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 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.

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