Beetle@SG Website


Please check out my website Beetles@SG for identification of beetles found in Singapore http://davidmoh1313.wix.com/beetlesg

Saturday 16 February 2013

Morning Walk At Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (16 Feb 2013)

The weather looked wonderfully fine in the morning, especially after almost a week of rain. It was a great opportunity for me to test out my homemade flash diffuser that I made a night before.

It was so simple that it took less than 3 minutes to complete.

The side view. The foam was secured onto the universal ring adaptor that came with the Raynox Super Macro Lens and can be removed easily.

When I reached the place, I was a little disappointed as it looked like there was a heavy rain in the early morning. All the leaves are still dripping wet. Nevertheless I pressed on since I am already there.

The first test subject for my homemade flash diffuser was this shiny leaf beetle. What an appropriate test subject.

The shots turned out much better than previous shots without the diffuser (as can be seen below taken from my previous blog entry). I should have make the diffuser earlier.


Walking further down the path, I saw a glitter on a rotten tree trunk. Curious, I took a closer look and found this 24K gold color beetle, no bigger than 2mm. The flash diffuser worked pretty well for this also.

Not too much action along the initial part of the way as it was still very wet. Looking closely at some leaves, I found this hairy little beetle of comparable size with the 24K beetle that I found earlier. You can still see little droplets of water on the elytra of the beetle.

Moving into some low hedges, I found this busy ladybird beetle. It was quite a challenge as it was hyperactive and was moving around constantly. Only to snap a few good shot of this fellow.

Just as I was snapping at the ladybird, a leaf beetle flew and landed just around the same plant. Only managed to snap a few shots of this beetle. Only later back home that I discovered that all the shots have the depth of field too shallow.

 Moving further down the path, I found another ladybird beetle which seemed to be more calm. It only started to move around after a few camera flashes.

Moving into the tree shaded path, I found this lone fungus beetle wondering quickly around a tree log. Was not able to get a good shot because of the fast movement of the beetle. Nevertheless, posting it here as a record.

 Love was in the air as I entered a part of the trail where there are literally few tens of this tiny little beetles (less than 2mm) crawling around different dead tree logs. One would usually sees them singly but this time round, I only managed to find one or two beetle alone.

 More of the busy little beetles.

Coming to a dead tree fallen by the path side, I found this fungus weevil with interesting pattern on the back. It looked as if it was carrying a cross on its back.

On the same tree trunk was this little beetle peeking out from a hole in the wood. I guess this possibly answered my question on where do nocturnal beetles hide in the day.

Further down, I found this fungus beetle on a log with lots of toadstools on it. I was able to take some good shots with this beetle as it was almost stationary, munching on a tiny toadstool. Guess this is where it got its name "Fungus Beetle". 

When I was almost at the point where I turn back, I accidently saw this beetle. I was pretty thrilled as I was not able to get any decent shots of this beetle previously. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I took some tele-zoom shots at a distance which did not turn out well. Moving closer, I managed get some closer shots without spooking it. To my despair when I got home and found the depth of field 'problem' again. I must really see how to get the best out the macro lens.

Further down the path was this ladybird beetle. Nicely posing for the camera.

A tiny leaf beetle on a blade of grass. I must really work on the depth of field of my shots.

 The highlight of the trip - a beautiful leaf beetle perching on a leave. I have seen many photographs of it on the internet but have never come across it until now. How wonderful! And yes, the depth of field again.

Almost reaching where I started, I came across another of the tiny hairy beetle. The sky was threatening to rain but not wanting to let good photo opportunity goes by, I stayed on for a few more shots. Sadly, I only managed to take two or three shots and the sky started to pour. This thus ended my morning walk at BTNR.

No comments:

Post a Comment