The first beetle was a first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle (about 6 mm in size) found on the base of a tree beside the main road (Upper Thomson Road).
About 30 cm away from the Fungus Beetle was another black beetle. I have seen this type of beetle several times but I still have not found its identity as yet.
Moving on to another tree I found this small (3 mm) Darkling Beetle. With its reddish-brown legs, it looked slightly different from the commonly encountered fully black Darkling Beetle.
After walking for almost 15 minute with spotting any beetles, I decided to move into the forest when I came across a small opening in the low vegetation that lined both sides of the road. The place was dry with very little undergrowth. On the side of a fallen tree was this large (10 mm) commonly encountered Darkling Beetle.
On a tree nearby was this small beetle larvae.
Moving to another fallen tree, a lone Fungus Weevil was found resting on the side of this tree.
While looking for some other beetles on the log, I found these two tiny beetles moving actively on the log. They are 2 mm and 1 mm respectively.
Just when I was almost out of the forest, a lovely colored beetle larvae was found on the trunk of a moss laden tree.
After walking for another while without spotting any beetles, I decided to call it a day. Just when I was about to turn back, this lovely Fungus Beetle (Encaustes praenobilis) was found on a blade of grass under some bushes. Its been a while I last encountered this beetle.
Turning back, I cross over to the other side of the Old Upper Thomson Road. On a fallen free by the road side, a few of this Darkling Beetles were found on the side. This reminded me of the large numbers of such beetles that I encountered when I was at the Lower Pierce Reservoir, which is probably about 1-2 KM away.
On the same log was this entirely brown Darkling Beetle.
Coming to a patch of Heliconia plants, I was surprised to find a first-time-encountered Ground Beetle. It is about 5 mm in size.
Leaving the Heliconia patch and I came to a few low branches of a rubber tree and on a leaf was this Fungus Beetle. This was a surprise as they are usually found on rotting logs and not in tree.
For those who are not familiar with the place, you must be wondering why the vegetation is so odd - Heliconia and rubber tree (plus some other 'exotic' plants) together in one area. The main reason is that this area used to be rubber tree plantations and were inhabited by people who also planted Heliconia and other ornamental plants at the place. By the way, the Old Upper Thomas Road is also a race track for racing cars in the old days.
Just a few centimeters away was this first-time-encountered 8 mm Weevil Beetle. This poor specimen has a truck load of mites on it.
Near to the rubber tree was a pile of chopped tree branches and on it was this small 4 mm Weevil Beetle (Cerobates sexsulcatus).
On the same "wood pile" was a first-time-encountered Long Horned Beetle (Pterolophia subtincta) which perch on a thin branch, oblivious to me stepping on the small branches around the "wood pile". I always like to check out "wood piles" as I would usually find interesting beetles in them.
At the tip of the same branch where the Pterolophia subtincta Long Horned Beetle rested, was another first-time-encountered Long Horned Beetle. I have yet to identify this 5 mm beetle.
Hiding deep in the "wood pile" was this 4 mm first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle.
Moving further to a broken tree branch, a less commonly seen Fungus Beetle was feeding on the stripped part of the branch.
I was running a little late and so I picked up my pace of walking until I encountered one of my favorite Leaf Beetle, sleeping on a leaf.
The highlight of the trip was found on some tall bushes. It was a first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle resting on a leaf. Initially I thought that it was the Platydema monoceros Fungus Beetle, but when I zoomed in for a better shot, I noticed that it has two "horns" on the head, instead of one (as in the case of Platydema monoceros Fungus Beetle) .
Just about 50 meters away from where I started the trip, I came across a fallen tree with the sawed end facing the road. The sawed end was criss-crossed with termite tracks and on it I found this tiny 1 mm Fungus Beetle. The beetle was so small that even the tiny mite looked relatively big on the back of the beetle.
On the same end of log was this Fungus Weevil which blended well into the background. I only noticed it when it moved a little.
Although the location was not as fruitful compared to other places such as the Venus Drive, the number of first-time-encountered beetles found was good. I would probably go back to the place in the future.
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