Two Sundays back, I went the park near my place for the usual weekend afternoon walk plus exploration with my camera. In reaction to the hot weather over the past weeks, many of the plants were seen bearing flowers and fruits. Almost all the plants in this park were cultivated at different point in time, including the most populated Rubber Trees (Hevea brasiliensis). A sample of the flowers and fruits are shown below (pictures left to right): Sterculia foetida (Wild Almond), Syzygium zeylanicum (Candolle), Macrosolen cochinchinensis (Common Chinese Mistletoe), Eleutherococcus trifoliatus (Three-leaved Eleutherococcus), Artemisia vulgaris (Common Wormwood).

Of them, the flowering of the thorny Three-leaved Eleutherococcus, also known as climbing ginseng, was considered a rare event. This plant is a member of the ginseng family (Araliaceae). It rarely flowers when grown in a pot. Together with the Common Wormwood, both are considered to be common medicinal plants.

Beetles are no doubt the most abundant species in the insect group. One could still find a number of them even in broad daylight. Below is a displayed of the beetles that I had uncovered over this short walk (pictures left to right): Longhorn Beetle, Handsome Fungus Beetle, Chafer Beetle (Taeniodera monacha), Net-winged Beetle, Leaf-rolling Weevil, and Pleasing Fungus Beetle.

The Leaf-rolling Weevil was more common in this park than I originally thought judging from the numerous roll-up leaves constructed by them on one of the young Sea Apple tree (Syzygium grande) and seeing them quite often in the park.