Night Walk At Upper Seletar Reservoir (18 Mar 2016)

There was news that our neighbor country Malaysia is experiencing heat wave and it was expected to last up to April. Singapore being only a short distance away from Malaysia, is expected to experience higher than normal temperatures, and at the same time drier weather over the next 2 weeks.

I decided to go over to Upper Seletar Reservoir since I have not been there for a while. Besides the usual macro photography, I am also testing out a new DIY flash diffuser material that I came across recently. Here's a photograph of a lovely moth that I came across during the trip.

As expected, the place was almost bone-dry and many of the small streams that run through the place were all dried up. In my heart I was expecting the worse but this Chafer Beetle proved me wrong as it took less than a minute to find it, upon reaching the place.

Near to the Chafer Beetle was another commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis).

Further down the trail was a pair of mating Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus).

The surprise for the trip came early. Just a stone's throw from the Adoretus compressus Chafer Beetle was a first-time-encountered Chafer Beetle. This is an interesting Chafer Beetle with short hair covering the entire body.

A little further down the trail was another first-time-encountered Flea Beetle.

Moving into a less traveled path from the main road, I found this shiny Chafer Beetle that looked very much like the Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle, except for the bigger body size and shiny coloration.

Interestingly, it seemed that most of the beetles found so far were all found on or near the Clidemia hirta plant. Coming to another small patch of Clidemia hirta plant, I found this lone Leaf Beetle (Hemipyxis semiviridis) resting on a leaf.

I was at the turn back point of the trail when I found a colony of sleeping Tiger Beetles (Cicindela aurulenta).

There are two return paths at the U-turn point and I initially took the original path back. I later decided to take the other return path and it turned out to be a good decision as I encountered many more beetles after.  At the return path, there were several  trees that lined the side of a small road. To my pleasant surprise, I found tiny beetles on them. Here's a photograph of a 3 mm Darkling Beetle found on one of the trees.



On another tree was this 2 mm first-time-encountered Darkling Beetle.

On the same tree was another tiny 2 mm beetle. This turned out to be the same type of Fungus Beetle that I encountered the week before.

Moving to another tree, I was thrilled to be able to find this 2 mm first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle.

Walking to some low bushes, I was so glad to find this lovely Click Beetle on a half eaten leaf.

Near to the Click Beetle was a fallen log and on it was this skittish Ground Beetle (Minuthodes multisetosa) which disappear after one photograph shot.

On the same log was a 5 mm Fungus Beetle that I have not encountered for a long while.

It was almost at the end of the trail that I found this interesting first-time-encountered beetle. Not sure what type of beetle this is. Noticed the interesting antennae shape of the beetle.

The trip was very fruitful with the encounter of 5 first-time-encountered beetles. This place is definitely a good place for encountering more beetles based on this and previous trips to the place.

Night Walk At Upper Seletar Reservoir (08 Jan 2016)

It has been a while that I last been to Upper Seletar Reservoir and so I decided to go there for a walk. The place was very dry and it was probably due to the hot weather for the past few days. Here's a photograph of a Stick Insect which I have not come across for a long while. It is good to still see them in the wild.

For this trip, I am also testing out a new flash diffuser setup that I have DIY. The photographs taken on this trip were using this setup.

The first beetle for the trip was a large Chafer Beetle (Phyllophaga marginalis). It was a challenge photographing it as it was very windy and the leaf which the beetle was on was swaying vigorously in the strong wind.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this Leaf Beetle (Hemipyxis semiviridis) on a leaf by the road side leading to the trail that I am going on.

Not much action after the Leaf Beetle and hence this small 5 mm Darkling Beetle on a dead tree branch became a welcomed sight.

Finally at the start of the trail was a Leaf Beetle (Argopus brevis) found on a badly eaten leaf.

There were a few fallen tree branches along the trail and on one of the tree branches, I was glad to find this lovely patterned Fungus Beetle.

Further down the trail there was a fallen tree just slightly overhead, spanning across the path. On it was a first-time-encountered Click Beetle.

Near to the Click Beetle was a small shiny Darkling Beetle.

Next the Darkling Beetle was a first-time-encountered Ambrosia Beetle, identified by the pattern of its rear end.

There were not many critters, let alone beetles, encountered throughout the trip. I was glad to find a small colony of the commonly encountered Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

On a nearby tree was a 8 mm Darkling Beetle.

I was rather puzzled as to why I didn't find any of the commonly encountered Adoretus compressus or Apogonia expeditionis Chafer Beetle, until this Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) was encountered.

I was almost at the end of the trail when I encountered this 10 mm Darkling Beetle, hiding in a crevice of a large tree.

A stone's throw away was another Darkling Beetle which was slightly deformed.

Coming to a tree near to the end of my trip, I was happy to be able to find this small 2 mm Fungus Beetle.

On the same tree was a pair of small 2 mm Darkling Beetles.

The trip was reasonably fruitful, especially given that I found two first-time-encountered beetles. I am also glad to be able to test out my DIY flash diffuser. From the look of the photographs, there will still be a bit of tweaking needed.

Night Walk At Upper Seletar Reservoir (10 Apr 2015)

For this trip, my friend and I decided to head for the Upper Seletar Reservoir as we have not been to the place together before. We reached the place just when the sky was turning dark and hence the number of critters encountered at the beginning of the trip was very limited.

Here's a photograph of a spider on a tree at the place.

The first beetle we encountered was a commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis).

One of the highlights of the trip was the encounter with a Long Horned Beetle (Xystrocera festiva) hidden under the foliage of a patch of Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa).  It has been a long while since I last encountered this type of beetle.

Moving further down the trail, another commonly encountered Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus) was found on a badly eaten  Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) plant.

Moving into a wilder part of Upper Seletar Reservoir, a shiny black Ground Beetle was found on a side of a tree.

There were several fallen trees along the path but most of them looked lifeless except for one fallen tree where I found a Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus tetraspilotus) on a  Clidemia (Clidemia hirta) plant.

Near to the Fungus Beetle was a small colony of Tiger Beetle (Cicindela aurulenta).

On a fallen log further down the trail was a small 4 mm Darkling Beetle.

Near to the round Darkling Beetle was a plumb 5 mm Darkling Beetle.

On another fallen log were a number of bracket fungus where a few of this 10 mm Darkling Beetle were found.

Not many beetles were encountered along the path between  the 'wilder' trail and another wild spot at Upper Seletar Reservoir. Just when we entered the another wild spot, I found this black Darkling Beetle.

At a natural woodpile, I was glad to find a pair of Pleasing Fungus Beetle.

As we walked the narrow trail, I was surprised to find a first-time-encountered Darkling Beetle on the side of a tree. This beetle looks similar to the other Darkling Beetle except for the entirely black colored legs.

Hiding at the base of a dead tree was another black Darkling Beetle (Promethis valga).

The foliage along the path was thick and there were not too many critters encountered. Just when I was contemplating whether to turn back, a Click Beetle (Xanthopenthes schawalleri) was found on a leaf next to the path.

It was only a stone's throw away that I found this first-time-encountered Weevil Beetle resting on a knee level plant.

At about 4 meters from the Weevil Beetle was a tree and on it was a lovely colored Darkling Beetle.

There were many of this 3 mm Darkling Beetle on the trees that lined the trail and I decided to take a photograph of one of them found on an interesting background of mosses and roots.

On a tree nearby, I was thrilled to find this Long Horned Beetle (Collyrodes lacordairei) that is in the shape of a Tiger Beetle. This particular specimen was very skittish and started to move about the moment we started photographing it. [Correction - This is a Darkling Beetle (Strongylium tricondyloides) as identified by David Ball]

As we reached the turn back point, I was glad to find a first-time-encountered Darkling Beetle.

The return trip was not very productive and I was only able to find the last beetle for the trip minutes before we reached the starting point. This is a first-time-encountered Fungus Beetle.

Even though the number of beetles found was reasonable, we have spent a much longer time at the place than usual and hence it is considered relatively less fruitful. Nevertheless, I am glad to be able to encounter a few first-time-encountered beetles during the trip.