ARENGA

When I first laid my eyes on the pile at the foot of the Arenga, I thought it was a mass of dead beetles. But when I approached nearer, I realized it was a mass of fallen fruits from the palm, fruits that look disgustingly like insects with wings. See what the mind can do to one's imagination? These are just fruits but somehow I felt freaked out by the collective mass.

Don't they look like disgusting insects or shellfish?

VIVARIUM

This freshwater aquarium was converted into a vivarium with stick insects.

I had a hard time looking out for them but when I did see them, it was actually quite easy to spot them. Unfortunately, my camera could only capture hazy images of the insect, mimicking branches and perched on the plants, through the glass.

HORTPARK 3

Unlike the two earlier posts on HortPark, this one focuses more on pests and diseases and nutrient deficiency symptoms.

There is a wide range of scale insects shown here. Some even look like barnacles on the stems and branches of the plants. The blackish soot-like layer on the leaves is the sooty mould, brought about by the scale insects. Usually, sucking insects like scales, aphids, mealy bugs secrete a honey dew-like substance that attracts ants. The ants harvest the substance and in turn farm these insects and protect them from other predators.


There was also a grasshopper, spotted on the leaf of a Canna plant, which typically chews the leaves causing extensive damages.


The variegated and non-variegated Manihot esculenta (common name: Tapioca) is also a nest bed of mealy bugs.


The leaves of the Diospyros malabarica tree were also badly damaged by the Bagworms.


The 3 stages of the Ladybird were also captured by the camera. Who would have thought that their larval stages look entirely different from the winged insect?


The reddish edge of the leaves of this particular Tristaniopsis whiteana tree was showing symptoms of possibly phosphorus deficiency.


Hispid beetles were found on the badly damaged fronds of the Coconut Palm.


Finally, this alien like moth caterpillar, which I captured before, was busy eating the leaves of the Ardisia elliptica.

GREEN

There was this green cockroach-like insect outside the glass. What on earth is this? Honestly, I have never seen this creature before.

INSECT

What is this strange insect on the leaf of this plant?

THAILAND - CHIANG MAI

I am a stickler for water features, especially the natural ones with cascades and rapids. So when I came across this amazing river with huge boulders and a shallow riverbed of pebbles, there was no way I would give it a miss to capture photos of it. I wanted to walk in the shallow waters but the water was icy cold.

Right there and then, that was the first time I saw the Beaumontia murtonii growing so big and high up in the crown of a host tree with so many flowers. It was a sight not to be forgotten.

I also came across the Acanthus mollis (common name: Bear's Breeches) from the Acanthaceae Family with a stalk of beautiful opened flowers. Unlike our native A. ebracteatus and A. illicifolius, this one has more interestingly shaped leaves and larger showy flowers. A link on this plant is attached:

http://www.robsplants.com/plants/AcantMolli.php

Finally, I saw an interesting insect with a long snout. I have never seen this unusual insect before and it did not look the least intimidating and in fact looked kind of cute. I wonder what it is.