My friend and I were planning to do our night macro photography session at Venus Drive with an objective of taking some photographs of the luminous mushrooms. Unlike the rainy week before, the weather this week was rather dry, which lessened the chances of us finding any luminous mushrooms. Although the place was bone dry as expected, we still managed to find some luminous mushrooms albeit that they were not the species that we were hoping for.
Apart from the luminous mushrooms, we also got a special treat of finding a pseudoscorpion during this trip. This is the first time that I encountered a pseudoscorpion at Venus Drive. A pseudoscorpion looks very much like a scorpion except for the lack of a stinging tail.
The first beetle of the trip was a Ladybird Beetle (
Illeis koebelei) found 2 meters up a small tree.
On the same tree was an entirely brown Chafer Beetle (
Adoretus compressus) hiding under a leaf.
Moving to a large Elephant Ear Plant, we found a lone Ant-like Beetle (
Anthelephila cyanea) under one of the large leaves.
Near to the Ant-like Beetle was a large Chafer Beetle (
Phyllophaga marginalis) found clinging to a dead vine.
Coming to a wood pile, a single Ground Beetle (
Catascopus dalbertisi) was found a dried up tree trunk.
On the same tree trunk was a Fungus Beetle (
Episcapha quadrimacula) hiding in some white fungus.
Next to the wood pile was this highly alert Long-horned Beetle (Epepeotes luscus) which promptly went under a leaf for cover when our flashlight was shining on it.
Moving further down the trail, there was a rotting tree stump where this Darkling Beetle (
Ceropria superba) was found.
Just when I was photographing the Darkling Beetle, my friend call out to me to see if I would want to photograph this Darkling Beetle (
Phymatosum rufonotatum) that he found on a tree trunk.
Near to the Darkling Beetle was a tiny 2 mm Fungus Weevil found on some green lichens on a small tree.
The number of wood piles at Venus Drive has increased and on one of the wood piles was this skittish Darkling Beetle (
Ceropria induta) which was moving quickly away from my flash light.
On a low tree next to the wood pile was a Fungus Beetle (
Eumorphus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus).
On a small wood pile further down the trail was this small Darkling Beetle (
Amarygmus sp.)
Next to the Darkling Beetle was a Fungus Weevil (
Eucorynus crassicornis).
Moving further down, a Tiger Beetle was found resting on a dried leaf by the side of the trail.
On yet another wood pile was a pair of mating Darkling Beetle.
Next to the Darkling Beetle was this small shiny Darkling Beetle (
Androsus fasciolatus).
After photographing the shiny Darkling Beetle, my friend was pointing me to a small partially eaten fungus mushroom. On the mushroom were a number of this Sap Beetles "swimming" in the slime that covered the mushroom.
Just a few centimeters from the Sap Beetle was a lone Fungus Beetle (
Eumorphus assamensis).
On the side of the path was this metallic bronze colored Chafer Beetle that was hiding in a low bush.
Near to the Chafer Beetle was a Fungus Beetle (
Amblyopus vittatus) resting on a leaf.
Just a stone's throw from the Fungus Beetle was a Chafer Beetle (
Apogonia expeditionis) found on the ground next to the path. Not sure why it was on the ground though.
Although the weather was dry, the number of beetles found so far was surprisingly good. Just a few meters from the Chafer Beetle was a Leaf Beetle (
Argopus brevis).
On a dead log nearby was a small beetle (
Martinezostes sp.)
Close to the
Martinezostes sp. beetle was a Darkling Beetle with red-banded legs.
At the base of a tree was a Darkling Beetle.
Hiding under some rubber tree leaves was a Ground Beetle (
Onypterygia longispinis) which looked very much like a cockroach.
On a rotten tree trunk near by were several Darkling Beetles and this beetle larvae.
Next to the rotten tree trunk was a small tree with several of this 2 mm Fungus Beetle on it.
On the same tree was a Click Beetle (
Xanthopenthes schawalleri) hiding under a tree bark.
Along the way, my friend and I were 'distracted' by the luminous mushrooms and soon after taking the photographs of the luminous mushrooms, I found two of this Darkling Beetle (
Strongylium tenuipes) on a small tree.
On another tree nearby was this Fungus Weevil resting on the side of the tree.
Coming to a big tree with an exposed base wet with tree sap, several of this first-time-encountered beetles were feasting on the sap.
On a small tree nearby was a Darkling Beetle that look very much like the
Strongylium tenuipes Darkling Beetle encountered earlier, but it was almost half the size and differed in the coloration of the antennae. Not sure if this is the male of the
Strongylium tenuipes Darkling Beetle or a different beetle altogether.
The last beetle of the trip was a first-time-encountered Soldier Beetle.
The trip was a fruitful one with us finding many beetles and photographing the luminous mushroom. Venus Drive is indeed a good place to go for macro photography.
