A couple of days in Amboli. Amboli is in the western ghats, which is a world hot-spot of amphibian bio-diversity. It’s a huge tourist attraction in the monsoon season, less so in the summer.
I first looked around the guest house, Mrugaya Amboli (https://www.mrugayaamboli.com/). Our guide was Yash Patil, a terrific naturalist and, as we later found out, an extremely talented self-taught photographer and videographer. Please check out his instagram https://www.instagram.com/rah_bhatka/
Here’s an unidentified grasshopper with beautiful eyes:
I don’t understand what’s going on here. I took the photo thinking that these were eggs, which may still be true. But it got more confusing when I zoomed in.
There are some creatures at the “head” of the long tubular “eggs”. They look too small to have emerged from the eggs. The eggs are tubular and collapsed and empty. This got a little traction from some entomologists as an engaging mystery :-).
I think the consensus is wax secretions from scale insect males, perhaps Monophlebidae –> Icerya? Suggested on Facebook.
To make it more interesting, there appears to be a predatory mite munching away.
This photo was taken nearby:
- Order Hemiptera
- Suborder Auchenorrhyncha
- Infraorder Fulgoromorpha
- Superfamily Fulgoroidea
- Family Fulgoridae
- Subfamily Dichopterinae
- Tribe Dichopterini
- Genus Dichoptera
A Pompilid, perhaps Liris cf subtessalatus? The blue color on the back was very nice.
Another perhaps Liris:
Another Ichneumonid wasp, maybe Metopius or Euceros as per iNat:
A keelback snake, I forget which kind:
I asked Yash for tarantulas, so he took us on a night walk. Spoiler: lots of tarantulas, but zero photographs. Maybe one day I will be more patient than the tarantulas are shy. Also, perhaps a glimpse of a tailless whip-scorpion!
This spider is perhaps in Neoscona:
One of the stars of the night for me!!! Indian tiger centipede, huge, maybe 12 cm or so. Scolopendra hardwickei
A lovely ant-lion, one of the Giant Ant-Lions,
- Order Neuroptera
- Suborder Myrmeleontiformia
- Superfamily Myrmeleontoidea
- Family Myrmeleontidae
- Subfamily Ascalaphinae
- Tribe Palparini
- Genus Stenares
I don’t know what this spider in the irregular web is:
iNat suggests perhaps genus Thereuopoda for this centipede:
Lovely camouflaged spider in Cyclosa. I recognized it as a Cyclosa web immediately, but it *still* was tough to decide whether the lump was a spider or debris.
Malabar spotted flat, a butterfly that spreads its wings. This is with flash, the actual view was much darker.
This is what they look like without the flash:
This one is perhaps:
Family Geometridae
Subfamily Sterrhinae
Tribe Scopulini
Genus Scopula
Scopula caesaria
A lovely whipsnake Ahaetulla? Aka Green vine snake
Chrysomelid beetle:
It was in a general mishmash:
In Hubballi, a Physocyclus cf globosus, cellar spider, perhaps short-bodied cellar spider
Stratiomyidae, perhaps Odontomyia:
- Family Stratiomyidae
- Subfamily Stratiomyinae
- Tribe Stratiomyini
- Genus Odontomyia
This was on a laterite plateau. We spent some time exploring this plateau, which is part of an biome being recognized as a fascinating and unique eco-system found nowhere else. They are characterized by very little soil cover which leads to little water retention and a boom and bust cycle in the summer and rainy season. However, since they composed of porous rock, they act as water reservoirs for the surrounding areas. See: https://roundglasssustain.com/habitats/laterite-plateaus-maharashtra
We discussed coming back in the monsoon season with a waterproof lens to investigate the life in the monsoon, which would be wonderful.
Also on the laterite plateau. iNaturalists says:
Phylum Tracheophyta
Subphylum Angiospermae
Class Liliopsida
Order Poales
Family Eriocaulaceae
Genus Eriocaulon
Eriocaulon sexangulare
gecko eggs:
on a hike, porcupine scat:
And leopard scat:
Some landscape photos:
waterfall on the way to Amboli:
The view at the top of the hike was stunning:
focus soft? 😦
a little wild 