"Insects in the cricket family Tettigoniidae are commonly called katydids or bush crickets."

Tettigoniids range in size from as small as 5 to as large as 130 mm. The smaller species typically live in drier or more stressful habitats which may lead to their small size. The small size is associated with greater agility, faster development, and lower nutritional needs. Tettigoniids are tree-living insects that are most commonly heard at night during summer and early fall. Tettigoniids may be distinguished from the grasshopper by the length of their filamentous antennae, which may exceed their own body length, while grasshoppers' antennae are always relatively short and thickened.

The scientific name "Tettigoniidae" is derived from the genus Tettigonia, first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1748. Latin tettigonia means leafhopper; it is from Greek tettigonion, the diminutive of the imitative (onomatopoeic) τέττιξ, tettix, cicada.

The common name "katydid" is also onomatopoeic.

Primarily nocturnal in habit, with strident mating calls, many katydids exhibit mimicry and camouflage, commonly with shapes and colors similar to leaves.

When tettigoniids go to rest during the day, they go into a diurnal roosting posture to maximize its cryptic qualities. This position fools predators into thinking the katydid is either dead or just a leaf on the plant. Various tettigoniids have bright coloration and black apical spot on the inner surface of the tegmina, and brightly colored hind wings. By flicking their wings open when disturbed they use the coloration to fool predators into thinking the spots are eyes. This in combination with their coloration mimicking leaves allows them to blend in with their surroundings, but also makes predators unsure which side is the front and which side is the back.

The diet of tettigoniids includes leaves, flowers, bark, and seeds, but many species are exclusively predatory, feeding on other insects, snails, or even small vertebrates such as snakes and lizards. Some are also considered pests by commercial crop growers and are sprayed to limit growth, but population densities are usually low, so a large economic impact is rare. By observing the head and mouthparts, where differences can be seen in relation to function, it is possible to determine what type of food the tettigoniids consume. Large tettigoniids can inflict a painful bite or pinch if handled, but seldom break the skin." - Wikipedia

Longbodied Cellar Spider (Pholcus phalangioides - pronounced as FOHL-kuss fuh-lan-gee-OY-deez) also known as Cellar Spider or Daddy Longlegs Spider.

I often come across the female spiders and normally shun taking photos of them as their legs are way too long for me to capture whole. Also, I know I'd seen the female because of the eggs apparently. The egg sac is usually blurry but this one was quite contrasty. My only unwarranted fear at that time was that my lighting (and not because it has the *most potent venom of all spiders) might not be able to lit the spider properly since it was hanging upside down.

"Taxonomic Hierarchy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Arachnida

Order: Araneae

Family: Pholcidae

Genus: Pholcus

Species: Pholcus phalangioides

Author of species name: Johann C. Fuesslin. First year published: 1775, as Aranea phalangoides.

Pholcus can mean either “bandy-legged” or “squinty-eyed” in Greek, but the intended meaning in the case of this spider is uncertain, though it is assumed that Walckenaer meant for it to mean “squinty-eyed” (Cameron 2005). In Greek, phalangioides likely means “looks like a finger bone.”

This is a cosmopolitan species that can be found all over the world, but it is likely endemic (native) to Europe.

Both male and female have primary colours of White, Brown, Tan, and Gray.

Size:

Body length (excluding legs) of adult female ranges from 7-10 mm; adult males range from 6-10 mm.

Eyes:

Total of eight eyes. There’s a cluster of three eyes on each side, with two small eyes in between.

Legs:

Legs are very, very long and thin; delicate-looking. They are grayish-brown with bands of white and black at the joints. The front legs on an adult of this species can be up to 50 mm in length (sometimes more).  All legs are covered in hairs not visible to the naked eye. Tip of each leg has 3 claws (like most web-based spiders do).

Body:

Abdomen of both genders is cylindrical and elongated. Pregnant females will exhibit a more spherical abdomen. Abdomen color is an overall grayish-brown with occasional translucent areas and patches of dark gray and beige. Cephalothorax is beige with two dark gray markings in the center.

*There is a persistent rumor that this spider (or others in the same family) has the most potent venom of all spiders. However, there has never been a single shred of scientific evidence to back this up. It is merely one of the many spider myths that are floating around out there. One hypothesis is that it started because of observations that cellar spiders (family Pholcidae) are able to catch and eat black widows (genus Latrodectus). However, the cellar spider venom is really not very potent, even for insects." - www.spiders.us

Text and Information credit and for more detailed information, read here: http://www.spiders.us/species/pholcus-phalangioides/

Spiky Leaf Beetle (Dactylispa sp., subfamily Hispinae) has spiny and shiny sheen on its elytra.

Leaf Beetle (Family Chrysomelidae) belonging to a large and diverse family can grow up to 30mm with many sub-families that can be found in Singapore.

Leaf Beetles do not have antennae that are equal or longer than half the length of their bodies.

The non-venomous spines (up to 4mm) on the prothorax and elytra of these bugs shown in my photo offer them protection, making it hard for predators to swallow.

It was happily eating its supper after the rain.

Scientific classification for the Moth:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
(unranked): Macrolepidoptera
Superfamily: Lasiocampoidea
Family: Lasiocampidae
Harris, 1841

"The Lasiocampidae are a family of moths also known as eggars, snout moths, or lappet moths. Over 2000 species occur worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied.

Their common name 'snout moths' comes from the unique protruding mouth parts of some species that resemble a large nose. They are called 'lappet moths' due to the decorative skin flaps found on the caterpillar's prolegs. The name 'eggars' comes from the neat egg-shaped cocoons of some species. The name is from the Greek lasio (wooly) and campa (caterpillar).

Caterpillars of this family are large in size and are most often hairy, especially on their sides. Most have skin flaps on their prolegs and a pair of dorsal glands on their abdomens. They feed on leaves of many different trees and shrubs, and often use these same plants to camouflage their cocoons. Some species are called tent caterpillars due to their habit of living together in nests spun of silk.

As adults, the moths in this family are large-bodied with broad wings and may still have the characteristic elongated mouth parts, or have reduced mouthparts and not feed as adults. They are either diurnal or nocturnal. Females lay a large number of eggs which are flat in appearance and either smooth or slightly pitted. In tent caterpillars, the eggs are deposited in masses and covered with a material that hardens in air. Females are generally larger and slower than the males, but the sexes otherwise resemble each other. Moths are typically brown or grey, with hairy legs and bodies." - Wikipedia

The white moustache looked more yellowish actually. It is funny how the female portia spider has a moustache when the male do not. Does this spider look like a crusty flake of bark? Its size is about that of a human thumbnail.

Portia Spiders have been nicknamed Porsche as well as Queen of Spiders. Portia Spider is also considered the veritable Einstein of the arthropod world, and rightfully so...

"The Cognitive Animal written by Stim Wilcox (Department of Biology, SUNY Binghamton) and Robert Jackson (Department of Zoology, University of Canterbury, New Zealand) expressed how tricky it is to discuss cognition in animals, with almost as many definitions of the term as people using them. Rather than trying to choose a single definition, they instead apply a framework designed to raise questions about six separate cognitive properties: reception (taking in information), attention (focusing on particular tasks), representation (maintaining a mental image or cognitive map), memory (retaining information), problem solving (deriving pathways to the achievement of goals), and communication language (influencing other individuals by manipulating symbols). They noted that "Portia strings together series of signals as she engages in aggressive mimicry, noting how this involves a complex, flexible and dynamic sequence of interactions between her and her target." Information credit: https://animalwise.org/2011/07/20/portia-queen-of-spiders/

See my other female portia here:
https://plus.google.com/100543882973615460981/posts/Lkn9BUndURA

See the male portia here:
https://plus.google.com/100543882973615460981/posts/9yPGNzTQR6r

"Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Salticidae
Subfamily: Spartaeinae
Genus: Portia
Karsch, 1878
Type species
Salticus fimbriatus
Doleschall, 1859
Diversity: 17 species

Portia is a genus of jumping spider that feeds on other spiders (araneophagic). They are remarkable for their intelligent hunting behaviour, which suggests that they are capable of learning and problem solving, traits normally attributed to much larger animals.

Portia exhibits a different mating behavior and strategy than other jumping spiders. In most jumping spiders, males mount females to mate. The Portia male shows off his legs and extends them stiffly and shakes them to attract the female. The female then drums on the web. After the male mounts her, the female drops a dragline and they mate in mid-air. Mating with Portia spiders can occur off or on the web. The spider also practices cannibalism before and after copulation. The female usually twists and lunges at the mounted male. (P. fimbriata, however, is an exception; it does not usually exhibit such behavior.) If the male is killed before completing copulation, the male sperm is removed and the male is then eaten. If the male finishes mating before being killed, the sperm is kept for fertilization and the male is eaten. A majority of males are killed during sexual encounters." - Wikipedia

"Some key characteristics of a Portia are:
Physical features: 0.24” to 0.39” (6 to 10 mm) long.
Poisonous: No.
Lives in: World-wide.

Eats: The Portia Spider hunts and eats other spiders. They will eat any type of spiders, including spiders that are 200 times their own size but they prefer web spiders, probably because they have specialized techniques for stalking and capturing other spiders in their webs. The manner by which they stalk and capture their prey is fascinating because they use specialized tactics for each type of spider they are hunting. Some of their clever hunting schemes include: Imitating a fly caught in a web, pretending to be an inanimate object, conducting the mating ritual of a specific spider species, attaching their own web to the web of their prey, catching a fly and putting it in the spider’s web; while the spider is eating the fly, the Portia sneaks up and eats the spider." - WikiHow

Read more on how to identify a Portia Spider:
http://www.wikihow.com/Identify-a-Portia-Spider

Another interesting information on Portia (Do spiders have a mind?):
http://www.dichotomistic.com/mind_readings_spider%20minds.html