Talk & walk: Spiders Galore! 26 & 28 October 2010

Hello members,

Please keep your diaries free for the 26th & the 28th Oct.

There'll be a talk by a well known expert on Southeast Asian spiders on the 26th Oct 2010.

Dr Joseph Koh who is on a brief one month visit here for will give us with a fascinating insight on "Defence strategies of Southeast Asian spiders". As we've never had a talk on spiders before, this will be an interesting one to attend. So bring your friends along!

Venue of talk: UCSI Sarawak Campus auditorium (Jalan Tun Jugah, near the roundabout to the airport)

Time: 7.30pm. 

 For those who are interested, Dr Koh will conduct a night walk along the Red & Blue Trail at Permai Rainforest Resort from 7.20pm on the 28 Oct 2010 to search for spiders in the forest there. He will demonstrate the "eye shine technique" and show how one can easily spot nocturnal spiders. First timers will be surprised at the diversity and sheer numbers of spiders one can observe at night, especially members of Lycosidae (wolf spiders) wandering spiders (Ctenidae) and Sparassidae (huntsman spiders).  Later in the evening (maybe after 9 pm), we may be able to see those Araneidae (orb-web spiders) which tend to build web at night. Joseph will do a walking commentary on their natural history and possible identities as and when we spot them. He will also demonstrate how to distinguish male from female spiders. Although it is not impossibleto spot the spiders with hand-held torches, it would be much easier with headlamps. Please remember to load the lights with fresh batteries since it would be a 3-hour walk. There will be plenty of opportunities for macro-photography with a flash.

It would make a nice evening to head over to Permai early and have dinner while watching the sunset before starting off on the walk. The Rainforest cafe closes at 10.30pm.

Venue of walk: Permai Rainforest Resort (Red & Blue Trail)

Time: 7.30pm - 10.30pm

What to wear/bring: Suitable clothing (such as long sleeved shirts), sensible shoes as you will be walking on the trails & not on resort pavements, headlamps, torch, extra batteries, raincoat, plenty of water & snacks.

Where to meet: The Rainforest Cafe

Cheers,

Sunita