Philippines 2014: As part of a National Geographic expedition awarded to me and my colleague, Dr. Ronald Clouse, I sampled harvestmen in Luzon and Panay in late April and May, 2014. As I was already in the region for fieldwork in Laos, I kicked things off first, collecting on both Philippine islands. I overlapped with Ron for just three days in Panay before I moved on to Australia.

On the way to Mt. Banahaw, southern Luzon.

My campsite at the foot of Mt. Banahaw on the Majayjay side. The blue tent is mine; the green one belong to Abby, a Masters student who accompanied me to this site.

The view of the valley just before entering the forest at Mt. Banahaw.

Prime habitat for armored harvestmen.

A common form of transport for the farming community at the base of Mt. Banahaw.

A sudden thunderstorm in Manila flooded this street next to a shopping complex in minutes.

Laoag City, the capital of northern Luzon; I stopped here on my way to Adams, just inland of the island's northern coast.

Views from inside the sidecar of a tricycle.

One of my co-travellers, Luciano, was collecting fig beetles, in northern Luzon. We stopped here at a German restaurant.

Lilllian Rodriguez, my second co-traveller and organizer of this trip (pictured here in the hat), was collecting fig wasps.

Our field accommodation in Adams, the idyllic Ilyn's Homestay.

Leaf litter in Adams that yielded new species of Sandokanidae, Zalmoxidae, and other families!

Liilian and Luciano, after a day of collecting fig insects. At the bottom left: Cesar, brother of Ilyn, the caretaker of the homestay in Adams.

The mountains of Adams.

Ron Clouse (right), arrives with collecting and photography gear. The next day, we're off to Kalibo, Panay.

There was a lot of gear.

After three days in the field, I left for Australia. For more on the rest of this trip, check out Ron's National Geographic blog!