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.
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