27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - GIANT GOLDEN ORBWEAVER SPIDER (Nephila pilipes)

Nephila pilipes (northern golden orb weaver or giant golden orb weaver) is a species of golden orb-web spider. It resides all over countries in East and Southeast Asia as well as Oceania. It is commonly found in primary and secondary forests and gardens. Females are large and grow to a body size of 30–50 mm (overall size up to 20 cm), with males growing to 5–6 mm. It is the second largest of the orb-weaving spiders apart from the recently discovered Nephila komaci. The first, second, and fourth pairs of legs of juvenile females have dense hairy brushes, but these brushes disappear as the spider matures.

The N. pilipes golden web is vertical with a fine irregular mesh. It is not symmetrical, with the hub usually nearer the top. Rather than egg sacs being hung in the web, a pit is dug which is then covered with plant debris or soil.

Nephila spp. prey upon only a few species. Nephila spp. will remove some specific insects from their webs. They avoid vespid wasps, alate ants, and other insects that secrete distasteful compounds. Due to Nephila’s large body size, it can prey on insects with a broad size range, from 2 mm to even larger size than themselves. They adopt different strategies for different sizes of preys. Small preys are directly caught and removed from the web. For larger ones, they inject venom and wait for the decease of their prey. However, Nephila spp. have a dramatic change in predation style from the spiderling to adulthood. During the spiderling stage, they feed collectively on a common web. Upon reaching adulthood, they construct their own webs. Nephila spp. also reserve food caches to deal with periods of food shortage. They wrap surplus prey in silk and store them in the hub of the web. The silk covering can significantly reduce water loss due to evaporation. Food cache can reduce weight loss during periods with limited preys.

It has been reported that some N. pilipes can adjust the ultraviolet radiation reflected by stripes on their body to attract preys that are UV light oriented. The bands on the legs and body of N. pilipes can reflect UV radiation, so they are more visible to flying insects. The contrast of colors makes them look like food sources for insects, rather than a predator spider.

 

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - COLLARED KINGFISHER (Todiramphus chloris)

 The collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris) is a medium-sized kingfisher belonging to the subfamily Halcyoninae, the tree kingfishers. It is also known as the white-collared kingfisher, black-masked kingfisher or mangrove kingfisher. It has a wide range extending from the Red Sea across southern Asia to Polynesia. A number of subspecies and subspecies groups have been split from this species including the Pacific kingfisher, the islet kingfisher, the Torresian kingfisher, the Mariana kingfisher, and the Melanesian kingfisher.

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - BRONZED DRONGO (Dicrurus aeneus)

The bronzed drongo (Dicrurus aeneus) is a small Indomalayan bird belonging to the drongo group. They are resident in the forests of the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They capture insects flying in the shade of the forest canopy by making aerial sallies from their perches. They are very similar to the other drongos of the region but are somewhat smaller and compact with differences in the fork depth and the patterns of gloss on their feathers.

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - HORSFIELD'S BARON BUTTERFLY (MALE) (Tanaecia iapis)

The Horsfield's Baron is relatively common in Singapore. They are mainly found in the nature reserves, but at times adults can be seen flying in public parks and wastelands where the host plants are growing in abundance. Both sexes have the habit of resting on perches with wings open. The male exhibits territorial behaviour of chasing intruders in the vicinity of its perch. On rare occasions, the male have been observed to puddle on damp ground.

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - PLANT HOPPER (Pochazia sinuata)

 Moth like planthopper.

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - TRUE CRICKET (Nisitrus vittatus)

 Nisitrus vittatus is a species of insects with 164 observations

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - MALABAR MELESTONE (Melastoma malabathricum)

Melastoma malabathricum, known also as Malabar melastome, Indian rhododendron, Singapore rhododendron, planter's rhododendron and senduduk, is a flowering plant in the family Melastomataceae. Despite its common names, it does not have any connection to actual rhododendrons, and belongs to the Rosids clade as opposed to the Asterids clade. This plant is native to Indomalaya, Japan and Australia, and is usually found at elevations between 100 m and 2,800 m in grassland and sparse forest habitats. It has been used as a medicinal plant in certain parts of the world, but has been declared a noxious weed in the United States. M. malabathricum is a known hyperaccumulator of aluminium, and as such can be used for phytoremediation.

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - ORANGE SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (Orthetrum testaceum)

 

Orthetrum testaceum, common names Crimson Dropwing or Orange Skimmer. is an Asian freshwater dragonfly species belonging to the family Libellulidae.

This common species is widespread throughout India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. These dragonflies may occur in various areas with standing waters, as in ponds, drains, marshes, around rivers, streams, lakes, and gardens.

27-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - SLENDER SKIMMER DRAGONFLY (Orthetrum sabina)

Orthetrum sabina, the slender skimmer or green marsh hawk, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is widespread, being found from south-eastern Europe and North Africa to Japan and south to Australia and Micronesia.

It is a medium-sized dragonfly with a wingspan of 60-85mm. Adults are grayish to greenish yellow with black and pale markings and green eyes. Its abdomen is greenish-yellow, marked with black. It is very similar to Orthetrum serapia in appearance, with both species appearing in northern Australia. Pale markings on segment four of the abdomen do not extend into the posterior section when viewed from above on Orthetrum sabina. Females are similar to males in shape, color and size; differing only in sexual characteristics. This dragonfly perches motionless on shrubs and dry twigs for long periods. It voraciously preys on smaller butterflies and dragonflies.

 

25-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - PLUME TOED SWIFTLET (Collocalia affinis)

The plume-toed swiftlet (Collocalia affinis) is a small bird in the swift family Apodidae. It is found on some eastern Indian Ocean islands, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and lowland Borneo.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It was previously considered a subspecies of the glossy swiftlet.

24-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - STICK INSECT (Calvisia virbius)

Calvisia is a genus of stick insects in the subfamily Necrosciinae (tribe Necrosciini). Species are known to be distributed in temperate and tropical Asia.

 

24-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - MALAY YEOMAN BUTTERFLY (Cirrochroa emalea)

Cirrochroa emalea, the Malay yeoman, is an Indomalayan species of heliconiine butterfly described by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville in 1843.

 

25-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - COLLARED CARPENTER BEE (Xylocopa dejeanii)

 Xylocopa dejeanii, or Xylocopa (Zonohirsuta) dejeanii, is a species of carpenter bee. It is widely distributed in Asian countries.

29-5-2023 TABIN RESERVE, BORNEO - BROWN WOOD OWL (Strix leptogrammica)

The brown wood owl (Strix leptogrammica) is found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan, and south China. The brown wood owl is a resident breeder in south Asia. This species is a part of the family of owls known as typical owls (Strigidae), which contains most species of owl. It belongs to the earless owl genus Strix.

The brown wood owl is medium large (45–57 cm), with upperparts uniformly dark brown, with faint white spotting on the shoulders. The underparts are buff with brown streaking. The facial disc is brown or rufous, edged with white and without concentric barring, and the eyes are dark brown. There is a white neckband. The sexes are similar in appearance. 

22-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - PACIFIC SWALLOW (Hirundo tahitica)

The Pacific swallow (Hirundo tahitica) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in tropical southern Asia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is resident apart from some local seasonal movements. This bird is associated with coasts, but is increasingly spreading to forested uplands. The hill swallow and the welcome swallow were formerly considered conspecific.

The Pacific swallow builds a neat cup-shaped nest, constructed with mud pellets collected in the beak, under a cliff ledge or on man-made structures such as a building, bridge or tunnel. The nest is lined with softer material, and the clutch is two to three eggs. It is similar in behaviour to other aerial insectivores, such as other swallows and the unrelated swifts. It is a fast flyer and feeds on insects, especially flies, while airborne.

25-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - GUINEA FLOWER (Dillenia excelsa)

Medium-sized riverine tree, up to 25m height, with bushy columnar crown.

Foliage Leaves medium-large (15-30cm long), glossy green, prominently-veined, with slightly serrate margins, lacking stipules at blade-petiole junction. Young leaves reddish. Species is deciduous in regions with seasonally-dry climates.

Flowers Large (8-10cm across) and showy, petals bright yellow, typically 5 nos., with pinkish recurved apical stigma in centre, contrasted by numerous dark to purplish-red taller inner stamens, surrounded by shorter and more reflexed yellow outer stamens. Produced singly or in few-numbered clusters, upward-facing. Unopened buds enveloped by fleshy dark red to reddish-green sepals. Flowers open early in morning and last for 1 day, with petals being shed by late afternoon or evening. Rich in honey and pollinated mainly by Apis dorsata (Honey Bee).

16-5-2023 KOTA KINABALU, BORNEO - INDIGO FLYCATCHER (Eumyias indigo)

The indigo flycatcher (Eumyias indigo) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it is found in Sumatra, Java and northern montane areas of Borneo. Its natural habitat is tropical moist submontane montane forests between 900m to 3000m, where it is a common to fairly common species.

24-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - POINTED CELIATE BLUE BUTTERFLY (Anthene lycaenina)

Anthene lycaenina, the pointed ciliate blue, is a small butterfly found in India that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family found in Indomalayan realm. The species was first described by Cajetan Felder in 1868.

25-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - FLAT TAILED HOUSE GECKO (Hemidactylus platyurus)

The flat-tailed house gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus), also known as the frilled house gecko or Asian house gecko, is a species of Gekkonidae native to southeastern and southern Asia. The species is sometimes classified under the genus Cosymbotus. 

25-5-2023 SUKAU RIVER LODGE, BORNEO - HORSFIELD'S BARON BUTTERFLY (FEMALE) (Tanaecia iapis)

The Horsfield's Baron is dimorphic, in that the male has a velvety black upperside with a broad bright blue marginal border on the hindwings. The female is pale greyish ochreous brown and is often confused with Tanaecia pelea (Malay Viscount) or one of the Euthalia species.

The species is relatively common in Singapore - the males more often encountered along sunny footpaths. The butterfly has an interesting habit of gliding back to a favourite perch, often on the edge of a large leaf, and settles just out of reach of the observer.

Sometimes, three or four males are seen together around the same territory, frolicking with each other in the sun. The Horsfield's Baron is very often encountered in the western area of the nature reserves, particularly in the Chestnut Track and Mandai Track of the western fringe of Upper Peirce Reservoir.