Night Walk At Old Upper Thomson Road (11 Dec 2015)

It rained heavily in the late afternoon as expected, since it is currently monsoon season for Singapore. Nevertheless, I decided to continue with my original plan of going to the Old Upper Thomson Road for a walk. The vegetation at the place were still very wet from the  heavy rain and hence I was not expecting to find many beetles this trip.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this juvenile Green Crested Lizard (Bronchocela cristatella) sleeping on a small palm tree. This is a wonderful encounter, but it is getting rarer by the day to encounter them as they are being displaced by the more aggressive introduced species Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor).

The first beetle for the trip was a Soldier Beetle. Its been a while that I last encountered this beetle and this seemed like a good start.

A short distance from the Soldier Beetle was a small 5 mm Net-winged Beetle. This is the second time that I encountered this type of beetle.

Interestingly, despite of the rain the place was full of Adoretus compressus Chafer Beetle and this one was feasting on a wet leaf.

Further down the road was a small dead tree branch where this Chafer Beetle was resting. Not sure what to make of this beetle as its elytra is not as dark as the Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle, but much darker than the usual black thorax-brown elytra Chafer Beetle that I encounter.

Just a stone's throw from the Chafer Beetle was another Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis). Notice the subtle color difference between this Chafer Beetle and the earlier one.

Coming to a fallen tree, there were several of this 10 mm Darkling Beetle on it.

A lone small 3 mm Darkling Beetle was found on a palm tree nearby.

The highlight of the trip was this first-time-encountered Hairy Click Beetle (Synaptus filiformis) resting on a leaf.

Just a few leaves away was a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

The number of beetles encountered was not that many, so I decided to end the trip early. Just when I was about to turn back, this small 5 mm Ground Beetle was found on a leave of a small tree.

The last beetle of the trip was this 5 mm Darkling Beetle on the bark of a palm tree.

Although the number of beetles encountered on this trip was not that high, it was considered to be fruitful, given that it is the monsoon season.

Night Walk At Old Upper Thomson Road (23 May 2014)

For some strange reasons that I have not walked the Old Upper Thomson Road for more than a year already ( http://beetlesg.blogspot.sg/2013/04/night-walk-at-old-upper-thomson-road-26.html ). I decided to give the place a try despite the heavy downpour in the early afternoon. The interesting thing I found at the place was this large patch of fungus growing on a fallen log. They looked very much like the Montipora Plate Coral  (Montipora foliosa) that I used keep in my marine aquarium.

The first beetle was a first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle (about 6 mm in size) found on the base of a tree beside the main road (Upper Thomson Road).

About 30 cm away from the Fungus Beetle was another black beetle. I have seen this type of beetle several times but I still have not found its identity as yet.

Moving on to another tree I found this small (3 mm) Darkling Beetle. With its reddish-brown legs, it looked slightly different from the commonly encountered fully black Darkling Beetle.

After walking for almost 15 minute with spotting any beetles, I decided to move into the forest when I came across a small opening in the low vegetation that lined both sides of the road. The place was dry with very little undergrowth. On the side of a fallen tree was this large (10 mm) commonly encountered Darkling Beetle.

On a tree nearby was this small beetle larvae.

Moving to another fallen tree, a lone Fungus Weevil was found resting on the side of this tree.

While looking for some other beetles on the log, I found these two tiny beetles moving actively on the log. They are 2 mm and 1 mm respectively.

Just when I was almost out of the forest, a lovely colored beetle larvae was found on the trunk of a moss laden tree.

After walking for another while without spotting any beetles, I decided to call it a day. Just when I was about to turn back, this lovely Fungus Beetle (Encaustes praenobilis) was found on a blade of grass under some bushes. Its been a while I last encountered this beetle.

Turning back, I cross over to the other side of the Old Upper Thomson Road. On a fallen free by the road side, a few of this Darkling Beetles were found on the side. This reminded me of the large numbers of such beetles that I encountered when I was at the Lower Pierce Reservoir, which is probably about 1-2 KM away.

On the same log was this entirely brown Darkling Beetle.

Coming to a patch of Heliconia plants, I was surprised to find a first-time-encountered Ground Beetle. It is about 5 mm in size.

Leaving the Heliconia patch and I came to a few low branches of a rubber tree and on a leaf was this Fungus Beetle. This was a surprise as they are usually found on rotting logs and not in tree.

For those who are not familiar with the place, you must be wondering why the vegetation is so odd - Heliconia and rubber tree (plus some other 'exotic' plants) together in one area. The main reason is that this area used to be rubber tree plantations and were inhabited by people who also planted Heliconia and other ornamental plants at the place. By the way, the Old Upper Thomas Road is also a race track for racing cars in the old days.

Just a few centimeters away was this first-time-encountered 8 mm Weevil Beetle. This poor specimen has a truck load of mites on it.

Near to the rubber tree was a pile of chopped tree branches and on it was this small 4 mm Weevil Beetle (Cerobates sexsulcatus).

On the same "wood pile" was a first-time-encountered Long Horned Beetle (Pterolophia subtincta) which perch on a thin branch, oblivious to me stepping on the small branches around the "wood pile". I always like to check out "wood piles" as I would usually find interesting beetles in them.

At the tip of the same branch where the Pterolophia subtincta Long Horned Beetle rested, was another first-time-encountered Long Horned Beetle. I have yet to identify this 5 mm beetle.

Hiding deep in the "wood pile" was this 4 mm first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle.

Moving further to a broken tree branch, a less commonly seen Fungus Beetle was feeding on the stripped part of the branch.

I was running a little late and so I picked up my pace of walking until I encountered one of my favorite Leaf Beetle, sleeping on a leaf.

The highlight of the trip was found on some tall bushes. It was a first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle resting on a leaf. Initially I thought that it was the Platydema monoceros Fungus Beetle, but when I zoomed in for a better shot, I noticed that it has two "horns" on the head, instead of one (as in the case of Platydema monoceros Fungus Beetle) .

Just about 50 meters away from where I started the trip, I came across a fallen tree with the sawed end facing the road. The sawed end was criss-crossed with termite tracks and on it I found this tiny 1 mm Fungus Beetle. The beetle was so small that even the tiny mite looked relatively big on the back of the beetle.

On the same end of log was this Fungus Weevil which blended well into the background. I only noticed it when it moved a little.

Although the location was not as fruitful compared to other places such as the Venus Drive, the number of first-time-encountered beetles found was good. I would probably go back to the place in the future.

Night Walk At Old Upper Thomson Road (26 Apr 2013)

The day was wet and overcast so I decided to take a quick walk at the Old Upper Thomson Road, with little expectation that the trip will be fruitful.



The first beetle that came into view was this tiny (1 mm) beetle. Interestingly, after a few shots the beetle started to lean on one side and remained in that position until I finished with it.



This Darkling Beetle was on a tree trunk nearby.



On the same tree was this tiny (<2 mm) beetle.



Moving along the road, I noticed a slight movement on a tree trunk. Upon closer examination, I found this small (3 mm) Fungus Weevil.



Nearby was this tiny (2 mm) and alert Fungus Beetle. It flew away just after one photograph. Please pardon the poor quality.



Moving further was a dead tree and on it was this interesting looking beetle. At a short distance away, it looked like a Snout Weevil Beetle, but it turned out to be a Fungus Weevil. This is a rather large Fungus Weevil (~25 mm). I particularly like the subtle colour contrast of this beetle.



On the same tree was this ~20 mm Long Horned Beetle (Coptops annulipes). I read about this beetle online but have never got a chance to see it until now.



Crawling between the crevices of the tree bark was this ~3 mm Ground Beetle. It was pretty hard to photograph due to its small size and hyperactivity.



A further surprise awaited on the other side of the same tree, a ~20 mm Long Horned Beetle (Coptops leucostictica). What a pleasant surprise to find two different beetles on the same tree.



On a piece of damp fallen tree was this Darkling Beetle.



After encountering two Long Horned Beetles, coming across another Long Horned Beetle was not far down the road was a real bonus. This looked like the earlier Long Horned Beetle (Coptops annulipes) but the coloration on the elytra was slightly different. Not sure if it is a sexual difference or a different type all together.



Another Ground Beetle on the same tree trunk.



Not more action after the encounter with the third Long Horned Beetle and so I decided to turn back. On the return-path, this Fungus Weevil was having its dinner on a pile of dead wood. It blended in well with its background.



On the same log was this beetle larvae.



This was the last beetle that I come across on the way back. It is a Darkling Beetle but the body is roundish compared to the other Darkling Beetles that I usually come across.



Although the trip was expected to be not so fruitful, encountering three Long Horned Beetles in a row has made the trip worth the while.