Morning Walk At Riffle Range Road (14 Mar 2020)

Feeling better after a few days of feeling under the weather, I decided to go to Riffle Range Road for my weekly macro photography session. It has been a long time I last went to Riffle Range Road, partially because of the closure of the Riffle Range Road portion of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve for the development of the Riffle Range Nature Park.

Here's an interesting looking Leaf Hopper found at the start of the trip at the place.

Spiny Leaf Beetle (Dactylispa weyersi) ~ 4 mm [First-time-encountered]

Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus) ~ 10 mm

Chafer Beetle ~ 15 mm [First-time-encountered]

Soldier Beetle (Crudosilis ruficollis) ~ 10 mm

Leaf Beetle ~ 1 mm

Leaf Beetle ~ 5 mm [First-time-encountered]

Fungus Beetle ~ 3 mm

Leaf Beetle (Argopus brevis) ~ 5 mm

Silken Fungus Beetle (Triplax rufipes) ~ 3 mm

Leaf Beetle ~ 8 mm

Shiny Fungus Beetle ~ 3 mm [First-time-encountered]

Shiny Fungus Beetle ~ 3 mm

Fungus Beetle ~ 3 mm

Leaf Beetle ~ 10 mm

Morning Walk At Dairy Farm Nature Park (29 Jun 2019)

It has been a while that I did any morning macro session, so I decided to go to Dairy Farm Nature Park for a round of macro photography.

It was once again durian season and the durian trees at the place were fruiting in large number.

The first beetle for the trip were several of this Fungus Beetle (Episcapha xanthopustulata) found on a fallen tree.

It was only walking for a while on the Wallace Trail before I came across this 10 mm Soldier Beetle (Crudosilis ruficoltis) resting on a leaf.

On a small tree near by were several of this 1 mm first-time-encountered Darkling Beetles.

On another tree were several of this commonly encountered 1 mm Darkling Beetle.

Just before reaching the Education Centre, this 5 mm first-time-encountered Leaf Beetle was found on a low bush.

After passing the Education Centre, this 8 mm Weevil Beetle was found resting on a leaf next to the track.

Near to the Weevil Beetle was a Leaf Beetle (Lema diversa).

A stone's throw away was a lovely Fungus Beetle (Stenotarsus pardalis) which I have not encountered for a while.

Moving to another part of the Wallace Trail, I was surprised to find a number of this commonly encountered Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta) flying around the trail.

Just after photographing the Tiger Beetle, the sky started to rain. Just then I found this 8 mm Fungus Weevil hiding underside of a log.

The last "beetle" of the trip was a larvae on a small tree.

The trip was not exceptionally good as the number of beetles encountered, nevertheless it is still a fruitful one with 2 first-time-encountered beetles. 

Afternoon Walk At Windsor Nature Park (24 Jun 2017)

I was unwell the night before and was not able to make it for my weekly night macro session. After a good night rest, I decided to go to Windsor Nature Park for an afternoon walk. For this trip, I decided to reverse my usual route and start from the end of my usual route.

Here's a photograph of a cicada's molt (exuviae) found on the side of a tree.

The first beetle for the trip was a 2 mm Spiny Leaf Beetle (Hispa atra) found on a blade of grass.

Near to the Spiny Leaf Beetle was a 2 mm Ladybird Beetle on a leaf of a tall bush.

Coming to a dead tree stump, I was glad to be able to find several of this Fungus Beetle.

Further down the trail was this beetle larvae, presumably dead as it was covered by a layer of mold.

As I walked down the trail, I was pleasantly surprised to find this Hispine Beetle on a Air Potato leaf. Notice the fresh telltale bite marks on the leaf.

Further down on a fern was a 10 mm beetle. After checking through my records, I think I could have wrongly identified this beetle to be a Net-winged Beetle (Calopteron rubricolle). According to the internet, this is a Lucidina species (possibly Lucidina clavareaui or Lucidina malaccana).

On a small tree along the trail was this 2 mm Darkling Beetle.

Just centimeters away was another 2 mm Darkling Beetle.

Coming to a patch of low ferns, a lone Pintail Beetle (Glipa malaccana) was found resting on a leaf.

Near to the Pintail Beetle was a small 2 mm Leaf Beetle on a rubber tree leaf.

The highlight of the trip was this long time didn't encounter Leaf Beetle (Galerosastra sumatrana).

At a cursory glance, I thought that this beetle was the same earlier Lucidina beetle. Upon closer examination, I was glad to discover that it is a Soldier Beetle (Crudosilis ruficollis).

Near by was a 2 mm Ambrosia Beetle on the edge of a leaf.

Walking further down the trail, I was surprised to find this 5 mm Darkling Beetle at the base of a tree. This type of beetle usually come out at night and hence I am surprised to find it in broad daylight.

Coming to a patch of Clidemia hirta plant, a 5 mm Leaf Beetle (Argopus brevis) was found hiding under a leaf.

Near to the patch of Clidemia hirta plant was a wood pile and on it were several Fungus Beetle (Triplatoma gestroi).

Near to the Fungus Beetle was a 3 mm Fungus Weevil, perfectly blended into its background.

On the same log was another bigger 10 mm Fungus Weevil.

Running all over the wood pile was this small 4 mm Ground Beetle (Pericalus tetrastigma).

I was almost at the end of the trail when I encountered this all time favorite 3 mm Weevil Beetle (Demimaea bakeri).

The last beetle for the trip was this 5 mm Leaf Beetle (Graphops curtipennis) found right at the entrance of the trail.

The trip was surprisingly fruitful with the encountering of a number of beetles, even though it was a hot afternoon. Windsor Nature Park (aka Venus Drive) never fail to deliver.

Night Walk At Punggol Promenade Nature Walk (19 May 2017)

My recent few attempts of going to Coney Island for my night macro photography have ended up being distracted by the many critters encountered along the way. For this week, I decided to keep to the plan and headed straight towards Coney Island. Sadly, my enthusiasm was greeted by a chain-locked gate with a sign to inform that the island is closed. Guessed that this is a "new" addition as those gates were not there when I was here 1.5 years back. [ Coney Island ]

Although I was not able to go into Coney Island, the trip was not wasted as there are still many critters to be encountered. I was pleasantly surprised to find 3 Oriental Whip Snake (Ahaetulla prasina) on this trip. I used to encountered many of them in the earlier days when Punggol was still a forested area, but sighting of them became rarer with the rapid development of the place.

For this trip, my young friend Reynard decided to join me at the last minute when I told him that I am planning to go to Coney Island. Although the trip did not go as planned, we were still being treated to some interesting find.

Here's a picture of a lovely 30 mm centipede found during the trip.

Reynard was slightly delayed so I proceeded towards Coney Island and along the way, I found a few lovely beetles. The first beetle was a Leaf Beetle on a stem of grass seeds.

Near to the Leaf Beetle was a fallen tree with several of this 3 mm Darkling Beetle.

Nearing the entrance of Coney Island, I was glad to find this lovely colored Soldier Beetle.

The highlight for the trip was the encounter of this small 5 mm Tortoiseshell Beetle (Aspidomorpha furcata) found under a leaf.

While I was photographing this commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis), Reynard turned up and we continued to move further down the nature walk.

On a small tree further down were several of this small 1 mm Fungus Beetle.

Hidden among a patch of low bushes was a badly damaged Ladybird Beetle. I am not too sure of the identity of this beetle but it looks very much like Coelophora inaequalis Ladybird Beetle.

While looking around a tree overran with creepers, I was thrilled to find this 28 Spots Ladybird Beetle (Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata) resting on creeper's leaf.

A stone's throw away was a 8 mm Leaf Beetle.

We were almost near the starting point when we came across this rather unique "picture" of a Ladybird Beetle (Henosepilachna implicata) with its larvae.

The last beetle for the trip was a Click Beetle (Pectocera babai) under a blade of grass.

We were just meters from the starting point when I came across this Reticulated Python (Malayopython reticulatus).

This trip to Coney Island was not to be, but the results was unexpectedly good. It was interesting to be able to find 4 snakes on this trip. This looks like a good place to visit again.