Journal

The Shy Tortoise… Beetle!

on
9 April 2011

Back to my macro kindergarten at Admiralty Park (AP) again! Showed the other shooters around to the common residents of AP, and took my time fiddling with some simple subjects. There were more than 10 of us, so the whole gang had to spread out, with everyone getting different catches.

The tortoise beetle behaves like a tortoise and looks like a beetle. Sometimes, it has a flat transparent shell protecting it’s body. The one I shot today has a mottled shell, so it does not look as transparent. Several colours of this beautiful beetle can be found in Admiralty Park! Thanks to Jacobs for spotting this little fella!

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae) - DSC_4914#1 Side view of the little dude

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae) - DSC_4905#2 It kept hiding it’s face under it’s shell. Hard to get the shy fella to look up!

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae) - DSC_4936#3 So I went lower, say hi!!

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae) - DSC_4976#4 It ignored me and continued drinking water from the leaf

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae) - DSC_4980#5 Finally stuck it’s head out, so I went closer to get some details

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae) - DSC_4980#6 Zooming in to the eye

While we’re at it… here are some other tortoise beetles that I had found so far. Incidentally, all were found in Admiralty Park.

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae sp.) - DSC_2970#7 This had a smoother shell

Tortoise Beetle (Hispinae) - DSC_6385#8 And a green one doing push ups in preparation for IPPT (an annual physical test that all Singaporean men should be familiar to)

Of course, there were other species in yellow, and even the golden tortoise beetle but I had not had the luck to chance upon them yet!

Here are the other subjects of the day, no less important though!

Ladybird (Coccinellidae) - DSC_4860#9 Little ladybird. Did you know, it is called ladybird in British English, and ladybug in American English. Just in case you ever got confused. 🙂

Ladybird (Coccinellidae) - DSC_4857#10 The lady puts on make up in the morning

Crab Spider (Thomisidae) - DSC_5013#11 A tiny crab spider, difficult to properly expose these guys as they are predominantly white

Assassin Bug (Reduviidae) - DSC_5079#12 Assassin bug tending to it’s eggs. Saw this underneath a leaf from a distance, just over 2m high! The blue came from the sky, scorching hot sun so I had to ramp up my flash to the maximum power.

The little trip ended with a nice wantan mee meal sponsored by Dansen. Thanks for the generosity mate!

Next post coming up soon, having a marathon shoot til night! @.@

The complete album can be viewed here.

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NICKY BAY
Singapore

Hi my name is Nicky Bay. I am a macro photographer, instructor and book author, travelling the world to document the vast micro biodiversity that nature has to offer. Follow my updates and discover with me the incredible beauty and science behind our planet's micro creatures!

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