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 Windsor Nature Park (31 Mar 2018)

I was so inspired after watching a You Tube video by a professional photographer on the Sony A6000 camera (which I am currently using), and so I decided to go for a walk at the Windsor Nature Park to try out some of the settings and functions of my camera. When I reached the place, my heart sank a little as the place looked like it just rained. Basically, this means a much lower chance of finding beetles.

The first place that I check was the spot where we found the Orchid Leaf Beetle (Lema pectoralis) during our last trip. Sadly, I only managed to find the larvae but not the adult beetle. Noticed that the larva has put on a coating of whitish stuff over its entire body.

The first beetle encountered was a 3 mm Spiny Leaf Beetle.

I was pleasantly surprised to find several of this 2 mm Jewel Beetle (Habroloma lepidopterum) on a low Singapore Rhododendron plant (Melastoma malabathricum) plant.

On a small tree nearby was this lone beetle larva.

Next to the small tree was a fallen tree where this lone 4mm Ground Beetle (Coptodera marginata) was running about.

Moving further, I was amazed to find a fallen tree full of beetle larvae. Here's a small part of the fallen tree and the number of beetle larvae on it was amazing.

Here's a close-up of one of the beetle larvae.

Further down the trail was this Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus quadriguttatus quadriguttatus) found on a dead leaf.

The highlight of the trip was this Fungus Beetle (Stenotarsus pardalis) which I have not encountered for a long while. Interestingly, I encountered two specimens during this trip.

On another low  Singapore Rhododendron plant was this lone 5 mm Leaf Beetle (Argopus brevis) happily munching on its leaf.

Another surprise find was this Tiger Beetle (Therates dimidiatus) which turned out to be a challenge to photograph as it was pretty skittish and kept flying around the bushes.

After a while of walking without seeing any beetles, this lovely 8 mm beetle was a welcomed sight. I am not sure what family this beetle belongs to. It looks like a Net-winged Beetle but lacks the usual net-pattern elytra which gave the family its name.

On a small tree was this well-camouflaged 4 mm  Fungus Weevil.

On an adjacent tree to the Fungus Weevil was this bright 2 mm Darkling Beetle.

While photographing the Darkling Beetle, a flying beetle zipped by the corner of my eye and landed on a small bush. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be a female Fungus Weevil (Apolecta aspericollis).  How I differentiate between male or female of this species is to look at the length of the antennae. The male of the species has antennae 5-6 times its body length as compared to the female which typically has antennae that are 2-3 times its body length.

The last beetle for the trip was a 5 mm Pintail Beetle.

For those who are observant, you would have noticed that many of the photographs in this post are not particularly sharp or the depth-of-field was pretty shallow. The key reason is that I was trying out different settings and functions on my Sony A6000 such as Auto-ISO, Auto-focus, Neutral-color, etc. I was rather disappointed with many of the photographs taken as they were not as sharp or defined as when on full manual. I am not sure of the reason, it could possibly be because of the continuous auto-focusing by the camera and coupled with the shallow depth-of-field, the photographs turned out badly.

Guessed that I am reminded of the adage "When it ain't broke, don't fix it!" and will go back to the camera settings that worked for me so far. 

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.