I always knew that fungi dispersed spores, but never got to know the extent of dispersal nor witnessed one. It was only during a night shoot when some of us thought they saw “smoke” coming out of a fallen log, and realized that they were spores being dispersed.

#1 Looked like a sandstorm up close. The spores were carried lightly in the gentle breeze. For those of us squatting there, we would probably have breathed in thousands of spores. @.@

#2 Trying to document the floating spores

#3 Every shot would look similar, yet vastly different

#4 The source: lots of bracket fungi on a fallen log

#5 It seemed to be dispersing spores non-stop

#6 Finally satisfied with this image to show the phenomenon

The other unique find of the night was the discovery of a Vinegaroon, a.k.a. Whip Scorpion (Thelyphonida, formerly Uropygi) It seemed quite skittish and sensitive to our torch lights, but we managed to capture some shots after some climbing through lots of dried branches.

#7 The Whip Scorpion seemed quite irritated by our presence. Surprisingly, we did not get sprayed with any “vinegar”. It could have used up it’s ammunition earlier…?

#8 The “whip” refers to the tail, and the base of the tail is also where the glands secreting the “vinegar” are located. The tail also has a sensory function, and is often hairy to help “feel” around.

#9 It has eight pairs of legs, with the front-most pair extra long and modified to function as feelers.

#10 The massive palps are claw-like and used to capture prey. Not very surprising here. 🙂

#11 Very dark and reflective, this is one of the most difficult subjects to light up. I was carrying everything handheld so it was too difficult to adjust the flash.

#12 Attempt at alternative lighting. The hair on the tail can be seen clearly here.

#13 Positioned flashes both at the top and bottom of the whip scorpion.

#14 Final shot before we left the jittery fella scampering off.

There were several other finds in the night, not that much less unique. 🙂
#15 Close up of a Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae)

#16 Masked Hunter, or Assassin Bug nymph. Very well camouflaged on tree bark. See if you can spot the eyes. 🙂

#17 Harvestman (Opiliones)

#18 What happens when I miss the subject altogether. lol

#19 This was what I was trying to shoot

#20 Trap jaw ant?

#21 Trap jaw ant with a tiny ant beside

#22 Found a scorpion carrying it’s newborns

#23 Almost customary to take a UV-lit version of all scorpions. 🙂

#24 Close up. Quite obvious that the young ones do not exhibit UV-fluorescence. For more on why scorpions glow under UV light, I have a post on it: Why do Scorpions Glow under UV Light?

#25 Rick found this tiny little Fulgoridae nymph. Has an elongated snout. Lantern bug baby?? 🙂

#26 Top view shows very beautiful colours on the bug.

#27 Not sure of ID. Anyone with hints on this?

#28 Close up on the eye arrangement

#29 Planthopper nymph with the “starburst fiber optic” tail

#30 A tiny jumping spider (Salticidae)

#31 Huntsman spider (Sparassidae) found in the leaf litter

#32 Another huntsman spider (Sparassidae) on a fallen log

#33 Leafhopper engulfed in fungus

The complete album can be viewed here.

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