Short Night Walk At Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West (24 Apr 2015)

The plan for this week was to meet up with Reynard, a teenager whom I met online, and to go to Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West. It rained heavily in the late afternoon, thus the chances of finding beetle at the place would be even lower but nevertheless, we decided to keep to the plan. When we reached the place, the vegetation were drenched to the bone.

Here's a lovely looking mantis found at the place. I particularly like the color of its eyes. The wings on the leaf were not the work of the mantis as they can be seen all over the place. It seemed that a large swarm of winged termites have visited the place not too long ago.

The first beetle that we encountered was a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta). This came as a surprise as the last time I came to this place, the large colony at the place crashed and I could hardly find any of them. I am glad to be able to find many of this type of Tiger Beetles during this trip.

Not surprisingly, it was only after some walking before we came across the next beetle, a Chafer Beetle (Phyllophaga marginalis).

After walking some distance before this commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) was spotted at the tip of a leaf.

More walking and searching before finding this small 3 mm Fungus Beetle on a tree trunk. Notice how wet the tree bark was.

The highlight of the trip was to find this small 15 mm Long Horned Beetle (Pterolophia melanura) clinging to a thin dead vine.

Near to the Long Horned Beetle was a small 3 mm Darkling Beetle.

Coming to a patch of low creepers, I was happy to be able to find this first-time-encountered Ladybird Beetle. It looked like Henosepilachna implicata Ladybird Beetle but have much fewer spots on its elytra. It also looked very much like that of Epilachna admirabilis Ladybird Beetle but with added spots on its protonum. I am currently checking with a person who I know is familiar with Ladybirds in Singapore, and hopefully I can get the identity of this Ladybird beetle.

Just a short distance from the Ladybird was another Ladybird Beetle (Henosepilachna implicata) which has much more spots than the earlier Ladybird Beetle.

On a tree nearby, I was able to find this small 1 mm Fungus Beetle.

Moving further down the vegetation, another Ladybird Beetle (Epilachna admirabilis) was spotted under a leaf.

After some walking, we came to a rubber tree with a low branch and on it, I was surprised to find a small 5 mm Net-winged Beetle.

On the same rubber tree, I was also pleasantly surprised to find another Ladybird Beetle (Illeis koebelei) and it larvae. This is an interesting find as it seemed that they may be using the large rubber tree leaves as breeding site. This is also where I found the same type of Ladybird Beetle during the last trip at Venus Drive - Night Walk At Venus Drive (17 Apr 2015).

We came to a spot where there were many palm trees and at the base of one of the palm trees was this Fungus Weevil (Eucorynus crassicornis).

On another palm tree were several of this 5 mm Darkling Beetles.

The last beetle for the trip was a Darkling Beetle (Strongylium erythrocephalun) found about 2 meters up a palm tree.

This was a short trip as we spent less than 2 hours at the place. Due to the earlier rain, the number of beetles encountered was limited but still reasonable for a man-made garden in the middle of a established housing estate.

Night Walk At Venus Drive (17 Apr 2015)

It was about a month since I went to Venus Drive and so I decided to go there to take a look.

It has been very hot in Singapore for the past week and it was reported that the temperature will continue to be high (up to 34 deg C) for the next two weeks. Thankfully when I reached the place, the temperature was very much cooler compared to at my home, even though there was hardly any wind blowing at the place.

One of the interesting sights at the place was this 25 mm Dark-sided Chorus Frog (Microhyla heymonsi). I was rather surprised to find it sitting on top of a small plant and remained motionless when I photographed it in close range.

The first beetle for the trip was a small 3 mm Darkling Beetle, found on the trunk of a tree encrusted with some lichen like growth.

I came to a spot with waist-high grass and was surprised to find this commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) eating a blade of grass. I have always thought that their primary food is plant leaves and not grass.

Near to the waist-high grass patch was a row of small trees and on one of them was this 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

Moving to the small grass knoll that I would usually find different Leaf Beetles in the day time, I am glad to be able to find a Leaf Beetle (Lema rufotestacea) resting on a blade of grass.

I was rather surprised to find this Ladybird Beetle larvae moving actively on a rubber tree leaf when I walked past a low rubber tree.

How I know that the beetle larvae was a Ladybird Beetle larvae was because of the presence of several of this lovely yellow Ladybird Beetle (Illeis koebeiei).

Moving to a small patch of giant elephant ear plants, I am happy to still find this Ant-like Flower Beetle (Anthelephila cyanea).

The highlight of the trip was the encounter of a colony (about 20 specimen) of this Pleasing Fungus Beetle (Amnlyopus vittatus) on a fallen fish-tail palm. This is the first time that I see so many of this beetle in one location.

On the same palm tree were several of this brownish beetle. This got me thinking whether it is a morph of the Amblyopus vittatus Pleasing Fungus Beetle as they looked alike in shape, except for the color and pattern on the elytra.

A stone's throw from the Pleasing Fungus Beetle were several Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta). This particular specimen has one leg shorter than the rest.

Coming to the "clearing", I was disappointed to only find one of this 10 mm Darkling Beetle as many of the logs at the place are once again being covered by creepers.

Directly above the Darkling Beetle was a Leaf Beetle resting on a leaf.

Before moving away from the "clearing", I managed to find two 3 mm Fungus Beetle, centimeters apart on a tree trunk.

It was getting late and so I decided to set the new third "snow tree" as my turning back point. While heading towards the "snow tree", this beetle larvae was found along a cut mark on a tree.

Along the side of the trail was several badly broken up logs and on it was this Darkling Beetle (Ceropria superba). Sadly, this is the only specimen I found for the night. This is unusual as this type of beetle is commonly seen in Venus Drive.

It was about 20 meters from the "snow tree" that I found this shiny Chafer Beetle. It looked very much like the Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle but it is much broader and the coloration is dark metallic bronze.

On a fallen log next to the "snow tree" were several of this Fungus Weevil (Eucorynus crassicornis). Photographing this beetle was a bit of a challenge as it was rather active walking around, only resting long enough for me to take one or two photographs at a time.

The "snow tree" is in "full bloom" as there was a thick layer of wood dust at the base of the tree. On the tree were several of this Fungus Weevils (Anthribus wallacei), with both male and female specimens next to each other. The female specimen has a shorter antennae compared to the male.

On the tree was also a Flat Bark Beetle. I have wrongly identified this beetle as Catogenus rufus, until being informed by an anonymous person; I did some check again and agreed that I have wrongly identified this beetle all this while.

Interestingly, I was not able to find any of the Catascopus dalbertisi Ground Beetle which was in abundance on the tree the last time I was here. After looking around the tree, I only managed to find this small metallic Ground Beetle.

On a tree next to the "snow tree" was a Darkling Beetle (Ceropria induta) found on the underside of a large branch.

On the same tree branch was a small 3 mm Ground Beetle (Minuthodes multisetosa).

In a crevice of the branch were several of this Fungus Beetle (Episcapha quadrimacula). Notice that these beetles looked dusty due to the "snow tree".

Before turning back, I decided to explore the vegetation near to the "snow tree". On one of the tall plants, I was thrilled to find this cute Click Beetle (Xanthopenthes schawalleri).

Next to the Click Beetle was a dying palm tree and on it were several of this small 2 mm Fungus Beetle (Beccariola coccinella).

The last beetle for the trip was a black color Ground Beetle which looked very much like a cockroach, which is very common at the place.

This trip was pretty fruitful given the number of beetles found, even though I didn't find any first-time-encountered beetle. It was also an interesting trip as on this trip I also encountered a 1 meter black cobra eating a Painted Bull Frog and a large 50 mm cockroach with red spots on its back.

Night Walk At Upper Seletar Reservoir (10 Apr 2015)

For this trip, my friend and I decided to head for the Upper Seletar Reservoir as we have not been to the place together before. We reached the place just when the sky was turning dark and hence the number of critters encountered at the beginning of the trip was very limited.

Here's a photograph of a spider on a tree at the place.

The first beetle we encountered was a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis).

One of the highlights of the trip was the encounter with a Long Horned Beetle (Xystrocera festiva) hidden under the foliage of a patch of Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa).  It has been a long while since I last encountered this type of beetle.

Moving further down the trail, another commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus) was found on a badly eaten  Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) plant.

Moving into a wilder part of Upper Seletar Reservoir, a shiny black Ground Beetle was found on a side of a tree.

There were several fallen trees along the path but most of them looked lifeless except for one fallen tree where I found a Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus tetraspilotus) on a  Clidemia (Clidemia hirta) plant.

Near to the Fungus Beetle was a small colony of Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

On a fallen log further down the trail was a small 4 mm Darkling Beetle.

Near to the round Darkling Beetle was a plumb 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

On another fallen log were a number of bracket fungus where a few of this 10 mm Darkling Beetle were found.

Not many beetles were encountered along the path between  the 'wilder' trail and another wild spot at Upper Seletar Reservoir. Just when we entered the another wild spot, I found this black Darkling Beetle.

At a natural woodpile, I was glad to find a pair of Pleasing Fungus Beetle.

As we walked the narrow trail, I was surprised to find a first-time-encountered Darkling Beetle on the side of a tree. This beetle looks similar to the other Darkling Beetle except for the entirely black colored legs.

Hiding at the base of a dead tree was another black Darkling Beetle (Promethis valga).

The foliage along the path was thick and there were not too many critters encountered. Just when I was contemplating whether to turn back, a Click Beetle (Xanthopenthes schawalleri) was found on a leaf next to the path.

It was only a stone's throw away that I found this first-time-encountered Weevil Beetle resting on a knee level plant.

At about 4 meters from the Weevil Beetle was a tree and on it was a lovely colored Darkling Beetle.

There were many of this 3 mm Darkling Beetle on the trees that lined the trail and I decided to take a photograph of one of them found on an interesting background of mosses and roots.

On a tree nearby, I was thrilled to find this Long Horned Beetle (Collyrodes lacordairei) that is in the shape of a Tiger Beetle. This particular specimen was very skittish and started to move about the moment we started photographing it. [Correction - This is a Darkling Beetle (Strongylium tricondyloides) as identified by David Ball]

As we reached the turn back point, I was glad to find a first-time-encountered Darkling Beetle.

The return trip was not very productive and I was only able to find the last beetle for the trip minutes before we reached the starting point. This is a first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle.

Even though the number of beetles found was reasonable, we have spent a much longer time at the place than usual and hence it is considered relatively less fruitful. Nevertheless, I am glad to be able to encounter a few first-time-encountered beetles during the trip.