Devouring One Another

A female Blue Sprite devouring one of its own in the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

A disturbing trend in the heat of the day in this fallen world.

This was taken at the equivalent of 560mm at the minimum focussing distance of a metre.

Cannibalism On The Bay

A damselfly that was still alive but barely in the Kingfisher Lake. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

A female Common Bluetail had her abdomen chewed off at the 1st segment by one of her own. What happened next could just make some sick; after devouring the abdomen, her cannibalistic kin came back for her head. A sad, ugly reality of life in this fallen world.

The damselfly was about a metre (a little over 1 yard) out on the lake and was back-lit by the late morning sun. A 2-stop positive exposure compensation was apparently still not sufficient so some local brightening was needed in post to adequately light up the damselfly.

Quick-Change Artist

A Javanese Grasshopper moulting in the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Well, it wasn’t really that quick because when we chanced upon the grasshopper, its head and thorax were already out and between then and until it managed to shed its exoskeleton, it was a good 20 minutes.

Singing In The Wind

A Variegated Green Skimmer clinging on as it gets swung about on a windy afternoon. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

With a fast enough 1/500-second shutter speed and fast autofocus, nailing this swinging dragonfly was thankfully quite straight forward.

Julia At The Party

A Dryas iulia or Julia Heliconian butterfly having a ball of a time at the pineapple station in the Butterfly Aviary. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

On a closer look, we realized that this Julia Heliconian appeared to have only one eye.

A Hair-Raising Moment

A grasshopper having a hair-raising moment in the Hort Park. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

This was a 60-percent crop of the original image. The grasshopper was actually about an inch or 2-1/2 cm long.

Noise level out of the 2013 four-thirds sensor at ISO 2500 came to some 9 odd and had need to be fixed in post.

One Happy Sucker

A common swallowtail butterfly enjoying its pineapple juice in the local zoo. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

Pulling A Face

A Man-faced stink bug showing its face in the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

With the lens allowing me to focus as close as less than 3 feet (0.9 meters) away, this bug was eventually spooked by my close proximity and flew up to a nearby tree.

Growing-up Meal

A larva of the Tussock Moth devouring its favourite plant to grow up. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

A Red-faced Moment

A Common Scarlet having a red-faced moment in the Gardens by the Bay. Photo credit: Jonathan Chua.

A Predatory Lifestyle

A Praying Mantis homing in on its prey just outside the Tiger’s den in the zoo. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

The Critical Drinker

An Orange Emigrant sampling the nectar of some ixora flowers in a local park. Photo credit: Eleanor Chua.

Highlights were pulled back in post so that textures on the wing of this butterfly could be more clearly seen.