1st (of many) field explorations scheduled for 2026. Assigned to collect ferns and specific genera of flowering plants. Also asked to collect hoppers and crickets by friends and colleagues

Back to illustrating new species again. What an enormous amount of relief I feel after finishing one. And, I have to go back to watercolor painting after for an art exhibit.

It amazes me that the insect species I collected and made a painting of last May was actually a new species and a new record of the genus for the country

During our expedition, everyone got a chance to climb a tree to experience the Cafotrop setup (with Lionel Picart) at the camp. As someone who is used to climbing trees without any gear to collect plants, I struggled (but had a lot of fun) haha

In my natural habitat haha

What a successful expedition not only for us in the plant team but for the whole team. We were lucky enough to discover a lot of plant novelties. What more if we were able to go to every corner of this mountain.

Another insect from our latest exploration. #Gryllidae
Might be good to illustrate this some time.

(As a botanist) I had a deeper understanding about insects earlier this year while working with a lot of entomologists who work on different groups. Here's a species of weevil I found from a recent exploration in one of the northern provinces in the Philippines #Coleoptera

Here's another artwork given to an entomologist that was very enthusiastic about birds during the expedition.

Watercolor and pen on paper
"Luzon tarictic hornbill"

One of the lead entomologist (president of International Auchenorrhyncha Society) wanted an artwork of any Cixiidae. So, I decided to paint a species that was collected during our expedition.

Watercolor on paper
Photo reference: Gernot Kunz (he was also part of the expedition)

Had a reconnaissance botanical fieldwork earlier this week with people from our institution and a researcher from Institut de Recherche pour le Développement in the mountains of Northern Luzon. It was very productive. Excited for the full blown exploration next year.

It was my first time to illustrate insects. All the original copies were sent to MNHN as a gift to the entomologists I worked with in the field. 𝑬𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂 was specifically requested by one of them.

Colored pencils and pen on watercolor paper (hot pressed)

Grateful to be a part of this expedition. I was there to document the plants. I also learned a lot from the fauna team...

A meme for #phylogenetics people.

Had the opportunity to join an expedition last month in collaboration with researchers from @mnhn.fr
What an amazing experience!

Painted a postcard of 𝘙𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘢, a Philippine endemic