Up Close And Personal With Butterflies, Caterpillars And Pupae

Butterfly walk at MacRitchie Reservoir, 12 Jul 2009

The early morning of 12th July 2009 began with menacing darks clouds invading the north-western part of Singapore. Over breakfast at a coffee shop, Gan and I were wondering whether any members would be joining us at MacRitchie Reservoir. En route bus 157, we noticed the gradual dissipation of the rain clouds the nearer we got to our destination. At the scheduled meeting point, the weather began warming up. 
 
With about 10 participants in tow, we started walking towards a hillock in the direction of Upper Thomson Road. Midway up was an old Saraca tree (Saraca thaipingensis) brimming with large seed pods. To the left was a forest  trail recommended to us in a previous walk by Richard Ong, a butterfly enthusiast and BIG member. We could spot a few Common Palmfly and Chocolate Pansy butterflies amongst the vegetation.

Venturing further in we chanced upon a female Malayan Eggfly  flying towards us. Looking more like a male Striped Blue Crow, only an expert will be able to discern its true identity. It was in the same vicinity that we found 2 pupae of the Plain Nawab on a Petai sapling (Parkia speciosa) and a second instar caterpillar of the Acacia Blue on a young Albizia (Albizia falcataria) tree.

 
The trail opened up in front of us to reveal the reservoir. All along the waterline was what looked like a never-ending boardwalk. Wind speed started picking up as we neared it.

As a rule, butterflies tend not to fly when wind conditions are too   strong as that may lead to irreparable damage to their wings. The intermittent strong breezes we were now experiencing created 3 once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, that of viewing 3 species of butterflies up close. The first is an incessant speed demon, the Blue Jay. Normally seen zipping up and down a forest trail in a light bluish haze, this specimen, most likely a freshly eclosed individual was spotted settled on a leaf of the Hairy Clidemia (Clidemia hirta). Then there was a Common Hedge Blue, a species that normally rest for short periods usually on leaves very close to the ground. And finally, an ‘exhibitionist’ Branded Imperial presenting its backside everytime someone wants to take a picture of it. 

Although very well camouflaged, Gan managed on our return journey, to spot one caterpillar each of the Commander and Colonel on plants growing on the water’s edge.
Overall, the participants enjoyed themselves with really unbelievable close-ups of butterflies, pupae and caterpillars.

More photos from the walk ..

List of butterflies seen during the walk :

	Name	Common Name
1	Graphium evemon eventus	Blue Jay
2	Delias hyparete metarete	Painted Jezebel
3	Catopsilia pomona  pomona	Lemon Emigrant
4	Eurema hecabe contubernalis	Common Grass Yellow
5	Eurema sari sodalis	Chocolate Grass Yellow
6	Gandaca harina distanti	Tree Yellow
7	Elymnias hypermnestra agina	Common Palmfly
8	Mycalesis sp.	Bush Brown species
9	Ypthima baldus newboldi	Common Five Ring
10	Faunis canens arcesilas	Common Faun
11	Junonia hedonia ida	Chocolate Pansy
12	Hypolimnas anomala anomala	Malayan Eggfly
13	Neptis leucoporos cresina	Grey Sailor
14	Lasippa tiga siaka	Burmese Lascar
15	Pandita sinope sinope	Colonel
16	Moduza procris milonia	Commander
17	Polyura hebe plautus	Plain Nawab
18	Acytolepis puspa lambi	Common Hedge Blue
19	Jamides celeno aelianus	Common Caerulean
20	Surendra vivarna amisena	Acacia Blue
21	Eooxylides tharis distanti	Branded Imperial
22	Iambrix salsala salsala	Chestnut Bob
23	Potanthus omaha omaha	Lesser Dart

The Day We Met Dora and Boots

28 Jun 2009, Changi Airport Terminal 3.
Photos courtesy of Ravichandran Sivaraman and Andy Koh.

It was certainly a day of polar opposites. With the spectre of H1N1 hanging precariously in the air, the turnout for the 28th June walk was the least so far. At the other end of the scale, the most species of butterflies were spotted, more than the other 3 previous walks.

Of a possible 18 participants only 9, made up of two families with children braved the onslaught of the swine-flu disease which have so far infected 454 Singaporeans as I was told then. Could their attendance be due to the presence of Dora the Explorer with her friend, Boots the monkey ? A resounding ‘Yes’ was the answer by the three children.

Whichever the case, all of us thoroughly enjoyed that day with Dora entertaining the kids and butterflies captivating the adults. We will let the pictures speak for themselves.

   

Butterflies seen at T3 Butterfly Garden

Autumn Leaf (Doleschallia bisaltide pratipa)*&  (australis) Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya wallacei) Chocolate Soldier (Junonia iphita horsfieldi)* Clipper (Parthenos sylvia lilacinus)* Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis) Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris) Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis)* Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor) Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites atlites) Mottled Emigrant (Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe) Orange Emigrant (Catopsilia scylla cornelia) Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana javana) Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus) Batik Lacewing (Cethosia biblis perakana)* Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus) Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina) Common Sailor (Neptis hylas papaja) Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina jacintha) & bolina Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane euanthes) Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus) Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsea hypsina) Tree Nymph (Idea leuconoe clara)*#

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

A Case Of Bad Weather,Too Much Human Activity Or Global Warming?

Butterfly Walk with Simon Chan at Bukit Batok Nature Park on 21 Jun 2009

The morning of 21st June 2009 began well. Amongst the 20-over participants for the Bukit Batok Nature Park butterfly walk, 3 of them were birdwatchers. In their pursuit of birds, these birders would inadvertently ‘bumped’ into some butterflies. For them this was what you might call a ‘Butterfly 101’ course.

“That is the Malay Viscount”

    
While waiting for more members to arrive, we had a surprise visit from a Ciliate Blue. It flew from some bushes on our right and landed on a red scooter. Perching there for a while, it began opening its wings to display it shiny purplish uppersides, a definite confirmation for a male. Females have totally brown uppersides save for bluish wing bases. The proud owner of the scooter must have been very disappointed if he or she only knew what the commotion was all about!

Common Five Ring

The sunny weather turned bad ten minutes into our walk.  To make matters worse, there was some sort of major running event going on. Although ‘deaf’ in human terms, insects especially butterflies can still feel vibrations and air movements created when something moved past. And now we have hundreds of them moving in a long procession. Or could it be due to global warming? Whatever the case, the density of butterflies was very poor.

Malayan  Eggfly

Approaching the exercise area of the park, we spotted 2 Malayan Eggfly butterflies spiraling into the air.  Contrary to what most people believe, this pair were not doing a consummate dance but were trying to outdo each other in the male dominance game.

We were by now nearing the lake. Next to it was a big tree overladen with flowers. Going by the name of Red Trailing Bauhinia (Bauhinia kockiana), it was in full bloom.  Disappointment were etched all over the faces of the participants when not a single butterfly was in sight. The silence was only broken when someone spotted 2 Painted Jezebels, a

Malay Viscount

female and then a male following her, fluttering around. Then out of the blue something brown shot over from the flowers landing on the opposite foliage. It was a one-of-a-kind show stopper and for many a ‘lifer’. A ‘3-star’ species in our guide, this Malay Tailed Judy settled on a leave with wings three-quarters opened in typical Riodininae fashion.

List of species seen during the walk include :

1. Papilio polytes romulus (Common Mormon)
2. Delias hyparete metarete (Painted Jezebel)
3. Leptosia nina malayana (Psyche)
4. Catopsilia pomona pomona (Lemon Emigrant)
5. Eurema hecabe contubernalis (Common Grass Yellow)
6. Elymnias hypermnestra agina (Common Palmfly)
7. Mycalesis sp. (Bush Brown species)
8. Ypthima baldus newboldi (Common Five Ring)
9. Junonia almana javana (Peacock Pansy)
10. Junonia hedonia ida (Chocolate Pansy)
11. Hypolimnas anomala anomala (Malayan Eggfly)
12. Tanaecia pelea pelea (Malay Viscount)
13. Tanaecia iapis puseda (Horsfield's Baron)
14. Polyura hebe plautus (Plain Nawab)
15. Abisara savitri savitri (Malay Tailed Judy)
16. Zizina otis lampa (Lesser Grass Blue)
17. Jamides celeno aelianus (Common Caerulean)
18. Anthene emolus goberus (Ciliate Blue)
19. Eooxylides tharis distanti (Branded Imperial)
20. Iambrix salsala salsala (Chestnut Bob)

Images courtesy of Lena Chow

A Rainforest In The Making (T3) !

Changi Airport T3 Departure Level

Our third outing was a dampener of sorts. Firstly we had to contend with the cloudy weather. Then there was the humidity. And finally the one that broke the camel’s back, the downpour!  

After the usual round of group photo-taking and a short introduction, we gingerly made our way into the butterfly enclosure. The already cloudy weather was turning for the worse.

 
Participants were able to walk around for about ten minutes before the rain came pouring down. Many people thought that this was some water sprinkling devices at work.

Almost all of us adjourned into the air-conditioned comfort of the T3 departure lounge. Of those, a few were seen admiring the Japanese Kois swimming in the rectangular pool while others chose to relax by sitting on well positioned chairs around the pool. One could really tell the die-hard butterfly enthusiasts from the rest of the crowd as witnessed by only a handful seen holding on to their umbrellas trying to spot butterflies in the heavy rain.

That was when one member remarked that the butterfly garden was now looking more like a rainforest. Someone interjected with a question ‘How many times have you walked into a forest in the rain?’. Not many were the replies that shot back. So this was really a good experience for them! Participants could literally see where butterflies went when it rained…echoing the lyrics from the song ‘A simple man’ by Lobo.

The rain did not last long. A ray of sunshine penetrated the netting and was now warming up the garden again. Participants continued their walk with gusto. The proverbial saying ‘Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining’ may be cliché but seemed to me at the time very appropriate indeed.

More photos from the walk :

1. Butterflies everywhere !

2. Butterflies (clockwise from top right) :Great Eggfly (male), Batik Lacewing, A pair of female Common Mormons, Great Mormon form butlerianus, Angle Castor and Lime Butterfly.

 

Butterflies seen at T3 Butterfly Garden

Angled Castor (Ariadne ariadne ariadne)* Autumn Leaf (Doleschallia bisaltide pratipa)*& Batik Lacewing (Cethosia biblis perakana)* 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) & bolina Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor) Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane euanthes) Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus) Orange Emigrant (Catopsilia scylla cornelia) 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 previous butterfly walk at T3 here.

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.