Morning Walk At Kranji Marshes (27 May 2016)

I was on leave so I decided to bring my wife to the Kranji Marshes for a walk since she has not been there before. The last time I was at the place was in Feb 2016 and the number of beetles found during the last trip was reasonably good given the rainy condition then.

Here's a photograph of the entrance to the Kranji Marshes.

We were there slightly after 10.30 am but the temperature at the place was already pretty high. Because of the heat, not many insects were found except for millipedes and dragonflies. Here is a photograph of a tiny 3 mm first-time-encountered Leaf Beetle. It looks like another Leaf Beetle (Lema diversa) but lacks the metallic blue coloration of the Lema diversa Leaf Beetle.

The place was so hot that I was not able to find any beetles in the open, unlike my last trip to the place. The other beetle encountered at the place was a special treat for me as I have been wanting to photograph this beetle for a long time. During the last encounter, I was not able to get a good shot of the beetle, so I was thrilled to find two of this beetle on a . Here's a photograph of the Yellow Orchid Beetle (Lema pectoralis) munching on a orchid flower bud.

The trip was disappointing as I only managed to find two beetles during the two hours trip. Nevertheless, it was still a good trip as I managed to find a first-time-encountered beetle and a beetle that I have been wanting to photograph for a long time.

Recce Trip To Kranji Marshes (10 Feb 2016)

The Kranji Marshes was recently opened to the public and so I decided to take leave to visit the place. The sky was cloudy when I set out from my home and I was near the place, it started to drizzle. It was a disappointing sight but I decided to proceed to the place and wait for the rain to be over. Fortunately the rain stopped after 30 minutes of waiting.

Here's a photograph of an iconic structure at the place. Although the place was already opened to the public, construction works can still be seen at the entrance area where the various lily ponds are.

Here's a photograph of the map to the place.

The first beetle encountered was a Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus) found on a wet leaf. The beetle looked like it has just emerged from the ground as traces of mud can still be seen on its head.

Near to the Chafer Beetle were some lovely yellow flowers and so I decided to take some photographs of them. It was only when I was processing the photographs that I realized that there was a tiny 1 mm beetle on the flower.

I was not expecting to find many beetles because of the rain and I was pleasantly surprised to find this small 8 mm Net-winged Beetle.

There were many insects encountered along the 1.2 KM trail (leading to the Marsh Station). There were many dragonflies at the place, probably because of the streams that are running through the place. It was only after some walking that I came across this Leaf Beetle (Altica cyanea) across a small stream. Although the stream was not very wide (about 60 cm wide), it was still a challenge to photograph the beetle as I was pretty much focused on not falling or stepping into the stream, instead of on the beetle.

More walking before I found this Leaf Beetle on a small bush. Although this is quite a commonly encountered Leaf Beetle, this particular specimen looked different as it dons a grayish coloration. The normal color for this type of beetle is bright yellow with the black pattern. The grayish coloration may be an indication that it has just emerged from the pupa stage.

Just above the Leaf Beetle was a surprise find - an Ant-like Flower Beetle (Anthelephila cyanea) moving busily on a large leaf. I initially thought that it was an ant as I have not seen Ant-like Flower Beetle moving so fast, very much like an ant that it is mimicking.

More walking without finding any beetles until several of this Leaf Beetle (Lema rufotestacea) were seen on patch of low bushes.

Near to the Leaf Beetle was a tiny <2 mm Leaf Beetle moving on a leaf. It was a challenge to photograph this beetle due to the strong wind that have been blowing pretty non-stop at that spot.

The last beetle for the trip was a Leaf Beetle (Lema diversa). This particular specimen was highly alert and proved to be a challenge to photograph.

The trip was not exceptionally fruitful due to the rain, but I think the place holds potential of yielding more beetles when the weather is good. As mentioned earlier, I was surprised to see so many dragonflies at the place. With the small number of beetles encountered, I decided to take photographs of the different dragonflies and damselflies that I encountered along the way.

Here are the different types of dragonflies and damselflies that can be found at the place. Please pardon my laziness in not identifying the damselflies and dragonflies. Nevertheless, do enjoy their lovely colors and patterns. Enjoy!