Genting Forest at 3000 feet - Macro Diversity at Awana Bio Park (Upper Dipterocarp Forest), Malaysia

Whenever people visit Genting Highlands, they are reminded of the mountains, the forest, the mist, the cool air, casino and shopping. What about its biodiversity? Who remembers it?

Let's dive into the forest to see what is in there... 

After closing for 2 years due to COVID-19, the borders between Malaysia and Singapore was finally opened on 1st April 2022, April's Fool Day, luckily it was real and not a joke. Got my tickets and I'm on my way to Genting Highlands, happily arrived on 14 April. I am so glad to meet Eddie and Pat once again. I was intending to do macro photography instead of the normal birding for this trip. As Awana is undergoing development works, most areas are unaccessible and unsafe to visit. New nature trails are in the making and it will be a whole new look.

I went for a morning exploring in the Awana Garden just below Resorts World Awana, which I would call it the Mosquitoes Garden. Mosquitoes come to you not one or two, but in swarms. I walked over to the big bushes and my first encounter was the Asian Bush Cricket, chilling out on a leaf usually about 80cm to 100cm above ground. This cricket is almost 10cm long, about the size of our palm.

There were quite a number of orb weavers seen especially in the bushes and shrubs. The most commonly seen Silver Orb Spider seems to be able to strive very well here. I had seen alot of them during my walk, and they are easy to spot. They are usually seen hanging in its web upside down due to their heavy abdomen. This guy that I photographed was seen having his breakfast, most probably a male. Female has a bigger and rounder abdomen.

I saw a triangle-shaped web resembling a space net on the smaller dried bushes, usually home to the Comb-Footed Spider. If you can see a dried leaf in the center, then that's where the spider is resting, usually beneath it. I happened to see one with a nest of spiderlings, usually around 50 to 80 of them.

Below is another species of Comb-Footed Spider seen just a few bushes away. It does seems like this is a conducive place for the Comb-Footed Spiders to strive.

There were also a few Trashline Orbweavers seen. Their webs are usually seen with a line of debris leading to the center, usually to trick its prey of their location. Below are two of the same kind of  Trashline spiders seen within the same place.

A spiny orb-weaver was also seen, and it is one of the biggest spider in the spiny family ranging around 30mm to 40mm (end to end) in length. Their webs can go up to 3 metres in width spanning across trees. We may walk into one without realizing it. Nevertheless, it is a beautiful spider.

I took a break to fill my hunger, then I continued to explore the new 2km Awana Trail round the golf course. I saw the same Silver Orb Spider at the start of the trail, a few of them, both young and adult. Found a Lynx Spider hiding beneath a leaf stem hunting for food. They usually lay on stems or under leaves, and wait for preys (flies and small bugs) to come by. 

As I continued to walk and look, there were actually many tiny insects which made photographing them very difficult. They were very sensitive to movements and took off the moment you approached them. Found another species of Comb-Footed Spider, this time it was a pair, both male and female.The male was approaching the female slowly into her lair, not wanting to alarmed it. The male spider is usually many times smaller than the female, and at risk of losing their lives as the female will usually eats them after mating. Female spiders tend to be more colourful and beautiful than the male (usually comes in only one or two colours). 

Finally I found the female silver orb spider. I had an earlier picture of the male silver orb spider seen at the Awana Garden, but not the female. The female had a rounder and bigger abdomen if you noticed it. Because of its massive weight, this lady is always hanging upside down, therefore not easy to photograph them.   

As I continued to walk along the Awana trail, the diversity started to reduce in areas where there was direct sunlight and less shady areas. Insects tend to like shady places with abit of heat and light. They are like us, take shelter when it is too hot, therefore all are hidden. Spotted the St Andrew's Cross Spider sun-tanning as the cool wind blew, this guy was not affected by the sun. It is a beautiful spider.

I chanced upon a messy tent web among the bushes and saw a little guy beneath a leaf, probably hidding from the hot sun. It was a tiny Double Tailed Tent Web Spider. It has two pointed ends, hence the name double tailed. 

Another Trashline Orbweaver was seen along the trail ,which was the same as those seen earlier.

As I was approaching towards the end of the trail, I saw two very long legged insects that caught my attention beneath the railing. I saw two harvestmen on one end each, looked like they marked their territory. Harvestmen are not spiders despite that they are also eight-legged like spiders. They do not produce silk or make webs to trap food, they are basically scavengers. 

Before I reached the end of the trail, I had fnally get to see two jumping spiders. It is not easy to see these guys because they do not spin webs like those mentioned above. In fact, they are predators that would hide and wait to embush their prey. And you need to find their hiding place to see them. And both were seen on the railings. 

 

Other insects observed includes the below: 

This is a Broadnosed Weevil, and alot was seen everywhere around the vicinity of Awana Hotel. They are easily seen on the plants and bushes if you looked very closely.

This white weevil, due to its size, it is called a Snout Beetle. Weevils are known to be less than 6mm, but this one I saw was at least 30mm, therefore was called a beetle instead. It was seen walking on the railings pacing up and down, probably looking for food. 

I had no idea what insect is this as I could not find any information on this. In other countries, similar kind of this was seen and is called a Springtail. Hope to get its ID one day. This was seen also on the railings along the Awana Trail. 

When I saw this from afar, I thought it was a caterpillar or a long insect beneath the leaf. As I approached close enough, it was actually a bunch of them, all lined up very orderly. I had identified them as treehopper nymphs because I could see that the red weaver ants were protecting them. They hoppers usually feed onto the sap of the plant, which in turn release a sweet sap where the ants could feed on. The ants returned the favour by protecting them, thus forming a special relationship between them.

This little centipede was seen on the side of the railings. When a predator is nearby, this guy does not run away, instead it stayed very still and anticipate your movements. Looks like the railings are a great place to observe critters too. Do look out on the railings as you walked along, you might find other interesting insects. 

Finally my star find, the Japanese Boxer Mantis!! So glad to see one because it is not easy to spot it. This guy was also seen on the railings on the bridge, and you need to approached it very slowly. It is very sensitive to movements. I was lucky to have a decent shot of it before it ran away. 

This brings an end to my outing at Awana. Thank you for your time in reading my blog!!