Butterflies of Singapore

Butterflies' Larval Host Plants #9
The Malayan Mistletoe (Dendrophthoe pentandra)

Malayan Mistletoe on Polyathia longifolia (False Ashoka) in Upper Seletar Park.

This 9th instalment of our Butterflies' Larval Host Plants series features Dendrophthoe pentandra (Malayan Mistletoe), a member of Loranthaceae which is a family of flowering plants containing 75 genera and about 1,000 species, many of which are hemiparasites (parasitic plants which derive water/nutrients from the hosts and are photosynthetic themselves). The Malayan Mistletoe is a stem hemiparsite as it attaches itself to the stem/branch of its hosts.

Malayan Mistletoe on a Batoko Plum plant along Dairy Farm Road.

The Malayan Mistletoe is the commonest of the 10 parasitic plant species extant in Singapore. Many trees and shrubs (of many species across multiple families) growing in urban areas, residential estates, parks and gardens, wastelands, wetland and nature reserves have been observed to be parasited by it.

Malayan Mistletoe on a Mango tree in Mount Faber Park.

Plant Biodata :
Family : Loranthaceae
Genus : Dendrophthoe
Species : pentandra
Synonyms : Loranthus pentandrus, Amylotheca pentandrus.
Country/Region of Origin : Eastern India, Indochina, southern China and Malesia
English Common Name : Malayan Mistletoe
Other Local Names : 五蕊寄生, 乌榄寄生
Larval Host for Butterfly Species: Delias hyparete metarete (Painted Jezebel), Tajuria cippus maxentius (Peacock Royal), Euthalia adonia pinwilli (Green Baron), Jacoona anasuja anasuja (Great Imperial).

Malayan Mistletoe on a cultivated plant in the NUS campus.

The Malayan Mistletoe is an epiphytic shrub up to 2m tall. Branches/stems are brownish to grayish with lenticels scattered on the surface. The leaves are variable in shapes (lanceolate to elliptic or suborbicular) and sizes (5-15cm in length, 2.5-10cm in width). Young shoots are covered with minute hair (pubescent) and young leaves are initially reddish. Mature leaves are green, thick and leathery.

Young leaves of the Malayan Mistletoe.

A branch of the Malayan Mistletoe bearing maturing leaves and several flower buds.

Close-up view of a mature leaf of the Malayan Mistletoe.

Fruits of the Malayan Mistletoe are typically dispersed by birds. When the beak of a bird grips on a fruit, the skin of the ripened fruit comes off easily, exposing the sticky coat of the single seed. The sticky seed will either be stuck to the bird's beak, or be eaten by the bird and passes through its digestive system. Either way, the seed could then be transported to another plant visited by the bird. Sometimes, the sticky seed would fall off and land on other branches of the same plant as the bird grips on the fruit. In all cases, the sticky coat of the seed allows it to easily adhere to the stem/branch surface of the host plant it lands on.

A young seedling of the Malayan Mistletoe. Note the ripened seed attaching to the stem of the host plant.

Two young seedlings of the Malayan Mistletoe on a branch of Yellow Cow Wood, with a third attached seed (to the right of the younger seedling) yet to germinate.

As with all stem hemiparasites, the Malayan Mistletoe has specialized roots called haustoria which penetrate into the host's tissues and connect to the xylem/phloem of the host. This allows it to draw water and non-organic nutrients from the host. The haustoria of the Malayan Mistletoe are much enlarged with a ball-like appearance.

The primary hautorium of one Malayan Mistletoe plant.

The hautorium of another Malayan Mistletoe plant with side stems trailing along the host's branch.

Flowers of the Malayan Mistletoe are bisexual and occur in racemes, each of which bearing 3 to 10 flowers. Each flower is about 1.5 to 2cm long. The petals are orange and the basal half of the corolla is slightly inflated.

Flower buds of the Malayan Mistletoe.

A raceme of flowers of the Malayan Mistletoer.

A closer view of flowers of the Malayan Mistletoe.

Fruits are small, 8 to 10mm long, yellowish green to pink in colour when young and reddish when ripened.

A branch of the Malayan Mistletoe bearing developing fruits.

Maturing fruits of the Malayan Mistletoe.

Close-up view of a fruit of the Malayan Mistletoe.

In Singapore, the Malayan Mistletoe serves as the larval host plant for four butterfly species in three families: Painted Jezebel, Peacock Royal, Great Imperial and Green Baron. The first is a Pierid, the second and third are lycaenid and the last is a limenitid.

A Painted Jezebel.

A Peacock Royal.

A Great Imperial.

A Green Baron.

Eggs of the Painted Jezebel are laid in a loose cluster on the underside of a leaf of the Malayan Mistletoe, while those of the Peacock Royal and Great Imperial are laid on a young shoot or the underside of a young leaf. Eggs of the Green Baron are laid singly on the upperside of a mature leaf.

Eggs of the Peacock Royal laid on a young shhot of the Malayan Mistletoe.

A cluster of eggs of the Painted Jezebel laid on a leaf of the Malayan Mistletoe.

Caterpillars of the Painted Jezebel, Peacock Royal and Great Imperial feed on young and maturing leaves of the Malayan Mistletoe, typically on the leaf underside. In contrast caterpillars of the Green Baron feed on mature leaves of the Malayan Mistletoe. Caterpillars of the Painted Jezebel are gregarious.

A group of late 1st instar caterpillars of the Painted Jezebel feeding on the underside of a leaf of the Malayan Mistletoe in Upper Pierce Reservoir Park.

A group of five late instar caterpillars of the Painted Jezebel in Mount Faber Park.

Another view of the same group of caterpillars feeding together at the leaf edge.

A final instar caterpillar of the Peacock Royal feeding on a leaf of the Malayan Mistletoe in the Japanese Garden.

A final instar caterpillar of the Great Imperial feeding on a leaf of the Malayan Mistletoe.

A penultimate instar caterpillar of the Green Baron resting on a leaf of the Malayan Mistletoe.

References:

The Concise Flora of Singapore : Hsuan Keng Singapore University Press, 1990.

tHE tiDE cHAsER - Mistletoes of Singapore.

Nature Loves You - Dendrophthoe pentandra.

Urban Forest - Dendrophthoe pentandra.

Asianplant.net - Dendrophthoe pentandra.

Text and Photos by Horace Tan.

Butterfly Photography at Our Local Parks
Featuring : Butterfly Sanctuary @ GB

An overview of the Butterfly Sanctuary @ GB with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the background

Singapore's premier waterfront gardens, Gardens by the Bay, have attracted well over 24 million visitors since it opened its doors in 2012. Its visitorship numbers have exceeded similar garden attractions in the developed world by quite a bit, hovering around 6 - 8 million visitors per annum. A visit to Bay South Gardens would never be complete without taking in the awesome exhibits at the Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and the Supertrees!

Different views of the Butterfly Sanctuary @ GB

ButterflyCircle conducted a series of surveys at Bay South gardens some time back in 2013, and recorded nearly 50 species of butterflies around the gardens. All the butterflies were spotted outside the glass conservatories, of course, although there are often people who asked if there were butterflies inside the Flower Dome or Cloud Forest. One of the conservation visions of GB was to enhance the local biodiversity and to attract more species of fauna back into the site after the development was completed.

Birds galore at Gardens by the Bay

Indeed, the number of birds, butterflies, dragonflies and other mammals increased manifold after the Gardens were completed and opened to the public. A family of otters was also regularly seen frolicking around the gardens, particularly areas which are adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. Despite the human crowd, it is interesting to observe that urban biodiversity continues to return to GB. Bird watchers and photographers are seen toting their "heavy guns" around the lush greenery at GB. The Common Kingfisher (which is ironically, quite rare), is often seen at GB.

And so I've often been asked, where can you find butterflies at GB? Butterflies are free-ranging in our open environment. They are generally thermally-sensitive creatures and have been observed to shun heat sinks like buildings and metal facades that radiate heat. You will more likely see butterflies in open gardens areas where there are nectaring plants.

Location Map of the Butterfly Sanctuary @ GB

A small area near the Meadows was set aside as a "butterfly sanctuary". Though not officially known as a butterfly garden, nor are there signs to indicate that it is, this small area of roughly 600-800sqm was planted with numerous butterfly-attracting plants. Both host and nectaring plants were judiciously placed in planting beds, with a wide path allowing visitors to walk up close to the plants to admire the pretty flowers and observe the butterflies feeding on the flowers.

A Plain Tiger caterpillar on Crown Flower Plant

Amongst the caterpillar host plants available are Blood Flower (Asclepias currasavica), Crown Flower (Calotropis gigantea), Seven Golden Candlesticks (Senna alata). Rattleweed (Crotalaria retusa) and many others. Colourful flowering plants dot the entire area with Lantana, Ixora, Cosmos, Marigold, Asystasia, Snakeweed and many others, making this quiet sanctuary a nicely-designed landscaped garden.

On a typical day, an observer can spot at least 10-15 butterfly species flying around. The most obvious species (and plentiful), is the Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus), flying leisurely around the flowers and often seen feeding on the red-and-yellow flowers of the Blood Flower plants. The fast-flying Lemon, Orange and Mottled Emigrants are usually around too, but are quite challenging to photograph, as they are skittish and tend to fly around non-stop.

The sun-loving butterflies like the Blue and Peacock Pansys can be regularly seen, dog-fighting amongst the shrubbery. The smaller Lycaenids like the Cycad Blue, Pea Blue and Gram Blue are sometimes seen flying skittishly amongst the flowers. Do remember to look out for the small blues like the Lesser Grass Blue, Pale Grass Blue and the Pygmy Grass Blue amongst the wild flowers growing at the turfed areas.

All the "Tigers" shot at Gardens by the Bay!

Amongst the other Danainaes, the various "tigers" are often seen - Blue Glassy Tiger, Dark Glassy Tiger, Common Tiger and Black Veined Tiger. There are also a number of Skippers zipping around in the early morning hours. The Yellow Palm Dart (Cephrenes trichopepla) is often observed and do keep a good lookout for this species basking in the sun.

Look out for the little butterflies at the Ixora bushes!

Over at the Meadows driveway and carpark, you can find the Javanese Ixora (Ixora javanica), Red Tree Shrub (Leea rubra), Bandicoot Berry (Leea indica) lining the planter beds. This area is pretty good for the shade-loving Hairstreaks like the Peacock Royal, Common Tit and Ciliate Blue. A quick walk around these flowering shrubs may sometimes pay good dividends as far as spotting these pretty Hairstreaks are concerned.

So, if you want some quiet time with the butterflies, do pop over to this little sanctuary at the Meadows. Unless there are big events planned at the Meadows, the butterfly sanctuary is usually quiet and serene. On most of my visits in recent months, I've had the whole place to myself for the entire morning! For those who drive, the car parks are always empty in the daytime and on weekends. The little garden is also close enough to public transportation networks and is a short walk away if you come by bus or MRT.

Butterfly Sanctuary @ GB is a convenient place for a butterfly "quick fix". It is also an ideal and safe place for beginners who are starting out to photograph butterflies, and near enough to amenities like a water cooler, public toilets and so on, if jungle-bashing is not yet your cup of tea. And there should be enough butterflies to keep you busy for an hour or two on each visit.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Khew SK, Loke PF, Nelson Ong and Anthony Wong.

* All the butterfly shots on this blogpost were taken at the Butterfly Sanctuary @ Gardens by the Bay

Butterfly of the Month - May 2016
The Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina)

The scorching temperatures from last month carried forward into May, with only a little reprieve when there were occasional rainy afternoons which cooled us down somewhat. The 36.7ºC temperature recorded last month was the 2nd highest temperature ever recorded in Singapore! Many days in May continued to see 33-35ºC temperatures, which, when outdoors, felt more like in the 40's! The NEA reported that the El Nino effect is likely to weaken by mid year, with changes in weather patterns caused by the La Nina effect taking over.

In the meantime, butterflying in Singapore can be a rather hot affair as the unforgiving weather takes its toll on both the butterflies and butterfly-watchers. The drying out of vegetation in many areas appeared to have an impact on butterfly population, particularly in the nature reserves. Whilst some species are subject to seasonality in their appearance in Singapore, there is a general drop in count and diversity of the forest-dependent species.

There is probably a strong correlation between new growth of plants (brought about by wetter weather) and the number of butterflies in the environment. Given that the weather has been hot and relatively dry in the first 4 months of the year, this may be one of the reasons for the lower butterfly counts in general. Urban species appear to be less susceptible and populations are generally stable.

Singaporeans wait for the dreaded annual haze, usually coinciding with the dry weather and slash-and-burn season in neighbouring countries. Thus far, it appears to be under control, but for how long, no one can tell. At least there are now satellite images that would give a forewarning of forest fires burning out of control. But that is all that it can do - warn of the imminent deterioration in air quality.

The general global economy is not particularly cheering anyone up either. Political battles in the form of a bye-election in Singapore and the Sarawak state elections in Malaysia resulted in definitive victories for the governments of the day with both the PAP and Barisan National winning their respective positions convincingly. Perhaps the voters chose to stand on the side of political stability of the governments in both countries in the face of the uncertain global economy.

Over on the western front, our American friends are also in the thick of their own forthcoming elections by year end, as the Republican and Democrat candidates slug it out in the primaries. It would be interesting to see what happens at the end of the year, when the new President steps into the Oval Office. What would be critical to the rest of the world, would be the foreign policy in the hands of the incoming 45th President of the USA.

Our Butterfly of the Month for May 2016 is the common Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina). This medium-sized butterfly with an average wingspan of about 75mm, is widespread and appears in urban parks and gardens, mangrove environments as well as in the nature reserves.

Blue Glassy Tiger feeding on a variety of flowering plants

It is most common in habitats where its lactiferous host plants, Tylophora flexuosa syn. tenuissima, Gymnema sp. and probably other similar vines of the Apocynaceae family grow wild. These host plants are most evident in mangrove and wetland environments and this is where the butterfly, and its closely related cousin, the Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides), which shares the host plants, can be found in numbers.

The Blue Glassy Tiger has wings that are bluish-grey, streaked with black stripes. The ground colour of the wings appear bluer in flight when compared to the Dark Glassy Tiger, which appears greyish. The black transverse bar in the forewing cell distinguishes it from the Dark Glassy Tiger. In recent years, another species - the Grey Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis juventa sitah) has been spotted in Singapore, and it is likely to be a migrant species for the time being. In this latter species, the cell areas of both wings are lightly marked, and it appears much paler in flight than either of the extant species.

Blue Glassy Tiger on the dried seed pods of the Indian Heliotrope (top) and fresh flowers of the same plant (bottom)

The Blue Glassy Tiger flies in an unhurried manner with a slow flying characteristic. It is often seen feeding on flowers of many plants, but is particularly partial to the dried plants of the Indian Heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum), which also attracts other Danainae butterflies. Males of the species feature a distinct brand (usually of a darker colour than the surrounding area) at the sub-tornal area of the hindwing.

Blue Glassy Tigers feeding on False Dill flowers

Besides the Indian Heliotrope, another plant, the False Dill (Artemisia scoparia) also attracts various species of Danainae. The butterflies are attracted to the flowers of the False Dill and dried or damaged parts of the plant. There appears to be some form of alkaloids that the Danainaes go for. The Rattleweed (Crotalaria mucronata) also attracts the Danainaes and the Blue Glassy Tiger is no exception. It can often be seen feeding on sap from the stem, leaves and seed pods of the plant.

Blue Glassy Tigers resting in the shady understory

After feeding, a unique behaviour of the Blue Glassy Tiger is that it will look for heavily shaded areas to rest, clinging on to vines and thin branches under shade, keeping very still unless disturbed. The Blue Glassy Tiger has been successfully bred on the lactiferous vine, Tylophora flexuosa (syn. tenuissima). The spotted caterpillar sports red based tubercles and is quite attractive.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chng CK, Goh EC, Khew SK, Loke PF, Jonathan Soong, Horace Tan and Tea Yi Kai

Life History of the Linna Palm Dart (Telicota linna )

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Telicota Moore, 1881
Species: linna Evans, 1949
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 32-35mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Bambusa multiplex (Poaceae; common name: Hedge Bamboo, Chinese Dwarf Bamboo).

A female Linna Palm Dart, wing upperside view.

A female Linna Palm Dart, wing underside view.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

On the upperside, the wings are black with an orange post-discal band on the forewing running from the dorsum and bent over at vein 6 to continue along the costal margin. The orange-yellow post-discal band on the hindwing runs from vein 1b to space 6. The male has a grey brand on the forewing from about the middle of vein 1b to vein 4. The brand is usually straight and not placed closer to the forewing cell or the inner margin of the post-discal band. Base of space 2 in the forewing of the male is black or largely so. The female has the forewing generally darker, with much of the basal organge darkened. On the underside, the wings are ochreous with post-discal bands outlined with black. The veins crossing the orange-yellow band on the hindwing are not dark-dusted.

A male Linna Palm Dart, wing underside view.

A male Linna Palm Dart, wing upperside view.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

A recent addition to the Singapore Checklist, the Linna Palm Dart is moderately rare in Singapore. The adults are strong flyers and are typically sighted along the forest edge and grassy undergrowth. The swift flying adults have been observed to visit flowers and sunbath with open wings in sunny weather.

A Linna Palm Dart visiting flowers for its sugary intake.

A male Linna Palm Dart.

Early Stages:

In Singapore, Linna Palm Dart has thus far been bred on one bamboo species, Bambusa multiplex. The caterpillars feed on leaves of the host plant in all instars and live in leaf shelters. As the caterpillar grows in size through progressing instars, it migrates to ever larger shelters constructed by joining cut leaf fragments or the opposite edges of a single blade.

Local host plant: Bambusa multiplex.

The eggs are laid singly on a leaf blade of the host plant, typically on the underside. Each dome-shaped egg is creamy white and appears to be smooth to the naked eyes. A closer inspection reveals numerous short, discontinuous and irregular tiny ridges running in a longitudinal direction. Each egg has a basal diameter of about 1.1mm.

An egg of the Linna Palm Dart laid on the underside of a leaf blade of Bambusa multiplex.

Two views of an egg of the Linna Palm Dart, diameter: 1.1mm.

It takes about 4-5 days for the egg to hatch. The young caterpillar eats just enough of the shell to emerge, and then immediately proceeds to finish the remaining egg shell. The newly hatched has a length of about 2.5-2.75mm. Its pale whitish body is cylindrical in shape with a small number of very short and tiny dorso-lateral setae. There is a tuff of relatively long setae on the posterior segment. It has a black head and a black collar on the prothorax.

Two views of a mature egg of the Linna Palm Dart.

A newly hatched caterpillar of the Linna Palm Dart in its first leaf shelter.

After consuming the egg shell, the newly hatched caterpillar constructs its first leaf shelter, typically at the tip of a leaf blade. The body takes on a green undertone after a few feeding sessions on the leaf. The 1st instar takes about 3-4 days to complete with body length reaching 5.5mm.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 4mm.

The body of the 2nd instar caterpillar resembles that of the first instar, but with the dark collar on the prothorax now vaguely present. The setae at the posterior end are now proportionately shorter and the anal plate takes on a greyish coloration. The body colour is yellowish green with a dark green undertone. This instar lasts about 4 days with the body length reaching up to 7.5-8mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, length: 8mm.

The 3nd instar caterpillar resembles the 2nd instar caterpillar except for a more yellowish green body colour and the nearly indistinguishable collar mark on the prothorax. Unlike some of the other Telicota, the anal plate remains colored as per the rest of the body surface. The head capsule is either black or brown. This instar lasts a total of 4-5 days with the body length reaching 12mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar with a black head, length: 7mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar a with brown head, length: 8.5mm.

The 4th instar caterpillar resembles the 3rd instar caterpillar closely. In specimens with a brown head capsule, the base coloration is now lighter brown and there is a dark brown band right in the middle. This instar lasts 5-6 days with the body length reaching about 17-18mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar with black head, length:10mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar with brown head, length: 11.5mm.

The 5th instar does not bring about any noteworthy change in the body or head markings. This instar lasts 7-8 days with the body length reaching about 24-25mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar with black head, length:19mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar with brown head, length: 24.5mm.

In the 6th (final) instar, specimens with brown head now has its base coloration in pale yellowish brown and a dark brown band lining the epicranial suture. For those specimens with black head, small pale brown patches might appear laterally. The body is now predominantly yellow with a a green undertone.

Two views of a female 6th instar caterpillar with black head, length: 29mm.

Two views of a male 6th instar caterpillar with brown head, length: 29mm.

The 6th instar takes about 10-11 days to complete with the body length reaching up to 33-34mm, In the last day of this instar, the body gradually shorten and changes colour to pale beige brown (initially with a purplish tone). The caterpillar ceases feeding and whitish powdery substance begin to appear on its body. Next it proceeds to seal the shelter it is in with silk threads. Soon the caterpillar becomes dormant in this pupation shelter. This prepupatory phase lasts for about 1-1.5 day.

Top: a late 6th instar caterpillar wandering; Bottom: a late 6ht instar caterpillar its its pupation shelter.

A pupation shelter opened to reveal a pre-pupa of The Linna Palm Dart.

Pupation takes place within the leaf shelter. The pupa does not have a cremastral attachment nor a silk girdle and it is mainly secured with tightly woven silk threads in the shelter. It has a short thorax and a rather long abdomen. The body is generally orangy brown, darker in the thorax and wing pad areas. Length of pupae: 19.5-20.5mm.

Two views of a pupa of the Linna Palm Dart.

After 8-9 days, the pupa becomes dark brown with the thorax and wing pads mostly black. The orange markings present on the forewing upperside are now visible through the now translucent pupal skin. Eclosion takes place the next day.

Two views of a mature pupa of the Linna Palm Dart.

A newly eclosed female Linna Palm Dart.

References:

[C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society, 1992.

Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012.

A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew S.K., Ink On Paper Communications, 2nd Edition, 2015.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Frederick Ho and Horace Tan.

ButterflyPhotography 101
Part 1 - Hardware and Equipment

Plain Lacewing - Shot with Nikon D750 and Sigma 180mm macro lens

For a long time after we set up ButterflyCircle's website, forums and blog, we have had quite a number of questions from newbies and nature enthusiasts on how they could take better pictures of butterflies in the field. In terms of photography, questions like "what camera or lens do you guys use?", "Why do you use flash in broad daylight?" or "Which aperture should I use for butterfly photography?" were quite typical of what beginners would like to find out.

Blue Glassy Tiger shot with Panasonic Lumix PNS camera

This mini-series on butterfly photography will hopefully answer some of these questions. The articles will focus on various aspects of butterfly photography, from technical equipment, composition, using flash, exposure and depth of field and a number of other "how-to's" that would be shared with our readers to hopefully benefit their journey into the world of butterflies and butterfly photography.

My first digital camera which I used 16 years ago, the Nikon Coolpix 995

These articles are not meant to be high-level professional advice, but merely sharing ButterflyCircle members' years of experience in the field and learning about butterfly photography through trial-and-error and managing our equipment in the field. Advice given is by no means cast in stone, and the important outcome is that each photographer experiments with his/her own techniques, improves and is happy with his/her own work.

A shot of a Little Mapwing taken with the Nikon Coolpix 995

Readers should also remember that whilst you can read and arm yourselves with a lot of theory, nothing beats grabbing your camera equipment and going out into the field to practise, practise and practise. Review your own work critically, and then ask yourself how you can make the shot better. In butterfly photography, you can rarely control the way your subjects behave. This is nature. Unlike shooting human models where you can tell your subjects to look a certain way or shift to another position, in butterfly photography, you take whatever, however and whenever a butterfly comes your way.

Another shot taken with the Coolpix 995

Part 1 of this mini-series deals with the fundamentals of choosing your hardware - i.e. camera equipment. Suffice to say that if money were not an issue (and it usually is!), then all of us would buy the most expensive and sophisticated equipment that money can buy. However, this is not necessarily the case when you want to start on butterfly photography. Whilst it cannot be denied that good equipment helps, it is the person behind the camera that is the most important part of butterfly photography.

A close up Plain Tiger shot with an iPhone 5s - a photographer has to acknowledge the limitations of the small sensor on a smartphone

So what are the types of cameras that are available for reasonably good butterfly photography? Let us assume that we are talking about digital devices only, as the debate about analog film cameras has long abated, and we do not need to delve into nostalgic discussions on whether film or digital cameras are better. Taking price points as a base for looking at digital cameras, we can start at the lower band of cameras, being the basic point-and-shoot (PNS) digital cameras.

An external macro lens attachment on an iPhone 5s can work as a butterfly shooter in the absence of any other equipment

For a start, even a smartphone with a macro attachment on the built-in camera can take quite decent shots of butterflies. However, you may have to move in so close to the subject that it can be frustrating to even get a simple shot of a butterfly (before it flies away). In the absence of proper equipment, a simple handphone shot can sometimes save the day, especially when you suddenly encounter a species that is rare or not often seen.

My small "backup" PNS camera, the Canon G11 with a swivel LCD screen, which served me well for many years

Moving up the scale, would be the typical compact PNS cameras. There are probably thousands of brands and models out there that a photographer could choose from. The range is mind-boggling, and the capabilities of each camera are so diverse that it would be quite futile to discuss the merits of each PNS camera for butterfly photography. However, I have seen shots from a range of these cameras that would put more expensive and dedicated macro equipment to shame.

A shot of the Postman (Heliconius melpomene) taken with the Canon G11 using the macro-mode on the camera

Firstly, be aware of the limitations of a PNS camera. The sensor is usually much smaller than the professional devices, and the outputs from PNS cameras are best suited to posting your shots on social media or online. The depth-of-field (DOF) of such devices are extremely good, and you can often get sharp shots, but the background and subject are usually all in focus. This may not be what you desire in your shot, if you want to focus on the subject and make the background creamy and out-of-focus.

The very versatile Nikon P900, which has an optical zoom equivalent to a 24mm - 2000mm lens!

The benefits of PNS cameras are that they are usually small, light and easy to carry about. For those with a long zoom, you can shoot anything from macros to landscapes to birds. An all-in-one camera if you can call them that. For beginners with a limited budget, you can consider a compact PNS camera and move up from there after you are convinced that your interest butterfly photography is something that you can sustain and are keen on, for the longer term.

A Common Bluebottle feeding, taken with the Panasonic Lumix

However, the quality of shots from a simple PNS camera cannot be under-estimated. For example, butterfly enthusiast Mei Hwang, wielding a simple "packaged deal" PNS camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ60 non-interchangeable lens camera, can deliver quite admirable butterfly photos. Many of her shots deliver the typical quality of higher end equipment - sharp subjects, clean backgrounds and punchy but natural colours.

Shots taken with the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ60 by Mei Hwang. The butterfly photos are as good as any taken with much more sophisticated equipment

We leave the PNS cameras for now, and move on to the higher end of digital cameras - the Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras. Even within the realm of DSLR cameras, there is a relatively wide spectrum from the entry-level DSLRs to the high-end professional DSLRs that can make a big hole in your wallet! Whilst I am not advocating any particular brand, I will use Canon and Nikon DSLRs as examples of decent camera bodies for butterfly photography as these brands are the more popular brands amongst butterfly photographers.

Some entry-level offerings from Nikon and Canon - the D7200 and EOS700D

Entry-level DSLRs are relatively good, when coupled with proper "magnifying equipment" i.e. proper lenses, close-up filters, teleconverters or extension tubes. For a butterfly photographer who is just starting out using DSLRs, he/she can consider many of the capable entry-level models. As mentioned earlier, it is important to feel comfortable with the system and camera chosen, and then going out in the field to use the camera as much as possible.

Two mid-range DSLRs from Nikon and Canon - the D750 (full frame sensor) and the EOS7D MkII (cropped frame 1.6x sensor)

The advantages of DSLRs camera bodies are :

Larger sensors with higher Megapixel count. Although high MP is not the be-all and end-all of digital photography, having more MPs can make a difference whether a cropped shot of a butterfly is usable or not. For the full-frame DSLR bodies (36x24mm format) the amount of detail one can get out of it, is far superior than most cameras, if you plan to enlarge your shot significantly.
The focusing and metering accuracy of the higher end models often gives a butterfly photographer an edge when chasing after these skittish subjects. The ability to track and accurately lock on a subject makes a difference between a nice shot, and those destined for the trash folder.
Higher frames-per-second (FPS) does tend to help in nailing a sharp shot especially when a butterfly moves constantly when feeding, or flaps its wings unpredictably, even when puddling on the ground.
Better noise control is another plus point for the DSLRs. Very often, butterfly photographers have to contend with shooting a butterfly in a dimly lit forest understorey using high ISOs. The ability of the sensor to handle high ISOs also make a difference between a "keeper" (usable shot) and those that would be deleted.

The downsides of DSLRs would of course be the cost, bulkiness, and weight. Not every photographer endears themselves with lugging around 2-3kg of equipment, hand-held, and hiking long distances to shoot butterflies. So make your decision based on the various pros and cons of choosing between a good DSLR system or a preference for simple PNS equipment in your butterfly-shooting forays.

An Orange Emigrant shot with the full-frame Nikon D750 and a Sigma 180mm macro lens

In recent times, the appearance of premium compact PNS cameras, mirrorless interchangeable-lenses cameras and more and better offerings in the market is changing the photography market rapidly, and it is anybody's guess what we will be using to shoot butterflies in the coming years.

A Red Helen shot with the cropped frame (1.5x) Nikon D500 with a Sigma 180mm macro lens

In the next part of this series, we will share our thoughts on the "magnification equipment" and recommend different lenses and equipment to shoot butterflies.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Goh EC, Khew SK and Mei Hwang

Ubin Day 2016
ButterflyCircle at Pesta Ubin 2016

Our traditional group mugshot at Butterfly Hill with our visiting VVIPs

The annual celebration at Pulau Ubin for the fifth time since its inaugural start back in 2002 took place on 4 Jun this year. What is special this year, was that the celebration of all things Ubin expanded to a whole month! Pesta Ubin as it is called, featured many activities by various groups of volunteers from 14 May to 12 Jun. Pesta Ubin (roughly translated from Malay, means Ubin Carnival) showcased many activities from painting, coastal cleanups, night macro sessions, cycling and so on. The Pesta Ubin blogsite details most of the activities over the month.

On the boat ride to Pulau Ubin - ButterflyCircle and Seletar CC friends

The brainchild of long-time Ubin activist Ria Tan and her gang of volunteers, this year's activities on Ubin island had a far greater outreach to members of the public, interest groups and anyone interested to know more about Pulau Ubin.

The Ubin crowd all happy on Ubin Day 2016

Ubin Day 2016 started with a lot of excitement as various volunteer groups set up their booths at the "town square". However, the weather this year wasn't as cooperative as previous Ubin Days, as the skies turned cloudy and it drizzled for most of the morning. However, refusing to be dampened by the wet weather, the participants' enthusiasm ruled the day.

Minister Lawrence Wong sharing stories about Pulau Ubin

The Guest of Honour this year was the Minister for National Development, Mr Lawrence Wong. Accompanied by Minister of State Desmond Lee, who also spearheads the Friends of Ubin Network (or FUN) and the senior management of MND family, the enthusiastic crowd welcomed the MND VVIPs who arrived on time at around 9am. In his speech, Minister announced that NParks will be the central managing agency for Pulau Ubin. Previously, at least 12 government agencies oversaw various parts of Ubin, making it very confusing for the public who wanted to do something, but did not know who to approach.

Authors of the two books with VVIPS and CEO/NParks. Cover of the book by Dr Chua Ee Kiam

Ubin Day 2016 also saw the launch of two books. The first was Footprints on an Island, by dental surgeon, author and naturalist Dr Chua Ee Kiam, with co-authors Choo Mui Eng and Director Conservation of NParks, Mr Wong Tuan Wah. The other book was a children's book called The Hunt for the Green Boomerang by Neil Humphreys.

The lush greenery of ButterflyHill and casual chatting amongst our members whilst waiting for the VVIPs to arrive

As part of his tour around the island, Minister stopped at Butterfly Hill. This hill was re-planted with butterfly-attracting plants back in 2005 as a conservation strategy to increase the butterfly biodiversity of an impacted site. Butterfly Hill is usually teeming with butterflies on ideal hot sunny days. Unfortunately, the weather this morning was not conducive for butterflies as it was overcast and it drizzled intermittently for most of the day.

Showing Minister the caterpillars of the Plain Tiger at the Crown Flower patch

ButterflyCircle and Seletar CC members were at Butterfly Hill to greet Minister and his entourage. As the weather did not change, the butterfly activity was low, and Minister only got to see some Plain Tiger caterpillars on the host plant and a few butterflies that were still fluttering around in the cool balmy weather.

ButterflyCircle contributers to the signboards - Khew, Jonathan and Bob

Samples of the educational signs on ButterflyHill and how they are installed on site in proximity to the relevant butterfly-attracting plants

This year, ButterflyCircle assisted NParks with the upgrading of the signage at Butterfly Hill with over 12 educational signages that showcases the interrelationship between specific species of butterflies and their related plants. A large signboard featuring about 30 common butterfly species that are often spotted at Butterfly Hill was strategically placed next to the Tahu Hut where visitors can learn more about the butterflies that frequent the place.

Selfies and wefies were also the order of the day

Minister also sportingly took selfies, wefies and the traditional group photo with ButterflyCircle and Seletar CC members who interacted with him. Although there were not many butterflies to photograph this morning, our members enjoyed the outing and the chatter amongst friends and butterfly lovers.

The day ended after a "makan session" at the Volunteers' Hub and as the weather did not look like it was going to change, some of us bade Ubin farewell, until another sunnier day.

Text by Khew SK : Photography by Huang CJ and Robert Teo.

Special thanks to NParks Pulau Ubin staff : Robert Teo, Jacky Soh, Choi Yook Sau and Leroy Alphonso for the collaboration on the ButterflyHill signage.

And to all ButterflyCircle and Seletar CC members for joining in the fun today.

Butterfly of the Month - June 2016
The Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides)

A Dark Glassy Tiger feeding on the purple flower of the Golden Dewdrop (Duranta erecta)

Almost half the year has already flown past us in 2016, as we ponder the road ahead. A group of seven ButterflyCircle members made a quick trip to Fraser's Hill in Malaysia for a short break to escape the hustle and bustle of our daily work life. If I recall correctly, our last trip as a group was four years ago back in 2012, and it would be nice to see how Fraser's Hill's butterfly diversity is like this year.

This time around, we stayed at the Shahzan Inn, a decently-priced hotel right smack in the town centre of Fraser's Hill. Our four-day stay was blessed with relatively good weather, other than a short drizzle on one of the mornings. We also met up with a few good old friends from Kuala Lumpur, who made a day-trip to join us on our butterfly-hunting outing.

A male Dark Glassy Tiger showing part of its hair pencil when alarmed

The butterfly activity was relatively ok for most of the trip, and we also managed to add a couple of species here and there to our personal tally of butterfly photos. Compared to the higher Cameron Highlands, I always thought that the temperature at Fraser's Hill was cooler and the environment less damaged by development and farming. Let's hope that the powers that be continue to keep Fraser's Hill this way for many more years to come.

Back home in Singapore, the weather appears to be much wetter on many days in May and June, as the intermonsoon winds brought respite from the hot dry weather in the early months of the year. The local scene also appears to be rather quiet, although the economy continues its lacklustre and gloomy outlook.

The Singapore public sector, however, is abuzz with a lot of debates regarding the government's announcement that public servants will have no internet access on their official workstations from May 2017. Whilst the social media critics will have a field day criticising the apparent knee-jerk reaction by the government, it is always important to keep abreast of the reasons why such an extreme measure has to be taken.

Dark Glassy Tiger feeding on the flowers of the Blood Flower (Asclepias currasavica)

Security risks are always around us as the world continues to develop and become highly dependent on information technology and the internet. As we become more and more connected and many countries are looking at becoming "smart" nations, the risks will continue to increase exponentially as far as cyber-attacks and technology-driven terrorism are concerned. Sci-fi and suspense movies have hypothesised and predicted what could happen when criminals take over IT networks and the chaos that they can cause. Will there be a possibility that such events can happen in the future? Only time will tell.

This month, we feature a relatively common butterfly in our environment, the Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides). This species has a widespread distribution across the island - from urban parks and gardens to mangrove wetlands and the nature reserves. Its lookalike cousin, the Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina) which was featured as last month's butterfly of the month, can be differentiated from the Dark Glassy Tiger by the forewing markings.

How to distinguish between the Dark Glassy Tiger and the Blue Glassy Tiger

The Dark Glassy Tiger has narrow black longitudinal streaks in the forewing cell that sets it apart from the Blue Glassy Tiger, which has a thick transverse bar in the cell. The Dark Glassy Tiger also appears "greyer" when in flight, although this is not a reliable way of distinguishing the two lookalike species. Both frequent similar habitats and are often seen together when feeding on flowering plants.

Dark Glassy Tigers feeding on the yellow flowers and seed pods of the Rattleweed (Crotalaria retusa and Crotalaria mucronata)

It has a slow and unhurried flight as it flies from flower to flower to feed on nectar. It is not difficult for a beginner to photograph, whilst it is feeding. The Dark Glassy Tiger is also attracted to the Indian Heliotrope as well as the False Dill, particularly dried parts of these plants. Like many of the related Danainae species, the Dark Glassy Tiger is partial to the Rattleweed (Crotalaria retusa) plant and can usually be observed feeding on the sap on the stems and seed pods of the plant.

The caterpillar of the Dark Glassy Tiger feeds on lactiferous vine Tylophora flexuosa which it shares with its cousin the Blue Glassy Tiger. Its complete life history has been successfully recorded in Singapore and can be found on this blog here.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Goh LC, Khew SK, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Billy Oh, Jonathan Soong and Mark Wong

Life History of the Chestnut Angle (Odontoptilum angulatum angulatum)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Odontoptilum de Niceville, 1890
Species: angulatum C. Felder, 1862
Sub-species: angulatum C. Felder, 1862
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 35-40mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Commersonia bartramia (Malvaceae, Common name: Brown Kurrajong, 山麻树), Talipariti tiliaceum (Malvaceae, Common name: Sea Hibiscus, 黄槿).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

The forewing termen is sinuous, and the hindwing prominently stepped at vein 7. The upperside is chestnut-brown with a complex, cryptic pattern of white striae in the hindwing. The forewing has a dark sub-discal band, a crescentic hyaline spot in space 2, and a smaller spot above it near the base of space 3. In addition, two apical spots can be found in spaces 7 and 8. Hindwing has elongated tornal cilia. The male possesses a tuft of white hairs on the fore coxae, and the female has a thick anal tuft on the abdomen. The underside is predominantly whitish in the hindwing.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
This species is rather rare in Singapore. The adults are usually found near its larval host plants, or when puddling on wet grounds and bird droppings. In Singapore, it may be found in urban wastelands where Commersonia bartramia grows, or in coastal wetlands where Talipariti tiliaceum (Sea Hibiscus) is common. They fly rapidly in bright sunshine in open spaces within forests or wastelands, and visit flowers for nectar. Other sighting locations include various parts of the nature reserves.

Early Stages:
To date only two local host plants (both in Malvaceae family), namely Commersonia bartramia and Talipariti tiliaceum, have been recorded for the Chestnut Angle. The caterpillars of the Chestnut Angle feed on leaves of the host plants. Between feeds, the caterpillars seek safety and concealment in a leaf shelter formed by cutting and folding a leaf fragment along the edge of the leaf.

Local host plant #1: Commersonia bartramia.

Local host plant #2: Talipariti tiliaceum.

The eggs of the Chestnut Angle are laid singly on the upperside of a fully developed leaf of the host plants. The creamy white egg is hemispherical with surface marked with longitudinal ridges running from the pole to the rim of the base. The egg is well concealed in a mass of fine and pale creamy brown setae deposited by the mother butterfly. Each egg has a basal diameter of about 0.9mm.

Two views of an egg of the Chestnut Angle.

Two views of a developing egg of the Chestnut Angle, about 1-2 days prior to hatching.

The egg takes about 5 days to hatch. The young caterpillar emerges by eating away the polar part of the egg shell. The rest of the egg shell is not eaten by the newly hatched which is about 2mm in length. The yellowish orange body is roughly cylindrical in shape and the head capsule is black in color. A prominent, black collar mark is present on the dorsum of the prothorax. Short, white setae are arranged in sub-dorsal and lateral rows on the body surface.

Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar, length: 2mm.

The leaf shelter of a 1st instar caterpillar of the Chestnut Angle.

The newly hatched makes its very first leaf shelter by cutting a near-circular leaf fragment and fold it back on the leaf upper surface. It ventures out of the shelter from time to time to feed on the leaf lamina in the vicinity. As the caterpillar grows, the body assumes a yellowish brown coloration. After reaching about 4mm in about 4 days, the caterpillar moults to the 2nd instar.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 3.1mm.

Two views of a late 1st instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 4mm.

The body of the 2nd instar caterpillar is initially yellowish brown, but turning yellowish with a green undertone as it grows in this stage. The body is covered with numerous tiny and short whitish setae. The head is black with a thin coat of short setae and the prothorax collar mark is still present. The leaf shelter constructed from 2nd instar onwards are typically folded on the underside of a leaf. The caterpillar eat through the floor and ceiling of the leaf shelter at various points, giving the shelter a perforated appearance. This instar lasts about 4 days with the body length reaching about 7mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, newly moulted.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, length: 5.5mm.

Two views of a late 2nd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 6.5mm.

The 3rd instar caterpillar closely resembles the 2nd instar caterpillar. The head capsule is still black but bearing a somewhat denser coat of whitish setae. The body colour takes on an increasing whitish tone in this instar which takes about 3-4 days to complete with body length reaching about 11-12mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, newly moulted.

Two views of 3rd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 7.5mm.

Two views of 3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 9.9mm.

Two views of a late 3rd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 10.8mm.

The 4th instar caterpillar has a creamy white body with a yellowish tone. The setae on its black/dark-brown head capsule are now proportionately longer than in the 3rd instar and are white to pale brown in colour. This instar lasts about 7 days with body length reaching about 19-20mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, newly moulted.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, length: 16mm.

Two views of a late 4th instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult.

Leaf shelter of a 4th instar caterpillar of the Chestnut Angle found in the field.

A close-up view of the upper exterior of the leaf shelter of a 4th instar caterpillar of the Chestnut Angle. Noted the perforated leaf surface.

The 5th instar caterpillar has similar body appearance as in the 4th instar but the colour of the dense coat of setae head has become wholly pale brown. The 5th instar lasts for about 10-11 days, and the body length reaches up to 35-37mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, newly moulted.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 20.5mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, later in this stage, length:36mm.

A close-up view of the under exterior of the leaf shelter of a 5th instar caterpillar of the Chestnut Angle. Noted the perforated leaf surface.

On the last day of the 5th instar, the body decolorises to a pale shade of creamy white. The caterpillar ceases feeding and confines itself to the leaf shelter. The pre-pupatory larva prepares for the pupal phase with a series of silk construction work with the main pieces being a silk girdle across the dorsum of its early abdominal segments, and a silk pad on the substrate at its posterior end. Soon the pre-pupatory larva becomes dormant in its leaf shelter. Pupation takes place about 1 day later.

A pre-pupa of the Chestnut Angle.

The girdled pupa is secured with its cremaster attached to the silk pad on the substrate. It has a knobbed rostrum and two small, orange-coloured, ear-like appendages at the leading edge of the mesothorax. The body is creamy white with a pale green undertone. There are black spots arranged in neat symmetrical layout on the body segments. Thin, black striae adorn the wing pad. Length of pupae: 17-19.5mm.

Two views of a pupa of the Chestnut Angle.

Two views of another pupa of the Chestnut Angle with less spots on the thorax.

After about 7 days of pupal development, the pupa turns dark, especially so in the wing pad and thorax areas. The following day, the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case.

Two views of a mature pupa of the Chestnut Angle.

A newly eclosed Chestnut Angle resting next to its pupal case.

References:

[C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society, 1992.

Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012.

A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew S.K., Ink On Paper Communications, 2nd Edition, 2015.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Lemon Tea YK, Loke PF, Sunny Chir and Horace Tan

Butterfly Photography at Our Local Parks
Featuring : Fusionopolis North @ One North Park

Another Butterfly Garden in Singapore has recently been completed by NParks and opened to the public on the western part of Singapore. A 5,800 sqm Butterfly Garden referred to as Fusionopolis North, it features a rain garden with bioswales, is cultivated with butterfly-attracting host and nectaring plants.

One-north Park is a 16-ha park consisting of 13 land parcels spanning across the entire length of JTC’s masterplan for one-north to create a work-live-play-learn environment. The park, when fully completed, serves as an integrated green corridor to link key developments such as Biopolis, Fusionopolis, Mediapolis and the one-north MRT station.

Last week, two of the parcels were completed - Fusionopolis North (flanked by Central Exchange Green, One North Link and Portsdown Road) and Fusionopolis South (flanked by One North Crescent, Portsdown Road and Central Exchange Green). The two adjacent parcels are rich with local biodiversity like birds, butterflies, dragonflies and even a snake or two.

I visited to the Fusionopolis North's Butterfly Garden during its opening ceremony last Saturday at around 4:00pm on a drizzly evening. Surprisingly, there were still quite a number of butterflies fluttering around, feeding on the flowering plants. In a short 30 minute survey, a total of 11 species of butterflies were spotted. Not bad, considering the time of the day and the weather.

Two more follow-up observation surveys were made over the weekends and the tally is now 26 species and counting! The Butterfly Garden was active with free-ranging butterflies on both the days that I visited. The most common species was the Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia pomona pomona) and Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore). There were at least 20 individuals of both species fluttering amongst the flowering plants.

Top : Female Blue Pansy ovipositing on the leaves of the variegated Asystasia gangetica

Large numbers of butterfly-attracting plants have been cultivated on the 0.58Ha plot. The main concrete path winds around the patches of host and nectaring plants, with secondary paths of gravel providing alternative routes around the greenery. Look for the Tawny Coster caterpillars on the Yellow Alder (Tunera ulmifolia) plants. The low-lying Asystasia gangetica"Ivory Ribbons" plants attract the Blue Pansy to lay eggs on them, and their caterpillars can be found on these plants, if you look hard enough.

Common Mime feeding on the purple flower of the Golden Dewdrop

The other host plants like the Lime Bush (Citrus sp) and Indian Curry Leaf (Murraya koenigii) around the periphery of the Butterfly Garden are sure attractants to the females of the Common Mormon and Lime Butterfly to lay eggs on their favourite caterpillar host plants. There are also many other host plants like Asystasia, Ixora, Cratoxylum cochinchinense and Caesalpinia pulcherrima to attract their respective butterfly species.

Amongst the nectaring plants are the Yellow Alder (which attracts butterflies to feed on them in the early morning hours when their yellow flowers are open fully), Lantana, Ixora, and the Golden Dewdrop (Duranta erecta). The last-named plant, with its pretty purple flowers, seems to be the all-time favourite with the butterflies at this Butterfly Garden.

Female Blue Pansy feeding on the yellow variety of Lantana camara

The success of this small patch of greenery is dependent on its catchment area surrounding the park. Adjacent to the cultivated patches, large areas of greenery are left in their undisturbed natural state. These green 'backdrops' are functionally critical as buffer areas which also host rich biodiversity in the area. The network of Park Connectors (PCNs) then link up the larger parks like the Southern Ridges, Botanic Gardens, West Coast Park and Bukit Timah to this area.

Overview map of the Fusionopolis North Butterfly Garden

As the Butterfly Garden at Fusionopolis North is newly completed, it appears rather open and hot. When the vegetation is more mature, there may be patches of shadier habitats that may attract other species of butterflies besides those that prefer open and bright sunshine environments. Do take a walk to the adjacent Fusionopolis South, as there are also areas that are attractive to butterflies as well.

Signages and seating at Fusionopolis North Butterfly Garden

There are some interpretative signs to help introduce the types of plants that are cultivated at the Butterfly Garden. On a cloudy day or in the evenings, a visitor may be tempted to just take a seat at several seating areas along the walkways, just to enjoy the breeze and watch the butterflies flutter by.

Whilst nature enthusiasts often lament the loss of our natural urban greenery, the juxtaposition of cultivated plots with existing natural plots like what has been done at One-North Park, often offers a good conservation balance that may be just right for our biodiversity to thrive within our built environment. NParks and other government agencies like the JTC and URA have been making great strides in helping to maximise the potential of our urban greenery to attract and enhance our biodiversity despite the continuous need to develop our scarce land resources.

Fusionopolis North Butterfly Garden with the high-tech industrial buildings in the background

If you are a resident living in the south-western part of Singapore, pay a visit to this new Butterfly Garden at Fusionopolis North on a sunny day, and you will not be disappointed at the variety of butterflies that can be spotted at this small plot of greenery.

How to Get There :
By MRT : Fusionopolis North Butterfly Garden is about a 5-minute walk from the One-North MRT station, or about a 10-minute walk from the Buona Vista MRT station.

By Car : See map for details. Park at the various buildings opposite the park. The basement carpark at One-North Residences is the nearest carpark. Note that prevailing parking charges apply.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK and Huang CJ

Checklist of Butterflies Observed at Fusionopolis North Butterfly Garden :

Papilio clytia clytia (Common Mime)
Papilio demoleus malayana (Lime Butterfly)
Papilio polytes romulus (Common Mormon)
Delias hyparete metarete (Painted Jezebel)
Appias libythea olferna (Striped Albatross)
Catopsilia pomona pomona (Lemon Emigrant)
Catopsilia scylla cornelia (Orange Emigrant)
Eurema hecabe contubernalis (Common Grass Yellow)
Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Plain Tiger)
Ideopsis vulgaris macrina (Blue Glassy Tiger)
Elymnias hypermnestra agina (Common Palmfly)
Mycalesis mineus macromalayana (Dark Brand Bush Brown)
Doleschallia bisaltide bisaltide (Autumn Leaf)
Junonia hedonia ida (Chocolate Pansy)
Junonia almana javana (Peacock Pansy)
Junonia orithya wallacei (Blue Pansy)
Acraea terpsicore (Tawny Coster)
Phalanta phalantha phalantha (Leopard)
Phaedyma columella singa (Short Banded Sailor)
Euchrysops cnejus cnejus (Gram Blue)
Zizula hylax pygmaea (Pygmy Grass Blue)
Zizina otis lampa (Lesser Grass Blue)
Hasora chromus chromus (Common Banded Awl)
Potanthus omaha omaha (Lesser Dart)
Polytremis lubricans lubricans (Small Branded Swift)
Suastus gremius gremius (Palm Bob)

Further Reading and References :

TODAY Online : Latest phase of one-north Park to open today

NParks Website : One North Park : Fusionopolis North Butterfly Garden

Butterfly of the Month - July 2016
The No Brand Grass Yellow (Eurema brigitta senna)

As we cross the half-year threshold of 2016, unbearably hot and humid weather is upon us. The summer weather in the northern hemisphere warms up the environment quickly, as the mercury climbs past 30degC in cities as far north as Beijing and Tokyo. A friend who just came back from the Middle East reported temperatures hitting 40degC already, and rising!

Singapore's weather is no different, often touching 30degC and it is the humidity that gets to you, if you are out in the field. Fortunately, the rains that we get regularly in Southeast Asia have rejuvenated the environment, and the greenery from Singapore to Thailand have turned lush again. This is obviously good news for the butterflies, and it is the season for our flying jewels to be out in numbers again.

Our human world, on the other hand, appears to be as tumultuous as ever. For a while over the past two weeks, everyone from the taxi driver to the kopi uncle also had something to say about "Brexit". Though I wonder if they really understand what it is all about! The Internet seems to have reached a lot more people today than we would have thought possible, compared to the newspaper era.

Changes to the economic outlook in many countries are painfully unpredictable - mainly leaning on the side of bad news. Already, some countries are already talking about negative interest rates. To the layman, this means that you have to pay the bank to keep your money "safe" for you. I wonder if it would spur people to keep wads of notes in a Milo tin and hide it under the bed like my grandmother used to do!

Terrorist attacks on innocent people continue to strike mercilessly and unpredictably. Just a week ago, more than 40 people perished in a shooting and suicide bomb attack at Istanbul's international airport. This morning, terrorists struck a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangladesh, leaving 20 innocent victims dead. Both attacks were attributed to ISIS extremists. One wonders when all this madness will ever end?

A female No Brand Grass Yellow ovipositing on its host plant

Ironically, here in Singapore, the news that appears to have dominated mainstream and social media over the past few days, was about the raising of parking charges at public carparks. As usual, cost of living issues take centrestage when it comes to hot topics on our little island in the sun. Somehow, this pales in comparison, when we read of the troubles that our neighbours face, or the fatalities in terrorist attacks around the world. C'est la vie!

A newly-eclosed male No Brand Grass Yellow perching on a leaf

This month, we feature a bright and yellow butterfly to give a little bit of cheer to our world. But alas, even in this bit of optimism, we have a sad tale to tell. Our Butterfly of the Month is the No Brand Grass Yellow (Eurema brigitta senna). Pardon the rather unglamourous name, which originated some some literature from the region. Elsewhere, it is called the Small Grass Yellow, but then again, English Common names are never known to be a reliable source of indentification.

Another female No Brand Grass Yellow ovipositing on its host plant

The No Brand Grass Yellow was originally re-discovered in Singapore back in Oct 2006 at a wasteland on the northeastern part of Singapore. Its caterpillar host plant, Cassia mimosoides, had colonised a patch of cleared land awaiting development. For a short period, the butterfly was almost abundant in that area, due to its short life history.

Top : Female No Brand Grass Yellow (note lighter coloured hindwing) Bottom : Male No Brand Grass Yellow (note brighter lemon yellow). Underside with more extensive brown freckles peppering both wings compared to the other species in the Eurema genus.

It was last photographed from that area in late 2008, just before the excavators descended on the site and the wasteland was no more. Several attempts to translocate the species to other areas failed. The host plant was cultivated and spread to other parts of Singapore, including Hort Park and other urban parks, but the No Brand Grass Yellow has not been seen since, except for an unvalidated sighting from Pulau Ubin in 2010.

Upperside of the No Brand Grass Yellow showing the scalloped black borders on both wings

The No Brand Grass Yellow appears like its other more common cousins when in flight. The upperside forewing black borders are regularly scalloped and not deeply excavated as in the other species of the Eurema genus. In terms of size, it is generally similar to the other species found in Singapore, averaging between 18-20mm on its forewing length.

On the underside, there are no cell spots - a characteristic that is used to identify and distinguish the other species of the Grass Yellow species. The male does not possess a brand on the cubital vein (which is present in the other species). This could have given rise to the common name of this butterfly as having "No Brand".

Note heavily freckled underside of the No Brand Grass Yellow

The underside of both sexes of the No Brand Grass Yellow is heavily freckled. The "peppered" appearance of the underside is distinctive, and readily separates this species from its lookalike cousins. The female of this species is also unique in that the hindwing is of a paler yellow than the forewing, giving it a two-tone appearance.

A newly-eclosed No Brand Grass Yellow holding on to its pupal case

Fortunately, the life history of the No Brand Grass Yellow was recorded on this blog before its disappearance from Singapore. If there are any sightings of this species in recent years, please inform us by posting on this blog article, or on our FaceBook "Butterflies of Singapore" Group. Ideally, you should have a photograph of it for validation.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Bobby Mun, Horace Tan, Tan BJ and Anthony Wong.

A Gorgeous Jewel Emerges...
Grand Opening of Entopia

A wide angle view of the NatureLand, where butterflies flutter freely in a large volumed space

Mention Penang to your friends in the region, and images of a sunny island with clear blue skies and turquoise seas comes to mind. To many others, it is a city of gastronomic delights, with its myriad local hawker offerings that never fails to please. Penang, often referred to as the Pearl of the Orient, is a thriving tourist destination in Malaysia. In modern history, Penang was "founded" by Captain Francis Light in 1786 when he took possession of the island as a British port and trading post. (This was 33 years before Stamford Raffles founded colonial Singapore)

The green wall envelope of Entopia

Georgetown, the capital of Penang, was declared a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage City in 2008. Its heritage and architecture stood out in that it illustrated 500 years of cultural and trade exchange between East and West. For the past 30 years, amongst Penang's many tourist attractions, was a little butterfly farm tucked in the north-western part of the island. Sitting on a 0.8 Ha site, the Penang Butterfly Farm was founded in 1986 by David Goh to feature a display of live butterflies amongst lush greenery.

In 2006, David's son, Joseph Goh, took over the running of the Penang Butterfly Farm. Driven by his belief and vision that the butterfly farm should not be just a tourist attraction, but an educational and nature conservation centre, he embarked on an ambitious journey of creating a new facility to embody his vision. A process of rebranding and changing the focus from a tourist attraction to an educational centre started. Called "Entopia", from the words entomology and utopia, the metamorphosis progressed steadily over a decade.

Arrival of Guest of Honour, Entopia mascots and staff performance at the Grand Opening ceremony

Ten years later, that dream has been realised. At the Grand Opening of Entopia on 8 Jul 2016, a small crowd of 400 guests was treated to the "Utopia" that Joseph dreamt about all these years. Covering a total of about 9,300 sqm - almost four times the area of the original Penang Butterfly Farm, Phase 1 of Entopia was officially opened to the public.

Book Launch of two books by Japanese author and photographer, Kazuo Unno

Joseph generously invited me to attend the Grand Opening, and I gladly jumped at the opportunity to see for myself, the realisation of his dream project. Graced by State Local Government Committee Chairman YB Chow Kon Yeow, the short opening ceremony featured a performance by the staff of Entopia, the introduction of Entopia's mascots and a book launch by Japanese author and photographer, Mr Kazuo Unno.

CEO of Entopia, Joseph Goh giving an emotional speech at the Grand Opening ceremony

David Goh, the founder of Penang Butterfly Farm, gave a very moving speech as he shared his journey that started 30 years ago. He was obviously proud of how far his brainchild has come and doubly proud that it was his son who carried on his legacy. The Guest of Honour officially declared Entopia open, amidst the fanfare, energy and colour of a lion dance troupe.

CEO of Entopia, Joseph Goh, explaining the concept behind Entopia © Nanda Lakhwani / Penang Monthly

Joseph, who studied architecture in the US, used his training to conceptualise an interactive educational experience from the moment a visitor starts his journey at the entrance of the facility. Moving along a prescribed route, the visitor will be taken past various themed attractions like Mystery Cave, Montane Pass, Tiger Trail, Pandora Forest, Lumino City, Downtown Entopia, Breeding Ground, Underground Mysteries and Understory Tales. Along the route and past different habitats, one is surrounded by an average of 15,000 fluttering butterflies within the outdoor enclosure.

Inside the NatureLand - lush greenery, waterfalls and rock formations

The outdoor flight enclosure, called The NatureLand, features ample signage with snippets of information to educate the visitor about the butterflies that he encounters on his route. The clever use of pathways that wind in and out of "caves" and into the open high-volumed spaces keeps the visitor engaged and entertained. Moving up and down along ramps, the visitor may not realise that the vertical elevation is also utilised to add interest to the experience and create ever-changing vistas.

The high volumed NatureLand. Larger butterflies such as the Birdwings fly without obstructions

Lush greenery and the sound of falling water add to the tropical forest experience, and the fluttering butterflies - feeding, sunbathing and chasing each other around, heightens the nature experience in an outdoor tropical setting. Besides butterflies, other invertebrates and reptiles are also featured as they are very much a part of the ecological experience, when one is out in the field. The visitor will be amazed at the variety of dragonflies, scorpions, millipedes, stick and leaf insects and many other surprises that are featured along the journey.

Participants at the Butterfly Release in the NatureLand enclosure

The outdoor circulation route in The Natureland is designed based on universal design principles. The route is wheelchair friendly, and seats are thoughtfully placed for the elderly to take short rest stops along the ramps. The ambient temperature is surprisingly cool, probably because of the greenery and water features that help to keep the outdoor temperatures at bay without the use of airconditioning.

Universal design - ramps and pathways, changing vistas

After the visitor is happy with the outdoor experience, the journey is not over yet! The second part of the educational tour begins in the two-storey indoor discovery centre called The Cocoon. Joseph Goh shared that "“The Cocoon is entirely a state-of-the-art facility enhancing visitors’ experiences with technology guided interpretation."

The Cocoon - indoor educational and learning facility. Good signage and interactive displays

Indeed, as your eyes adjust to the dim lighting when you move indoors, you experience a different world where technology takes over the next leg of the educational and learning journey. Large interpretative signage with physical and larger-than-life sculptures welcome you into this indoor world. The cool airconditioned space in the Cocoon is a welcome change to the warm humid conditions outside, as you slow down your pace and read the educational signs that tell you everything you need to know about butterflies.

Touch-screen interactive educational stations for those who are hungry for more information

A special display in the Cocoon features fireflies, spiders and a whole spectrum of other invertebrates. Digital media is also used to augment the learning experience beyond what static signage can do. Touch-screen computer screens offer a whole lot of information from taxonomic classification of butterflies, to behaviour and life histories.

Breeding Ground - display of host plants, early stages and how the pupae are prepared for eclosion - all behind a glass screen : see no touch!

As the visitor exits from the educational and learning journey into the souvenir shop at the end of the facility, he may not be totally aware that he has walked a total of about 1.7km through the Natureland and Cocoon! If a typical visitor takes his time to read all the signs and experience the butterflies in the outdoor area, an estimated visit time of about 4 hours is probably just about right.

The F&B outlet - Tapestree for the hungry and thirsty

There is even an F&B outlet aptly called the Tapestree within Entopia to cater to the thirsty and hungry visitor. Special dining areas for functions and corporate events are also well located with a full vantage view of the Natureland, where diners can enjoy their food in airconditioned comfort whilst watching the colourful butterflies flutter around.

Founder of Penang Butterfly Farm, David Goh standing proudly at his gallery of distinguished visitors

I was also shown the office area where there is a gallery of photos showing all the distinguished visitors to the Butterfly Farm through the years. I also spotted a shot of Singapore's founding Prime Minister, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, smiling widely with an Atlas Moth perched on his shirt when he visited the Butterfly Farm many years ago.

Staff working area overlooking the NatureLand

It was impressive to note that the staff office area had a nice window view into the NatureLand. So even the "back-of-house" is actually visually well-connected to the outdoors where staff can also enjoy the butterflies!

The souvenir shop at the end of your journey through Entopia

For the standard entrance fee rate of RM49 (or SGD16.50), the visit to Entopia is certainly value for money! Compared to Singapore's Sentosa Butterfly and Insect Kingdom, which has a similarly-priced entrance fee, Entopia offers much better value, a far richer experience and educational journey to the layman nature enthusiast or the expert butterfly researcher alike. There is also a Friends of Entopia membership which allows members unlimited year-round entry to Entopia and also a members-only lounge.

So, for those who have more than a day to spend in Penang, do pay a visit to Entopia and immerse yourselves in the world of butterflies and more. You will not be disappointed!

CEO of Entopia, Joseph Goh and me

Text and Photos by Khew SK

Disclaimer : The author has no vested interest in Entopia, other than a common love for butterflies with David and Joseph Goh

Acknowledgement : To my friends, David and Joseph Goh for your kind invitation to the Grand Opening of Entopia, and a special congratulations to all Entopians for realising a dream that you can all be very proud of.

Butterflies' Larval Host Plants #10
The Mango (Mangifera indica)

This 10th instalment of our Butterflies' Larval Host Plants series features Mangifera indica (Mango), a species of the family Anacardiaceae (Cashew or Sumac or Poison Ivy family). This family includes 83 genera and 860 known species, several of which are of economic importance (eg. Cashew, Sumac and Mango). The genus Mangifera contains about 69 species which occur mainly in subtropical and tropical South and Southeast Asia, and a fair number of them bear edible fruits. The species name "indica" has the Latin meaning "of India".

A young, cultivated Mango tree in the Jurong Eco Garden.

Mango is known as the national fruit of India, Pakistan and Philippines. Originated in South Asia and domesticated in India at around 2000 BC, cultivated varieties of Mango have been brought to other tropical and frost-free subtropical regions in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. In mainland Singapore, Mango trees used to be a common sight in fruit farms or rural villages, but nowadays they are more likely found as wayside trees, as cultivated plants in public parks and gardens, or in households on landed properties. Some wild specimens can also be found in abandoned farmlands, wastelands and along the fringes of nature reserves.

Besides the obvious use of the Mango fruits as food, various parts of Mango have been used in traditional medicine for their anti-diuretic, anti-diarrheal and anti-emetic properties. On the flip side, the fruit peel contains allergenic urushiol which could causes skin rash for persons sensitive to such allergens.

Plant Biodata :
Family : Anacardiaceae
Genus : Mangifera
Species : indica
Synonyms : M. amba, M. anisodora, M. austro-yunnanensis, M. domestica.
Country/Region of Origin : South Asia
English Common Name : Mango, Mango Tree
Other Local Names : Cuckoo's joy, Mangga, Mammuang, Manga, 芒果.
Larval Host for Butterfly Species: Euthalia aconthea gurda (Baron), Rapala pheretima sequeira (Copper Flash).

A flowering Mango tree in a public housing estate in Jurong.

A large Mango tree found in Mount Faber Park.

Mango is an evergreen tree with a dark green and spreading crown. It can grow to a large tree up to 38-45m in height with its trunk 60-120cm in diameter. The dark grey bark is rough with vertical fissures. It is astringent and is employed against rheumatism and diphtheria in India. The wood has been used in plywood and low-cost furniture.

Both young and mature leaves of a Mango tree.

The leaves are elliptic, elliptic-lanceolate or linear-oblong in shape, 9-40cm in length and 2.5-8 cm in width. They are simple and alternately arranged, and clustered at the tips of branches. Young leaves are initially reddish brown, then turning yellowish green to dark green when fully matured. In some places, young and tender leaves are used to make an infusion for treating early diabetes.

A closer view of a branch of a Mango tree bearing both young and maturing leaves.

The clustered arrangement of leaves at the tip of a branchlet of a Mango tree.

Flowers of Mango are small, 5mm in diameter, white-yellowish, and occur in terminal panicles. These bisexual flowers attract pollinators such as bees, flies, ants and bats.

A terminal panicle bearing flowers and flower buds.

Closer view showing flowers and flower buds of a Mango tree.

A close-up view of a flower of Mango.

Each mango fruit is a green-yellowish-red drupe (a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed) with edible flesh, 5-15cm long. The shape could vary from round, oval to kidney-shaped, depending on the cultivated varieties. Young fruits are green in colour while mature fruits are yellow to orange. The soft pulp is typically sweet and juicy. Each fruit bears a single, inedible seed encased in a fibrous coat. Both the seeds and flowers of Mango have been used in the treatment of diarrhea.

Tiny young fruits of Mango.

Developing fruits of Mango, yet to reach their mature size.

Close-up view of a fully developed Mango fruit.

In Singapore, the Mango tree also serves as the larval host plant for two butterfly species: Baron (limenitid) and Copper Flash (lycaenid).

A Baron butterfly.

A Copper Flash butterfly.

Eggs of the Baron are laid on the surface of a mature leaf, whilst those of the Copper Flash are laid on the young leaves or young shoots of Mango.

Two views of an egg of the Baron found in Mount Faber Park.

A close-up view of a tiny egg of the Copper Flash.

Caterpillars of the Baron feed on mature leaves of Mango and typically rest on the leaf upperside with its body axis aligned with the main vein of the leaf. The pale dorsal band and its feathery appearance help to conceal the caterpillar from prying eyes. Copper Flash caterpillars, in contrast, feed only on the young and tender leaves of Mango. Typically their presence is indicated by a number of attending ants.

A mature leaf of Mango in Mount Faber Park, with a final-instar Baron caterpillar resting on it. Can you spot it?

A closer view of the final instar caterpillar of the Baron.

Two views of a final instar caterpillar of the Copper Flash resting on a young leaf of Mango.

Caterpillars of the Baron typically pupate on the underside of a Mango leaf, whereas those of the Copper Flash will do so on a leaf surface or in leaf litter.

Two views of a pupa of the Baron.

Two views of a pupa of the Copper Flash.

References:

The Concise Flora of Singapore : Hsuan Keng Singapore University Press, 1990.

Asianplant.net - Mangifera indica.

Nature Loves You - Mangifera indica.

Pharmacognosy Reviews, 4(7), pp.42-48, 2010: Mangifera indica (Mango).

Useful Tropical Plants - Mangifera indica.

Wikipedia - Mangifera indica.

Uses of Mango Leaves, Seeds and Bark.

Text and Photos by Horace Tan.

Butterfly Photography 101
Part 2 - Macro Photography and Magnification Devices

In my earlier article, we introduced a variety of image-capturing equipment that can take pictures of butterflies. These range from a humble smartphone with a camera, to a wide spectrum of point-and-shoot digital cameras, to the high end Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras with full-frame or APS sized (cropped frame) sensors.

Some serious (!) DSLR equipment with dedicated lens, multiple flashes, tripod and tripod for macro photography

In Part 2 of the series, we leave the lower end digital cameras aside, and assume that you have now jumped onto the DSLR bandwagon and are looking for the appropriate magnification devices to start you on your journey to butterfly photography. As you may have already been researching on the internet, the range of equipment to couple with your DSLR camera body can be quite mind-boggling. Learning more about each different device, you may end up having more unanswered questions!

A 1:1 magnification shot of a Cycad Blue

Firstly, let us define what we typically refer to as "macro photography" with reference to butterfly photography. The term "macro" has often been loosely used to market a whole range of equipment, ranging from general purpose lenses, close-up filters to the true specialised macro lenses. So let us define the basic parameters of what constitutes a good macro device. A macro lens or any photographic combo in macro photography begins with a one-to-one ratio (depicted frequently as 1:1 ratio).

A 1:1 macro shot of a large butterfly, the Saturn (Zeuxidia amethystus amethystus)

So what is a 1:1 ratio? A lens or a combination of devices attached to any lens that can achieve a 1:1 ratio means that the lens or lens combo is "capable of projecting the real life size of a subject onto the sensor of the camera body". Not all macro lenses nor those which are labelled as "macro lenses" are capable of this 1:1 ratio. For example, the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM is touted as a "macro" lens, but if you look at the technical specifications of the lens, the maximum magnification of the lens is only 1:3. This means that you can only get one-third of the actual size of a subject on the sensor at the minimum focusing distance.

A simple graphical comparison and explanation of magnification ratios © Nancy Rotenberg and Michael Lustbader

The slide above shows the various magnification ratios from 1:1 to 2:1. So when you pick an all-in-one "macro" lens for your butterfly photography, take a look at the technical specifications of the lens and check to see what its maximum magnification is. Whilst a non 1:1 lens works for general butterfly photography of larger butterflies, you will be hard-pressed to get the details and actual size of a small butterfly with a lens that has a magnification ratio that is 1:2 or 1:4. This is particularly so, when the subject itself is smaller than the sensor of your camera.

So what other photographic devices or attachments that can get you close to 1:1 ratio? A list of possible equipment (from cheapest to the most expensive) is :

Reversing Rings with prime/zoom lens combo
Stacked lenses via adaptor filter rings
Extension tubes
Closeup (or diopter) filters
Teleconverters
Dedicated macro lenses

A Nikon system using a reversing ring to reverse an 18-55mm standard zoom lens for close-up photography

Reversing Ring

For enthusiasts who have bought a basic DSLR with a kit lens (e.g. 18-55mm), it is possible to get 1:1 magnification ratio (or even more) by simply purchasing a reversing ring and attaching it to your camera body with the lens reversed. A reversing ring is essentially a simple device that has the camera mount on one side, and screw mount on the other. This allows your lens to be mounted backwards onto your camera.

Using a reversing ring and how a prime lens would look like, from the front, when reversed

This is probably the cheapest option you have, to get larger-than-life images with your existing equipment, without having to spend exorbitant amounts of money on specialised equipment. However, be aware that you lose all electronic controls over aperture, AF and so on, and you will have to manage everything in manual mode. The depth of field is also very shallow, and you may not get the quality of image that you hoped for. A basic article describing how to use a reversing ring for Canon cameras can be found here.

Stacked Lenses

Stacking a Sigma macro lens with a prime lens for high magnification photography

Equally cheap and probably as effective in getting higher magnification on your subjects, is combining two lenses, with one of them reversed. This is possible by using a male-to-male filter coupler. This allows two lenses to be attached facing each other. Combining two short focal length prime lenses give the best results. The formula for calculating the magnification that you can get from stacking lenses is focal length of prime lens divided by focal length of reversed lens. Some explanation on the use of stacked lenses can be found here.

Extension Tubes

Next device up the list is the extension tube. An extension tube works by creating more space between the lens and the digital sensor. By "extending" the lens away from the camera body, you enable yourself to get closer to the subject. As you increase the size of the extension tube, you increase the ability to move even closer. The relationship between the focal length of a lens and the dimension of an extension tube determines how close you can get to a subject while achieving focus. The closer you can get, the greater the magnification.

Extension tubes from 3rd party manufacturer, Uniplus. Note electrical contacts that allows the primary lens to electronically communicate with the camera body, therefore retaining autofocus and aperture controls

For many lenses, the minimum focusing distance can be reduced by attaching an extension tube (or several extension tubes in tandem) to increase the magnification of the lens. This allows the photographer to go in closer to get a magnification ratio that would otherwise not be possible just with the lens. However, the lens can no longer focus to infinity and you will have to move in and out to get within the focusing distance of the lens with the extension tube combo.

Attaching a 25mm extension tube to a Nikkor 105mm macro lens for greater than 1:1 magnification

If you use extension tubes, buy those with the electrical contacts that still allow the camera body to communicate with the lens. Third party extension tubes are adequate, and these often come in a set of three - 12.5mm, 25mm and 50mm tubes, and cost in the region of SGD$180-$250. As extension tubes have no glass elements in them, there is minimal or no effect on the optics of your existing lenses. Additional information explaining the use of extension tubes, including a magnification ratio calculator can be found here.

Close-Up Filters

A Nikon dual-element close up filter and a standard Hoya +2 diopter close-up filter

The next device that a photographer may want to consider, is a close-up filter. In very layman terms, this is equivalent to using a magnifying glass in front of your eyes to enlarge something that you are looking at. The close-up filter screws in front of your lens, and enlarges the image onto the camera's sensor. As there are many types of such close-up filters with a wide range of diopters, choose the dual element types as these correct for optical aberrations and give you decently sharp images.

Teleconverters

Slightly further up on the list of magnification devices (cost-wise), is the teleconverter (or tele extender). This is basically a magnifying lens that is attached between your camera body and the lens in use. Teleconvertors come in various magnifications like 1.4x, 1.7x, 2.0x and even up to 3.0x. A 2.0x teleconvertor would enable a macro lens that does 1:1 magnification the ability to do 2:1 at the same working distance or 1:1 at twice the working distance.

Two brands of 3rd party 1.4x teleconverters - Left : Sigma APO 1.4x teleconverter. Right : Teleplus 1.4x teleconverter

The downside of using a teleconvertor is that putting additional glass elements between the primary lens and the camera's sensor implies that there may be some image degradation. Furthermore, the amount of light reaching the sensor is reduced and you will have to increase the aperture to get the correct exposure. A good branded teleconvertor may also set you back about SGD$400 or more!

A Sigma 1.4x teleconverter attached to a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro lens

The unique features of using each of these magnifying devices mentioned above can also be combined - i.e. using extension tubes with teleconverters, or teleconverters with close up filters or even all three! However, the combo may be heavy, lopsided and impractical for shooting butterflies in the field.

Dedicated Macro Lenses

The "ideal" lens for photographing butterflies is the dedicated macro lens. Usually more costly than standard lenses, the macro lens is designed for close-up work and most can achieve a 1:1 magnification ratio. The focal lengths of macro lenses can range from 50mm to a high of 200mm. Remember that all these can achieve 1:1 magnification ratio. The longer the focal length of the macro lens, the better the working distance between you and the subject. In the case of butterflies, which may be skittish, a longer working distance makes a difference between getting a good shot of the butterfly, or getting a good shot of the leaf on which the butterfly sat - after it had flown off!

Working distance comparison amongst various 1:1 macro lenses

A table showing a list of the popular 1:1 macro lenses and the working distance (the distance between the subject and the camera's sensor at the closest focusing distance). Note that the choice of lenses will also determine how much you can afford to spend on these specialised lenses. The longer the focal length of the lens, the higher the price. The cost of a dedicated macro lens can range between SGD$600 to SGD$2,200.

Various dedicated macro lenses that feature 1:1 magnification ratios. From left to right : Nikkor 105mm f2.8 Macro, Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM APO Macro, Tamron SP AF 180mm F/3.5 Di LD[IF] Macro and Sigma APO Macro 180mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro

Many ButterflyCircle members use the Tamron 180mm macro lens. This is a very capable lens with accurate colour rendition and bokeh. It is relatively light compared with the 180-200mm range of macro lenses from Canon, Nikon and Sigma, although the AF could be better. However, it is an excellent workhorse, robust in design and is a good all-round lens for butterfly photography.

© Tamron Website : Tamron SP AF 180mm F/3.5 Di LD[IF] Macro - an excellent "standard issue" weapon of choice for butterfly shooters

Shorter macro lenses are less expensive and those in the 90-100mm range are quite usable for the more cooperative butterflies. Anything below these focal lengths for macro lenses would not be too practical for shooting butterflies as you will have to go really close to the subject and more often than not, scare the butterfly off before you can take a shot. In recent years, new macro lenses have incorporated gyro-stabilisers into the lenses (IS, OS, VR, VC equivalent) to help deal with motion blur. This feature tends to increase the weight and dimensions of the lenses, and obviously, the price.

And there you go, a very basic article to help photographers who would like to shoot butterflies, decide on the variety of devices that are available to start off their journey in butterfly photography using a DSLR system.

Text and Photos by Khew SK

Butterfly Photography 101 Series :

Part 1 : Hardware and Equipment

References :

The Complete Guide to Close-up and Macro Photography by Paul Harcourt Davies ISBN 0 7153 0800 9
How to Photograph Close-ups in Nature by Nancy Rotenberg and Michael Lustbader ISBN 0 8117 2457 3

Life History of the Chocolate Royal (Remelana jangala travana)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Remelana Moore, 1884
Species: jangala Horsfield, 1829
Subspecies:travana Hewitson, 1865
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 31-35mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Ixora 'Super Pink' hybrid/cultivar. of Ixora chinensis (Rubiaceae, common name: Ixora, chinese name: 龙船花), Eurya acuminata (Theaceae, chinese name: 尖叶柃).

A female Chocolate Royal.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
On the upperside, the male is deep lustrous purple with broad brown border on both wings; the female is paler purple and different from the male in having basal areas of spaces 2 and 3 entirely purple. On the underside, both sexes are brown with conspicuous cell-end bars and post-discal series of dark brown striae on both wings. The prominent black tornal spot and the black marginal spot in space 2 are bothcrowned with brilliant metallic green/blue scaling. Between and beyond the two spots, the marginal area of spaces 1a, 1b and 3 is also covered with same metallic scaling. There are two pairs of white-tipped tails at the end of veins 1b and 2.

Field Observations:
This species is moderately rare in Singapore and can be found in forested areas of the nature reserves. There are also infrequent sightings of this species in urban parks and gardens. Adults are fast flyers and make rapid sorties among foliage. Both sexes have been observed to visit flowers of various plants for nectar. The male has also been observed to puddle on wet grounds.

Early Stages:
Two local host plants have been recorded for the Chocolate Royal. They are Eurya acuminata and Ixora 'Super Pink'. Caterpillars of the Chocolate Royal feed on the flowers, flower buds, and young and tender leaves of the host plants. In the wild, the caterpillars are found in the company of attending ants.

5th instar caterpillar and the pre-pupa of Chocolate Royal being attended by ants.

Local host plant #1: Ixora 'Super Pink'.

Local host plant #2: Eurya acuminata.

The eggs are laid singly on the underside of leaves, young shoots, on or in the vicinity of flower buds of the host plants. Each egg is about 0.7-08mm in diameter, white with a strong greenish tinge when freshly laid. It is burger-shaped with a depressed micropylar at the pole and a surface reticulated with rather large polygonal depressions.

Two views of an egg of the Chocolate Royal, laid on leaf underside.

An egg of the Chocolate Royal laid on the flower bud of Ixora 'Super Pink'.

It takes about 3 days for the egg to hatch. The caterpillar nibbles away the polar portion of the egg shell to emerge, and does not eat the egg shell remnant. The newly hatched is pale yellowish with lateral orangy brown bands running lengthwise. Its body has a length of about 1.3mm and has long setae dorso-laterally and laterally. The prothoracic shield are both pale brown. Typically the newly hatched finds its way to adjacent flower buds, feeding on the peduncle or the bud proper where it will bore a hole to reach the flower parts within. After about 3 days of growth in the first instar, and reaching a length of about 2.5-2.7mm, the caterpillar moults to the next instar.

Two views of a 1st caterpillar, newly hatched, length: 1.3mm.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 2mm.

An early 1st instar caterpillar eating away the peduncle (flower stalk) of an Ixora flower.

In the 2nd instar caterpillar, the prothoracic shield and the head are both black, a significant change from the earlier pale brown coloration. The body still features reddish brown lateral bands and bear numerous short fine setae on its surface. On the dorsum of the 7th abdominal segment, the dorsal nectary organ is present but still inconspicuous. The 2nd instar caterpillar reaches a length of about 3.6-3.9mm, and after about 3 days in this stage, it moults again.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, eating its exuvia, length: 2.5mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, length: 3mm.

A 2nd instar caterpillar of the Chocolate Royal on a young shoot of Ixora 'Super Pink'.

The 3rd instar caterpillar loses the contrasting lateral brown bands in the previous instars. Its body is now uniformly coloured in pale yellowish brown to pale green. The prothoracic shield and the head retains the black coloration. The dorsal nectary organ is now more conspicuous and has a short bar-like appearance. There is no visible sign of any tentacular organs (common in many other lycaenid species) on the 8th abdominal segment. The 3rd instar takes about 3 days to complete with the body length reaching about 6.5-7mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, length: 5.5mm.

Two views of a late 3rd instar caterpillar, length: 7mm.

An early 3rd instar caterpillar of the Chocolate Royal boring a hole on the flower bud of Ixora 'Super Pink'.

The 4th instar caterpillar resembles the 3rd instar closely. Its body is still yellowish green to dull green, covered with numerous tiny setae. The black coloration of the prothoracic shield is retained in some specimens but changed to a brown to pale brown coloration in others. The bar-like dorsal nectary organ is marked with two reddish brown marks around a central white speck, giving it a prominent appearance. The 4th instar takes about 3 days to complete with the body length reaching 12.5-13mm.

Two views of an early 4th instar caterpillar, length: 7.5mm.

Two views of a late 4th instar caterpillar, length: 12.5mm.

A 4th instar caterpillar of the Chocolate Royal feeding on an Ixora flower.

A 4th instar caterpillar of the Chocolate Royal feeding on an flower bud of Eurya acuminata.

The 5th instar caterpillar has similar markings as in the 4th instar. The body colour takes on a brighter shade of yellowish green and the prothoracic shield, together with rest of the prothorax, has faded further to pale yellowish brown. When an ant approaches, the dorsal nectary organ can be observed to protrude and exude droplets of clear nectary fluid.

Two views of a newly moulted 5th instar caterpillar, length: 12mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 20.5mm.

Close-up view of the prothorax and the dorsal nectary organ of a 5th instar caterpillar of the Chocolate Royal. Lower left: dorsal nectary organ; lower right: the prothorax.

A 5th instar caterpillar of the Chocolate Royal eating flower buds of Eurya acuminata.

A 5th instar caterpillar of the Chocolate Royal eating flower buds of Ixora 'Super Pink'.

After about 5-6 days of feeding and reaching a length of about 21-23mm, the caterpillar stops food intake and wanders around for a pupation site. During this time, its body gradually shortened. Typically the caterpillar chooses a site on the sheltered surface of a leaf for its pupation site.

An ant triggers the protrusion of the dorsal nectary organ of a Chocolate Royal caterpillar and reaping its reward.

The dark jade-green pre-pupatory caterpillar prepares for pupation by spinning a silk girdle and a silk pad to which it attaches itself via anal claspers. After about 1 day as a pre-pupa, pupation takes place. The pupa is predominantly jade green and has numerous small whitish speckles. Pupal length: 12-13mm. The stout pupa has a typical lycaenid shape with a short abdomen.

Two views of a pre-pupa of the Chocolate Royal.

Two views of a pupa of the Chocolate Royal.

Six to seven days later, the pupa turns black, mostly in the thorax and wing pads. The bluish patch on the forewing upperside of the adult can now be seen in the wing pads. The next day, the pupal stage comes to an end with the emergence of the adult butterfly.

Two views of a mature pupa of a Chocolate Royal.

A newly eclosed Chocolate Royal.

References:

[C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society, 1992.

Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012.

A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew S.K., Ink On Paper Communications, 2nd Edition, 2015.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Koh Cher Hern, Goh LC, Nelson Ong, Sunny Chir, Khew S K and Horace Tan

Butterfly of the Month - August 2016
The Club Silverline (Spindasis syama terana)

The hot humid weather at the height of the summer months seems to have brought out a relatively good season of butterflies across the region. There has been a good series of butterfly postings on our FaceBook Group from Vietnam to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. It would be interesting to trace butterfly activity over the years and ascertain the effect weather patterns have on the abundance and diversity of species across the region.

Reading the headlines on news portals over the past few weeks can be rather depressing as the series of terrorist and other disastrous events caused by psychotic individuals (or groups) continued to hit the news. First it was Orlando. Then Nice. And Bavaria. Munich. Kabul. Fort Myers. Sagamihara. And the coup in Istanbul. One author calls it 'toxic masculinity'. She goes on to say "Toxic masculinity finds expression in fascism, sexism, white supremacy, Islamophobia, xenophobia, jingoism, capitalism, homophobia, rape culture and patriarchy, in the glamourisation of military culture."

And then there was the recent arrest of 6 suspects who were in the process of launching a rocket from nearby Batam island in Indonesia towards Singapore. Whilst some netizens laughed it off as "additional fireworks" for Singapore, as our island nation celebrates our National Day next week, authorities are not amused. The threat is indeed real, and I recall one retired Minister saying "it's not the size of the explosion that is of concern, but the signature of the blast". Food for thought... as far as our hitherto safe Little Red Dot is concerned.

Our Prime Minister's visit to the US made the news in the past week, showcasing the close diplomatic ties and support between the US and Singapore over the years. All the more apt, as the US is on the threshold of a change in the Presidency and no one can predict how the world's biggest economic power will view our part of the world, as far as its future foreign policy is concerned, particularly towards Asia. It's something that will be closely watched as Americans go to vote soon.

Interestingly, an unlikely dinosaur-themed denim pouch stole the news limelight after Ho Ching carried it to the official arrival ceremony at the White House in Washington DC. The S$14.80 pouch, designed by Seetoh Sheng Jie, who has autism, created more buzz on the news portals than one could ever imagine such a humble pouch would! Goes to show that the value and meaningfulness of one's actions and material possessions are more important than their cost and opulence.

Let's turn to our Butterfly of the Month for August 2016, which is Singapore's 51st birthday after independence. This month, we feature a small but attractive butterfly from the Aphnaeinae subfamily of the Lycaenidae family - the Club Silverline (Spindasis syama terana). This is one of two species of the Silverlines that are found in Singapore.

Both the Club Silverline and its closely-related cousin, the Long Banded Silverline (Spindasis lohita senama) are more often found in urban parks and gardens than in the forested nature reserves of Singapore. The Silverlines are characterised by their banded appearance on the undersides of their wings, centred with attractive silvery markings. The hindwing bears a pair of delicate filamentous white-tipped tails.

Club Silverlines feeding on the flowers of Leea rubra and Cordia cylindistrachya

Both species can be considered 'moderately common' and often frequent the same locations. The caterpillars feed on a variety of plants. The Club Silverline is a fast-flyer and is regularly seen feeding on the flowers of the Red Tree Shrub (Leea rubra) and StringBush (Cordia cylindristachya). At times, if disturbed, it flies off quickly and perches on the underside of a leaf to hide itself.

An aberrant Club Silverline with the forewing sub-apical markings distinctly detached

The Club Silverline usually stops and rests with its wings folded upright and sometimes observed stopping on a blade of grass, with its head facing downwards. At certain times of the day, however, it can be observed stopping with its wings opened flat to sunbathe. This behaviour, although not common, is observed in both the male and female of this species.

Male and female Club Silverline sunbathing, showin the uppersides of their wings

The male is deep aquamarine blue on the upperside with broad black apical borders on the forewing. The female is a dull steely-blue above and generally unmarked, although the underside markings can often be perceptible through the wings. The underside is an whitish-cream ground colour with black streaks infilled with silvery streaks. In some individuals, the black streaks may be replaced with burgundy streaks instead (more like the Long Banded Silverline)

A Club Silverline with the bands in red rather than the usual black

The distinguishing markings between this species and its closely-related cousin, the Long-Banded Silverline, can be found in the basal area on the underside of the forewing. The basal streak is L-shaped in the Long Banded Silverline, but club-shaped in the Club Silverline. The hindwing has two white-tipped tails emerging from a prominent orange tornal patch

On behalf of ButterflyCircle members, we would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Singaporean readers a Happy 51st Birthday on our National Day on 9 Aug 2016!

Majulah Singapura!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Anthony Wong, Mark Wong and Benjamin Yam

Butterflies' Larval Host Plants #11
The Sea-Shore Ardisia (Ardisia elliptica)

This 11th instalment of our Butterflies' Larval Host Plants series features Ardisia elliptica, a species in Primulaceae (primrose family). This family of flowering plants has close to 3000 species and include a number of garden plants and wild flowers. The genus Ardisia (coralberry or marlberry) has about 400 odd species which occur in either tree or shrub forms.

A flowering Ardisia elliptica.

A fruiting Ardisia elliptica.

Ardisia elliptica is native to India, Sri Lanka, South East Asia and New Guinea. Over the years, it has been introduced to other tropical regions as ornamental plants. In Singapore, it is readily found as cultivated plants in various parks and gardens. Due to its ability to reproduce prolifically, wild specimens in tidal swamps, nature reserves and wastelands are not uncommon too.

An Ardisia elliptica plant in the Chinese Garden in Jurong.

Plant Biodata:
Family: Primulaceae
Genus: Ardisia
Species: elliptica
Synonyms: A. solanacea, C. humilis
Country/Region of Origin: India, Sri Lanka, South East Asia and New Guinea
English Common Names: Sea-Shore Ardisia, Shoebutton Ardisia
Other Local Names: Mata Pelanduk, 兰屿树杞 , 东方紫金牛
Larval Host for Butterfly Species: Taxila haquinus haquinus (Harlequin), Abisara saturata kausambioides (Malayan Plum Judy), Nacaduba kurava nemana (Transparent Sixline Blue).

A row of young Ardisia elliptica plants forming a hedge in Changi coastal park in the east.

Ardisia elliptica is a understory shrub which can grow up to 5 meters in height. Young stems and petioles are reddish pink in colour. Branches projecting sideways from a stem have leaves arranged on them alternately. Young leaves are reddish pink in colour as well but the coloration fades to reddish brown as it grows.

A young sapling of Ardisia elliptica.

Change in coloration as the leaf of Ardisia elliptica grows and matures.

Mature leaves are green, leathery, elliptic to elliptic-obovate in shape and have nearly invisible lateral veins. The leaf margin is entire (that is smooth all the way round). Leaves of Ardisia elliptica have been used medicinally to treat heart pain, scabies and intestinal worms.

A small cluster of young leaves of Ardisia elliptica.

Mature leaves of Ardisia elliptica, note the alternative arrangement of leaves on each branch.

Flowers occur in umbellate inflorescences (flower clusters in which stalks of nearly equal length spring from a common centre) which develop in leaf axils. Each of these small, star-shaped flowers has five light pink petals.

Umbellate inforescences of flower buds.

Close up view of a flower of Ardisia elliptica.

The small berry-like fruits are roundish, initially green, turning red as they mature and finally deep purple/black when ripened. They are edible but insipid. The single seed within each fruit is approximately spherical. The dispersement of these seeds are aided by fruiting-eating birds.

Clusters of young fruits of Ardisia elliptica.

Maturing and ripended fruits of Ardisia elliptica.

In Singapore, Ardisia elliptica also serves as the larval host plant for three butterfly species: Harlequin, Malayan Plum Judy and Transparent Sixline Blue. The first two are riodinid butterflies, while the last one is a lycaenid.

A female Harlequin.

A male Harlequin.

A female Malayan Plum Judy.

A male Malayan Plum Judy.

A Transparent Sixline Blue.

Eggs of both Harlequin and Malayan Plum Judy are laid singly on leaf surface, typically on the underside. In contrast, eggs of the Transparent Sixline Blue are laid singly on young shoots and sometimes on the pedicel of a flower.

Two views of an egg of the Malayan Plum Judy.

Two views of an egg of the Harlequin.

An egg of the Transparent Sixline Blue laid on a young shoot of Ardisia elliptica.

Caterpillars of the Harlequin and Malayan Plum Judy feed on both developing and mature leaves of Ardisia ellitica while those of the Transparent Sixline Blue feed mainly on flower buds, often with ants in attendance.

A caterpillar of the Transparent Sixline Blue feeding on a flower bud of Ardisia elliptica in the presence of two ants. An empty egg shell can be seen near the base of the pedicel.

A final instar caterpillar of the Transparent Sixline Blue feeding on a flower bud of Ardisia elliptica.

Two views of a final instar caterpillar of the Malayan Plum Judy.

Two views of a final instar caterpillar of the Harlequin.

Caterpillars of the Harlequin and Malayan Plum Judy both choose to pupate on the underside of a leaf. Their pupae are secured via a silk girdle as well as cremastral attachment to a silk pad on the leaf surface. They have close resemblance but those of the Harlequin have reddish brown markings not found in those of the Malayan Plum Judy.

Two views of a pupa of the Malayan Plum Judy.

The pupae of the Transparent Sixline Blue have the typical lycaenid shape, pale brownish with black spots. They are also secured via silk girdle and cremastral attachment.

A pupa of the Transparent Sixline Blue.

References:

The Concise Flora of Singapore : Hsuan Keng Singapore University Press, 1990.

1001 Garden Plants in Singapore : Boo Chih Min, Kartini Omar-Hor and Ou-Yang Chow Lin, National Parks Board, 2nd Edition 2007.

Wild Singapore - Mata pelandok or Seashore ardisia.

DNA, Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum - Ardisia elliptica.

Ardisia elliptica, Wikipedia.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK and Horace Tan.

Butterfly Photography at Our Local Parks
Featuring : Upper SeletarReservoir Park

The pavilions at Carpark 'B' - a good starting point for your exploration of Upper Seletar Reservoir Park's biodiversity

In this weekend's article about butterfly photography at Singapore's local parks, we feature a nature park that is on the banks of our Upper Seletar Reservoir. This park, called Upper Seletar Reservoir Park, is also immediately adjacent to Central Catchment Nature Reserve and is more heavily forested than the usual urban parks that we have featured in this series. The 9-hole, Par 29 Mandai Executive Golf Course and Driving Range is also next to this park.

Lush forest edge greenery

Upper Seletar Reservoir Park covers about 15 Hectares of natural vegetation and is less heavily landscaped than a typical urban park. Where external planting is added to the area, these are minimal and the species selected appear to be more compatible with the nature reserves, where more native species are planted. The larger part of the park is left in its natural "wild" state with primary and secondary forest plants dominating the whole area.

Tranquil views of the Upper Seletar Reservoir

The Upper Seletar Reservoir, Singapore's 3rd impounding reservoir, (previously called the Seletar Reservoir), was built in 1920 and finally completed, after some upgrades in 1940. It was officially opened by Princess Alexandra of England in August 1969.

The landmark rocket-shaped tower at Upper Seletar Reservoir Park. It is now a nationally-conserved structure for its heritage value.
Left : As it looks today. Right : On the opening day in 1969. © National Library Board and Dr Chua Ai Lin

A rocket-shaped tower was designed by Singapore's Public Works Department (PWD) and completed that year, in time for the grand opening of the reservoir. The 18m tall, six-storey iconic tower was a favourite with Singaporeans during that period. It was given conservation status in 2009 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Access to Upper Seletar Reservoir Park can be quite inconvenient for non-drivers, although there is a bus service (Service 138) that stops along Mandai Road and it's a short walk to the nature areas from the bus stop. The first stop of interest to butterfly watchers starts at the two pavilions at Carpark B. From here, there is a short forest trail immediately behind the toilet block leading towards Mandai Road Track 7.

The Syzygium trees bordering Car Park 'B' are active with butterflies when they are in full bloom

The forest vegetation immediately behind the pavilions can also be good for butterflies, particularly when the Syzygium trees flower. Many rare forest species can then be spotted feeding on the flowers. At other times, one needs to be patient and observe quietly for species like the Purple Duke, Malayan Lascar and a number of Oakblues (Arhopala spp.) that will appear in the undergrowth from time to time.

Along the heavily-shaded forest trails, look for the ground feeders like the Yellow Archduke, Dark Blue Jungle Glory and Common Faun

Inside the forest trail, there are also opportunities to observe many different forest-dependent species that one will not often find in urban parks and gardens. Due to the variety of forest host plants, many species of butterflies that are associated with these plants can be found here. In the shaded understorey of the forested areas, look out for the ground feeders like the Archdukes, Common Faun, Saturn and Dark Blue Jungle Glory.

The 'dead-end' roundabout at Car Park 'C' near the NCC canoe shed. The Green Oakblue occasionally makes its appearance here

Across from Mandai Road Track 7, the forest trail continues into an elbowed track and leads out to the other side of the road and to the roundabout "dead end" where the National Cadet Corps' canoe shed is. That area is also often a good hunting ground for butterfly watchers. Note that access beyond that area is not permitted and one chooses to wander beyond the out-of-bounds limits at their own risk. Please comply with the 'no-trespassing' signs by MINDEF and NParks.

There are ample rain shelters around the park to take refuge in, or just for a short break

As many species of butterflies like to fly around forest edges, the open areas fronting the lush vegetation are often good places to wait for butterflies to appear. Areas where there are flowering plants like the Ixora bushes, and even the wildflowers like Asystasia or Elephant's Foot are worth exploring. The invasive creeper, Smilax bracteata, a bane of parks managers, is also useful in that it is the host plant of two small Lycaenidae - Branded Imperial and Yamfly. Expect to see these two species in the forested areas.

There are several rare Palm-feeding Skippers to be found along the trails of USR

Due to the large numbers of different species of Palmae, Poaceae and Arecacae, there are many Hesperiidae and Satyrinae that can be found in the vicinity. The variety of parasitic plants that occur on the mature trees will also play host to a number of rare Lycaenidae, and indeed, the occasional sightings of such species will always make a trip to such nature parks worthwhile!

Do watch out for aggressive macaques around the park. Do not feed them and avoid any confrontations with them

As in any "wild" nature areas, be prepared for mosquito bites, the occasional bee/wasp sting, ticks (more recently, due to the presence of wild boars), snakes, centipedes and aggressive Long-Tailed Macaques. There are several troops of the macaques in the area, foraging for food, and human-macaque interactions in recent years have made them familiar with the food that comes with the "hairless monkeys". There have been regular reports of these macaques snatching food (or anything that looks edible) from visitors to the nature park.

USR is also a great place for other creatures and there is always plenty to amaze you

Besides butterflies, Upper Seletar Reservoir Park (codenamed "USR") is a hotbed of biodiversity, with many other taxonomic groups also recording a wide variety of species. Birders have often spotted rarities in the area and it is not surprising to see bird photographers with their big guns crowding the narrow trails of USR whenever a rare sighting is shared across the online groups.

The Plane, a rare Lycaenid that regularly makes an appearance at USR.
Top : Male ; Bottom : Female

Remember that this is a nature area and do not collect, damage or harm any of the biodiversity that you come across. Upper Seletar Reservoir Park has a lot to offer in terms of its flora and fauna, and it is hoped that the park will remain as a biodiversity haven for many years to come, so that different stakeholders can continue to enjoy the park.

How to Get There :

By MRT/Bus : Nearest current MRT is Khatib Bongsu, and thereafter by bus to Mandai Road. A future MRT station is being constructed near Springleaf area along Upper Thomson Road. Bus service No. 138 will stop just outside Upper Seletar Reservoir Park along Mandai Road.

By Car : See map for details. Park at Car Park 'B' and look for the pavilions as a starting point. Alternatively, park at the car parks along Mandai Road Track 7 towards the dead end near the toilet block adjacent to the NCC canoe shed. Car parking is free.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK and Loke PF

Butterflies' Favourite Nectaring Plants #7
The Spanish Needle (Bidens alba and Bidens pilosa)

In the 7th instalment of the series Butterflies' Favourite Nectaring plants, we feature an invasive weed that has become quite common in the wastelands and even cultivated gardens in Singapore. It is interesting to note that two or three decades ago, this plant (usually split into two different species) was largely unknown in Singapore. However, in recent years, it has somehow become quite widespread across the island.

An eight-petalled flower of the Spanish Needle

The plant that we are referring to, called the Spanish Needle (amongst a host of many other common names), is one of the favourite nectaring plants of butterflies. It is believed that there are two different species found in Singapore - Bidens pilosa and Bidens alba. The two species are almost indistiguishable in the field, and some botanists have lumped them as one species, whilst others believe they are hybrids of the same species. Due to their variability and existence of many hybrids for both species, we will, for all intents and purposes, deal with both species as a group in this article.

Plant Biodata :
Family : Asteraceae
Genus : Bidens
Species : pilosa and alba
Country of Origin : Tropical America
English Common Name : Shepherd's Needle, Spanish Needle, Romerillo, Common Beggarticks, Hairy Beggarticks, Cobbler's Pegs, Devil's Pitchforks, Black Jack.
Other Asian Names : 小白花鬼针, 鬼针草 (Chinese), 咸豐草 (Taiwanese), Ketul (Indonesia), Rumput Juala, Kancing Baju (Malaysia), Xuyến chi (Vietnamese), Pisau-pisau (Philippines), Ko-sendangusa (Japanese)

The debate amongst scientists and biologists continues regarding whether the two Bidens are distinct species or rolled into one. In the article by Robert Ballard in the American Journal of Botany Vol. 73, No. 10 (Oct., 1986), pp. 1452-1465, the separation of B. pilosa and B. alba was discussed and morphological differences explained. Generally, B. pilosa seeds have three to five barbs and B. alba has two or none. In addition, Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 279-281 proposed a key for the separation of the two species :
a) Ray florets 5-8 per head, rays 10-16 mm long: Bidens alba
b) Ray florets absent or 4-7 per head, rays 2-8 mm long: Bidens pilosa.

Top : Flower Bud of the Spanish Needle
Middle : Flower of the Spanish Needle
Bottom : Developing fruits of the Spanish Needle

As of January 2012, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plants database continued to maintain the separation of species, but the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (along with the Flora of North America) has adopted a more recent classification which rolls B. alba and B. odorata into B. pilosa. Whilst the scientists continue to lump or split the two species, let us take a look at this weed and how it affects butterfly populations in Singapore.

A pristine flower of the Spanish Needle

Bidens pilosa/alba is an annual herb that grows erect up to about 1.5 m in height . It is easily recognised by white petalled flowers with a central yellow disc florets. The elongated fruits are bristly achenes (one-seeded fruits) with mainly 2-5 awns (barbed hooks) at tip. The fruits are black when mature, sticking onto fur or feathers and dispersed by browsing fauna via their hooked bristles that embed themselves in people's clothing as they brush past the stems.

Two fruits/seeds of the Spanish Needle. Note the top fruits have only two awns (barbs) whilst the bottom shot shows the fruits with three awns.

The genus name Bidens means twice' (bi) and 'toothed' (dens), which probably refers to the hooked fruits of the plant. The leaves of the Spanish Needle are oppositely arranged and pinnate in form with three to five dentate, ovate-to-lanceolate leaflets. The leaf edges are serrated/toothed. The petioles are slightly winged. Stems are mostly hairless and green to purplish in colour.

The green serrated leaves of the Spanish Needle. The bottom shot shows young leaves growing from the stem.

That the Spanish Needle is often referred to as a weed is testament to its tenacity and robustness in surviving in harsh environments. It is a fast-growing, fast-spreading weed due to its enormous number of seeds and the ability to re-grow from stems. It can have up to 6,000 seeds per plant and the seeds can remain viable up to five years.

Young shoots of the Spanish Needle can be brewed as a tea

The plant itself is edible, and the young leaves can be consumed as a vegetable. The young shoots and leaves can be added raw to salads whilst the shoot tips can be brewed as a tea. Almost two hundred compounds have been isolated from the Spanish Needle, especially polyacetylenes and flavonoids. The plant contains the chalcone okanin and ethyl caffeate, a hydroxycinnamic acid. It is considered a medicinal plant in many cultures and is used to treat ailments from minor fresh wounds and ulcers, to treat thrush and rheumatism. It is also used in enemas for intestinal ailments.

The flowers contain a high amount of nectar, and a wide variety of butterflies is attracted to feed on the flowers. It is interesting to note that the size of the butterfly and length of its proboscis do not appear to be critical to the butterflies' ability to feed on the Spanish Needle. We have observed a good range of butterfly species from the large Papilionidae to the diminutive Lycaenidae and the speedy Hesperiidae feeding on the flowers of the Spanish Needle.

Papilionidae feeding on the flower of the Spanish Needle

Amongst the Swallowtails, the larger butterflies like the Common Mormon, Common Mime and Banded Swallowtail have been observed feeding on the Spanish Needle flowers. The long proboscis of the Swallowtails can be observed as these large butterflies balance on the flower whilst still in flight with their forewings flapping whilst their hindwings are used to counterbalance the butterfly as it feeds.

Crows and Tigers feasting on the flowers of the Spanish Needle

The large slow flying Tigers and Crows also feed on the flowers of the Spanish Needle - the weight of the butterfly often pulling down the flowers as they stop to feed with their wings folded shut. Unlike the Swallowtails, the Danainae butterflies stop completely and hold on to the flower whilst feeding.

A wide variety of Nymphalidae and Pieridae on the flowers of the Spanish Needle

Amongst the Nymphalidae, a wide variety of the large and medium sized butterflies have been seen feeding on the flowers of the Spanish Needle. The Pieridae also take very well to the flowers of this high-nectar plant whenever available.

Hairstreaks and Skippers also love the flowers of the Spanish Needle

Even the small Lycaenidae love the flowers of the Spanish Needle, stopping and feeding for long periods of time, probing their proboscis into each floret for the energy-giving nectar. The speedy Skippers also join in on the flowers of this plant, angling their long proboscis into the flower.

Although considered a weed by urban landscape designers and parks managers, the Spanish Needle is one of the all-time favourite nectaring plants for butterflies, and whenever you encounter a field of this plant with the pretty white/yellow flowers in full bloom, you can be sure that there are butterflies nearby, waiting to feed on the nectar that these flowers produce.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK, Loke PF, Simon Sng, Jonathan Soong and Horace Tan

References :

Wildflowers of the United States
Gardening in the Coastal Southeast
Medicinal Plants - Bidens Pilosa and Bidens alba
NParks Flora and Fauna Web
Eat the Weeds
Eat the Weeds - YouTube Video - Spanish Needles

ButterflyCircle @ Festival of Biodiversity 2016!
Singapore Botanic Gardens : 3-4 Sep 2016

Now in its 5th instalment, the Festival of Biodiversity 2016 moved its venue back to the Singapore Botanic Gardens (where the first FOB was held back in 2012). Having been held at VivoCity Mall in the past three years from 2013-2015, the venue was changed back to SBG after negotiations to hold the FOB at another urban mall did not materialise.

The Festival of Biodiversity is an annual event organised by the National Parks Board in collaboration with the Biodiversity Roundtable. Initiated in 2012, the Festival aims to create awareness and foster a sense of appreciation for our natural heritage in Singapore, covering both terrestrial and marine environments. Since its initiation, the Festival has garnered the support of many biodiversity-related interest groups and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). These groups play a crucial role in creating awareness about our island’s biodiversity and in promoting various conservation efforts.

Nevertheless, it was good to be back at SBG, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the FOB is back in a natural setting where biodiversity abounds. This year, ButterflyCircle took a break from its usual exhibition booth but helped to provide the material and set up a small station under the Amazing Biodiversity Race. The butterfly booth was one of the checkpoints where participants needed to play a "butterfly bingo" to spot butterfly species at SBG.

This year, the Butterfly checkpoint was capably manned by Mr Foo and the members of Seletar Country Club butterfly group and many volunteers from Chung Cheng High School and HSBC. As with the FOB in 2015, the caterpillars of various species of butterflies that were put on display were a hit with visitors. Participants who stopped by the small Butterfly Marquee at the Fragrant Garden marvelled at the variety of butterfly caterpillars.

Meanwhile, at the main venue of FOB2016, participants were busy putting on the finishing touches on their respective booths under a big white tent set up for FOB. Amongst the regulars were ACRES, Lee Kong Chian Museum, Otterwatch, Pangolin Story, Herpetological Society, NSS and a more recently set-up group, ENSING (Entomological Network of Singapore). Like past FOBs, the children's activity stations were popular with families with kids in tow.

It was a hot and sunny Saturday morning as the crowd made its way to the FOB tent and I met many familiar faces and stalwarts of biodiversity conservation in Singapore. NParks' friends were busy making sure everyone was well taken care of.

This year’s festival focused on the theme "Species Recovery Programme: Conserving our Species at Risk". The festival hopes to reach out to more people, by showcasing the efforts of the NParks Board and the research community to enhance our native flora and fauna. This is to secure the future of Singapore's endemic species and increase the population of critically endangered species.

FOB2016 was hosted by Senior Minister of State, Mr Desmond Lee, and we were graced by the presence of our Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who officially launched FOB 2016. The National Parks Board has identified 46 species of native flora and fauna, all classified as threatened under Singapore’s Red Book Data, for species recovery programmes under the Nature Conservation Master Plan.

Amongst the ongoing species recovery programmes that commenced in 2014, one butterfly species, the Harlequin (Taxila haquinus haquinus) was selected earlier for a translocation effort. The very local site where the Harlequin can be found, is under threat by future development. Hence, it is critical that the species can be given a helping hand to survive in Singapore.

In NParks' media factsheet at FOB2016, it said "NParks has also been working with partner agencies on species recovery programmes for various animals. For example, JTC Corporation and ButterflyCircle, a group of butterfly enthusiasts, is implementing a breeding and translocation programme for the Harlequin butterfly (Taxila haquinus haquinus)."

For those of you who are keen on learning more about Singapore's awesome biodiversity, or are game on volunteering with the various nature groups, do go down to SBG this weekend and find out more about the Festival of Biodiversity 2016!

How To Get to FOB 2016 :

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Foo JL/Or Cheng Khim (and friends), Huang CJ and Khew SK.

Butterfly of the Month - September 2016
The Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava)

The intermonsoon months bringing in rains riding on the south-westerly winds have given us several rather wet days this month. Often referred to as the "Sumatras", the sudden and heavy squalls can sometimes dump a lot of rain in a very short time, causing slight "ponding" in some parts of Singapore, when the thunderstorms coincide with high tides. But generally, the weather is still great (hot and humid conditions) for butterflies this time of the year.

The 2016 Summer Olympics are over, and the excitement over Singaporean Joseph Schooling's gold medal-winning, and Olympic record-breaking achievement is certainly palpable all across Singapore. It was the first time Singapore won an Olympic gold in the history of the games, and the first time ever, that Majulah Singapura was played at an Olympics medals presentation venue.

Another Singaporean swimmer, Yip Pin Xiu, who won another gold medal for Singapore in the Rio Paralympics Games, received less publicity. Her achievement was no less amazing, particularly when she broke the World Record as well, in her win in the 100m backstroke event. Congrats, Pin Xiu and Joseph, for putting our little red dot on the Olympics map and creating our little bit of history for Singapore!

Back to some domestic issues of concern - the Zika virus, which can cause microcephaly in a small number of unborn foetus of pregnant women, created a stir when it was discovered in Singapore this month. The virus, which apparently was in existence since the 1950's, is transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, just like dengue fever and Chikungunya. The locally transmitted number of cases has exceeded 300 in early September, and is likely to rise. The most effective control of the spread of the virus is eradicating the source of the vector - eliminating the Aedes mosquito's breeding grounds.

Although the symptoms of Zika is mild and in some cases, even asymptomatic, the emergence of a new "disease" always causes concern in the population, particularly amongst pregnant women. A lot still has to be learned about this virus and how it really affects humans. Like dengue fever, it is likely to stay as a seasonal disease that we will have to deal with from here on.

A Cycad Blue feeding on the flower of the Spanish Needle (Bidens alba)

Whilst the campaign by the authorities to educate the public to strive to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds is underway, the public alarm over Zika has seen widespread thermal fogging in Singapore. Though such measures are understandable, over-fogging may cause more harm than good to our biodiversity. It is hoped that the authorities are also aware of the damage to other critters from fogging and not go overboard with it. Can it be likened to carpet-bombing the entire city, just because a bunch of ISIS terrorists have been found here?

A Cycad Blue feeding on the flower of the Toothache Plant (Acmella oleracea)

This month, we feature a small and common "Blue" (from the family Lycaenidae), the Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava). This species is quite widely distributed in Singapore, and is more often seen in urban parks and gardens, particularly in the vicinity of where its caterpillar host plants, Cycas spp., grow.

This species is often referred to as the Plains Cupid in most literature across Asia. However, the local common name Cycad Blue was first used in Dr Yong Hoi-Sen's 1983 book, Malaysian Butterflies - An Introduction, and has been used in several other local references and articles in Malaysia and Singapore. In Australia, the name Cycad Blue is associated with another species of Lycaenidae, Theclinesthes onycha, which is also considered a pest on Cycads.

A Cycad Blue feeding on the flower of the Honolulu Creeper (Antigonon leptopus)

This small butterfly is a bane of landscape gardeners, particularly when they cultivate the Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta) and the Malayan Fern Plant (Cycas rumphii) as their prized ornamental plants. In the Singapore Botanic Gardens' Evolution Garden, where several other species of rare Cycas are also found, the butterfly has to be "managed" to prevent the destruction of some of these plants. The caterpillars of the Cycad Blue tend to feed on young fronds of the plant, thereby preventing new growth of the plant and stunting it.

Top : Female Cycad Blue showing her broad black borders
Bottom : Male Cycad Blue with its thin black borders and purplish blue upperside

The male Cycad Blue is light purplish blue with narrow black marginal borders and a prominent black tornal spot on the hindwing. The female has broad black borders and is a paler blue with distinct marginal spots on the hindwing.

The underside is pale grey with streaks and black spots and a prominent orange-crowned black tornal spot on the hindwing. There is a white-tipped filamentous tail at vein 2 of the hindwing. The butterfly has jet-black eyes and the antennae has a banded black-and-white appearance. The cilia on both the fore and hindwings are white.

A male Cycad Blue feeding on the flower of the Yellow Creeping Daisy (Wedelia trilobata)

The Cycad Blue has a forewing length of about 12-14mm and is considered a small butterfly. The spots on the undersides can be quite variable, and rarely, aberrations may be observed as to suggest that the individual is even of a different species! It flies quite erratically, but often stops to feed at flowers with its tails twirling actively in the breeze making them appear as though they are alive.

Two examples of puddling Cycad Blues

In some instances, the Cycad Blue is also observed to puddle at damp spots on the forest floor and also feed on bird droppings. At certain times of the day, both sexes may also be encountered sunbathing with their wings opened to show their blue uppersides.

A mating pair of Cycad Blues perched on their host plant, Cycas revoluta (Sago Palm)

The caterpillars feed on various Cycas spp. and locally, they have been successfully bred on the Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta) and Malayan Fern Tree (Cycas rumphii), and the full documentation of their early stages can be found here.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by May Chan, Chng CK, Federick Ho, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Nelson Ong, Jonathan Soong, Tea Yi Kai, Anthony Wong and Benjamin Yam

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