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