Night Walk At Rifle Range Trail (29 Sep 2017)

It was almost 11 months since I last been to the Rifle Range Trail and so I decided to take a walk there for my macro photography session. Here's a photograph of a Kendall's Rock Gecko (Cnemaspis kendallii) found on one of the fallen trees. This is the first time that I encounter a Kendall's Rock Gecko.

The first beetle for the trip was a treat. This is the first time that I came across a Therates dimidiatus Tiger Beetle in the night. I have often wondered where do these Tiger Beetles hide in the night.

The next beetle was another Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) nearby to the Therates dimidiatus Tiger Beetle.

Near to the Tiger Beetle was a bronze colored Chafer Beetle.

Coming to a fallen log with a large patch of fungus mushrooms growing on it. On one of the fungus mushrooms was this 3 mm Rove Beetle.

On another fungus mushroom was a group of this small 5 mm Fungus Beetle.

Among the Fungus Beetles was a different Fungus Beetle.

This Darkling Beetle  was found alone on a fallen log further down the trail.

Nearby was this Darkling Beetle (Ceropria induta) on a fallen tree.

On a small tree nearby was this 1 mm Fungus Beetle.

Coming to a wood pile, I was glad to find this 5 mm first-time-encountered Ground Beetle.

On another fallen log nearby was this 10 mm Darkling Beetle.

The highlight for the trip was this Pintail Beetle on another fallen tree.

Just centimeters away was this Amargmus ovoideus Darkling Beetle.

The surprise for the trip was this 5 mm Leaf Beetle, usually found during the day.

At about 3/4 of the Rifle Road Trail, I was glad to find this 5 mm first-time-encountered Weevil Beetle.

Further down was this small 5 mm Darkling Beetle (Strongylium tenuipes) on a small tree.

Coming to a fallen tree on a slope, I was surprised to find a dozen of this 3 mm Fungus Beetle (Meilichius nigricollis).

On the same tree was this Fungus Beetle that was moving listlessly around.

The last beetle for the trip was this  5 mm Darkling Beetle on a small tree branch.

Although the place was pretty wet with rain, the trip was surprisingly fruitful with 3 first-time-encountered beetles. I am sure the place will be even more fruitful when the weather is better.

Day Trip To St John's Island (22 Sep 2017)

After reading a report on the first records of the Pachyteria dimidiata Long Horned Beetle found on St John's Island, I have been wanting to go to the island to see if I could snap a photograph of it. I finally found the opportunity to go there today. It is easily three decades that I last set foot on the island and much have changed on the island. At the same time, I was not hopeful that I will find many beetles as the island is not very big (about 40.5 hectare).

The first beetle was a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) found along the way to the Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre. There were many of them running and flying around the path leading to the centre. I am not surprised to find Tiger Beetle here as the ground consists mostly of sandy patches where this type of Tiger Beetle loves.

I was focusing on looking for beetles that I totally missed the signage that points to the centre, and ended up at the adjacent research centre which is not opened to the public. While I was trying to look for the Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre at the wrong location, I was pleasantly surprised to find this 40 mm Chafer Beetle (Lepidiota stigma) on a step of a staircase. Initially I was not sure what beetle it is due to the brown "discoloration" of the beetle. I later realized that it is a brown-version of the Lepidiota stigma Chafer Beetle from the distinct two white spots near the end of its elytra.

Apart from the Lepidiota stigma Chafer Beetle there was no beetle in sight. I guessed that it is because of the hot weather. Going back to the beach area, I was sadden to find this 20 mm crushed beetle. It looked like a Chafer Beetle but I was not able to identify it as it was badly damaged.

The tide was rising and hence there was only a small stretch of beach. I intentionally go to the beach because I was hoping to find a type of Tiger Beetle (Cicindela sumatrensis) that are often seen at the beach. I have been wanting to snap a good photograph of it but were not successful because of its hyper-active running and flying around. For this trip, I am glad that I finally able to photograph it using my zoom lens. This beetle is about 15 mm in size.

While photographing the Cicindela sumatrensis Tiger Beetles, I was thrilled to find a smaller 10 mm first-time-encountered Tiger Beetle (Lophyra fuliginosa) running around the beach. Owning to its smaller size and hyper-activeness, it was quite a challenge trying to photograph it.

It was almost time to catch the ferry departing from the island (2.45 pm for weekdays), I was surprised to find this first-time-encountered 3 mm beetle scurrying on the patch of sandy ground that I was waiting to board the ferry. I am not sure what type of beetle it is.

The ferry had a 1-hour stop-over at the Kusu Island before returning to main land Singapore, and so I decided to go around the island to see if I can find any beetles. For those who does not know about Kusu Island, this island is significantly smaller than St John's Island (about 8.5 hectare). Walking around, I was surprised to find this small 15 mm Long Horned Beetle (Coptops annulipes) on a blade of the Mangrove Fan Palm (Licuala spinosa). Pardon the badly taken photograph as it was at a rather odd angle.

Although the number of beetles found on this trip was small, I am glad to be able to photograph the Cicindela sumatrensis Tiger Beetles and found two first-time-encountered beetles. This trip has inspired me to do a trip on beetles around the beach area, and hopefully it will be sometime soon. Although I didn't managed to find the Pachyteria dimidiata Long Horned Beetle, the trip was still considered fruitful.

Flew In Visitors (16 Sep 2017)

It rained the night before and also in the morning, so I have to give my weekly macro photography session a miss. To keep the blog going, I decided to do another of the flew-in beetles post.

 This small 2 mm beetle flew in one afternoon. It looked like a Cigarette Beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) but I cannot confirm its identity.

Another flew-in beetle was a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis). It flew into the house just when it started to rain outside.

The last flew-in beetle was a Broad Snout Weevil found at a car park nearby.

Just like previous time, I am confident that there will be more fly-in beetles in the future.

Night Walk At Old Upper Thomson Road ( 08 Sep 2017)

It has been a long while since I last walked the Old Upper Thomson Road and hence I decided to go there for the night's walk. When I reached the place, I was rather disappointed because the vegetation at the place were soaking wet with rain. It must have rained very heavily in the late afternoon. Nevertheless since I am already there, I decided to continue with the trip.

Here's an interesting critter that I came across during the trip. The insect look like a Stick Insect but upon closer examination, it looked like a Praying Mantis. This is the first time I encounter this and am not sure what it is. It looked very much like a Stick Mantis. Not sure if this is a juvenile or adult specimen as it is only about 15 mm in length.

I was not hopeful to be able to find any beetles on this trip because of the rain, but I was pleasantly surprised to be able to find this small 2 mm Darkling Beetle near the base of a large tree.

Near to the Darkling Beetle was another larger 10 mm Darkling Beetle, taking shelter in a crevice in the tree trunk.

Moving on I found this muddy looking Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) feeding on a leaf.

Walking along the road, I chanced upon a spot where there were a number of fallen trees. On one of the fallen trees was this Darkling Beetle.

On a tree stump nearby was this Fungus Weevil (Eucorynus crassicornis). This is also where the Stick Mantis was found.

Next to the tree stump was a thin vine where two of this 3 mm beetle (Hyberis araneiformis). Notice the small mites that infested the beetle.

A stone's throw away was a Darkling Beetle (Ceropria superba) on a fallen log.

High up a small tree nearby was this small beetle larva.

On a rotting log next to the tree was this small 2 mm beetle (likely Darkling Beetle).

On another fallen tree branch was several of this lovely patterned Darkling Beetles.

High up another tree was a 5 mm Fungus Weevil. As it was high up on the tree, I was only able to photograph it from its rear.

This sole Darkling Beetle was found on a rotting log near to the Fungus Weevil.

On another tree was this roundish 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

The highlight of the trip was the encounter with this Fungus Beetle (Spathomeles rizali), found under a fallen tree.

A few meters from the Fungus Beetle was a 5 mm Darkling Beetle found on a small tree.

The last beetle for the trip was this Fungus Weevil (Habrissus omadioides).

As expected, the trip was not too fruitful due to the rain but it holds potential that more beetles would be found if the weather is not so wet.