Night Walk At Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West (08 Nov 2013)

It rained heavily in the late afternoon but stopped in the evening. I took the opportunity to revisit the Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West to continue from where I last left off because of the rain (http://beetlesg.blogspot.sg/2013/10/night-walk-at-ang-mo-kio-town-garden.html). At the same time I am also trying out a DIY flash diffuser.

The first beetle was a Chafer Beetle (Anomala variegata) found clinging to a creeper vine under a shelter covered with creeper vine.

Near to the Anomala variegata Chafer Beetle was another Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis), munching away on a lotus leaf.

Moving to some low bushes next to the walking path, a Chafer Beetle (Apogonia aequabilis) was having its dinner.

On a tree nearby, several of this Fungus Beetle were found.

Moving along the walking path, a number of this commonly seen Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus) were seen on a Hairy Clidemia plant (Clidemia hirta).

Nearby to the Adoretus compressus Chafer Beetle was a lone Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta). This was unlike the last time when I found a large number of them in a single area.

On a tree near to the Tiger Beetle was this tiny 1mm Fungus Beetle.

After walking for a while without encountering any other beetles except for the Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle, this interesting looking beetle was a welcome sight.

On a tree nearby was this 5mm Darkling Beetle.

Moving into the area where I previously found many Tiger Beetles (Cicindela aurulenta), I began to see Tiger Beetles in small groups. Out of the many Tiger Beetles, my eyes were attracted to this particular one. On first glance it looked different and upon closer look, I noticed that it has one spot "missing". Only when I was looking through the photographs at home that I realised that the missing spot was a discoloration of the spot.

The sky turns pinkish-red, a sure sign that it is going to rain. Having learnt my lesson the last time where I was drench from head-to-toe, I decided to make a quick move towards the exit. While walking I found this Chafer Beetle (Maladera castanea) clinging to the base of a large palm tree.

Nearing the place where I exit the garden, there was a fallen log and on it was a Fungus Beetle.

Interestingly just before the exit, I found another spot where there is a large gathering of the Cicindela aurulenta Tiger Beetle. The photograph shows only a small portion of the congregated beetles.

The last beetle was this tiny 1mm beetle that was found together with the Tiger Beetles.

The trip was good and I managed to photograph quite a number of beetles, even though there wasn't any first-time-encountered beetles as compared to the last trip. Nevertheless this is still a good trip given that the place was pretty wet after the late afternoon rain.

Night Walk At Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West (18 Oct 2013)

I have been wanting to visit Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West in the night to see if there are any interesting beetle actions. I am a little apprehensive whether I can even find any beetles since it is a neighbourhood garden, surrounded by high-rise buildings. Nevertheless I decided to go there for a walk. It was almost 8 pm when I reached the place but the place was nicely lit like many of our parks and gardens in Singapore. I was really not expecting much from this trip.

The first beetle that came into view was this Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis). This is a commonly encountered beetle in Singapore and when it is in season, you will literally find tens if not hundreds of them in the grass fields. 

Nearby to the Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle was another Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus). There was a large number of this beetle at the place. From the many holes on the leaf, it is not difficult to deduce that this is the favorite food plant for this type of beetles.

Moving further, I found this interesting looking Chafer Beetle. I initially thought that it is the Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle but upon closer look, it turned out to be completely brown instead of the completely black coloration of a Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle.

Moving to a low rattan plant, I found a small (~5 mm) black beetle on the main stem of the plant. Just as I snapped my first shot of the beetle, it immediately dropped into the leave litters below. Sadly, the first shot was not good but I still included here as a record for the trip.

A surprise find was this Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) resting on a fern leaf. I was not expecting to find this type of beetle here as they are usually found in sandy areas, whereas the foliage here are lush and green. Little did I know that this beetle would surprise me even further later on.

Pressing on, I came across another Chafer Beetle. This Chafer Beetle has a black thorax with brown elytra. It looked like a cross between the black Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle with the brown colored Chafer Beetle. Interesting!

After checking many trees without finding any beetles, this small 5mm shiny beetle was a welcomed sight.

Coming to patch of low bushes, I was further surprised to find the place was full of the Cicindela aurulenta Tiger Beetle. This is the first time I get to see so many Tiger Beetles congregated in this manner. What was shown here was just a small part of the low bush, the other parts of the low bushes at this place were also full of the same type of Tiger Beetles.

Moving further into the path, a tiny (~2 mm) Fungus Beetle was found resting on a tree trunk.

The next tree were full of this lovely Darkling Beetle.

Moving into a 'wilder' part of the garden, I found this lovely first-time-encountered Fungus Weevil.

Just then the sky above turned reddish-orange, threatening to rain any moment. Rumbling thunders can be heard from a distance. Not wanting to waste the trip by leaving earlier, I continued down the path and found this first-time-encountered Fungus Weevil. It remained very still for me to get some close-up photograph of itself.

The thunders were getting louder and it sounded like it was about to rain. I picked up my pace and chanced upon an open patch of vegetation where this lovely first-time-encountered Leaf Beetle (Lilioceris quadripustulata) was found. Interestingly it looked very much like a Fungus Beetle. This was the highlight of the trip.

Just when I am done with photographing the Lilioceris quadripustulata Leaf Beetle, the sky started to pour cats and dogs. I was completely drenched by the time I reached the exit.

Although the rain has unexpectedly shorten my trip, the trip was still fruitful as I was able to find three first-time-encountered beetles on this trip, especially so that I didn't expect to find interesting beetles in this neighborhood garden. I will surely come back to this place in the future.