Night Walk At Venus Drive (03 May 2013)

It rained in the early afternoon but it didn't wash away my enthusiasm in wanting to get some beetle photographs. To improve the success rate, I decided to go for the trail that has the best track record of spotting beetles in the night - Venus Drive.

The very first beetle that I came across is the commonly seen ~2 mm beetle.



On a different tree was this Fungus Beetle (Beccariola coccinella). This is the first time that I come across this beetle.



The next beetle was another Fungus Beetle (Platydema ribbei), having its dinner. It was pretty sensitive and it drop off the fungus that it was on after only 3 flashes.



Next was a Chafer Beetle which looked very much like the commonly seen Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis) but differs by the dark brown body coloration.



The next stop was a tree that I usually would find Darkling Beetles. Indeed there were a few small Darkling Beetles.



On a tree nearby, I found this hyperactive ~3 mm Click Beetle (Xanthopenthes schawalleri). This is the first time I come across this beetle at Venus Drive.



A Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus assamensis) was found resting on a leaf. This is rather odd as the plant was no where near any rotting tree trunk.



A "new" Fungus Beetle was found munching on some fungus growing on a dead log. The identification of the Fungus Beetle is pretty challenging as some of them looked very similar to each other and only differ slightly in terms of pattern of the spots.



Another "new" Fungus Beetle added to my photograph collection.



A tiny (~2 mm) Fungus Beetle was having a good munch on some fungus.



Another "new" Fungus Beetle.



A familiar Fungus Weevil came out to join the rest of the Fungus Beetles.



On the same dead log was this large (~12 mm) Fungus Beetle, with a larvae below it.



A surprise find was this small (~3 mm) and cute Fungus Beetle. It is very shy and as soon as it detected that it was being photographed, it would hurriedly hide away in nearby crevices.



Yet another "new" Fungus Beetle.



Then came one of my favorite Fungus Beetle (Eumorphus politus).



Out from the blue came this Net-winged Beetle (Dictyoptera aurora). It was a surprise as this is a diurnal beetle.



Several of this small Fungus Beetle (Mycetina cyanipennis) was seen moving around a dead log.



On a dead leave on the dead log was a tiny (~2 mm) Fungus Beetle. It was a challenge to focus on such a tiny beetle.



There were a few tens of this small (~3 mm) Rove Beetle. I only managed to catch this one "sleeping" and hence a closeup shot was possible. This are super hyperactive and it is almost impossible to photograph them unless they remained still.


On a dead leave was this Fungus Beetle (Micrencaustes lunulata). This is also the first time I come across this beetle at Venus Drive.



Then came this Fungus Beetle on a leaf near a rotten tree trunk. Not sure if it is the Eumorphus politus Fungus Beetle as the elytra do not have the flat "skirting". It also looked like the Eumorphus assamensis Fungus Beetle but it is brown in color instead of black.



A few of this metallic maroon and green color beetles were found on a dead log.



One of the trick in finding Fungus Beetles in the night is to just remain still at a rotting tree trunk and you will start to see movements of beetle. Here was a round blackish Fungus Beetle.



On a nearby tree was this Chafer Beetle (Apogonia expeditionis), enjoying its dinner.



The last beetle for the night was a Fungus Beetle on dead log.


The night looked very much like a Fungus Beetle night with a number of "new" Fungus Beetles added to my photographs collection.

Night Walk At MacRitchie Reservior's Lornie Trail (30 Apr 2013)

The weather was dry and I decided to give the Lornie Trail a try, even though the last trip there was not very fruitful.



The first beetle that appeared was a Chafer Beetle (Adoretus compressus). There were a number of them munching on leaves and to my surprise that they were pretty alert and would take to flight upon sensing camera flashes.



The next beetle that greeted me was this small Darkling Beetle, hiding in a tree crevice.



On another tree was this hyperactive tiny beetle (~3mm). It looked like a Fungus Beetle.



The trail was rather unproductive in terms of finding beetles as after almost 20 min of walking and I didn't find any beetle, not even the commonly seen Darkling Beetle or Fungus Beetle. Just when I was about to give up, I found this Forked Fungus Beetle which looked very much like a lump of mud on top of a dry brownish bracket fungus.

Another 10 min pases by without finding any beetle. Just when I was about to turn back, a few of this mating Click-Beetle (~3 mm) were seen crawling on a tree trunk.



Moving on, a small (~3 mm) beetle appeared on a dry tree stump. Interesting pattern. I think it is a Fungus Beetle.



On another tree was this lone beetle larvae beetle. No adult beetle was found on the tree.



After a while without finding any beetle, this rather common Fungus Beetle was a welcomed sight.



Persevering on, a small Darkling Beetle (~5 mm) was found at the base of a small tree. The interesting thing about the Lornie Trail is that the trees along the trail are huge and tall, unlike the other trails that I have been to.



Just before reaching the turn-back point, this tiny (~2 mm) interesting beetle appeared. It looked like the normal reddish brown Fungus Beetle but with frog-like hind legs. It hopped and flew off after a few shots.



The way back was relatively uneventful with only the spotting of this Chafer Beetle after a long distance.



Finally, the first Leaf Beetle for the night. This is an interesting beetle as it is rather hairy for a Leaf Beetle.



The finale for the trip was the spotting of this large (~40 mm) Long Horned Beetle (Batocera rubus) resting on a tall tree.

The trip was fruitful as I managed to photograph 7 beetles that I have not photographed before. Given the long distance that I have walked, I would think twice before I decide to go on the Lornie Trail again.

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.