A Naturalist with "Macro Fever" Spots a Leaf Insect in Singapore! - Observation of the Week, 7/26/22

Our Observation of the Week is this leaf insect nymph (likely in the Genus Cryptophyllium), seen in Singapore by @hadoe!

Doreen Foo and her family (husband Eugene and daughter Fybie) have been volunteering with Singapore’s National Parks Board since 2016.

Starting from intertidal surveys, we also volunteered in various community science programs such as Heron Watch, Butterfly Watch, Dragonfly Watch, Garden Bird Survey, Monitor Lizard Survey, BioBlitz, Turtle Watch (Beach Patrol) and Outreach Patrol to educate proper intertidal etiquettes too! After learning that Singapore has such a rich biodiversity, we are inspired to promote conservation activities and help contribute towards scientific research as volunteers on a long term basis.

As part of slowing down and observing more when outside, Doreen became interested in moths but wasn’t able to find good local ID resources until she found out about iNat and started using it. She soon began to upload more observations from her outings and has contributed nearly 3,500 so far.

When Covid hit in 2020 and most of us were in a lockdown stage where travelling was prohibited, I grew to “develop a macro fever” (and this is my latest hobby). I was so intrigued to explore more using the macro mode of my mobile phone and then proceeded to use a selfie stick with an additional clip-on lens, I went on to explore the various nature parks in Singapore. This Cryptophyllium was found in Thomson Nature park on a sea hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum) plant on 9th July, it was a lucky find as it was still at eye level so I was happily snapping a few record shots as it was my first time seeing this nymph!

Leaf insects comprise Family Phylliidae, which is nested in Order Phasmida (commonly known as stick insects), and they range from South Asia into Australia. Like other members of their order, they’re herbivorous and often incredibly well camouflaged like the nymph Doreen photographed. When moving they often rock back and forth, simulating plants shaking in the wind.

Doreen (above) tells me

iNaturalist is very convenient to use and the “view suggestions” feature is so convenient! I have been sharing with people around me about this app. For example, whenever I volunteer at intertidal outreach, I would suggest to the beach goers instead of picking up sea creatures, it is better to take a picture, use the app and upload their findings, find out what it is, plus you can contribute to natural science research too! For me, I am truly grateful for all the identifiers who have helped correct the wrongful tags. In fact, over the years, I have since become friends with other observers from Singapore! Being able to connect with like-minded people who love nature and are selfless in sharing their knowledge, there is no wonder the first app I open every morning when I wake up is iNat!!

(Photo of Doreen by Fiora Lee)

- Check out a National Parks Board written piece and video about Doreen and her family.

- There just over 450 observations of leaf insects on iNat and they are pretty darn cool, take a look!

- Deep Look, as usual, put together a nice video about leaf insects.

Posted on July 26, 2022 08:22 PM by