NSS Kids’ Fun with Rainforest Life at Rifle Range Road

By Jake Liew, aged 11 (and Gloria Seow)

Photos by Gloria Seow, Vice Chairperson Education Committee, Nature Society (Singapore)

At the very end of Rifle Range Road, past the Rifle Range Military Camp, down a long and windy road, the NSS kids and our parents assembled on 24 February 2019. Our guides were Uncle Si Guim and Auntie Gloria.

A group of noisy monkeys greeted us at our meeting point. They were adept at foraging for leftover food in the garbage bins. McDonald’s breakfast seemed to be the order of the day. Their after-meal antics were fairly entertaining - climbing onto the roofs of parked vans, shimmying down to the ground, and leaping from one vehicle to another. Later on, we came across another troop in the forest behaving more naturally, like the two babies in this photo.

Auntie Gloria pointed out the distinctive Treehugger Dragonfly (Tyriobapta torrida - photo above). Commonly seen in the Central Catchment area, this territorial dragonfly prefers shaded spots and breeds in forest streams. Its perch is vertical on tree trunks (giving it its name) or on rocks at eye level, affording it good views of its surrounding as it hunts for midges and other insects. This dragon was well-camouflaged against the black-and-white lichen on the bark of an old tree. 

When we became quiet and were guided to stare intently at the forest floor, we could spot forest cockroaches scuttling around. They are much smaller than the cockroaches found in our homes, usually the American or German roaches. Similarly, the Tent Spider, named for its pyramidal three-dimensional web, was nearly missed as it has a tendency to hide in leaves. 

We enjoyed close-up views of the Saint Andrew's Cross Spider, an easy-to-identify arachnid as its eight legs are held together in four pairs, forming an X-shaped cross.

It was difficult to miss the Golden Orb Web Spider (Nephila pilipes) as its huge web spanned a good half-metre across, the better to catch prey with. Inadvertently, leaves, twigs and other ‘junk’ get trapped, making the web even more visible. Right in the middle of the silky structure was the massive spider itself. What you see here is the underside of the female, a matriarch that is many times bigger than the diminutive reddish males that often hang around inconspicuously at the periphery of the web.

Peering closely at a leaf revealed a cute cricket with striking stripes all over, and twitchy antennae that are more than twice the cricket's body length. 

 A teensy-weensy spider that has an abdomen that resembles an Easter Egg. 

Uncle Si Guim explained how ‘humanised’ features of plants were used to give them their names. For example, the Campnospermum auriculatum (see photo) has ear (auricle)-like lobes at the base of its leaf petiole. Interestingly, he also said that certain plants and animals discovered in Singapore are named ‘Singaporensis'. Examples include the Singapore Freshwater Crab (Johora singaporensis) and several plants such as the Singapore Walking-Stick Palm (Rhopaloblaste singaporensis) and Singapore Durian (Durio singaporensis).

After all of us crossed a shallow stream to the deeper woods, Uncle Si Guim entreated us to observe a moment of silence. The music of the rainforest filled our ears – the incessant chorus of the male cicadas, a sound made by the vibrations of a membrane in their abdomens, the cheery chirping of birds and even the rustle of falling leaves. We left with a newfound respect for nature’s wonders.

An unidentified forest beauty that was carried by the wind to land near us.   

Uncle Si Guim was pleased to spot the Common Sterculia (Sterculia parviflora) just off the main trail. It was his trip highlight and a fitting end to an excellent walk.