Kuhl's Flying Gecko

This has got to be the coolest gecko I have ever seen (and touched) in real life! I was scanning a tree trunk for any potential macro subject(s) when, from out of nowhere, this amazing Kuhl's Flying Gecko (Ptychozoon kuhli), landed onto the very same tree in front of me!

Look at the cool patterns, shapes and colors on this gorgeous gecko! It was wagging its tail much like a puppy too at first.


Kuhl's Flying Gecko (Ptychozoon kuhli). Location: a forest in Selangor.




After taking like many many shots of this gecko, I thought to myself, why not try to touch it, so I did. Surprisingly, it was quite docile.


I even put it on my hand :).

You can see the flaps on the sides of its body, flattened tail and webbed feet in this image, and in the last one as well.



It was hard to say goodbye to this beauty, but I knew it belonged in the wild so I let it go!

Hisham's Macro Rig

Hisham Marmin's Macro rig. You can find his blog here, and his Facebook page here.

You can also find more macro rigs here.

His macro rigs consists of Pentax K5, SMC Pentax D FA Macro 100mm F2.8 WR3, Pentax AF160C Macro Ring Flash. However, instead of using the ring flash the way it is intended to be, i.e mounted onto the front of the lens, this is what he does. The images here should be self explanatory! 

Side view. Yes, it's another great example of adapting the concave diffuser I use for my MP-E65/MT-24EX for a lens with bigger working distance.


You can also see that he uses a wooden ruler, a few rubber bands, and surgical tape to put the whole rig together.


Front view








You get O shaped catch light in the subject's eyes if you use the ring flash the conventional way i.e directly on the front of the lens.


However, by holding the ring flash on a ruler and diffuse the light with a concave diffuser, you get very nice, even light like this!


Other sample images:




Fly


Jumping spider


More macro rigs here.


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Epeus sp. jumping spider life cycle

An incomplete documentation of en Epeus sp. jumping spider' life cyle:

Oct 6, 2012: I found this very gravid mom-to-be.


The same Epeus sp. pregnant jumping spider from a different angle.


Oct 13, 2012 - mom and her eggs. Mom was seen chasing away an ant that close too close to ber eggs.





Oct 20, 2012: Mom with her newly hatched spiderlings.


Oct 27, 2012: only spiderlings' molts were left on the leaf. Mom and her spiderlings have moved on.

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A different specimen:

Aug 14, 2011. Mom guarding her egggs.






Aug 21, 2011. The spiderlings hatched.




 Aug 31, 2011, only these were left on the leaf. The spiderlings must have molted and left the nest to start their own lives.
 

For similar documentation on Lichen huntsman life cycle click  here.

More arthropod moms with babies in this post.


More tropical spiders.

Other spiders related posts:

1. Ant-mimic crab spider eating weaver ant
2. More ant-mimic spiders
3. Wonderful jumping spiders
4. Ant-mimic crab spider - mating!
5. Male red ant-mimic jumping spider
6. Tropical spiders
7. Jumping spider life cycle
8. Lichen huntsman life cycle