Assassin Bugs - Birth!

It is just about two weeks from the initial presence of the eggs, and I am hoping that something good will emerge. Yes, we have the first batch of assassin bug nymphs! They look just like the female adult except that they are a miniature version of the bugs killer!

This one has just emerged, as can be see in its lighter body form. A short while later they will eventually take in a deeper colour, with all the usual black-patterns around the limbs. Much like their mum.

The moment they emerged from the egg case, they started scrapping the sticky juice from the egg case. Gradually, they applied the sticky substances on to all parts of their body. This nymph is a senior, compared to the picture above. There are many theories as to why they did that. One thing is for sure, the sticky substance will help them stay on the leaf without being blown off!

Just how such a fully formed nymph fits into that slim egg case is indeed a marvel by itself.

Here is a frontal view. This is a future bugs killer - if it makes through this week of strengthening and finding a neutral, higher position to hide.

As they gather strength, the half dozen of nymphs somehow found their way around and stay together, keeping in mind not to venture too far from their egg cases.

This one has gone to the edge of the leaf and probably exploring the surrounding, as typical of an assassin bug. But, do be careful - for the world is not a kind place to play with.

Unfortunately, a patrol of ants found them. As they were not fully developed yet, most of them were captured and then torn to pieces by the ants.

Did some of them escape? I hope so, although I did not get to see them again.

Assassin Bug - Eggs

I thought it would be great if I could post up some pictures of the eggs deposited by the Assassin Bug that I blogged a few days back. I had completely forgotten about them and was very happy formatting the pictures to show how beautiful this "true bug" was.

By the way, a "true bug", I found out, is one that sucks the juice out of another insect or plant. So, from this definition, I gather that a non true bug "chews" or eats other bugs or plants. Now, if you ever wanted to be technical and felt like calling your friend a bug - check out his or her eating habits first. Okay, just kidding.

Picture (i) shows a cluster of neatly arranged eggs. Actually there were two clusters. The other one has only two eggs and is not featured here. These eggs have been moved slightly as originally, all the bottom of the eggs touched the leaf. This picture was taken on 5-Mar-2016.

The eggs are well gelled to each other. Being in torpedo-shaped must have helped the Assassin Bug in "expelling" them out and onto the leaf. My only query is. Why is the end so rough? Did the egg get torn off from the the internals of the bug before it was expelled?

For truth sake, these two pictures have been inverted. The eggs were hanging by the leaf. Not sitting on the leaf. It is being shown this way because I found it more natural to look at them.

Eggs in a row . Look at the glistering glue holding them together - (i)

Here is the picture (ii) of the same cluster 6 days later, today! The eggs had been slightly disturbed but still intact. The whole area of each egg is coated with still-moist glue. So, no matter how the eggs were moved, they will stick to either the leaf or whatever that moved them.

We can see that it has shrunken just a bit. I am not sure if it is still "alive". I guess that would have to wait. Maybe I will check on it a few days later.

Length: 1.9 mm. Diameter: 200 ~500 microns - (ii)

You know, looking at it closely reminds me of my younger adventurous days. I used to suffer from piles and constipation and very often I would need to have those cold-hard suppositories inserted up my you-know-where. An operation in my later years took care of those suppository story forever.

Assassin Bug. The Terminator.

Sometimes, I would decide to bring my camera along for walks. Many of my macro shots of insects, spiders and whatever that lives came about through this activity. Other times, I would just grab my camera and head to the PCN (Park Connector Network) that is just 100 m from where I stay.

Here is one insect that I see almost all the time, standing on a leaf - as though it was in deep thoughts. Yes, it is an Assassin Bug. It was probably waiting for its prey to fly by. This bright-orange 12mm long coloured Assassin Bug (Cosmolestes picticeps) belongs to the Reduviidae family of insects. Order: Hemiptera.

Assassin Bug - (i)

My observation is that it does not fly as fast as a ladybird! From online documentations and some images of that I have seen on the internet, the assassin bug eats beetles such as Brown Chafer beetles. Of course, it eats whatever that comes along too. So, in my opinion it can be considered a good insect to have around in our parks!

Sharp, Curvy Proboscis - (ii)

The proboscis (pic ii) of this particular assassin bug is about 3mm long. It is hard although the curve shape does give the impression that it is just a harmless droopy nose! 

It is said that because the proboscis (pic ii) is hard enough to pierce a beetle, it is therefore good enough to penetrate our skin, if we mishandled the bug. Since it releases toxin to dissolve the beetle, it might do the same to us - and if it does - then you would probably end up with some dead cells at that particular area where it poked. 

I have not been stung before and I have not seen one bigger than this 12mm bug so I cannot tell you how painful that would be. Touch wood!

The Stare (iii)

If I were to be a prey, I would be wetting on my pants. Look at the bug (pic iii). It looks a bit like a praying mantis but more terrifying indeed. Of course, don't look at it from the side view. It is comical!

From a distance - (iv)

This is how majestic it looks (pic iv) from a short distance away. The assassin bug moves very gently as it travels from one leaf to another. If it were to land on a flower, instead of a leaf - you would probably not notice its being. From the wiki-doc, some people breed and keep them as pest controllers! I am not sure if anyone in Singapore does this.

I did manage to persuade it to move on, from one leaf to another - and it moved on without showing signs of panic or irritation. It did not attempt to fly. A mighty fellow.

Remember, the assassin bug is not a PEST.

Drain Fly, A Macro View. The Toilet "Moth"!

Whenever we see them sticking on the toilet wall, we know somewhere within that place is a damp, wet, clogged-up hole, sponge or  pipe! It just need a very tiny dark place to breed.

My curiosity took hold of me and I decided to capture one and place it in my PhotoBox for a macro exposure. Hope you like it!

This is a shot taken through a glass. This fly certainly looks like a moth, with all the hairy stuff on its body. The look can kill, if this thing is not of microscopic size.

As it does not keep still, it has taken a different position, with better light exposure. Still, if not for this picture, I would not have known that it has puffy legs!

Would we have taken note that even the wings have long hairs? And, it can still give a good flight! So, the fact that it is a drain fly or sewer gnat (Psychodidae) does give me a consolation that it probably would not find its way onto my dinning table.

Here is a BATMAN perch. Okay, maybe more like a Dracula stance.

Up till now, it has been accommodating and it seems to enjoy being photographed. Just kidding.

And yet another pose - on the photographic twig that I use as a prop for insects. This shot shows that the drain fly can be cute and gives one the temptation to hug it!

After the photo session, I let it off. Alright, please do not let my wife know! As I discarded it outside the balcony, I am sure it will not want to come back.

Cricket Nymphs Having Fun

I breed small cricket nymphs for my fish. This adds to the variety of diets for the small fishes that I keep, in addition to their fish flakes and frozen worms. Some of the nymphs will eventually grow into full grown crickets - where I will use them to lay more eggs for the net batch of nymphs.

Here are some pictures of the nymphs. Their body length is between 2.5mm to 3mm long.

This one is a model nymph. It stays here for as long as I am willing to take shots of it. As they move around frequently, and quickly, opportunity like this is hard to come by.

The one on the left looks like a hippo. Yes, they are cute fellows. When you look at the thickness of the leaf, you will get to understand how small these nymphs are. These are less than a day old. For the record, I juxtaposed two photos together just to get this "circus" feel.

This is another one, exploring the small area where I keep them. This special area is my PhotoBox where I put little insects, eggs and nymphs together for photo shoot. When they first emerged from the egg, they were between whitish and milky. Over time, they will become darker, as seen here.

This one ran into a corner that was full of ultra-fine sand. These sand had been pounded for some purposes. Unfortunately, I did not know that they were so fine until I saw the nymphs being covered totally with them. Eventually, I had to clear the sand for they were simply too fine to be of any benefit to all the micro-insects around.

This spider came by when I was taking some pictures and I let it have one of the nymphs for food. This shot is another juxtaposed situation where I merged two separated shots together. 

 A totally "black" nymph. This is a senior and is about 2 days old.

From each batch of eggs, I would probably get between 900 to 1200 nymphs.

Sunset - A short, quick trip to Punggol

There were lots of changes to the Punggol area by this time. And, it is still evolving. Surely, Punggol is an exciting and wonderfully developed place to hang out.

However, for this evening, I was there for the sunset. Sometimes, time is not on your side and you really need to rush. Did I manage to get it? Here are some pictures of how the sky turned over within a short period of just 30 minutes.

This was taken at 7:03pm. The sun has taken a keen look at us before setting farther down. The ray is intense and penetrating.

By 7:23pm, the evening has started to settle down. Our sun is no where to be seen. All of a sudden, it seems, the ambiance changed and the area feels a bit sleepy.

Just as unexpectedly, at 7:34pm, a tinge of blueness drops by and we can feel that the temperature has dropped, though it remains humid.

By 7:51pm, from a different view, the blue hours has taken its mark. In a moment's time, it was really "the evening has come" and we moved on - home.

Woodlands Waterfront Park - Checking the Tides.

I took a lone trip to the WaterFront Park and stayed from 7:50pm to 8:40pm, hoping, to get some blue hours pictures. Instead of hanging out at the main jetty or the extended RMN Jetty, I went to the coastal area near the fuel refilling jetty.

Getting to this location is not difficult. Climbing across the rudimentary barrier and setting up my tripod between the numerous rocks and muddy soil is one slow affair. But, I am not complaining. Nature photography is mostly a series of challenging events.

While continuing with the setting up, and trying not to get my gear and backpack wet, I could see that a traffic jam is building up at the causeway, and the sky is shifting colours rather quickly - though this fact does not bother me. I am more worried for the bright jetty lights that should be coming out fast and hard.

This picture was taken at about 7:70pm. There is a reason why people like to live near coastal areas or beaches, or where there there are structures on the sea shores. And, seeing the shades of natural colour coming forth is one of them. If you are sharp-eyed, you should be able to see the traffic lights at the causeway (behind this jetty).

As it gets to the lower evening, the scene changes accordingly and the humidity level also increases. I am beginning to feel somewhat sticky to the touch. Actually, I wanted to try out a new set of filters that I ordered from the internet. Of course, the Chinese-made filters are 50% unusable as the ND filter works okay, and the graduated ND filter throws a tantrum and adds a heavy pinkish taint to the overall image.

This structure is to the right of the above pictures, and is the famous Woodlands WaterFront Jetty. The lighted area is where the Rasa Istimewa Woodlands WaterFront Restaurant is located. This shot took 203 seconds at f/20, ISO 100.