Sunday, February 26, 2012

What Critters Around the NIE Pond ?

There is a small pond at the NIE (National Institute of Education) campus in Jurong. I decided to take a good look at this pond and its surrounding areas on a rather cloudy Saturday morning (18 Feb). Though I had taken some casual shots many months ago during a vacation period, I was more prepared and fully equipped to find out more this time.
Let me begin by showing some critters found around the pond. You will not miss this prominent assassin bug as it is slow-flying and brilliantly coloured.
This beautiful red dragonfly is a male Crocothemis servilia, quite abundant around the pond. We could approach it closer on an early and cool morning.
Apart from building webs to trap insects, some other spiders are endowed with special offensive skills such as lurking amongst flowers or foliage to hunt for their preys. It is not easy to spot a crab spider when it is well-blended with its surroundings. This poor Chestnut Bob (Iambrix salsala salsala ) was killed by a crab spider hiding in some
Duranta flowers.This is a Pale Grass Blue (Zizeeria maha serica). It is a small and rather drab-looking butterfly that you will probably miss it if you don't pay attention. I am sure the dotted patterns on the underside wings look nice.
I was rather fortunate to find a tame Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana javana) resting on a leaf.
When I was about to explore the vegetation along Nanyang Crescent, I saw this female Blue Glassy Tiger diligently looking for the correct host plant for laying her eggs - sadly, she could not find any around the pond so she decided to take a rest.I also saw a green damselfly at the pond but it was too far away for me to take a shot without getting myself wet. I am sure there are many critters around the pond and its nearby nursery areas - I will find time to explore and look for more critters before the year ends.

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