionida.

Order Blattodea.... also commonly known as cockroaches. haha

Moth

Naughty, naughty..

"Night time, sharpens,heightens each sensation"

(Phantom of the Opera)

Mating stick insects.

"Night time.."

*hit by flying slipper*

Whew.. Mating milipedes, hooha!

Spider! I forgot what it was, but I think this was some 'Headhunter/Hunter spider' or something, which was a lot rarer than the usual wolf spider we see all over the place. About 3+ inches long from leg to leg.

Leaf insect.

A whole bunch of baby milipedes by tufts of moss. I'm particularly proud of this picture because it looked a lot like a picture I saw in a Mulu book depicting these creatures too *puffs chest*

(got lucky)

Cicada

Look closer, a whole army of baby spiders. Man, what a party.

Mama Spider.

Check out the egg sack it's carrying beneath its chin. Awesome stuff.

Shiny lil beetle.

Most of the pictures were taken at the plank walk, either day or night, as you can see from lighting conditions (flash usually employed for night shots). This one... was taken at our toilet. Blue.. butterfly? I can't really tell.

The orange-coloured cousin of the earlier hammer-headed flatworm. These guys were pretty common.

Naga Terbang

Dragonfly.

An ugly, fly-larvae look-alike (maybe) hanging on a stalk of green. Think twice before grabbing anything here.

Wolf spider on a cave wall. Moonmilk cave, if my memory doesn't fail me.

Ol' Ant finally prepared to get rid of its wings to settle down.

Red leaf insect (see why it's called leaf insect?) walking.. Limping actually, it's missing two of its left legs.

Look closely. This is actually a dead hammer-head worm, dried and half eaten in that groove in the plank walk. Inside the groove, I see gleaming lil creepy crawlies I cannot discern; either ants or baby scorpions.

One mini 6-legger I cannot identify. Fluffy, white, six-legged, seemingly furry... I don't know, but it's cute (~0.5 cm long)

Now back to mean-faced furry caterpillars.

And the same kind of fat-assed ant from before, but with its wings still attached and hiding beneath a leaf.

Ladybug?

You almost fooled me... almost.

Long, long stick insect. I had to peek real hard to make out which end was its face. There ya go (easily 30 cm long). I almost stepped on it.

What's this? I don't know, but it was walking.

Hello, orange worm.

The Almost Grabbed-erpillar Case

So I was trying to continue snapping pictures of the orange worm above as it crawled to the outside railing of the boardwalk and thought I'd just lean my arm over it on the other side so I can snap back towards myself to catch the worm. Nearly a big mistake. I had a gut feeling telling me to check what's on the other side before I leaned my arm over and wah lah....

Furry Caterpillar, Green. I nearly squashed you with my elbow. Thank the Lord for His mercy. hehe. Sidetrack, Cheryl once grabbed this mean, really spiky and furry looking brown caterpillar in Cameron Highlands. It stung her hand, which swelled up for a couple of days. And she was down with fever for at least a day.
Lesson of the post?
Grab no furry caterpillars.

Notice that maroon-white background above the wooden platform that the worm's crawling on? Well, that's my shirt. I was in cam-whore position with this worm.

-end-

Fur..

..ry, mean-faced caterpillar. Their faces reminds me of 'Sobi Masks' from Warcraft.

Another one of those unidentified fluffy whites, this time with a tinge of electric blue.

In Tse Yuen's words "It's the most cooperative dragonfly species around"

I must agree, this dragonfly would pose for you about as long as you want it to.

Another nasty looking caterpillar that looks like it could cause some real damage.

Nasty grab-me-nots.

Big fat juicy snail hanging on a stalk of plant. 3" diameter at least, so tempting to squeeze it. Ah man I'm such a sicko.

More fluffies.

Look above. Tse Yuen spotting his favourite nasty furry caterpillars (he's mortally terrified by fury caterpillars). Do try looking up once in awhile, they may very well be right above you, dangling on a branch, just waiting for their chance ~~to pounce on you~~