Short Walk At Mount Faber (10 Jul 2015)

I had a dinner appointment near to Mount Faber and so I decided to take a short walk around the place. It was almost two years since I last been to the place and so I was rather hopeful, given the surprisingly fruitful trip previously (Night Walk At Mount Faber Park (16 Aug 2013)).

The first beetle was sadly a Chafer Beetle which has fallen prey to a group of ants. It was found at the base of a pillar.

The walkway was designed to have creeper vines creeping from the base of the pillars that support the covering of the walkway, thus forming a natural looking overhead cover. On one of the vines was this small 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

As I was walking along the walkway, I only found a handful of bugs near to the lights that lit the walkway. This is very different from the last time I was there, where I find many bugs and beetles on the pillars. I noticed that the pillars were painted over with a glossy paint, unlike the last time where the pillars are painted with matted paint.

When I reach one end of the walkway without finding any beetles, I was very glad to find a Fungus Beetle resting on a leaf. It looked like the Eumorphus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus Fungus Beetle but the dots were creamy white instead of the usual bright yellow. Not sure if it is a different type of beetle or a variant of Eumorphus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus Fungus Beetle. This is the second time that I encountered this beetle.

I noticed that there are three resting shelters where the pillars are still with the matte paint. And interestingly, there were a few beetles found clinging to the side of the pillars. I may be right that the reason for not seeing any beetles on the walkway pillars could possibly be due to the glossy paint. Here's one of the beetles that are slightly nearer to the ground (about 3 meters up). It is a Chafer Beetle.

On the same pillar was a tiny 1 mm first-time-encountered beetle. Not sure what type of beetle it is but I would think that it is a Darkling Beetle.

On the underside of the creeper vine cover was a Chafer Beetle (Aprosterna palide).

Walking further down the walkway, I was very disappointed as all the pillars that I past did not have any beetle, unlike previously. Passing a vine branch, I was glad to find this 3 mm Darkling Beetle.

Coming to another shelter, I was elated to find this round 5 mm Darkling Beetle. Initially, I thought it was a Ladybird Beetle but upon closer look, it turned out to be a Darkling Beetle.

Sadly the walkway was a total letdown with zero beetle find except at the shelters. So I decided to call it a day and make my way to the MRT station via the Marang Trail. There was not much action along the trail and I was glad to find this small 3mm Darkling Beetle on a dead tree branch.

It was almost near the end of the Marang Trail before I find another 5 mm Darkling Beetle on the side of a tree.

The last beetle for the trip was a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

This trip was a total disappointment especially with the anticipation of finding interesting beetles along the walkway, as experienced during the previous trip to the place. I guessed that it will be a while before I would return to the place.