A Wet Spiderweb - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Raindrops on a spiderweb -- beautiful! 

Macro of a Grasshopper - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Such a teeny wee thing... this grasshopper was less than 1.5cm in size but love that we were able to capture so much detail. Especially the fourth shot, we even managed to capture a micro bug on the back of the grasshopper :)

Here's to many more days of good macro photography. :)

All Hail the Queen Ant - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This morning, we found this green ant with wings in our garden. Turns out it's the queen ant. Later that evening, we saw it again.. this time perched on our house wall... the wings were missing! Apparently, the wings are used for nuptial flight (reproduction), and after that the queen will either detach it or her worker ants will chew it off. 

Looks like somebody's been very busy today ;)

 Flying green ant

Say Hello to my "Flatmate" - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

If we were living in a block of flats, he could be described as our flat mate!! - Hubby

This tiny house gecko or "cicak" (2.5cm approximately) was found squished on our door frame.. poor fella.

Mantis Shrimp 攋尿蝦 - Pulau Ketam, Selangor

Mantis shrimp, also known as 攋尿蝦 (lai niu ha) are marine crustaceans. They are neither shrimp or mantids but receive their name due to physical resemblance to both the praying mantis and shrimp. It is called 攋尿蝦 because of its tendency to shoot a jet of water when picked up.. lai niu literally translates to pissing.

Nature Fireworks - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sorry for neglecting my photo blog -- it was my birthday yesterday, and Hubby has been bringing me out for the past week to celebrate! After our lunch at TEN restaurant yesterday, we spotted these pink/white flowers -- I have no idea what they're called but from afar, they look like fireworks. I've also seen them in yellow/orange... very pretty flowers.

A Butterfly & A Caterpillar - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Managed to get a shot of a butterfly and a hairy caterpillar together (with some dew drops thrown in for good measure) :)

And some shots of the butterfly on its own (you can tell it likes posing for us!)

Glow-tastic - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Here's what you get when you put together a glow stick, a camera on slow-shutter speed and two enthusiastic adults. Enjoy!

Baby Sumo showing some love

Fish

I need glasses

Ice-cream cone with cherry on top

Hubby wrote our daughter's name out - so cool!

Hubby showing some love

Beautiful Reeds and Dew Drops - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

 A colorful reed with morning dew

Hairy reed

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The hibiscus rosa-sinensis is no stranger to Malaysians, being its national flower and all. It was declared as the national flower on 28 July 1960.The red petals symbolise courage, life, and rapid growth of the Malaysian, and the five petals represent the five Rukun Negara of Malaysia.

 It is also known as the Chinese hibiscus, China rose and shoe flower. 

Stamen macro

Bunga Raya as known to Malaysians

Weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) on Sui Mei (Wrightia religiosa) plant - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) is a type of red ant, often mistaken as fire ant. In Malay, it's called semut api or kerengga (which translates to fire ants, hence the confusion). They make trees in leafy plants by stitching together nests using the silk produced by their larvae. 

We find quite a lot of these ants in our garden especially during rainy season. The other day day, we found a whole bunch of them on our sui mei bonsai plant (Wrightia religiosa). Sui Mei has very fragrant and dainty white flowers, and the plant in general requires quite little maintenance and flowers all year round. We just have to give it a trim now and again to keep it nice and tidy.

Weaver ant on a sui mei flower

Don't get too close! I bite. 

Heart-shaped butterfly - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This butterfly is pretty common around here - it's really tiny (about 2cm in size) and we see quite a lot of them in the morning and evenings when the weather's cooler. What I like most about these butterflies is that when the wings are folded together, it forms a heart-shape.. very pretty.

Butterfly with heart-shaped wing on a hairy plant

Green Bug with Long Nose - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

What a long nose you have.... Have you been telling lies, little green bug? 

Anyone have any idea what type of bug is this? Is it a species of grasshopper?

Barbies Galore - Toy Museum, Prague

A quirky place we visited in Prague during our travels was the Toy Museum, which we stumbled upon after visiting Prague Castle. It is the second largest toy museum in the world. 

Lots of toys here, but what caught my eye were the Barbie toys. Not the usual ones you will find in departmental stores for sure.

Barbie in all stages of pregnancy ;P

Michael Jackson and Marilyn Monroe

Empress Bride Barbie by Bob Mackie