Short Walk At Mount Faber (10 Jul 2015)

I had a dinner appointment near to Mount Faber and so I decided to take a short walk around the place. It was almost two years since I last been to the place and so I was rather hopeful, given the surprisingly fruitful trip previously (Night Walk At Mount Faber Park (16 Aug 2013)).

The first beetle was sadly a Chafer Beetle which has fallen prey to a group of ants. It was found at the base of a pillar.

The walkway was designed to have creeper vines creeping from the base of the pillars that support the covering of the walkway, thus forming a natural looking overhead cover. On one of the vines was this small 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

As I was walking along the walkway, I only found a handful of bugs near to the lights that lit the walkway. This is very different from the last time I was there, where I find many bugs and beetles on the pillars. I noticed that the pillars were painted over with a glossy paint, unlike the last time where the pillars are painted with matted paint.

When I reach one end of the walkway without finding any beetles, I was very glad to find a Fungus Beetle resting on a leaf. It looked like the Eumorphus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus Fungus Beetle but the dots were creamy white instead of the usual bright yellow. Not sure if it is a different type of beetle or a variant of Eumorphus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus Fungus Beetle. This is the second time that I encountered this beetle.

I noticed that there are three resting shelters where the pillars are still with the matte paint. And interestingly, there were a few beetles found clinging to the side of the pillars. I may be right that the reason for not seeing any beetles on the walkway pillars could possibly be due to the glossy paint. Here's one of the beetles that are slightly nearer to the ground (about 3 meters up). It is a Chafer Beetle.

On the same pillar was a tiny 1 mm first-time-encountered beetle. Not sure what type of beetle it is but I would think that it is a Darkling Beetle.

On the underside of the creeper vine cover was a Chafer Beetle (Aprosterna palide).

Walking further down the walkway, I was very disappointed as all the pillars that I past did not have any beetle, unlike previously. Passing a vine branch, I was glad to find this 3 mm Darkling Beetle.

Coming to another shelter, I was elated to find this round 5 mm Darkling Beetle. Initially, I thought it was a Ladybird Beetle but upon closer look, it turned out to be a Darkling Beetle.

Sadly the walkway was a total letdown with zero beetle find except at the shelters. So I decided to call it a day and make my way to the MRT station via the Marang Trail. There was not much action along the trail and I was glad to find this small 3mm Darkling Beetle on a dead tree branch.

It was almost near the end of the Marang Trail before I find another 5 mm Darkling Beetle on the side of a tree.

The last beetle for the trip was a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

This trip was a total disappointment especially with the anticipation of finding interesting beetles along the walkway, as experienced during the previous trip to the place. I guessed that it will be a while before I would return to the place.

Night Walk At Mount Faber Park (16 Aug 2013)

I was at the Mount Faber Park to check out if there are any nice beetle action there. When I reached the place just when the sun was setting.

The first few beetles that I encountered were the shiny Leaf Beetle (Colasposoma auripenne). All of them were in resting posture, getting ready for the night to come.

While looking around for beetles, a small (~3 mm) Leaf Beetle landed on my arm. After gentling moving it onto a leaf, I managed to take a shot of it before it flew into the bushes. Interestingly the antennae of this beetle has tiny spiky protrusions.

On a low bush nearby was this Leaf Beetle (Graphops curtipennis). It was so hyper sensitive that I was only able to take this shot and it flew away into the thick bushes.

Moving to the plants surrounding a tourist attraction where there are wall murals depicting the history of Singapore, I was surprised to find a plant hosting a number of this lovely small (~3 mm) beetle. This was the second time that I came across this beetle, the last time was at the Venus Drive's Tree Top Trail.

While photographing the Leaf Beetle, a large crowd of tourists appeared at the place. They were all there to photograph the beautiful sunset.

After making my way through the crowd of tourists, I decided to go to a wilder part of Mount Faber Park for some peace and quiet. The first beetle on the trail was this small (~5 mm) hairy beetle. It looked like a Leaf Beetle.

Moving down the trail, a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) was just getting ready for the night.

On a tree trunk was another commonly encountered Darkling Beetle. This beetle is about 5mm in size.

Moving on, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) resting on a yellow colored leaf.

Walking further down the trail, another commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Phyllophaga marginalis) was enjoying its dinner.

Just as I was about to give up the walk after walking for a while without encountering any more beetles, this Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus quadriguttatus) appeared.

It was about time for me to end my trip so I made my way back to the main road in Mount Faber Park. The walkway along side the road has a sheltered walkway covered with creepers, so my attention was naturally drawn to the leaves of the creepers.

No beetle were found on the creepers until this small (~3 mm) beetle appeared. Not sure what beetle it is but it definitely has interesting looking antennae.

No more beetle encountered until I accidentally saw this small (~5 mm) Ground Beetle on a support structure for the shelter.

Resting on a stem of the shelter creepers was this 15 mm Fungus Weevil.

A shiny Darkling Beetle was seen resting on another creeper stem.

Having encountered the Ground Beetle, my attention began to shift to look for beetles on the shelter support structure. Sure enough I found this Chafer Beetle (Maladera castanea) on one of the many shelter supports.

Just a little distance away was this 8 mm jet-black Darkling Beetle.

A surprise find was this Darkling Beetle (Strongylium erythrocephalum) clinging onto the base of a pavilion pillar.

More beetles on the shelter support. Here's a tiny (~1 mm) but lovely patterned beetle.

Another small (~3 mm) beetle nearby.

The last beetle before I say good bye to the place was this Chafer Beetle with its whitish elytra.

This trip was surprisingly different because I found as many beetles in the man-made structures as in the wild part of Mount Faber Park. Surely this will not be the last time I will visit this place.