While hanging some laundry today I spotted this Giant False Leaf Katydid hanging out on top of an unused ceiling fan near the tuk-tuk.
Jurassic Cardamoms 🦕
I am often in disbelief at how much of the insect life here is exponentially larger than the rest of Cambodia, a sign this area has a relatively healthy ecosystem and biodiversity. The Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia still have wild elephants, crocodiles, sun bears, but more common to see are the gigantic insects.
Luckily we are too high in the mountains for this area to be a crocodile or elephant destination, but our neighbors have seen sun bears before in the village. So far I have only seen some strange birds and tiny primates from a long distance. Lately I've been seeing tons of giant cicadas and crickets, and even katydids too, but this particular one is the biggest one I've ever seen in my life.
I don't have a macro lens, so closeup shots aren't possible with my phone, but this thing was so large it made me feel like I had a macro lens. It's body was bigger than any rat I've trapped here, and I can only imagine how much this thing eats in a day. Its legs spread out and reached both sides of the fan blade, the pictures just don't do justice to how massive thing is.
I took a few pics from a few different angles, and all the while I could see the giant eyes of this creature following me. It had a confidence that much smaller insects never display, not afraid of me getting close for pics at all.
I don't usually do insect photography, but this chance encounter made me want to document this and share it with you all. Only moments after this I slipped in the mud and went feet-first skiing on my butt to the bottom of the hill, quickly stood up, scanned the horizon for potential witnesses, then allowed myself to experience the pain 😁.
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Hallo MR @justinparke I hope you are fine today, this unique insect is the first time I have seen it, this is something rare for me,Taking precise pictures from different angles, this insect seems very tame in your hands,Yes Cambodia I really want to go there but unfortunately I can't afford it economically but I'm sure one day I will go to your country, Crocodiles and bears are the wild animals that I fear the most, but it looks like elephants are no less terrible in my opinion,Good night best night to you @justinparke, are the ladies back from their adventures.
Thanks for stopping by, yes the insect was very calm, I guess because it fears nothing because of its massive size. I hope you can visit Cambodia one day, you can be a traveler for as little as $10 a day here, and Air Asia flights are very cheap. We are able to earn enough from posting on Hive to cover our daily expenses here, so it's okay.
If you ever do come, of course you and other ASEAN Hivers are always welcome at our place.
Ha ha ha....
And the important thing so far I have known a lot about Cambodia from each of your posts, and it's very interesting
Incredible..the insect you photograph is really huge, I immediately "zoom" the second photo you share. as you said, he's bigger than the largest type of rat in his group. at first glance I saw his face, his body is very scary and really looks like an "alien" 😅
But what makes it very unique is that its body and wings and legs are wrapped in a bright green color, it looks very perfect. Is this what is called a disguise in order to find Justin's prey?
Thank you for sharing this unique insect photo with us my brother, even though you say you are not used to doing insect photography, but I think this can be the best start for you to do it. why not hehe 😄
Hopefully you don't have a serious injury due to slipping, and I hope you are always in good health justin 🙏
I was lucky to have a good subject, it made me seem like a talented photographer even though I am definitely not.
I need to remember to keep my phone on me when I wandering around the property because I often encounter giant insects. My favorite is the walking stick insects, but I have only seen one here since we moved in.
Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully no more butt mud skiing for me 🤣.
woooowwww.... a very unique and good discovery of insects.
maybe if you take a picture using a camera it can be more perfect.
but even if you take pictures using your cellphone the results are still good, I'm very happy to see you post pictures of insects this time😁😁
Yes, but I don't have a good camera, the one I have is less quality than my camera phone, haha. Because I am not a photographer, I've never invested in a good camera yet, not sure I would want to travel with something so expensive in Cambodia. Luckily giant insects make it seem like you have a macro lens 😁.
I think you're actually a great photographer—even though you're not a photographer.
Very visible from the side you share the image in your post.
Even if you take pictures through a cellphone camera, it is very good.
Yes... it's true that even if you don't use a macro lens, but the image is like using a macro lens 😂😂
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I'm alright with the bug. The highlight of this entire post being the last few sentences 🤔 your skiing experience totally drove me thought of Frozone's cryokinetic surfing
Haha, next time I'll have Monkey-B jump on my make before butt mud skiing. Perhaps it will balance me so that I can move like this guy 😁.
If I'd encounter such species, I would take my camera and document the moment too.
I feel it is certainly the biggest katydid I've seen in this lifetime, so of course I couldn't let the opportunity pass. I wanted to see it fly or jump, but it seemed that it needed some beauty rest instead.
It seems the insect is also curious at who is taking the picture. 😊
I've seen bigger insects before but I don't think I've seen anything like that.
!1UP
It was very impressive, and it's bizarre how many giant insect species are here. There are many giant crickets, cicadas and grasshoppers too, but I usually don't have my phone on me when I encounter them.
It seems you have more diverse insects and animals in there as compared in here.
There is indeed a lot of biodiversity here.
wow is there an insect that big?
Honestly, I recently saw it myself, even though I live in a village, I have never seen an insect of this size in person.
I have seen a few giant katydids in my life but never have I seen one this big, very impressive. It is so big I think it could fight a rat and win.
You are really lucky, I hope I can see too, it's like that because of the large size, of course he will win against the mice
very good insect photos love to see these insects because the color is very attractive for me to see it thank you friend
A very beautiful green, I hope to see more giant insects like this. Occasionally I see giant crickets and grasshoppers too.
yes friend, thank you for your attention, I can communicate with you
When i look at the insect reminded me on one of the pokemon that caught by Ashes !LOLZ
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I'll have to google that one, haha. The thing was massive, I wish I had stuck a ruler or my hand behind it for scale, the pictures don't seem to represent it well.
The color so calming green.
😆 Hope the skiing with no ice didn't hurt you that much.
Well, I can assume that insect with its gigantic eyes probably watched me ski down the hill. It was probably thinking "...serves you right for disturbing my daytime nap."🤣
It looks like a giant grasshopper and can certainly be from another planet, ha ha.
The eyes were captivating to me, I really felt it was watching me with a little more intelligence than the average insect. It certainly wasn't afraid of me at all.
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In the last pic, it looks like a fish.
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