110820 Semakau forest

Another Semakau survey, this time with members of the Butterfly Circle who did a great job documenting the butterflies there. While they were busy chasing butterflies, Marcus and I went to look for other bugs. Meanwhile, Ria had a wonderful encounter with an otter!



Tiny bug (1 mm long) in a webspinner gallery. I have seen similar bugs in the webspinner gallery on my mango tree before. Wonder if such bugs are webspinner larva, however the only webspinner larva image I could find currently shows that webspinner larva, even at the first instar, already resemble the adult form.I think this is Psocpotera in a silk nest.



Adult bugs in white white stuff (wax?).


Have yet to find an adult cricket.


Tiny bluish salticid. The blue highlights did not turn up well in this photo.


Posture of this spider resembles Argiope.



Lynx spider with egg sac.


Hersiliidae. Abdominal shape differs from those more commonly seen.


Ant missing a head and abdomen.


Ant with relatively large abdomen.


Weaver ants milking a scale insect.


Can see the liquid being harvested.


Marcus spotted this ant that seemed to be in a daze, crawling up and down the leaf, as if looking for a place to clamp down and die.


He also spotted these ants with interesting body texture living in a plant. Wonder if its a symbiosis, something like this.


Fly caught by weaver ants and being dragged back alive.





Many flies in the forest of Semakau.


This fly is exceptionally flighty.


Marcus spotted this tiny 4 mm long fly with what look like mites infesting the eyes.


Mating Micropezidae.




Asilidae. One of them caught a strange insect I can't identify.


Bee fly (Bombyliidae)?


Tiny wasp, probably parasitic. Or could be Psocoptera, as Marcus pointed out.


Some sort of bee?


Another wasp.


Dragonfly. Can't seem to find it in the dragonfly book.