Night Walk On The Wilder Side Of Jalan Kayu (19 Jul 2013)

When you mention Jalan Kayu to any Singaporean, the immediate response will be about the Roti Prata (Indian Pancake) or Prawn Noodle or Bean Curd Dessert. Associating Jalan Kayu with nature seemed far fetch until I chanced upon a spot along Jalan Kayu that seemed pretty wild a while back.

Taking advantage of the dry weather and also concerned that the place would disappear in no time due to the massive construction activities in the area, I changed my original plans of visiting Macritchie Reservoir to going to the place.

Sadly when I reached the place, I was greeted by a newly constructed wide road, the wilder part of Jalan Kayu was gone. I am too late.

Undeterred I managed to find a small area that still looked pretty wild.

The first beetle was a black and brown Chafer Beetle enjoying itself on a well eaten leaf.

On a tree nearby was this tiny beetle.

On the same tree was this shy black beetle hiding in the crevice.

Moving around, I came across this Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) resting on a blade of grass. Little did I know that I would come across more than 30 of them in an area nearby.

More Chafer Beetles (Adoretus compressus), in fact the whole place were full of different types of Chafer Beetles.

Another Chafer Beetle found on a nearby plant. This looked very much like the Adoretus compressus Chafer Beetle minus the mottled pattern on it.

More Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis).

Another type of Chafer Beetle (Aprosterna pallide). This is a common beetle in Singapore which could be found flying into homes occasionally.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this lovely Ladybird Beetle resting on a ginger plant.

Moving on to an area of half-dead trees (probably dying due to all the construction work surrounding them), a lone beetle was found resting on the trunk of a tree.

On another dying tree was this black Darkling Beetle.

On another tree was this small beetle (~3 mm).

More Chafer Beetles were found and this is another type of Chafer Beetle found at the place.

The last beetle that I found was this Leaf Beetle. I was expecting to find more Leaf Beetles as the vegetation at the area looked like a favorable habitat for Leaf Beetle. Sadly this is the only Leaf Beetle I found.

The trip ended with me encountering more than 30 Cicindela aurulenta Tiger Beetle. Interesting to find so many Tiger Beetle in one small area. Although the place still have many beetles and other critters, the future of the place seemed dim with the increasing development activities in the area. :(