Night Walk At MacRitchie Reservoir (25 Sep 2015)

I happened to make another flash diffuser during the week and hence I was rather eager to try it out. The weather was hazy to the massive slash-and-burn operations in Indonesia.  I was glad that the haze condition has improved tremendously compared to a day before which was in the unhealthy range.

I decided to go to the MacRitchie Reservoir as it was one of the convenient place for me. The
place was rather dry due to the haze and I am not expecting to find many beetles on this trip. Here's a photograph of a large 90 mm moth called Noctuid Moth (Erebus ephesperis).

The first beetle of the trip was a Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus) resting on a Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) plant . There was a number of them found on the same plant.

Further down was a metallic colored Leaf Beetle resting on a Hairy Clidemia (Clidemia hirta).

Moving to another patch of Singapore Rhododendron plant (Melastoma malabathricum) plants, a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) was feasting on a seed pod.

There were not many critters encountered and it was only after 10 minutes of walking before I encountered this tiny 1 mm Fungus Beetle on a tree.

Coming to a wood pile,  I was glad to find this Fungus Weevil (Eucorynus crassicornis).

On the same wood pile was a first-time-encountered beetle. Not sure if it is a Click Beetle or False Click Beetle.

Further down the trail was a large 5 mm Darkling Beetle hiding in a crevice of a tree.

Although there were a number of fallen trees and wood piles at the place, they were mostly dry like bones. I was surprised to find one fallen tree trunk that was not as dry and on it was a Fungus Beetle (Anthribus wallacei). It should be a female specimen given its short antennae.

On a small tree near by, I was thrilled to find a Click Beetle emerging from a small hole in a tree trunk.

On the same tree trunk was a small 1 mm Darkling Beetle. This is the smallest size for this type of Darkling Beetle that I have encountered.

More walking without finding any beetles until I came to a mid-sized tree where this Darkling Beetle (Promethis valga) was resting.

Interestingly, there were several other beetles found on the same tree. This could possibly be a sign that this tree is sick. This Fungus Weevil was found high up the tree.

Another Fungus Weevil found on the tree.

A large 10 mm Darkling Beetle found on the same tree.

The highlight of the trip was the encounter with this first-time-encountered Weevil Beetle, just before I call it a day.

The last beetle for the trip was a Darkling Beetle found on a rotten log.

The number of beetles found on this trip was not unexpected given the hazy condition for the past few days. I am glad that despite the poor condition, there were still two first-time-encountered beetles found.