Borneo Bootcamp 2015: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
On day 4 of the Borneo Bootcamp, we ventured further beyond the wobbly suspension bridge. While we went at a slower pace in the day with a longer afternoon break, the night was bustling with activity when we explored yet another trail with surprises galore!
Rise and shine!
Where’s everybody? Nobody’s in their rooms… out to shoot already?!
Spiny orb weaver (Gasteracantha sp.)
Wasted no time and found a spiny orb weaver near to our cabins.
Jumping spider (Salticidae)
A more mature specimen of the jumping spider that liked to lift up its abdomen.
Comb-footed spider (Theridion sp.)
The “clown face” is visible only from the posterior view of the abdomen. The spider was faithfully guarding her egg sac. Showed it to several participants who managed to get this angle as well.
Moth-like planthopper (Ricaniidae)
Several different species of ricaniids found so far.
Everyone getting busy
We spent a lot of time along this stretch of the trail, with everyone rotating and sharing our finds.
Trashline orb weaver (Cyclosa sp.)
Off the trail, we found a classic example of a trashline orb weaver with the “trashline” extending from the spider’s body.
Trashline orb weaver (Cyclosa sp.)
Closer view of the spider’s trash. Guess what it is made of? 🙂
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis) ©2015 Tom Astle
Tom had a lovely shot of what looked like a female great anglehead lizard with an ant running by on her head!
Assassin bug nymph (Reduviidae)
Possibly an assassin bug nymph, with pale innocent colours.
Fish hook ant (Polyrhachis ypsilon)
There were trails of fish hook ants marching up and down some tree trunks. Occasionally, we could find some at rest.
Fish hook ant (Polyrhachis ypsilon)
Stood still enough for us to take a few decent shots!
Net-winged beetle (Lycidae) © Seawei Ying
Seawei got a net-winged beetle adjusting its wings for take off.
Katydid (Tettigoniidae)
From a distance, this looked like a random plain picture. Have you found the katydid yet? Interestingly, quite a few thought that they saw a lizard or cicada when I first shared this shot on Facebook.
Katydid (Tettigoniidae)
Closer view reveals a little bit more of the katydid.
Katydid (Tettigoniidae)
A close up of the cryptic orthopteran, if you still couldn’t find it.
Katydid (Tettigoniidae)
Dorsal view with full flash. Notice how the colours looked very different as compared to the natural light shots above.
Natural light photography
Shooting in natural light allowed the katydid’s camouflage to be well blended with its surroundings. I had already thrown my flashes onto the ground for the camouflage-shot… 😛
Giant shield bug (Tessaratomidae) ©2015 Seawei Ying
One of the magnificent giant shield bugs that Seawei spotted!
Giant shield bug (Tessaratomidae) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham shot the same shield bug from another spot but with minimal highlights.
Grasshopper (Caelifera)
Apparently quite common and colourful, but often missed out as it resembles many of the common grasshoppers.
Grasshopper (Caelifera)
Curiously climbing around.
False click beetle (Eucnemidae) ©2015 Seawei Ying
Seawei found a false click beetle.
Katydid (Tettigoniidae)
Interesting looking katydid nymph that Cham was shooting.
Katydid (Tettigoniidae)
Trying to look for symmetry, but the antennae were out of place.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Saw lots of these stick insects, and many of us were already bored of seeing them.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
And then this giant stick appeared! Spent more time on this with experimental shots using the Venus 15mm macro lens.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Tried to exaggerate the perspective but that revealed more of the overexposed sky which caused a higher contrast in the background.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Switched back to my 90mm and got the normal boring perspective of the same subject. Notice how the stick insect appears smaller now? 😉
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Dorsal view of the walking stick.
Giant shield bug (Tessaratomidae)
On the way back at the cabins, Seawei was shooting this shield bug on the bridge railings.
Giant shield bug (Tessaratomidae)
It had the similar green pits.
Giant shield bug (Tessaratomidae)
It started walking around, so we let it walk up on this leaf. Against the sky, we were able to get a nice blue background.
Wormlion larva (Vermileonidae)
Below our cabins, we spent some time observing these little sand pits. One of the cabins had antlion larvae, while this had wormlion larvae.
Wormlion larva (Vermileonidae)
This was how they looked when out of their pits.
Wormlion larva (Vermileonidae)
Any eyes??
Lantern bug (Pyrops sultanus) ©2015 Tom Astle
At dusk, the lantern bugs were spotted again and Tom got a capture of it with the sky.
Squash bugs (Coreidae)
A pair of squash bugs in the act of procreation.
Huntsman spider (Sparassidae)
Well camouflaged huntsman spider on the tree trunk. Always be careful not to press on any surface without checking first!
Darkling beetle (Tenebrionidae)
Also found on the tree trunk and very cooperative.
Darkling beetle (Tenebrionidae)
Evil looking eyes…
Leafhopper (Cicadellidae)
Not very pretty, but worth documenting.
Harvestman (Opiliones)
This harvestman was happily chewing on some fungus.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Another Aschiphasma perhaps?
Moth (Microlepidoptera)
Tiny little moth.
Lynx spider (Hamadruas sp.)
Vibrantly coloured lynx spider with a blue-capped head!
Lynx spider (Hamadruas sp.)
Lateral view
Lynx spider (Hamadruas sp.)
Anterior view, a male!
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
A well hidden phasmid under a leaf.
Nursery web spider (Pisauridae)
This pisaurid had lost 3 legs, but still a fast runner.
Nursery web spider (Pisauridae)
Close up on the eyes!
Ant (Calomyrmex sp.)
One of the cuter ants seen on this trip.
Ant (Calomyrmex sp.)
Lateral view. Unfortunately it didn’t stay still for long and this was the last shot before it ran off.
Daddy-long-legs spider (Pholcidae)
Really tiny little pholcid!
Jumping spider (Salticidae)
Small little jumping spider under a sheet of silk.
Jumping spider (Salticidae)
Peeping at it from under the silk.
Harvestman (Opiliones)
One of the many harvestmen running around.
Red bugs (Pyrrhocoridae)
A pair of mating red bugs. Despite being in the act of procreation, they were walking about quite actively.
Red bugs (Pyrrhocoridae)
Walked to another location!
Ant (Polyrhachis armata)
This ant was busily carrying stuff around and decided to stop for a breather.
Trap jaw ant (Anochetus sp.)
Trap-jaw is open and ready for anyone who wants to put their finger there.
Queen ant (Gesomyrmex sp.) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham found this amazingly stunning queen ant, really bizarre! Identified by Stéphane De Greef, possibly Gesomyrmex luzonensis. The ant was also facing an odd looking organism that looked like a scale insect.
Jumping spider (Salticidae)
Too many jumping spiders, so I only took dorsal shots for some of them.
Weevil (Curculionidae) ©2015 Tud Yinn
This weevil that Cham shot has a unique maroon tone.
Pill-like planthopper (Hemisphaerius sp.)
This beautiful species seems to be found in many of the trails.
Bent-toed gecko (Cyrtodactylus sp.)
Cham spotted this lovely bent-toed gecko. It was a little high up so angles were limited.
Two-tailed spider (Hersiliidae)
Another classic camouflage by a two-tailed spider.
Two-tailed spider (Hersiliidae)
Close up on the eyes.
Giant river toad (Phrynoidis juxtasper) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham had the giant river toad beside his shoe for size comparison.
Ants (Crematogaster inflata)
A small colony of Crematogaster scurrying about around the hole in the tree trunk.
Ants (Crematogaster inflata)
Closer view.
Crab spider (Epidius sp.)
The mature male of this crab spider would be exceptionally long for this genus.
Crab spider (Epidius sp.)
But.. either a juvenile or female.
Crab spider (Epidius sp.) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham highlighted the crab spider and its fluorescence under ultraviolet!
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Probably Haaniella?
Lantern bug
Finally after 4 days, we found Pyrops sultanus at eye level.
Lantern bug (Pyrops sultanus)
Another lantern bug checked off this trip!
Lantern bug
Everyone else had a go also, and we even managed to try some back-lighting.
Lantern bug (Pyrops sultanus)
This is how it looked with light from behind.
Lantern bug (Pyrops sultanus)
Record shot of the dorsal view.
Weevil (Curculionidae) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham had a shot of a beautiful weevil with elytra looking like it had been consumed by fungus!
Weevil (Curculionidae) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Even had a preflight shot in focus!
Caterpillars
Andrew pointed me to this large cluster of hairy caterpillars.
Caterpillars
Attemped to put some light behind, but the result wasn’t impressive.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
An interesting looking little stick insect was spotted near the base of the steps.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Lateral view. It was quite unique – should have taken more close ups!
Tick (Parasitiformes) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham had a tick ravaging him, lucky guy! 😛
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
A very docile Gonocephalus had all of us pretty occupied.
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
Could approach from many angles.
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
Inching a bit closer.
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
Even had a chance to do some back-lighting!
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
Really lovely tones on this beauty.
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
Upskirt. oops…
Queuing up
Everyone was queuing up to shoot the anglehead lizard!
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
So I put my Raynox on…
Great anglehead lizard (Gonocephalus grandis)
And went really close.
Skink (Scincidae)
Just a few meters away, Dori spotted this skink.
Skink (Scincidae)
They would normally be very skittish in the day, but nice enough to stay still for many of us.
Skink (Scincidae)
A curious view with a little smile.
Stingless bees (Meliponini) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham had a shot of some stingless bees
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Walking deeper into the trail, this cryptic looking stick insect was spotted.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Lateral view.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Close up revealing the textures on its body. Unfortunately it disappeared after taking this shot.
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Just a few minutes later, Joanna found another one!
Stick insect (Phasmatodea)
Wanted to shoot its dorsal view on this leaf.
Frilled tree frog (Kurixalus appendiculatus) ©2015 Tud Yinn
Cham had a shot of this magnificent moss-like frilled tree frog. I went back searching for the frog to get record shots of it but it was no longer there. 🙁
Tiger beetle (Cylindera sp.)
On the way out of the trail, Seawei spotted this beautiful tiger beetle.
Tiger beetle (Cylindera sp.)
Lateral view, definitely one of the more stunning tiger beetles around!
Tiger leech (Haemadipsa picta?) ©2015 Joanna Yeo
This leech was just beside the tiger beetle, but everyone ignored it except for Joanna!
Milky way © Seawei Ying
The sky was only clear for a while, but it allowed some of us to capture the milky way!
We were supposed to have an elaborate seafood dinner, but what the canteen provided was a disappointment and we didn’t take much photos of dinner at all. So… fast forward to our night shoot!
It was an exciting night with several unique finds but with everyone pretty much dispersed, not everyone got to shoot everything we found. Nevertheless, everyone returned to the cabins tired but happy. We were supposed to shoot star trails and the milky way, but the clouds came in and blocked out the stars!
Borneo Bootcamp 2015: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
