Posts under ‘The Photographer’

Just a collection of what I’ve managed to rear in recent times:
Pericallia ricini (Family Arctiidae / tiger moths):

Eggs

2nd instar larvae

4th instar larva

Adult

Metanastria hyrtaca (Family Lasiocampidae / lappet moths):

Early instars

Later instars

Adult

Adult

Perina nuda (Family Lymantriidae / tussock moths):

Pre-pupal stage

Pupa

Newly-eclosed adult male

Adult male

Enpinanga borneensis (Family Sphingidae / hawk or Sphinx moths):

Final instar, pre-pupal stage

Adult which unfortunately eclosed [...]

Driven by curiosity and the urge to test the hypothesis that the smaller, similarly brown-mottled but black forlegged mantid was indeed the male of Diego’s species (ok, driven by the sheer excitement of having little Diegos to complete the whole cycle as well), we found and collected one of these, and in a social entomological [...]

With long and graspy legs, nasty jaw-like mandibles and modified appendages through which they inject their prey with venom, these house centipedes look like the epitome of all that’s evil and dangerous in the wilderness at night.
Yet they do no more harm to humans than the average spider – if they do bite at [...]

Okay, so Diego’s a female.
We counted eight abdominal segments when Diego was a nymph, so we took a risk and named it a him even though we knew that we could really only tell when it reached maturity. We also knew that creatures should be its, but it’s got too much character to be [...]

A very pretty male with blue irises:

More photos here.

Marbled forest gecko

Close-up

House centipede

Stick insect

Fulgoroid planthopper nymphs with ‘fibre-optic’ tails

Back from Okinawa and Fukuoka; pics are up!

A beautiful honeycomb, the nest of honeybees (likeliest candidate Apis dorsata), measuring 61cm at its widest and 41cm across – and that is by no means the full size of the nest since parts of it have been visibly broken off. It smells of honey… pure, sweet honey, although all its cells are clean. [...]