two months with insects

Not too long ago, I joined the TEE Lab in NTU-ASE as a research intern with little experience on insects but much has changed.

In support of the rapidly expanding dung beetle reference collection here at TEE Lab, I had the pleasure of studying and pinning hundreds of dung beetle specimens (with more to come!) that were collected and preserved by Prof. Eleanor Slade’s work in Sabah.

While it was overwhelming to begin with, the journey thus far has been eye-opening for someone who was foreign to the world of insects. With the expert guidance of PhD candidate Xin Rui, I quickly learned that in entomological work, precision is key. Careful and patient observation of morphological features is required to successful identify species.

From being unable to tell the difference between a dung beetle and a beetle just 2 months ago, to being capable of identifying dung beetle specimens to species level confidently without referring to a key satisfied the inner taxonomist in me that I never knew existed. This satisfaction is often enhanced by reorganising the reference collection with newly pinned dung beetle specimens.

These skills would came in handy very quickly as I was also tasked to assist with the creation of a beginner-friendly guidebook for dung beetles of lowland Sabah. Equipped with a state-of-the-art auto montage imaging system, photographing specimens at various angles and their distinctive traits became less complicated. Being able to zoom endlessly into a desired trait the size of less than 1cm without losing clarity was not what I was used to.

Aside from working with dung beetles, I had the opportunity to assist fellow lab peers with their individual research projects.

Invertebrates found in a 1x1m plot of a secondary forest of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Following 3rd year undergraduate Li Si into the field, soil and leaf litter samples at plots of varying treatments were collected to sample for invertebrates to understand macrofauna decomposition in Singapore. It was always exhilarating to finally identify a specimen (to order level) correctly after staring down the barrel of a microscope for a prolonged period of time and this opened my eyes to a novel world.

Louisa carefully collecting a flower from the banks of Upper Seletar Reservoir

Along with final year undergraduate Louisa, flowers are collected and measured to determine if flower traits influences butterfly visitation patterns. With an interest in photographing flowers, being increasingly familiar with flower morphology has allowed for greater appreciation for these plants. Searching for them felt similar to a treasure hunt and it made for many aesthetically pleasing mornings.

With the new year upon us, there are a lot more projects to look forward to in the TEE Lab. Of greatest interest is to apply what I have learned at a 2-day genetics session at NUS’s Reproductive Evolution Lab to aid the establishment of the TEE Lab’s first DNA barcoding protocol. With several dung beetle species in the region that still requires genetic sequencing, PhD candidate Xin Rui's study hopes this will contribute to better understanding of diversity and distribution of dung beetles in Southeast Asia. I am excited to be part of this.

To a better year for us all.