Millipedes

Of course, it was the start of the first day and I started to hunt outside my house for some small creatures. In the midst of my search I came across a number of millipedes. The most common ones were those that were coloured black with yellow sides.

-

-

A luminous grey one and a common millipede in its charecteristic coiled up position when provoked.

-

-

And a few minutes later I lifted up a big dead leaf to find this Giant Millipede crawling underneath. Notice its pointed tail.

-

Giant House Spiders

They are Big. They are hairy. And they can bite. And they live... with you... They are Giant, Hairy, House Spiders. So beware!

I opened an old cabinet to find one of them holding an egg sack. It showed that it was a female mother. If all those eggs were to hatch, this house would not be ours anymore.

-

-

And in the same cabinet I found either a dead spider of the same type hanging on a thread, or it is a shedded skin of the same species of spider.
-

-

I searched the entire place for more. And then I spotted 2 more dead ones. Both just died recently, as they were ants around them all.

-

The New Residents

We had a few new residents there this time. They included 2 Goats, a Mother and a young, and a Cat. The Goats were much more big and hence I only managed to find the cat the next morning. He was hiding below the dining table till next day.
-

-

-

The best picture I have of Kitty, the cat was this frightened look of her when the dogs scared her.

Check out this picture of Kitty 'meowing' to the baby goat as it gives him a curious look.
-

-

Close up shot of Mama Goat looking at the camera and a photograph of them both near the sit-out.

-

'Welcome back!' said My Dogs

I finally reached home and was warmly welcomed with joy by my 2 loving dogs, Titu and Tiky. They had been waiting so long for us to return. 6 months is a long time for them. It was such a delight for them to see us. But we would not be staying for long...

-

Isn't he a handsome young man?

-

In here are first up, Titu looking at the camera not being able to say 'Cheese!', followed by Tiky's glowing red eyes due to the camera's flash, both of them in their kennel, and finally Tiky heatng up on the warm gravel.

-

-

The first picture in here shows Tiky's characteristic 'lying down' pose when someone tries to lift her to their kennel.

The second is a cute picture of Titu with his tongue cleaning his nose after a tasty meal.
-

The last few

-

Here are the last few invertebrates seen at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. If I am to post each of them in a single post, it is going to take a lot of space and time. Well near the Assassin Bug was a millipede clinging onto a plant beside the path. It is most probably an arboreal species of millipede.

-

-

And not far from it did I see a tiny little Tree Hopper.

-

-

And lastly, a shedded skin of a 'what-looks-like-a-stick-insect.' Found it on a bench near the Visitor Centre.

-

Assassin Bug

-

After searching the whole of the Catchment Path, all we found was this Assassin Bug on a small plant. The exact name could not be found. I've seen a similar looking insect on THIS webpage. It is the third insect from the start.

-

Unknown Forest Spider

-

We were walking along the Main Road when we spotted a big flower. Below the Flower was a colourful spider that had a body length of around 1.5 cm. After doing research on it, I suggest that it is a Two-Striped Telamonia, Telamonia dimidiata, a spider found in Foliage in wooded environments.

-

Combined Colours

-

I was observing the Black-Striped Grasshopper at the Summit when I was distracted by something flying past me. When I looked towards it, I realised that it was actually a Big Butterfly with very beautiful colour combination. Brown with Yellow spots. As it stopped to drink from a fallen fruit on the path, I managed to get these photographs. After doing some research on the species of this Butterfly, I managed to identify it aseither Lexias canescens pardalina or Lexias dirtea merguia. Unfortunately, there was no Common name given. It was feeding on a fallen fruit near the summit steps.

-

The Golden Web Spider

-

The Spiders shown here are the Golden Web Spiders. They are a commonly seen species in forested areas, and they can grow up to 5 cm measuring from the head to the tip of their abdomen.

-

This was the first one I took a picture of. It is an average sized male.

-

-

We soon found a big female. It was about 4.5cm from head to vent!

-

-

The Common Housefly Catcher

-

As we walked along the Main road, there was a small spider on the trunk of a tree. It had caught an ant and was bringing it away to feed on it. The Spider was a Common Housefly Catcher, a common spider seen in urban and sub-urban areas.

-

Simply Hairy!

In Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, you can find Caterpillars that are not hairy, but only rarely. You can see caterpillars everywhere but they are all very hairy. Or even if you do, you will find hairy ones 10 times bigger.

-

First of all, my cousin found 2 Hairy Caterpillars on small plants along the Main Road. They were not Giants, however.

-

-

We then found this smooth caterpillar. But unfortunately, it was dead. It was being killed by ants on the small steps leading to the Summit Hut.

-

Forest Flies

-

I have nothing better to post now, that's why I'm posting some pictures of some stupid flies. Maybe not stupid. At first I found this unknown fly on a leaf in the South View Path. Then came another that looked like a housefly.

-

Hopping Insects

-

Hopping Insects- They include Grasshoppers, Crickets and Locusts. All were seen in the 6th trip to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. First up: A cricket. Second: A Grasshopper coloured in Black & Yellow.

-

-

Follwed by 2 similar looking Locusts. The second Locust looks dead.

-

-

I'm not sure if the second one is a Locust. It actually looks more like a Grasshopper.