Category: Borneo

Spider Hawk or Spider Wasp (family: Pompilidae)

6/9/2017

These wasps, known variously as spider hawks or spider wasps or for some tarantula hawks, are very neat animals. They capture large insects or spiders by stinging and paralyzing them, then place the victim in a hole in the ground, and lay an egg on it. The egg hatches and the larvae gets to eat some fresh food before morphing into an adult wasp and digging itself out of the ground.

Here is one dragging what looks like a tree cricket or larval katydid to it's hole near the top of the Firestone Center property.

Spider wasp dragging prey into its hole

And now your fun fact of the day. The Schmidt Pain Index goes from 0 (bite does not break skin) to 4 (really, really ouchie) and rates quite a number of insect bites as to how painful they are. This wasp rates a 4, as painful as anything pretty much can be.

And lastly, a short video from Borneo where I explain these spiders in a little more detail.

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Black-spotted rock frog (Staurois natator) from Sarawak, Borneo

12/16/2016

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Another of the super nice looking frogs of Borneo, the black-spotted rock frog (Staurois natator). Found near streams, and particularly rocky streams, these guys are quite camoflaged but with just the right eye one can spot them. Widespread across much of Borneo, this species has, oddly, also been found in the Philippine Islands.

Black-spotted rock frog (Staurois natator) from Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, Island of Borneo

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Jade Tree Frog (Rhacophorus dulitensis) from Sarawak, Borneo

12/15/2016

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A lot of the frogs in Borneo are sorta brown mottled things. Not this guy, a jade tree frog is always a nice sight.

Jade tree frog (Rhacophorus dulitensis) from Gunung Mulu National Park, Malaysia, Island of Borneo

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Cockroach nymph Fruit Bat Cave Borneo

12/11/2016

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This cockroach nymph was seen in Fruit Bat Cave, Mulu, Malaysia (Island of Borneo). This cave is either in, or near the boundary for, Gunung Mulu National Park, and is a fairly recent discovery. Not super big by Borneo cave standards, but a nice cave with some interesting bits in it.

Of note, this cockroach seems to have no eyes.

Cockroach nymph from Fruit Bat Cave, Mulu, Borneo

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National Geographic video "Expedition Raw" from Gomantong Caves, Borneo (think lots of bugs!)

10/30/2015

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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Just posted by Nora Rappaport of National Geographic is a cool video of the creepy crawly critters of Gomantong Caves in Borneo. The footage was shot by Guy van Rentergem on our last trip there. I am the guy standing there while McFarlane narrates about how all these bugs gets in your boots and gear. Wild caves to work in and if you follow this blog you have seen many photos from there.

A link to the blog post with the video and text is here:

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/29/billions-of-bugs-feast-on-flesh-and-dung-in-borneo/

Here is the video, but it is worth a look at the blog post to read the text, enjoy!

And since I should add a photo of yet another crawly from the cave's guano, here is a greenish-yellow snail mucking about.

Pretty snail for all the crud it lives in on the floor of the Gomantong Caves

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Terrestrial snail from Borneo (Malaysia, Gunung Mulu National Park)

9/16/2015

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This attractive terrestrial snail is likely in the genus Xesta (formerly or maybe still Naninia).

Terrestrial snail from Borneo, Gunung Mulu National Park (presumably in the genus Xesta)

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Warren Roberts in the White Cave, Gomantong, Malaysia, Borneo

8/27/2015

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About 120 meters into the White Cave one comes to the first of many guard shacks in the cave. These guards protect the valuable swiftlet nests in the cave from poachers. Many of the nests in this cave are of the highly valuable white variety (hence the name of the cave), and guarding them is serious business.

Warren is standing near the guard shack, on a floor of black, slippery bat/bird guano, where a bucket is positioned under a drip from the roof to collect water for the guards.

Warren Roberts in the White Cave at Gomantong, Malaysia, Island of Borneo

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Whip Scorpion (Thelyphonus sp.) from Borneo

8/21/2015

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Whip Scorpions look quite dangerous, but they have no venom. They do, however have the ability to shoot a stream of liquid when riled up, consisting of a combination of acetic acid and caprylic acid. This gives off a vinegar smell, and thus the common name often used is "vinegaroon." Scientists tend to call them Uropygids, after the Family name Uropygidae. They are found pretty much around the world mostly in tropical regions.

A whip scorpion (Thelyphonus sp.) from the Malaysian side of the island of Borneo

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Borneo pic makes Shutterbug magazine

8/10/2015

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A pic from the Gomantong Caves of Borneo

Shutterbug Magazine is a great bit for folks who want to amp up their photos and either get published or move into the professional market.

Today I got my September copy.

Some time ago, I submitted a photo of Ben Schroeter in Gomantong Caves.
And... Today I got the magazine which features that pic on one of the table of contents pages.

Hoo haa! I am pretty fired up that the editors chose my pic for such a prominent spot. Here is the original pic, and I want to thank National Geographic for its support in getting me to this amazing cave.

It's a good photo, and glad that the Shutterbug folks published it.

Benjamin Schroeter at the bottom of a light shaft in the Gomantong Caves

And I hope I am not breaking any copyright laws, but here is a scan of the magazine page, with a bit I added in the corner that shows the caption as it appeared in the Picture This! section of the magazine.