Long Walk To Windsor Nature Park (22 Feb 2019)

The weather has been hot and dry for the past few weeks. Thankfully it rained on the first two days of this week, but it was short lived as the few days after were back to the hot and dry weather.

For this week, my friend HW and I decided to start earlier and walk from MacRitchie Reservoir to Windsor Nature Park.

Here's a photograph of a Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) family encountered during this trip.

The first beetle for the trip was a Darkling Beetle (Strongylium sp.).

The highlight of the trip came early, a 15 mm Chafer Beetle (Holotrichia geilenkenseri) under a palm leaf. I first encountered this beetle many years back and identified it as Holotrichia geilenkenseri, but looking back I am not sure if the identification is accurate. Nevertheless, I will continue to use this name until someone inform me otherwise.

There were not many critters encountered let alone beetles, possibly due to the hot and dry weather. It was only after a while of walking before I found this lone 5 mm Leaf Beetle (Argopus brevis) on a small leaf.

More walking without finding anything until this 5 mm Leaf Beetle turned up on a small twig.

After a while of walking, we finally reached the Windsor Nature Park. The place was very much the same as the trail leading from MacRitchie Reservoir - bone dry. Surprisingly, we still managed to find a number of beetles. Here's a photograph of a lovely Leaf Beetle with a bluish tinge.

On a tree nearby was a 3 mm Darkling Beetle.

Near to the Darkling Beetle was a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis).

There were a number of fallen trees along the side of the trail and on them were several of this 10 mm Darkling Beetle (Ceropria superba).

A short distance away, at the base of a small tree was this 4 mm Fungus Weevil.

Interestingly there were several of this Ground Beetle along the trail.

More walking without finding any beetles until we detoured into a spot where there were several fallen trees. This Fungus Beetle (Amblyopus vittatus) was found on a palm leaf.

At the base of a small tree at the spot was this matte black 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

On one of the fallen trees were several of this 10 mm Darkling Beetle. This type of Darkling Beetle are commonly found on fallen tree in the night.

On the same log was this Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus assamensis).

Near to the Eumorphus assamensis Fungus Beetle was another 10 mm Fungus Beetle.

Next to one of the fallen tree was a small tree where several of this Ambrosia Beetle was found. It was quite a challenge to photograph them as they were actively moving around, attempting to avoid the focusing light of my camera.

Moving further down, a bronze colored Chafer Beetle was found on a small plant, but it "drop" promptly when we started to photograph it. Thankfully, it "dropped" onto a dry leave and we were able to photograph it.

Moving to another spot where there were several logs lining the trail, and on it was this lone Ground Beetle.

The surprise of the trip was the encountered of this pair of Long Horned Beetles (Epepeotes luscus). This photograph gives a good feel of the size difference between the male (left) and female.

The next beetle was fortunate that it didn't got crushed as it was on the ground just a meter from the Long Horned Beetle. This is a Darkling Beetle.

Moving on to an older fallen tree, I found this well-camouflaged Fungus Weevil under the tree.

Next to the fallen tree was a dead tree branch where this 25 mm Pleasing Fungus Beetle (Triplatoma gestroi) was found.

Moving on, we came to a relatively sandy spot and was surprised to find this lone Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

Time passes by quickly and it was almost time to turn back. Just then this Chafer Beetle was found by HW.

On a fallen long were several of this first-time-encountered beetle larvae.

Still on the same log, we managed to find two of this interesting Martinezostes sp beetle.

The last beetle encountered on the same log was this 8 mm lovely Darkling Beetle.

The trip was not as fruitful as expected, it was still fruitful given the dry weather. 

Night Walk At MacRitchie Reservoir Park (17 Aug 2018)

It has been many months since I last went to MacRitchie Reservoir Park and so I decided to go there for a walk. The weather has been very hot and dry for the entire week, so I am mentally prepared to find very few beetles on this trip. Nevertheless I proceeded with the trip.

The place as expected was bone dry and not many critters were out. Here's a photograph of a diurnal butterfly (Mycalesis mineus macromalayana) resting on a leaf.

The first beetle for the trip was a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus) munching on a leaf.

A short distance from the Adoretus compressus Chafer Beetle was another Chafer Beetle.

As expected, it was only after walking for a while before I found this small 5 mm Darkling Beetle on a small tree.

It was another long while of walking before finding this 3 mm Fungus Weevil on a small tree.

On the same tree were several beetle larvae, all under a thin layer of web.

A stone's throw away was another small tree where this Darkling Beetle (Strongylium sp.) was found.

After a long while of walking without finding any beetle, I was about to turn back. Just then I came by a small tree where this interesting looking 5 mm Straight-snouted Weevil (Family Brentidae) was found.

On the same tree was this 10 mm Long Horned Beetle (Nedine adversa).

Still on the same tree, a 12 mm Fungus Weevil was resting at the base of the tree.

Several centimeters away from the Fungus Weevil was this smaller 5 mm Fungus Weevil.

Further up the same tree was this 1 mm Fungus Weevil.

On another side of the tree was a 5 mm first-time-encountered Checkered Beetle.

At the base of the tree was this Ambrosia Beetle digging into the tree. This is a sure sign that the tree is dying, which explain why I found so many beetles on this particular tree.

Just before I call it a day and turn back, I decided to check out a small fallen log where this Darkling Beetle (Ceropria superba) was found.

Near to the Darkling Beetle was a first-time-encountered Pleasing Fungus Beetle. At a cursory glance, it looked like the Triplatoma gestroi Pleasing Fungus Beetle, but upon closer examination of the pattern on its pronotum, the pattern is different from that of the Triplatoma gestroi Pleasing Fungus Beetle.

At the turn back point, I found this 4 mm Martinezostes sp. beetle, looking like a small ball.

On the return route, I found this 5 mm Darkling Beetle (Strongylium tenuipes) on a small tree.

On the same tree was this 1 mm active Fungus Beetle, moving about the tree. Pardon the badly taken photograph as I was in a hurry to catch it before it went further up the tree.

Nearing the exit was a large bush of Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) plant where several of this commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) was found.

The last beetle for the trip was another commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Aprosterna pallide) feasting on a Singapore Rhododendron flower.

This trip was surprisingly fruitful, especially given the dry and hot weather. I am also glad to be able to find two first-time-encountered beetles.

Morning Walk At Windsor Nature Park (11 Nov 2017)

It has been raining almost everyday for the entire week and this morning although the sky was cloudy, it didn't look like it will be raining, and so I decided to take a quick morning walk at Windsor Nature Park for some macro photography actions. I am not having much expectations as the place would probably be wet due to the heavy rain the night before.

As expected the vegetation were dripping wet with rain and many parts of the trail were muddy. Here's a photograph of a Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata) encountered near the end of the trip when the sun was up.

The first beetle of the trip was a Leaf Beetle (Lema diversa) found around a patch of low grass.

Near to the Leaf Beetle were several large Elephant Ear Plant (Alocasia Macrorrhiza) where several of this Ant-like Flower Beetle (Anthelephila cyanea) were on the underside of the gigantic leaves.

At the entrance of the Venus Loop was this lone beetle larvae, with an interesting spherical water droplet on it.

The surprise for the trip was the encounter with this Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) on a big leaf. I am surprised that it remained very still despite of my camera flashes. This is probably due to the cool temperature and wet vegetation.

A stone's throw away from the Tiger Beetle was a pair of mating 3 mm Leaf Beetle (Argopus brevis).

Coming to a wood pile, I am surprised to find this 10 mm Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus assamensis) as they are nocturnal.

On a small tree further down the trail was this lone Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus westwoodi).

High up on the same tree with the Fungus Beetle was a 5 mm Fungus Weevil. It was quite a challenge photographing this beetle as it was way up the tree.

On the side of the trail was a tree stump with a large Bracket Fungus Mushroom and there were several of this Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus politus) on it.

On a fallen tree further down the trail were several of this Fungus Beetle (Episcapha quadrimacula).

Because of the wet weather, it was only after a while of walking before I found this 2 mm Ambrosia Beetle on a leaf.

The highlight of the trip was the encounter of a "long time no see" Lizard Beetle (Languria mozardi).

Just a short distance from the Lizard Beetle was this beetle that I have yet to identify. It looked like Netwinged Beetle but without the netted elytra.

While I was walking along the trail, I saw a yellowish insect flew under a leaf. I was curious as to what insect it might be and so decided to take a quick look at it. To my surprise, it was a Leaf Beetle (Galerosastra sumatrana).

No other beetles were encountered until this 3 mm Fungus Beetle found on a small leaf.

The last beetle for the trip was a 2 mm Ladybird  Beetle.

As expected the trip was not as fruitful as previous trips but it was not unexpected given the less than ideal weather. According to our National Environment Agency, we are currently in the Inter-Monsoon period and thunderstorms are expected during this period. The North-East Monsoon will start at the end of November.