iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Something's brewing~ I'm also arranging a 4-night trip to an entomology camp after BugShot for participants who can't get enough bugs.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Sunny-side-up! Cyrtophora cylindroides

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

This biscuit fluoresces under ultraviolet.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Albinistic Scorpiops sp. from Laos.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Oh, you're tired after taking care of your one kid for the entire day?

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

I finally got to observe these tiny theridiosomatids that live at the edge of streams, thanks to Yuya Suzuki. Then my 9-year-old showed me her comic book detailing Wendilgarda's hunting strategies to tell me what a noob I am. 😱😱😱

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

This is the Sunburst Candy Spider from Thailand. Not AI (sucks to have to declare this). Very real and had been on my wish list for a long time. The taxonomic placement is unclear, so we are leaving it at Cyrtarachninae.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Blind cave spiders~ This occurs due to the process of regressive evolution. In an environment without light, vision provides no advantage in finding prey or avoiding predators. The loss of their eyes means that energy and resources once used for eyes are instead allocated to other traits.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Tarantula foot-pad. Who knew they could be so pretty?

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Been looking for a fresh specimen of Leucauge sarawakensis for a long time! Each time we found one, someone walked into its web. Hence, the ex situ shots.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

Here are 3 incredibly beautiful mantids that I saw last month. Toxodera fimbriata Paratoxodera meggitti Hymenopus coronatus

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 13/04/2025

All of them are Dundubia vaginata.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Here are 3 beautiful mantidflies that I saw last month! They are neither mantises nor flies; their larvae are parasitoids of spider eggs, and these adults appear to mimic wasps. Euclimacia rufocincta Tuberonotha sp. Euclimacia sp.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

A pair of treehoppers tending to their eggs. The dorsal fin seems to be variable, as we've seen individuals nearby without any dorsal fin at all. Some also have a red longitudinal stripe on their wings. Pyrgauchenia sp. Gunung Trusmadi, Sabah, Malaysia

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Black-femur Selenocosmia, a mini gorilla. EM10m4, Laowa 50mm 2:1, dual Raynox, 2.1mm cctv fisheye, lighted with Godox V350 diffused, handheld without looking through the viewfinder nor LCD screen. Working distance about 1cm to its face.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

The primary eyes of spiders are known to exhibit a pigment ring shortly after ecdysis (moulting). During this phase, the lens grows until the pigment ring is no longer visible. The pigment rings are typically more visible in salticids and deinopids.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

This is the mystery spider egg sac covered with a veil of pink silk that was determined to be woven by a Poltys based on several rounds of discussion on iNaturalist and Twitter. Thanks to @arachnonaut.bsky.social for the lead!

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

The biology of scale insects is a mystery to me. What's their life cycle like? How do they eat? How do they mate? How do they lay eggs? What do their larvae look like? How do they even move?

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Has anyone seen and identified these large (~10mm) male araneids before? Longitudinal fovea, shoulder horns and stout tibia II with a distal pair of spines. Not many araneids have large males so that narrows down quite a bit. Specimens found in Singapore.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Taking a pause on lantern bugs. Not sure what's next so here's a pleasing fungus beetle (why pleasing?) from the Peruvian Amazon. It's blue, so enjoy it! Probably Cypherotylus debauvei, previously under the genus Gibbifer.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Not a parent caring for its young, but 2 species of lantern bugs from Ecuador. The smaller Scaralis cf. nigronotata had scampered under Scaralis cf. picta for shelter. Some trees attract more lantern bugs. We found at least 4 species on this tree alone. Yummy sap?

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Pyrops clavatus is typically covered with a white waxy layer, but has one of the largest bulbous tips at the end of its "snout". Are you all sick of my lantern bug posts yet? What should I focus on next? 😅

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

I found this beautiful pair of Pyrops intricatus on this tree and waited for several hours in hope that they would... you know you know. But it didn't happen.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Zanna nobilis is a unique saw-toothed lantern bug with multiple tubercles lining its "snout". If you look up close, you would see patterns like those found on a blue-ringed octopus.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Pyrops whiteheadi is endemic to Borneo and pretty common in Sabah. It sports a shorter and crooked looking blue "snout" with pretty yellow galaxy-spots adoring its green-veined wings.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Lantern bugs usually exhibit bright and beautiful colours while in flight. That's when their hind wings are exposed. Sometimes they may open their wings for a split second, especially when wet. Here's Pyrops spinolae photographed in the rain. This particular morph exists only in Northern Thailand.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

It is the month of Christmas and I'm spamming lantern bug photos so....

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Many species of lantern bugs tend to roost on the same host tree. On this particular tree in the Ecuadorian Amazon, we saw at least 4 species of lantern bugs in the day and another few others at night. Here's a rockband of Scaralis cf. picta.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Phrictus quinquepartitus is what I'd call the dragon-headed lantern bug with the multiple tubercles lining its snout, or apical process. Photographed in Belize

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Not all lantern bugs come with a "nose". Here's Scamandra rosea from Borneo. It was just outside my room in Gunung Mulu National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses caves and karst formations in a mountainous equatorial rainforest setting.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Now let's look at the lantern bugs from the Neotropics. Lantern bugs from the genus Fulgora are also known as peanut heads, due to the shape of the apical process. Did you know that the "peanut" is hollow? Does it vibrate or sense sounds?

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Some lantern bugs appear white and dull but would undoubtedly bear colourful hindwings which are usually hidden from view. Here's a white morph of Pyrops pyrorhynchus from peninsular Malaysia with its distinct red bulbous tip of its apical process, just a split second before flying off.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Saiva bullata is endemic to the mountains of Northern Thailand. Despite its colours, it remains extremely well camouflaged when resting on the tree trunk. Yet another polka-dotty species!

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

From a distance, Kalidasa nigromaculata may seem like a lantern bug without the "snout" or apical process like in the other lantern bugs that I've posted. However, closer inspection reveals a needle-like "snout". Absolutely no idea what those are for. Sensing movement? Picking up some scent?

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Ok I'll be spamming lantern bugs this week. This pretty one is Saiva gemmata from Thailand. Starts with a nice sky-blue gradient from the base of its wings with a vibrant green stretching down to a hint of red while being covered by black-stroked yellow polka-dots.

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

I am somewhat biased towards lantern bugs and often make little trips searching for them. Here's Pyrops pythicus, endemic to Sumatra. How many colours do you see?

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Nicky Bay @nickybay.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

There's some special allure when insects come in blue. One of the prettiest lantern bugs that I've ever photographed - Pyrops gunjii from East Kalimantan.

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