Short Night Walk At Windsor Nature Park (24 Nov 2017)

It rained heavily in the late afternoon but the forecast was cloudy sky for the night, so HW and I decided to go to Windsor Nature Park for our regular macro-photography session.

There were a number of interesting critters encountered at the place and this large 80 mm flat worm (Bipalium sp.) was one of them.

The first beetle for the trip was a 3 mm Darkling Beetle on a small tree.

On the same tree were several small 3 mm Darkling Beetles.

Hiding in the mosses on the same tree was a larvae of the 3 mm Darkling Beetle.

On a nearby low bush was a commonly encountered brown Chafer Beetle.

Next to it was another Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus).

Near to the Adoretus compressus Chafer Beetle was another commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis).

Near to the entrance to the Venus Loop trail was a 8 mm lovely colored Long Horned Beetle. This is the second time that I encountered this type of Long Horned Beetle.

Coming to a patch of Elephant Ear Plants, I am glad to be able to find several of this Ant-like Flower Beetle (Anthelephila cyanea) under the giant leaves.

On a dead branch nearby was a 10 mm Darkling Beetle (Phymatosuma rufonotatum).

As we walked along the trail, I was surprised to find a number of this commonly encountered Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) resting on wet leaf.

On a small rotten tree near to the Tiger Beetle was this 5 mm Fungus Weevil (Habrissus omadioides).

On the same tree was this commonly encountered Fungus Weevil (Eucorynus crassicornis).

A stone's throw away on a small tree was this Beetle Larvae.

On the same tree was this 1 mm Darling Beetle.

Moving further down, there was an upright rotten tree where this 10 mm Ground Beetle (Miscelus javanus) was found running about the tree.

On the same rotten tree was this Darkling Beetle (Bradymerus clathratus).

At the base of the tree was this 10 mm Darkling Beetle.

Near to the Darkling  Beetle was this 1 mm Fungus Beetle.

Several centimeters form the 1 mm Fungus Beetle was a 10 mm well-camouflaged Weevil, badly infested with mites.

A 4 mm beetle (Martinezostes sp.) was found at the base of the tree.

Further down the trail was a small tree stump with this 4 mm Rove Beetle found in a crevice on the stump.

Coming to a patch of Singapore Rhododendron plant (Melastoma malabathricum), I am surprised to find this Leaf Beetle (Argopus brevis) still out on a leaf at this hour.

Across the trail was this roundish 5 mm Darkling Beetle on a small tree.

On a tree next to the Darkling Beetle was this 5 mm Ground Beetle.

Next to the Ground Beetle was a large fallen log where several of this 4 mm Darkling Beetle (Meilichius nigricollis) were found.

Near to the Darkling Beetle was a 5 mm Checkered Beetle. It has been a long while I last encountered this beetle.

Just as I was photographing this beetle, the sky started to drizzle and we decided to call it a day in case that it turned into a thunderstorm. Although the trip was short, it was still fruitful with  a good number of beetles found.

Night Walk At Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (17 Nov 2017)

The weather was forecasted to be stormy in the late afternoon but it turned out to be cloudy instead. Taking advantage of the good weather in this monsoon period, I decided to go to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve for my macro photography session.

I was particularly looking forward to this week's session as I wanted to test out my new flash diffuser setup and more importantly, I wanted to try out my DIY grip for my Sony A6000 camera. I have been rather frustrated with the camera's grip as it was designed to be used with its original kit lens. As I am using an A-mount macro lens with the camera, the balance of the camera was off which makes one-hand operation of the camera difficult.

My DIY hand grip.

For this trip, I was particularly thrilled by the encounter with this brightly colored 10 mm bug. I am not sure what it is but it looked very much belonging to the Lantern Bug family.

The first beetle for the trip was a 10 mm Fungus Beetle found on a tree log used to line the path leading to the entrance of trail that I am taking.

On another tree log were several of this 3 mm Darkling Beetles.

At the entrance of the trail was this Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) munching on a leaf.

Near to the Chafer Beetle was a Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus tetraspilotus).

A stone's throw away was a commonly encountered 10 mm Darkling Beetle.

There were a number of fallen logs that lined the sides of the trail and on one of them was this small 3 mm Darkling Beetle feasting on an orange color fungus mushroom.

On another fungus mushroom nearby was a 5 mm Rove Beetle.

Walking further down the trail, I was surprised to find a Pleasing Fungus Beetle (Triplatoma gestroi) on a torn leaf.

Near to the Pleasing Fungus Beetle was one of my favorite Leaf Beetle (Hemipyxis semiviridis).

Coming to a small tree, I was surprised to find several of this 5 mm Weevil Beetle.

On a tree next to the Weevil Beetle was another larger 10 mm Weevil Beetle (Microspathe fuliginosa).

Time passed quickly and I have reached the mid way point. I was glad to find this Long Horned Beetle (Epepeotes luscus) on a small bush.

Moving to the trail leading back to the "entrance", a 8 mm Darkling Beetle (Strongylium sp.) was found at the base of a small tree.

There were several freshly chopped woodpiles at the mid way point and among the woodpiles were a number of beetles. Several Darkling Beetle (Ceropria induta) were found on one of the woodpile.

On the cut portion of a chopped tree were several of this 5 mm Ground Beetle (Dolichoctis striata) running about the log.

Next to the Dolichoctis striata Ground Beetle was another larger 10 mm Ground Beetle on a leaf of the chopped tree.

Running along side the Dolichoctis striata Ground Beetle was another 5 mm Ground Beetle (Pericalus sp.)

On one of the chopped tree was a 8 mm first-time-encountered Click Beetle.

Next to the Click Beetle was a Fungus Weevil (Stiboderes impressus) found on a small tree next to the woodpile.

On another tree log was this 10 mm Click Beetle.

There was a small rock next to the woodpile and on it was a round 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

The last beetle for the trip was a 10 mm Fungus Beetle found on a ginger plant.

The trip was a fruitful one with a good number of beetles encountered. More importantly, I was able to test out my flash diffuser setup and my DIY camera grip. I am glad that my DIY grip works well and I can easily take photographs with one hand. As for the flash diffuser, I need to increase the size of the foam in order to fully remove the hot-spot in some of the photograph. Overall it was a good trip.