Nikoi Island’s Micro World Day 1
Nikoi Island [ Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 ]
I had the opportunity to do an arthropod survey in Nikoi Island, a private resort island located 8km east of Bintan. It is a beautiful little island (probably about 400-500m from east to west), but the little patch of undisturbed forest has never been observed up close. Exploring the unknown could reveal many interesting bugs, but we could also return home with nothing. Nevertheless, we proceeded with much anticipation!
To find out more about Nikoi Island, visit their website or Facebook page. It takes just 2.5 hours from Singapore to reach Nikoi Island (1 hour on ferry, 1 hour on taxi, 20 minutes on private ferry).
Behind the scenes photos courtesy of James and my Galaxy S4. 🙂
-
The initial journey on the private cab in Bintan seemed uneventful, with hardly any cars on the road.
-
We requested for a quick stop when we passed by a traditional fishing village
-
Sunning the fish
-
View of the private jetty that brings us to Nikoi Island!
-
Only 2 of us boarding the boat. It was that private.
-
Bye bye Bintan!
-
How the boat looks from inside. Very comfortable but we couldn’t sit still
-
Nikoi Island in sight!
-
Approaching the little jetty
-
They had these to cycle our luggage to the rooms
-
Had a glimpse of level 1 of our cabin – these are the owners’ rooms so if you are looking to stay at Nikoi, your rooms should look way more awesome!
-
The most important part of the room… given that we are going to be trudging through the greenery 🙂
-
Checked out the toiletries 😛
Signal Fly (Platystomatidae)
Saw a Signal Fly taking a breather and I took a warm-up shot of the beautiful eyes
-
Before our first jungle walk, we went to the dining area to have our lunch
-
James didn’t take much prawns.. so these were all mine!!!
-
Documenting the food. The owner of the island, Andrew was seated just behind James.
-
Looks pretty clean, but its macro, we can find bugs anywhere!
Wolf Spider (Lycosidae)
If you spot some whitish little bugs scurrying around on the sand, it is likely to be this Wolf Spider
Tiger Beetle (Cicindelinae)
There were also many Tiger Beetles hovering about, these guys are fast!! Interestingly, we showed the photos to some of the staff who had worked there for many years, but none have observed them up close yet!
Tiger Beetle (Cicindelinae)
Only managed a few shots before the Tiger Beetle flew off
-
Checking out some of the tiny spiders along the sandy path
Mesh Weaver Spider (Dictynidae)
And it’s a Mesh Weaver Spider tending to her spiderlings!
Mesh Weaver Spider (Dictynidae)
The Mesh Weaver Spider is typically brightly coloured with a hairy abdomen
Mesh Weaver Spider (Dictynidae)
The spiderlings of the Mesh Weaver Spider looked quite cute!
Lynx Spider (Oxyopidae)
James found another bunch of Lynx Spider babies
Pointed Palmfly larva (Elymnias penanga)
Pointed Palmfly larva Many guests probably noticed the butterflies, but not the caterpillars.
Comb-Footed Spider (Theridiidae)
Looked under the leaves, and found a lovely green Comb-Footed Spider carrying her eggs
Comb-Footed Spider (Theridiidae)
Even when disturbed, she does not leave her eggs easily
Jumping Spider (Salticidae)
The Jumping Spiders seem rather common here, but most were very small!
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
We found many Feather-Legged Spiders on the plants. These spiders may tend to congregate or exhibit social behavior.
Crab Spider (Thomisidae)
This Crab Spider was seated very comfortably under a leaf. Almost impossible to spot it without looking really hard.
Crab Spider (Thomisidae)
The crab spider typically has exceptionally long fore legs
Crab Spider (Thomisidae)
A closer look at the Crab Spider’s face
Jumping Spider (Salticidae)
Another tiny Jumping Spider
Orb WebSpider (Araneidae)
A male Orb Web Spider
Orb WebSpider (Araneidae)
The male Orb Web Spider is typically much smaller than the female, with a shorter life span too
Orb WebSpider (Araneidae)
A black Orb Web Spider that looked like a black dot under a leaf
Daddy-Long-Legs Spider (Pholcidae)
Found a freshly hatched brood of Daddy-Long-Legs Spiderlings!
Daddy-Long-Legs Spider (Pholcidae)
The mother of the cute little brood. Daddy-Long-Legs Spider
Daddy-Long-Legs Spider (Pholcidae)
The Daddy-Long-Legs Spider tends to flatten it’s body on the leaf surface when at rest, probably to hide itself.
Jumping Spider (Salticidae)
That’s how cute some of the Jumping Spiders can be!
Crab Spider (Thomisidae)
A Crab Spider climbed onto my finger!
Crab Spider (Thomisidae)
Placed the Crab Spider back onto the leaf
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
One of the many Feather-Legged Spiders
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
Feather-Legged Spider
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
Feather-Legged Spider
Eucharitid Wasp (Eucharitidae)
Found a Eucharitid Wasp with combed antenna, but it didn’t stay long enough for me to take more shots!
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
Spot the 2 Feather-Legged Spiders in this picture!
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
When the Feather-Legged Spiders were closer together
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
Maybe the one on the left is female, and the other a male, but we couldn’t confirm as they may not be fully mature yet.
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
Closer look at the Feather-Legged Spider
Feather-Legged Spider (Uloboridae)
Most were found dangling on their web
Common Mormon larva (Papilio polytes)
A young Common Mormon larva which seems to mimic bird droppings
Common Mormon larva (Papilio polytes)
Almost fully grown Common Mormon larva
Common Mormon larva (Papilio polytes)
The head of the Common Mormon larva has patterns to mimic eyes of a larger bug to scare away some potential predators
Common Mormon larva (Papilio polytes)
View of the full body of the Common Mormon larva
Big-Jawed Spider (Tetragnathidae)
Big-Jawed Spider , quite a common sight here as well.
-
That’s James peering around for bugs
Nephilengys sp.
Nephilengys sp., often found on tree trunks or crevices of rocks
Two-Tailed Spider (Hersiliidae)
The Two-Tailed Spider has 2 extended spinnerets that earned its name
Tube Trapdoor Spider (Nemesiidae)
The most unexpected find of the day was this Tube Trapdoor Spider which we found in a small clearing full of golden orb weavers. It typically hides in burrows, so arachnophobes need not fear meeting up with them.
Tube Trapdoor Spider (Nemesiidae)
Full view of the Tube Trapdoor Spider
Tube Trapdoor Spider (Nemesiidae)
It was surprising to find this Tube Trapdoor Spider because it does not balloon (i.e. air travel) and they could either be on this island since long long ago, or brought in via timber or plants?
Tube Trapdoor Spider (Nemesiidae)
Lovely specimen of the Tube Trapdoor Spider indeed
Tube Trapdoor Spider (Nemesiidae)
The eyes of the Tube Trapdoor Spider rest on a raised area on the carapace
Tube Trapdoor Spider (Nemesiidae)
The Tube Trapdoor Spider actually stopped on a leaf long enough for me to carry it for closeup shots!
Scoliid Wasp (Scoliidae)
As night falls, we found a number of Scoliid Wasps sleeping on twigs
Scoliid Wasp (Scoliidae)
The Scoliid Wasps were so deep in sleep that I could go that close to them!
Scoliid Wasp (Scoliidae)
This is the typical sleeping position I guess
Cryptic Sea Star (Cryptasterina sp.)
We soon reached the mangroves and went down the shore to have a look. James found quite a number of Cryptic Sea Stars
Cryptic Sea Star (Cryptasterina sp.)
The Sea Stars had different patterns
Cryptic Sea Star (Cryptasterina sp.)
This Cryptic Sea Star is particularly unique because it has 7 legs instead of 5!!
Land Hermit Crab (Coenobita sp.)
On our way back, there were a few Land Hermit Crabs walking along with us
Mesh Weaver Spider (Dictynidae)
We went back to look at the Mesh Weaver Spider again!
-
We tried setting up a light trap to see what interesting bugs would come to us.. but had little luck
Puppy Moth
A cute Puppy Moth did come visiting us though!
Puppy Moth
The Puppy Moth has a beautiful fanned/combed antennae
Scoliid Wasp (Scoliidae)
There were more Scoliid Wasps
Scoliid Wasp (Scoliidae)
This Scoliid Wasp seemed to be cleaning it’s antennae
Scoliid Wasp (Scoliidae)
Did it just wake up and see me!??!
Nephilengys sp.
The rock surfaces had some Nephilengys sp.
-
There I am taking shots of that spider
Nephilengys sp.
And the result!
Two-Tailed Spider (Hersiliidae)
A very distinctly coloured Two-Tailed Spider
Derbid Planthopper (Derbidae)
Beautiful Derbid Planthopper , quite a common sight at night
Comb-Footed Spider (Theridiidae)
Comb-Footed Spider found a signal fly for supper!
Crab Spider (Thomisidae)
A smaller Crab Spider compared to the one we saw earlier
Two-Tailed Spider (Hersiliidae)
This Two-Tailed Spider had brighter colours, possibly moulted recently
Daddy-Long-Legs Spider (Pholcidae)
Found a Daddy-Long-Legs Spider carrying her egg sac!
Sac Spider (Clubionidae)
A happy Sac Spider found her meal for the night too
Spitting Spider (Scytodidae)
James spotted some of these Spitting Spiders on a tree trunk
Spitting Spider (Scytodidae)
The Spitting Spider spits venomous sticky mass at it’s prey. How cool is that!
Spitting Spider (Scytodidae)
Spitting Spider hanging around at the nest
Orb Web Spider (Araneidae)
Male Orb Web Spider
Two-Tailed Spider (Hersiliidae)
Yet another Two-Tailed Spider with prey. Many of these spiders are nocturnal and come out to hunt at night.
Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae)
Our first Huntsman Spider on the island!
Huntsman Spider (Sparassidae)
Looks like it is also having a nice supper
Orb Web Spider (Araneidae)
Female Orb Web Spider . We found several variants of this genus on the island.
Orb Web Spider (Araneidae)
Clearer view of the abdomen
Orb Web Spider (Araneidae)
Close up on the eyes
Nephilengys sp.
We brought a large Nephilengys sp. down on a white surface to document
Nephilengys sp.
The distinct character of Nephilengys sp. would be the micro-spines on the carapace as seen in this picture!
The day walk was not too bad, with the Tube Trapdoor Spider as our star find. After a quick dinner, we were out in the wild again!
With hundreds of pictures in the first day.. we decided to get a good rest, and check out the sunrise the next day from the mangroves. Turned out that we didn’t really have much time to sleep after all!! Check out the photos from Day 2 here.
Nikoi Island [ Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 ]
The complete album for Day 1 can be viewed here.
