Evening Walk At The Singapore Botanic Garden (30 Aug 2013)

Was around Singapore Botanic Garden so I decided to take a walk there to see if there are any interesting beetle actions in the night. The sun was about to set when my journey began.

The first beetle that I found was a surprise find - a Spiny Leaf Beetle (Discladispa armigera).

Near to the Spiny Leaf Beetle was this tiny (~1 mm) beetle. It looked like a tiny black speck until I zoomed in to see the lovely orange coloration.

The next beetle was another pleasant surprise, a small 5 mm Jewel Beetle feeding on a fern leaf. This is the second time I came across this beetle, the last was at Upper Seletar Reservoir.

Moving down to an area of some chest height bushes, I found this tiny (~2 mm) Weevil Beetle. It was very hyperactive and photographing it was a real challenge, especially in the wind.

Hidden under the lush leaves was this Leaf Beetle. It looked like the Colasposoma auripenne Leaf Beetle except that it is brownish instead of metallic in color.

On some nearby bushes were these tiny (~2 mm) beetles. They are the same shape and sizes but differed in their patterns and coloration. Pardon the quality of the photographs as it was pretty windy at the place and the beetles were very sensitive to the camera flash and flew off after just one or two shots.

Moving to an area where there are several small ponds, I was fortunate to still find a few of this Water Beetle (Donacia javana) at that moment when the sun was almost set.

Along the side of a paved path was a row of low hedges where I chanced upon this Weevil Beetle (Curculio imitator). This beetle was so alert that it immediately flew off upon my first flash shot of it.

Around the same low hedge was this lovely Ladybird Beetle (Chilocorus circumdatus).

Another small (~ 2 mm) Ladybird Beetle was found hiding between the fold of a leaf.

Coming to a part of the garden where there were a large patch of air potato plants and some tall bamboo-like grass, several of this lovely colored Leaf Beetles (Aulacophora lewisii) were found flying around looking for place to rest.

On a nearby air potato leaf was this Ladybird Beetle (Henosepilachna implicata) getting ready for the night.

Moving along a stretch of 10 feet tall hedges, I found this Soldier Beetle on a leaf at the base of the hedge.

I had intentionally waited for the sky to be completely dark before I headed for the primary forest area, hoping to find some interesting beetles. Much to my disappointment, I only managed to find two beetles in the area. One was a first time encountered Darkling Beetle and the other was a Chafer Beetle (Phyllophaga marginalis).

After walking for a long while without finding any beetles, I decided to head for home. While making my way to the garden's exit, I found a huge tree with 3 different sizes of similar looking Darkling Beetles on it. The smallest was 2 mm, the mid-size beetle was about 4 mm and the largest was about 6 mm.

The last beetle that I found before I exited from the garden was this brown colored Chafer Beetle.

The trip was pretty fruitful with some surprised encounters. I would probably go to this place again in the morning and not in the night, unless I wanted to have some good workout for my legs.

A Quick Morning Walk At Venus Drive (24 Aug 2013)

I had a little in-between time before the next appointment, so I decided to go for a short walk at Venus Drive. Instead of taking the usual Venus Drive trail, I decided to take a walk around the parameter of the place.

The first beetle that I encountered was this Spiny Leaf Beetle. It was highly sensitive to my camera flashes and flew away after a few shots.

Near to the Spiny Leaf Beetle under some shade was this Leaf Beetle. It looked very much like the Lema diversa Leaf Beetle but differs in having a black spot on its thorax. Also, its red color is much more intense compared to the Lema diversa Leaf Beetle that I came across previously. Not sure if it is a different type of beetle.

[After note: After searching the internet for a while, I finally managed to identify this Leaf Beetle to be Oulema sayi.]

Moving further down the parameter, I found this tiny (~2 mm) Fungus Beetle (Triplax rufipes) resting on a leaf.

On a nearby low bush was this tiny Ladybird Beetle (Cryptogonus orbiculus). This beetle looked slightly different from my previous encounter with the Cryptogonus orbiculus Ladybird Beetle - the yellow color face and the spots on the elytra were yellowish-orange as compared to reddish-orange in the next photograph, which happened to be taken further down the trip. Not sure if it is a different beetle or just some sexual dimorphism. To be confirmed.

Moving along some wild grass patch, I found this first time encountered tiny 1 mm beetle on a blade of leaf.

Moving on, I found a plant that are full of this first time encountered Leaf Beetle (Altica cyanea). It looked very much like the other metallic blue Leaf Beetle (Lema cyanella) except for the shape of its elytra.

Moving further down a patch of tall grass, I found this cool looking Spiny Leaf Beetle (Dicladispa armigera) that looked like it came from the Batman Movies.

On a nearby blade of grass was this first time encountered Leaf Beetle (Hispine sp).

A surprised find was this Net-winged Beetle clinging on to the tip of a blade of grass. I particularly like the color of this beetle.

Hiding among some thick brushes was this tiny (~2 mm) and interestingly patterned  Fungus Weevil. This is another first time encountered beetle.

Sunning itself under the hot sun was this White Borer Beetle (Xylotrechus javanicus). It remained pretty much motionless despite the numerous camera flashes at it.

Moving to a fallen log, I found one of my favorite Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus politus).

On the same log with the Fungus Beetle was this interesting beetle larvae, which moved about very quickly like a beetle.

Another Fungus Beetle was found nearby to the beetle larvae. From the look of the beetle's elytra, the beetle might had a narrow escape sometime back.

My time was up and as I was walking towards the car park, I found this hairy looking Weevil Beetle. This is also a first time encountered beetle.

Although the trip was short, I am glad that I have decided to take a different route. In view of the number of first time encountered beetles, I would gladly say that it is successful trip, albeit the route was much hotter than the shaded path that I usually take.

Night Walk At Mount Faber Park (16 Aug 2013)

I was at the Mount Faber Park to check out if there are any nice beetle action there. When I reached the place just when the sun was setting.

The first few beetles that I encountered were the shiny Leaf Beetle (Colasposoma auripenne). All of them were in resting posture, getting ready for the night to come.

While looking around for beetles, a small (~3 mm) Leaf Beetle landed on my arm. After gentling moving it onto a leaf, I managed to take a shot of it before it flew into the bushes. Interestingly the antennae of this beetle has tiny spiky protrusions.

On a low bush nearby was this Leaf Beetle (Graphops curtipennis). It was so hyper sensitive that I was only able to take this shot and it flew away into the thick bushes.

Moving to the plants surrounding a tourist attraction where there are wall murals depicting the history of Singapore, I was surprised to find a plant hosting a number of this lovely small (~3 mm) beetle. This was the second time that I came across this beetle, the last time was at the Venus Drive's Tree Top Trail.

While photographing the Leaf Beetle, a large crowd of tourists appeared at the place. They were all there to photograph the beautiful sunset.

After making my way through the crowd of tourists, I decided to go to a wilder part of Mount Faber Park for some peace and quiet. The first beetle on the trail was this small (~5 mm) hairy beetle. It looked like a Leaf Beetle.

Moving down the trail, a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) was just getting ready for the night.

On a tree trunk was another commonly encountered Darkling Beetle. This beetle is about 5mm in size.

Moving on, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) resting on a yellow colored leaf.

Walking further down the trail, another commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Phyllophaga marginalis) was enjoying its dinner.

Just as I was about to give up the walk after walking for a while without encountering any more beetles, this Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus quadriguttatus) appeared.

It was about time for me to end my trip so I made my way back to the main road in Mount Faber Park. The walkway along side the road has a sheltered walkway covered with creepers, so my attention was naturally drawn to the leaves of the creepers.

No beetle were found on the creepers until this small (~3 mm) beetle appeared. Not sure what beetle it is but it definitely has interesting looking antennae.

No more beetle encountered until I accidentally saw this small (~5 mm) Ground Beetle on a support structure for the shelter.

Resting on a stem of the shelter creepers was this 15 mm Fungus Weevil.

A shiny Darkling Beetle was seen resting on another creeper stem.

Having encountered the Ground Beetle, my attention began to shift to look for beetles on the shelter support structure. Sure enough I found this Chafer Beetle (Maladera castanea) on one of the many shelter supports.

Just a little distance away was this 8 mm jet-black Darkling Beetle.

A surprise find was this Darkling Beetle (Strongylium erythrocephalum) clinging onto the base of a pavilion pillar.

More beetles on the shelter support. Here's a tiny (~1 mm) but lovely patterned beetle.

Another small (~3 mm) beetle nearby.

The last beetle before I say good bye to the place was this Chafer Beetle with its whitish elytra.

This trip was surprisingly different because I found as many beetles in the man-made structures as in the wild part of Mount Faber Park. Surely this will not be the last time I will visit this place.