Of Sweaty Fingers and Double-Headed Butterfly

Participants gathered at the T3 Departure Hall

This is BIG's 2nd walk at the T3  Butterfly Garden and the group of 16 butterfly enthusiasts met in front  of the Departure Hall Information Counter. Clearing airport security proved tricky and

Collecting Visitor Passes at T3 Police Post

took about 45 minutes from registering at the police post to clearing the gantry.  Two persons were denied entry and had to re-register their particulars at the police post. It seemed both had sweaty fingers, a case of low tech bodily functions defeating sensitive high tech equipment?  
 

Going through security gantries

Notably, there were two significant differences this group had over the previous one. Firstly was the makeup, families with  young children dominated this where married couples and friends made up most of the first group. Secondly we had a one year old baby  among  us, born on New Year's Day!

Participants outside the T3 Butterfly Garden

About an hour after our entrance, butterfly activity achieved its fever pitch with quite a few seen mating and ovipositing. Spotting what looked like a double headed butterfly, a member asked the Butterfly Guys what it was. It turned out to be a mating pair of Great Mormons resting on a leaf with the female on top. 

Form polytes (top) and cyrus

A few Common Mormon females of the forms cyrus and polytes were seen busily laying eggs on citrus bushes. Fighting for the same patch of leaves were the females of the Lime Butterfly.

The highlight must be the eclosions of not just one but two female specimens of the rarest form of the Great Mormon in Singapore. In this form distantianus, the female has a tail on both its hindwings and it is a passable mimic of the Common Clubtail (Pachliopta coon doubledayi), a poisonous model not found here but very common in the northern parts of Peninsula Malaysia. We had the good fortune to see one in the wild at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve on 13th April 2002. From afar, it looked like a huge Common Rose but with a yellow abdomen.

Great Mormon female form distantianus (left) and esperi

The other female forms, esperi with whitened forewing tips and two red spots near the thorax is the commonest while form butlerianus similar to the former except for whitened forewing elbow is rarer. Both of these forms were seen in the enclosure.

Below are photos from the walk :

1. Simon waiting for participants in front of the Departure Hall Information Counter. 

2.The T3 Butterfly Garden

3. Giving an introduction to the T3 Butterfly Garden.
4. Entering the Butterfly Garden

5. Inside the butterfly garden :
View from ground level
 
View from the top.

Some of the butterflies seen at the garden :

6. Clockwise from top right : Great Eggfly (male), Tree Nymph, Clipper and Leopard Lacewing (male)
  
Photos by NSS member Kim Tee

7. L-R : Dark Blue Tiger (male) and Lime Butterfly 
Photos by NSS member Richard Ong

8.Clockwise from top right : Cruiser, Common Palmfly, Autumn Leaf (ssp australis) and Great Mormon (male)
 

Butterflies seen at T3 Butterfly Garden

Autumn Leaf (Doleschallia bisaltide pratipa)*& and australis Batik Lacewing (Cethosia biblis perakana)* Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina) Chocolate Soldier (Junonia iphita horsfieldi)* Clipper (Parthenos sylvia lilacinus)* Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis) Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus) Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina) Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris) Common Sailor (Neptis hylas papaja) Cruiser (Vindula dejone erotella) Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis)* Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina jacintha and bolina) Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor) Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites atlites) Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane euanthes) Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus) Tree Nymph (Idea leuconoe clara)*#

Keys
* species not found in Singapore
# Taiwan subspecies, Singapore subpecies is chersonesia
& Malaysian subspecies, Singapore subspecies is australis

Read the report from our first butterfly walk at T3 here.

AH - Still One Of The Best Places To Visit

Without fail, guided walks at Alexandra Hospital’s Butterfly Trail tend to attract large turnouts every time BIG conducts them there. Sunday, 17th May 2009 was no different.

Common Birdwing by Lena Chow

One of the obvious reasons must be the high probability of seeing a Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris) or a Common Birdwing (Troides helena cerberus) within its vicinity. Participants numbering thirty were seen streaming in just before the appointed meeting time.
Besides Singapore Botanic Gardens, this is the place to visit if one wants to see both of these endangered butterfly species. We were not disappointed on this visit as there were 3 Common Rose and a pair of Common Birdwing butterflies strutting their stuff.  
At the end of the walk, you can tell that it ended really well. Most of the members were tired but happy and chatty. Emails from two participants to us (below) summed it up best:

From    : Chiu San To        : BIG Subject: Thanks To Simon Chan and Gan Cheong Weei, Thanks for a most enlightening walk at Alexandra  Hospital on the morning of 17th May. Would you believe that in 50 years of nature walks  and looking at butterflies, this was the first time I have ever seen a wild  Birdwing in Singapore? You guys were great!

From    : Lena Chow To        : BIG Subject: Butterfly walks Hi Simon & Gan, Many thanks again for your efforts in organising this weekend's walks to T3 & AH... I enjoyed them both, and look forward to the next one at BBNP!

---

Photos from the Butterfly Walk :

A group shot for the record.

Gan : “Look ! A female Orange Emigrant is ovipositing on the Bushy Cassia.”

Gan : “This is the reason why we have some many Chocolate Pansy at AH – an abundance of its larva host plant“
 
There is something for everyone at AH.

Kids : “That’s a termite trail !”

Simon : “That is the black and yellow butterfly you saw just now.”

Blue Glassy Tiger on the flower of Heliotropium shrub by Lena Chow

A male Common Birdwing frozen in flight by KC Tsang.
Shot at f/5.6 1/2500s

 

Butterflies seen at AH

Baron (Euthalia aconthea gurda) Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina) Bush Brown species (Mycalesis sp.) Centaur Oak Blue (Arhopala pseudocentaurus nakula) Chestnut Bob (Iambrix salsala salsala) Chocolate Pansy (Junonia hedonia ida) Common Birdwing (Troides helena cerberus) Common Four Ring (Ypthima huebneri) Common Imperial (Cheritra freja frigga) Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus) Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina) Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris) Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava) Grass Yellow species (Eurema sp.) Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia pomona pomona) Leopard (Phalanta phalantha phalantha) Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus) Mottled Emigrant (Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe) Orange Emigrant (Catopsilia scylla cornelia) Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete metarete) Pygmy Grass Blue (Zizula hylax pygmaea)

T3 Ramble Off To A Flying Start !

16 May 2009, Changi Airport Terminal 3 by Simon Chan KM

Saturday, 16th May 2009 marked BIG’s inaugural foray into guided walks in enclosed spaces. The venue was the Butterfly Garden located inside the Departure Transit area of Changi Airport‘s Terminal 3.

Collecting Visitor Passes at T3 Police Post

Normally accessible to authorized personnel and transit passengers, BIG was given the rights to lead walks inside for our members. This special privilege was conferred to BIG because of our invaluable contribution to CAAS in the form of butterfly related consultancy.  (see related  article).  

Entering T3 Departure lounge

The fact that this is a high-risk security area coupled with the likelihood of an H1N1 flu pandemic, some inevitable restrictions have to be imposed. For one they require more personal information than just the name and identity card number. The other, only a certain maximum number of persons a day are allowed inside.
Response to this walk was so overwhelming that we had to split the participants into three separate groups with a fourth in the works.

Below are photos from the walk :

1. Simon giving an introduction to the T3 Butterfly Garden.

2. 1st batch of NSS members entering the world’s first Butterfly Garden in an airport.

3. Gan introducing species which are unfamiliar to NSS members e.g. Idea leuconoe, Cethosia biblis, Tirumala septentrionis etc.
A complete list of butterflies seen in the garden can be found at the end of this post.

4. That is how they keep the flowers fresh.


5. Clipper butterflies feeding on pineapple

6. Lime Butterfly and Great Mormon pupae in the eclosion closet

7. NSS member taking photo of Leopard Lacewing butterfly


8. Butterfly galore ! Clockwise from top right : Lime Butterfly, female Autumn Leaf, female Leopard Lacewing, Grey Pansy

9.  More butterflies – Dark Blue Tiger and Batik Lacewing

10. Bird’s Eye View of the garden

Butterflies seen at T3 Butterfly Garden

Archduke (Lexias pardalis dirteana) Autumn Leaf (Doleschallia bisaltide pratipa)*& Batik Lacewing (Cethosia biblis perakana)* Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina) Chocolate Soldier (Junonia iphita horsfieldi)* Clipper (Parthenos sylvia lilacinus)* Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis) Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus) Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina) Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris) Common Sailor (Neptis hylas papaja) Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis)* Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina jacintha) Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor) Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites atlites) Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane euanthes) Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus) Tree Nymph (Idea leuconoe clara)*#

Keys
* species not found in Singapore
# Taiwan subspecies, Singapore subpecies is chersonesia
& Malaysian subspecies, Singapore subspecies is australis