Night Walk At Lower Pierce Reservoir (12 Sep 2014)

The last time I went to the Lower Pierce Reservoir with a friend was interesting and hence I decided to give the place a try again. While I was happily photographing some of the beetles there, I saw two sets of eye-shine and I thought they were cats. Out of curiosity, I decided to check them out and was surprised to find a pair of Lesser Mousedeer (Tragulus javanicus fulviventer).  Lesser Mousedeer is considered to be endangered in Singapore and encountering them in the wild was a real treat.

The first beetle that I encounter was a common Darkling Beetle.

On the same log was another Darkling Beetle crawling about near by.

The Fungus Weevil (Eucorynus crassicornis) were out in numbers on another log.

Moving further down the trail, I found a Straits Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) plant that was badly damaged by several of this Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus).

Moving to a low tree, a tiny first-time-encountered Ladybird Beetle was seen resting on a young leaf.

On fallen tree nearby was a lovely metallic colored Darkling Beetle.

Hiding among the flowers of an Ixora plant, a Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) was found feeding on the flowers.

A few of this Darkling Beetle (Ceropria induta) were seen foraging on a dried up log near by.

Moving to an area of low bushes, I was surprised to find a large number of Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

At an area similar to that of the "clearing" in Venus Drive, a number of this Ground Beetle (Catascopus dalbertisi) was seen resting on the side of the tree logs that lined the perimeter of the "clearing".

On the end of the same logs was a small mite infested Weevil Beetle.

Moving deeper into the "clearing", I found the only pair of Fungus Beetle for the night. It was rather strange as I used to find hundreds of them at the same location not too long ago.

On another tree log was a lone 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

Time passes quickly and it was time to leave the place. The last beetle that I managed to find was a lovely orange color Soldier Beetle.

The trip was not as fruitful as I expected but the encounter with the Lesser Mousedeer was more than worth the while for the trip.