There are bugs (and other arthropods) aplenty in Bali. Ubud town, probably thanks to its clogged drains, swings with mosquitoes that sucked my duck dry and dimpled. The countryside and outlying paddy fields, however, were relatively free of blood-letting bugs, perhaps owing to their wealth of insectivorous avian theropods and other diners of dengue-carriers.
A damselfly (possibly Aristocypha fenestrella). For some reason, I could never get the compound eyes in focus, despite 15 minutes of squatting (and 5 seconds of falling) on a steep path. I have also identified the dragonflies posted earlier here as Tyriobapta torrida (the male bearing the iridiscent wingbase and the female with the striped abdomen), thanks to this guidebook.
This fuzzy caterpillar appears even hairier than my duck!
A red weaver ant. There were everywhere and are old enemies of my duck, having sunk their vicious mandibles into various parts of his anatomy whenever the opportunity struck (including once when my duck was bathing and thus exposed to attack).
Some hymenopteran, I think. It has a waist to die for.
Escargot. It was moving a little too fast, which explains the blurred shell.
Common flying dragon (Draco volans) on a tree by Jalan Raya Ubud.
I would like to think that one of the reasons there are less mossies in the padi fields are due to the drainage system in place. You notice that the water in the "drains" are usually free flowing and filled with clean water? It apparently part of an ancient system to distribute water to the padi fields. It's designed in such a way that the water is alway flowing. Ingenius eh?
Posted by: Jeffrey | 15 August 2006 at 08:48 AM
Ya. that too probably. Apparently, they have a very structured approach to their irrigation and hydrological management, whereby every plot-owner gets access (or is able to block water flow to his plot when needed) to the water flowing down from the mountains. I was told the farmer at the very bottom of the area (just before the streams merge with the larger rivers) is responsible for ensuring that the system works (as he would be the first to suffer should the water fail to flow sufficiently).
Posted by: budak | 16 August 2006 at 10:58 PM
beautiful photos! the wasp (with the waist to die for) is in the family Eucharitidae; they are parasites of ants.
Posted by: Andy | 06 March 2007 at 05:59 AM
wah! thanks for IDing the family. Looks like it: http://www.myrmecos.net/insects/Eucharitid1.html
Posted by: budak | 06 March 2007 at 11:27 PM