The former was a Yellow Glassy Tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia) and was sighted by Laurence Leong on 19th March. Laurence sent BIG this photo thinking it is a rare find and new record at AH. It is indeed a new record for AH but an a very rare find as this butterfly has not been sighted in Singapore for more than 20 years !
It is not clear how this butterfly arrived in Singapore. Did it come along with plants brought in from Malaysia ? It is an escapee from butterfly park ? Did someone brought it into Singapore ? We don't know. While we would like to see the Yellow Glassy Tiger reappear in Singapore, this is very unlikely unless there is human intervention. As far as we know, in Singapore the host plants for Yellow Glassy Tiger exist only at Pulau Ubin and Alexandra Butterfly Trail. In addition, this individual is a male.
The other butterfly is the Mangrove Tree Nymph (Idea leuconoe clara). This tattered individual was sighted by Rosalind Tan and Tan Wee Lee on 14th Jan. Wee Lee managed to take a few shots of the individual and sent BIG this photo.
This individual is most likely an escapees from the Fragile Forest enclosure at the Singapore Zoological Gardens, where a large population of this species are being reared. Over the past years, there were a few sightings of this species in central part of Singapore but this is the first time this species has made its way so far south. Will this foreign beauty establish itself in Singapore ? Unlikely as its preferred host plant is a non native vine that can be found only at the Fragile Forest and Alexandra Hospital Butterfly Trail.
If you come across these butterflies, try to take a photo and send BIG a note with the time and location of the sighting.
