Butterflies of Singapore

ButterflyPhotography 101
Part 5 - Composition Techniques in Butterfly Photography 1/2

After the first few articles in this Butterfly Photography 101 series on selecting equipment, settings on your DSLR, focusing, exposure and using fill-flash for your butterfly photography, you are now ready to get outdoors in the field and start shooting butterflies! For some hands-on stalking and tracking advice, refer to an earlier article on this blog on Stalking and Shooting Butterflies.

No matter how well you know the technical aspects of your photographic equipment, or your ability to acquire the latest in camera bodies and lenses, a badly-composed butterfly photo will put all that to waste. This article shares some important composition tips or guidelines for butterfly photography. Bear in mind that in photography, the most important rule is that there are no rules. However, there are basic guidelines that can make the difference between an average picture or a great one!

Firstly, try to recall a butterfly photo that recently captured your attention. What was it about the photo that you found attractive and pleasing to the eye? Was it the colour, the way the butterfly perched on a flower, the aesthetic balance of various elements in the photo, or something else? Like a painting or a piece of art, a photo that appears pleasing to the eye, often contains certain basic guidelines in composition. At times, it may just be a "feel good" factor about the photo, but more often than not, the photo is composed along the lines of one or more aesthetic conventions used in the visual arts.

Let us try to understand what is "composition" all about. In essence, composition refers to the way various elements in a scene are arranged within the frame. In visual arts, there are certain guidelines that determine how different elements interact within the field of view, which elements are the focus of attention, and so on. These guidelines have been used by artists and painters from time immemorial to create their work. In the field of photographic composition, these guidelines are equally applicable.

Tip #1 - Focus on the eye of the butterfly

Focus on the eye of the subject and make sure it is as sharp as possible!

For a start, this is not a composition guideline per se, but absolutely critical to any nature photo. When shooting a butterfly, it is essential to focus on the eye and ensure that the eye (or eyes) are in sharp focus. When you take a first look at a butterfly photo, you may not realise that your own eyes often tend to lock on to the eyes of the subject. This is a natural phenomenon when looking at a photo of a bird, a lizard, a spider, a butterfly or even another person!

If the eyes are out of focus or blur, the feeling that one immediately gets is that there is something uncomfortable or wrong about photo. I have lost count of the number of butterfly shots that I have dumped in the trash bin where the eyes of the subject are out of focus. So, from the start, set yourself a high standard in your quest for good butterfly photography and get the eyes sharp!

Tip #2 - Lead Room

A butterfly looks ahead into the "Lead room" makes for a well-balanced visual composition

This composition guideline is very fundamental to nature macro photography but sometimes overlooked. In fact, it is quite relevant to many genres of photography and even applicable for inanimate subjects like a photo of a car zooming along a road. The concept of "lead room" is premised on the idea that a well-composed shot should leave space in the direction where the subject is facing or moving.

Hence compose your butterfly shots with the lead room or "positive space" in front of the butterfly's eyes. Note that the lead room need not only be on the left or right of the frame, but corresponding to where the subject is looking towards. Placing the subject smack in the centre of the frame with symmetrical empty space on the left and right of it makes for a boring and ordinary snapshot.

Tip #3 - Background

An uncluttered background makes the subjects "pop" out of the frame

When I first started butterfly photography some 20 years ago, I was happy enough just getting a shot of a particular species of butterfly. Back then, managing to get a butterfly in focus in my viewfinder was good enough for me. Never mind that the background was cluttered with twigs, bright hotspots, and artificial mess; just getting a shot of a particular species that I was looking for, made my day!

Over the years, I have come to allocate as much importance to the background as I would to the subject. Where possible, having a clean and uncluttered background enhances the subject butterfly and makes the appreciation of the subject easier without too many distractions. Although it is not always possible to dictate where a butterfly stops to feed or rest, in relation to the background, whenever a subject snaps into focus on my viewfinder, my eye quickly scans the background as well, to see if I can shift the angle to get a better background for the subject.

Look for a smooth and creamy background to enhance your subject

In macro work, where the photographer is closer to the subject, the opportunity to throw the background out of focus is much easier (especially when you are using a proper macro lens). Hence if there are minor distractions in the background, using a large aperture to 'soften' the background sometimes helps. But do make sure that the subject is still in sharp focus!

Tip #4 - Rule of Thirds

Placing the butterfly's eye on the intersection of the imaginary grid lines along the "Rule of Thirds" guideline

The Rule of Thirds (coincidentally called a "rule") is an important composition guideline in the visual arts that states than an image is most pleasing and well balanced, when its subject is composed along imaginary vertical and horizontal lines that divide the image into thirds. This guideline is applicable to butterfly photography as well.

Placing the butterfly's eye on the imaginary grid line along the "Rule of Thirds"

Hence, to maximize the impact of your butterfly photos, your subject or your area of interest should always be placed at or near one of the intersecting points or along the imaginary grid lines. These points create visual tension, dynamism and interest in the composition and research has shown that the human eyes are naturally drawn to these intersecting points and the imaginary grid lines.

Make sure that the horizon in your shot is horizontal and not slanting

Another tip when shooting puddling butterflies and applying the composition on the Rule of Thirds, is to make sure that the "horizon" or ground plane behind the butterfly is properly aligned to the horizontal. A slightly tilted horizon behind a puddling butterfly is uncomfortable and may spoil an otherwise good shot.

Tip #5 - Using Diagonals

Composing a shot along the X-Y axis within a frame and respecting the guidelines mentioned above often makes for a good shot. However, there are often variations to the theme when different framing and field conditions allow. For example, using diagonals and taking the subject off the X-Y axis sometimes results in a more dynamic and interesting shot. Diagonals tend to suggest action and liveliness in a shot, creating a notion of dynamism and visual tension.

In some situations, when a shot features a linear element e.g. a twig, a blade of grass or patterns, try to experiment by shifting or rotating your camera so that these linear elements run diagonally across your frame. These options can sometimes create a shot that is more well balanced and interesting to the viewer and not end up as a dull and uninspiring shot.

In the next instalment of this article on composition, we discuss other aspects of composing butterfly shots which are less conventional and challenge the "rules" of visual composition.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by David Chan and Khew SK

ButterflyPhotography 101
Part 6 - Composition Techniques in Butterfly Photography 2/2

Last week, we introduced some of the more commonly used composition techniques in butterfly photography. Continuing our discussion, we feature some of the more unconventional guidelines that you can consider when composing your butterfly photos. As mentioned previously, 'the only rule is that there are no rules' and all these tips are just composition tools that you have at your disposal to enhance the presentation of your butterfly photos.

Tip #6 - Applying Symmetry

An open winged Silver Royal depicted symmetrically and centrally in the frame

Butterflies are bilaterally symmetrical, where the wings on the left are mirrored along a central axis to the wings on the right. Symmetrical forms convey balance in and of themselves, but they could appear too stable and too balanced, leading to a lack of interest in the composition.

Another centrally composed shot of a Common Mormon emphasising the symmetry of the butterfly's wings

However, making use of the natural symmetry of the butterfly can sometimes allow the viewer to focus on the beauty of the butterfly without any distractions. Placing the butterfly in the middle of the frame and cropping it close, makes for a straightforward composition that can sometimes be refreshingly simple. For symmetrical butterfly shots, usually taken of the uppersides of a butterfly's wings, and depending on the shape of the butterfly's wings, a square crop could be considered in composing the shot.

Tip #7 - Leading Lines

Like in the visual arts, there are often opportunities for the butterfly photographer to apply leading lines towards or away from the butterfly to create dynamic interest to the photo. The use of the natural lines on a leaf or other "props" that a butterfly perches on, can draw the viewer's attention on the subject, whilst the leading lines accentuate the butterfly's position in the frame.

Lines need not necessarily be straight lines. Using sinuous curves that draw a viewer's eyes towards the subject butterfly often tends to create a more interesting and dynamic composition. Using these geometric linearity of supplementary elements in the natural world helps to put a complimentary context to the subject in its environment in butterfly photography.

Tip #8 - Standing Proud

A field shot of a Vinous Oakblue as it is seen, perched on a leaf that naturally slopes downwards. It is a matter of personal preference whether the photographer would want to tilt his camera to depict the butterfly with the leaf appearing horizontal

Ever so often, a butterfly photographer will encounter a butterfly perched on a drooping leaf and literally end up looking downwards. Some photographers feel that this is how the subject should faithfully be depicted - as it is seen and photographed in the field. However, this makes the butterfly appear as though it is about to slide off the leaf.

The original field shot of a Branded Imperial perched on a drooping leaf

Rotating the camera clockwise, this shot presents the butterfly perched on an X-Y axis and appears comfortable on its flat and horizontal perch.

Rotating the camera body another 5 degrees clockwise puts the butterfly standing "proud" and looking slightly upwards gives an "uplifting" composition compared to the original shot

Sometimes, all it takes is a slight rotation of the camera body by a few degrees to make the butterfly appear 'proud' and looking upwards, giving it a much better composition with the subject standing upright. Although a matter of taste and preference, take a look at the comparison shots and decide what compositional position of the butterfly works for you.

Tip #9 - Alternative Crops

An opportunity to shoot three individuals of the same species lends itself to a different crop to emphasise the subjects all lined up in a row

Coupled with the symmetry and shape of different species of butterflies, it is sometimes better to crop the frame other than the usual 4x6, 4x3 format. There will be opportunities to change the standard crop to better emphasise your subject (or subjects) in alternative formats other than the conventional crops used in photography.

A portrait crop of a Blue Pansy perched on a vertical grass flower

Consider using a portrait crop instead of a landscape crop, when composing a shot of the butterfly and various elements that the butterfly is perching on. In situations where the butterfly perches on a vertical object, rotating the camera 90 degrees to the portrait position often yields a more well-balanced composition.

A square crop shot can sometimes be used to capture a balanced composition

Using a completely geometric square crop may also work for different compositions of the butterfly. The square crop tends to work well with a symmetrical shot, placed either along the X-Y axis or along diagonals.

Tip #10 - Looking for Fresh Angles

An unconventional underside view of a Commander as it feeds on the fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron

Out in the field, there are often many opportunities for you to be creative and experiment with unconventional angles at which to shoot your subjects. Change your perspective from the usual tried-and-tested compositions to create fresh ideas to showcase butterflies. There will be occasions when the butterfly poses in various uncommon positions for you to capture a new point of view.

Using backlighting and shadows of the wings against the leaf, this part view of the Commander presents the butterfly in a more sinister mood

Do not be afraid to challenge the guidelines of visual composition that have been discussed in Parts 5 and this article. As could be expected in any creative field, sometimes breaking the rules in butterfly photography can result in novel and innovative ways of presenting a subject that can be pleasing to the eye and delighting your audience.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir and Khew SK

Butterfly of the Month - February 2017
The Plain Plushblue (Flos apidanus saturatus)

The first two months of 2017 have been interesting from a global perspective, as the world watched the 45th President of the USA Donald Trump dish out interesting, but controversial executive orders. These ranged from building a 1,000 mile wall between the US and Mexico and immigration orders that barred visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries. There appears to be a shift to nationalistic and protectionist policies in many countries in the world today.

Whilst the rest of the world waits and wonders how all these changes in politics are going to affect each country's economy and trade, 2017 moves into a very uncertain and potentially tumultuous era as the Chinese population around the world heralded the year of the Fire Rooster. Predictions by soothsayers and geomancers from Nostradamus to local experts didn't have much positive news for the rest of the year. So it remains to be seen if their forecasts hold true.

Speaking of roosters, the Year of the Rooster didn't start too auspiciously for a group of free-ranging chickens in Singapore. Apparently acting on complaints of noise nuisance, about 20 of these birds were rounded up by the authorities and summarily culled. This raised the ire of local animal activists and the more tolerant public, which created a lot of buzz on social and mainstream media.

The rationale for the culling was later amended to public health safety reasons, but this appeared more of a bit of back-stepping by the authorities which didn't go down too well with the public. But the news of this fowl play provided quite a bit of chatter and amusement in cyberspace, and everyone, from the local coffeeshop auntie to our politicians gave their two cents worth on the matter.

Then a life was lost when a massive 270-year old Tembusu tree fell at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The tree, which was over 40m tall with a girth of 6.5m, had just been recently given a clean bill of health by government arborists, when it inexplicably uprooted, tilted over and crashed onto the hapless family who were waiting for a concert to start. Deepest condolences to the family of the deceased.

Investigations are ongoing, but this is going to leave a lot more questions than anyone has answers for, as the tree fell on a normal fair day (albeit it was an exceptionally windy day on that day). I can only hope that the authorities do not adopt a knee-jerk reaction and start chopping down our large and beautiful trees around our City in a Garden.

Our Butterfly of the Month for February 2017 is the Plain Plushblue (Flos apidanus saturatus). This is one of four species of Plushblues of the genus Flos that are extant in Singapore. It is the most regularly encountered of the four, and is moderately common. It can be encountered from our urban parks and gardens to the forested reaches of our nature reserves.

The male Plain Plushblue is deep blue-violet on the upperside, with a thin black forewing border. The female is a shining purple-blue with broad black borders on both wings. The upperside of this species is seldom seen nor photographed, except with the butterfly is encountered in the late evening hours of the day with the full sun shining at a low angle.

The underside of the species bears dark brown cryptic patterns with a purplish wash. There is a small reddish patch on the base of both wings that is more distinct in freshly-eclosed individuals. The hindwing bears a stubby white-tipped tail at vein 2 and is toothed at veins 1b and 3.

The butterfly is skittish and has a strong erratic flight when disturbed. The caterpillar of the Plain Plushblue feeds on a variety of host plants amongst which are two species of the Syzygium which are relatively common roadside bushes. Usually, the species is encountered singly either feeding on the sap of certain plants, on the ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron or on flowering plants.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chng CK, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Billy Oh, Jonathan Soong, Horace Tan and Anthony Wong

Butterfly Photography 101
Part 7 - Off to the Great Outdoors!

In this seventh and final part of this series, we pack our gears and armed with the theory and tips from the earlier six articles, head off to the great outdoors. Whilst it is important to know your photographic equipment and learn the technical basics of using your butterfly-shooting arsenal, what remains is to get out into the field and test all the techniques that you have learned. Otherwise, it is all theory and classroom information that you have, and no butterfly photos to show for it!

Preparing for an Outing

Have you packed everything that you need for your outing? © Lowepro

Every veteran butterfly photographer will tell you stories of that "facepalm" moment when they reach their butterfly-shooting destination, only to realise that they have forgotten to charge their batteries, or to slot in their storage card in their camera. Yes, it has happened to the best of us, and there is no embarrassment admitting it. So prepare a mental checklist of your equipment before you head out for a day outing.

Charge your camera batteries the night before, and make sure you have at least a spare battery in your bag.
Make sure you have your CF or SD storage cards in the camera, and your spare(s) in the bag.
Charge those AA batteries for your flash and have a spare set on standby if you are going on an extended outing.
Pack your correct macro lens in the bag!
If you are fastidious about the cleanliness of your equipment, carry your cleaning kit and blower brush along.
Standardise your other paraphernalia in your bag and ensure that every item has its place in your bag - umbrella/poncho for rainy day surprises, spare towel and T-shirt, mosquito repellent, snacks, a bottle of water (important!), hat, camera strap and anything else that suits a day out in the field.

Gearing Up for the Outing

Uniformed, camouflaged and all ready for battle! The butterflies will be out-gunned!

Wear appropriately coloured clothes for your outing. Butterflies (and anything else out there, for that matter) will spot bright coloured objects earlier than drab coloured ones faster, and beat a hasty retreat. So gear up with dull coloured clothing (browns, greens and beige are best) and try to remain as inconspicuous as possible. After all, would you be wearing a bright red shirt or your psychedelic Hawaiian hat for a safari outing in the Serengeti?

A good pair of pants will minimise abrasions and scratches if you have to bash through undergrowth

There will be times when you may need to bash through thick bushes and undergrowth to get at a perched butterfly deep in the forests, so try to avoid wearing shorts unless you want to end up with injuries from thorns and sharp twigs. A good pair of trekking/hiking shoes with thick socks would also help avoid any mishaps off the beaten track.

Where to Look for Butterflies in Singapore

Now you are ready to head out to the great wild yonder to hunt butterflies. But where do you go? Singapore is blessed with excellent accessibility where you can reach a butterfly-shooting location, usually in no more than half an hour's travel. There are many urban parks and gardens where you can find butterflies. Do check out this blog's section on Butterfly Shooting Locations.

Butterfly Hill at Pulau Ubin is a good location for shooting butterflies

The Central Catchment Nature Reserves and our offshore islands like Pulau Ubin are also great places to go to, for the rarer species that are seldom seen in urban areas. Be prepared for the hot humid conditions of our equatorial forests and not to mention the mosquitoes and some biting insects. Fortunately, there are no blood-sucking leeches in Singapore, and that is something that we have to be thankful for (at the moment!)

Stalking and Hunting Butterflies

Being active insects, butterflies are best observed when they are distracted with some activity like feeding on flowers, puddling, etc. With some experience, the butterfly photographer will quickly learn where to find the "hot-spots" of butterfly activity. On bright sunny days, look for areas with flowering plants where Lantana, Snakeweed, Spanish Needle and other favourite nectaring plants grow. Other species are attracted to rotting fruits on the forest floor, whilst others are attracted to bird droppings, carrion or urine-tainted muddy paths and sandy stream banks.

Some butterflies, like this White Banded Awl, are crepuscular and are on the wing during the earlier hours of the morning

We have often been asked, "what are the best times in the day to go shooting butterflies?" In general, butterflies are up and about and most active between the hours of 9am to about 3pm in the afternoon. However, there are crepuscular species that fly as early as 7am and those that remain active till the dusk hours of the day. So, if you want to expand your collection of photos to as many species as possible, it would be advisable to vary your butterfly-hunting hours.

Different handholding techniques for different photographers. Whichever technique suits you best, practise and get it perfect!

Butterflies are alert to movements, so remember to move slowly and remain still until the butterfly is settled before moving in for a closer look. You should also remember not to cast any shadows over them. Plan your approach when you spot a butterfly and be patient! Moving apart bushes like the T-Rex did in Jurassic Park will not get you many nice butterfly photos.

It is often advisable to stand back and observe the behaviour of your "prey" before moving in to shoot them. For butterflies that are fluttering actively from flower to flower, it is often more fruitful to "predict" which flower the butterfly would next go to, and wait there rather than chase the butterfly when it is already feeding on a flower. You will often have anything between 1 and 3 seconds to compose, focus and shoot, if you are lucky.

Different species of butterflies will have their corresponding "circles of fear" whereby they will take flight if an intrusion is detected. Remember that, to the butterfly, you are no different from a large predator coming in fast to attack them. And the resultant reaction from the butterfly is to take flight. Hence move stealthily and avoid sudden movements. Some species are more skittish than others, and with some field experience, a butterfly photographer will quickly learn how to stalk and approach them.

Proning is the best position for getting that butterfly's eye level shot! But be prepared for a good laundry effort at the end of the shooting day.

To get that 'perfect' eye-level (the butterfly's eye level!) shot, many photographers have to contend with a spectrum of inconveniences and sometimes agony. These range from being soaked in a stream or having to prone in mud to get into the best position to shoot a butterfly. To the non-butterfly enthusiast, watching a butterfly photographer at work may be amusing, and often perceived as a most inadequate cause for suffering such agony just to get a photograph of a butterfly!

Getting down low for that perfect shot!

Be aware of your shooting environment and set the appropriate settings on your camera and flash to get the best option for the lighting conditions. Once you get close to your subject and focus, press the shutter gently but firmly without ending up in camera shake. In most digital SLRs today, you may also want to shoot a series of shots to minimise motion blur and/or capturing a fast-flying butterfly in the best pose (somewhat like what bird photographers do when they "machine gun" a flying bird)

When out in groups, do practise shooting etiquette and queue up, and everyone will go home with a nice shot of the butterfly

It is often useful to go butterfly shooting in a group of 2-4 so that you have extra pairs of eyes to spot butterflies. In the forests, it is also good to have shooting 'buddies', should anything untoward happen and you require some assistance in an emergency. Larger groups are often less preferable, as too many photographers rushing to shoot a butterfly often ends up with no one getting a shot of it at all!

This ends the Butterfly Photography 101 series of articles, and we hope that our readers have enjoyed the information shared in the series and found them useful. What remains is to go out in the field and keep shooting butterflies until you perfect your craft. The satisfaction of seeing a well-executed shot of a beautiful butterfly on your computer monitor is worth many hours of hard work in the field!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Bob Cheong, Sunny Chir, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Loh Mei Yee, Loke PF and Simon Sng.

Butterfly Photography at Our Local Parks
Featuring : Coney Island

The west entrance to Coney Island Park

This week's article features a small "offshore" island known as Coney Island. No, we're not talking about the famous entertainment island in New York City, better known for its amusement parks and seaside resorts. And we're not referring to the yummy hot dog by the same name previously, sold by A&W fast food chain . The Coney Island here in Singapore is a tiny 100 Hectare island that has recently (in 2015) been made accessible to the public by the National Parks Board. Coney Island Park, managed by NParks, covers about 50 Ha of the island that is opened to the public.

A typical view of the Casuarina forest with wild undergrowth along the trails

There are shelters along the tracks, just to take a break from the hot sun, or shelter, if it rains

With the completion of two link bridges from Singapore island, Coney Island is now opened to the public from 7am to 7pm daily. The island is intentionally left relatively "wild" and covered with mainly secondary growth and Casuarina trees. So do not expect creature comforts like water coolers or ceiling fans in the shelters. There is a public toilet at the eastern entrance of the island, so if you enter the island from the Punggol Settlement side, you'll be facing a 2.4km walk before you reach a rest room.

Also known as Serangoon Island, Coney Island Park was once owned by the Haw Par brothers who built a 600m2 beach villa on the island, now known as the Haw Par Beach Villa. As the delapidated structure is unsafe, the public can only view it on only specially guided walks by NParks. The island changed hands several times before the Singapore government acquired it in the 1970's.

There are signs along the main track to indicate where you are, and the distances to your next destination

Vegetation on the island was largely left intact after some development works by NParks. Some boardwalks were constructed in certain areas, and the public toilet at the eastern entrance of the island. Habitats on the island include coastal forests, open grasslands, mangroves and casuarina woodlands. The diversity of flora on the island appears to be quite limited at the moment, although it has been reported that some plant species on the island are considered critically endangered.

There are wild boars on Coney Island, so do keep your distance from them if you stumble upon them

Bird diversity on the island is relatively good, with some 80+ species spotted on the island so far. Other than the now-deceased Brahman bull roaming the island, animals like otters and a family of wild boars inhabit the island. There are probably snakes and other rodents that share the island as well.

Access to the island is via one of the two bridge links - one at Punggol and the other at the Lor Halus side. As the island allows cyclists and other personal mobility devices, hikers will have to share the trails with them, so do keep a look out when you are out checking the bushes for butterflies. It is relatively easy to walk on the island - along the main track and the side trails that lead to the seashore areas at five locations.

Look for the Spanish Needle bushes where the Common Tigers can be found

I checked out Coney Island recently, walking the length of the island from the West Entrance to the East Entrance, and some of the side trails leading to the themed beach areas. It drizzled abit right at the start of my walk, but it was hot sunshine for the rest of the morning. Right at the start of the West Entrance was a large area covered with Spanish Needle (Bidens pilosa / alba) bushes. Two Common Tigers (Danaus genutia genutia) were feeding on the flowers as were a couple of Lesser Darts (Potanthus omaha omaha). Nearby, a number of Common Caeruleans (Jamides celeno aelianus) were fluttering restlessly around the low shrubbery.

Moving into the trails, I found a few Tawny Costers (Acraea terpsicore) perched on the flowers of the Spanish Needle. I saw a few vines of their host plant, Passiflora foetida nearby, climbing up some dead branches. A Jacintha Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina jacintha) flew past quickly. It was a female, and appeared to be looking for a nice leaf of its host plant, Chinese Violet (Asystasia gangetica micrantha) to lay her eggs.

At the open grassy side tables adjacent to the main track running from west to east, there were some skippers sunbathing at the shrubs, zipping around and then opening their wings in the usual half-opened skipper fashion. Also present with a Dark Grass Brown (Orsotriaena medus cinerea) and several Dark Brand Bush Browns (Mycalesis mineus macromalayana). It was not surprising to find these species whose caterpillars feed on various grasses, including the ubiquitous lallang (Imperata cylindrica).

It was getting hot as the sun moved overhead by late morning, and I spotted some Chocolate Pansys (Junonia hedonia ida) and Blue Pansys (Junonia orythia wallacei) frolicking in the sunshine. In the shaded areas, both the Blue Glassy Tiger and Dark Glassy Tiger were seen feeding on some wildflowers by the road side. At one of the beach areas, I saw a King Crow (Euploea phaenareta castelnaui) trying to lay eggs on the Pong Pong tree (Cerbera odollam)

A large Cycad tree found on Coney Island

Along the mangrove trail, there was a large Cycad tree and the attendant Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava) were seen fluttering nearby. Some Rustics were seen flying near a plant that appears to be a caterpillar host plant alongside the mangrove boardwalk.

A Formosan Swift feeding on the flower of the Chinese Violet

Back along the main track, a skipper zipped around the flowers of the Chinese Violet, and a closer shot of it confirmed it to be a Formosan Swift (Borbo cinnara). Several other skippers were flying around the grasses in the hot sunshine. Besides the Lesser Darts, I also saw a pair of Chestnut Bobs dogfighting with each other.

Many Common Tigers, a Dark Glassy Tiger and a Black Veined Tiger on the Rattlebox weed plant

It was almost past noon when I reached the Eastern Entrance to Coney Island Park. This is where the newly-constructed rest rooms were located and along the paths leading to the beach area were scattered bushes of Spanish Needle. Again, there were many Danainae around, feeding on the flowers. Spotted were the Common Tiger, Blue and Dark Glassy Tiger and a Black Veined Tiger. A solitary shrub of the Rattlebox weed (Crotalaria retusa) attracted a large number of these Danainae.

Along the walk back to Punggol Settlement where I had parked my car, I spotted a Striped Albatross (Appias libythea olferna) and a Psyche (Leptosia nina malayana). The Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis) were commonly sighted throughout the walk, and a couple of Common Mormons fluttered around the Lantana shrubs along the main track.

The butterfly diversity on Coney Island Park was not particularly rich, although the common species that inhabit the coastal and open grass habitats were quite expected. The large number of Common Tigers suggest that their caterpillar host plants must be plentiful on Coney Island. The island's proximity to Pulau Ubin may attract more species over if more host and nectaring plants are cultivated on Coney Island in future.

A view across to Pulau Ubin from Coney Island

How To Get There :

From Punggol interchange, take bus 84 to Punggol Point Park/Punggol Settlement. Walk about 500m east along the Punggol Promenade Nature Walk to get to Coney Island West Entrance. For those who drive, there is ample parking available at Punggol Settlement. Those who prefer to enter Coney Island Park via the East Entrance can park along Pasir Ris Coast Industrial Park 6 (at your own risk!) and look for the entrance to the Coney Island Park.

A Checklist of butterflies spotted during my outing :

Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus)
Striped Albatross (Appias libythea olferna)
Psyche (Leptosia nina malayana)
Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete metarete)
Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis)
Common Tiger (Danaus genutia genutia)
Black Veined Tiger (Danaus melanippus hegesippus)
Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides)
Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina)
King Crow (Euploea phaenareta castelnaui)
Striped Blue Crow (Euploea mulciber mulciber)
Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina)
Dark Grass Brown (Orsotriaena medus cinerea)
Dark Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis mineus macromalayana)
Chocolate Pansy (Junonia hedonia ida)
Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya wallacei)
Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana javana)
Autumn Leaf (Doleschalia bisaltide bisaltide)
Short Banded Sailor (Phaedyma columella singa)
Jacintha Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina jacintha)
Malayan Eggfly (Hypolimnas anomala anomala)
Rustic (Cupha erymanthis lotis)
Tawny Coster (Acreae terpsicore)
Lesser Grass Blue (Zizina otis lampa)
Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava)
Common Caerulean (Jamides celeno aelianus)
Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha omaha)
Formosan Swift (Borbo cinnara)

Text and Photos by Khew SK and Patrick Khew

About Butterflies

Talk by Foo JL at Seletar Country Club

Bright sunshine and blue skies greeted me on this beautiful Saturday morning as I made my way to the Seletar Country Club for a talk - “About Butterflies” by Mr Foo Jit Leang, the founder of the Butterfly Garden at Seletar Country Club. The Seletar Country Club (SCC) is an 18-hole golf and recreation club set right in the heart of the Singapore countryside. With rolling acres of lush greenery, it is strategically located on a hill overlooking the Lower Seletar Reservoir and the Johor Straits.

The Butterfly Garden was the brainchild of the founder, Mr Foo Jit Leang, who turned a small patch of greenery adjacent to the golf course into a vibrant ecological masterpiece of biodiversity that features 112 species of butterflies in March this year. On a good sunny day, a visitor can expect to see at least 10-15 species of butterflies fluttering amongst the nectaring and caterpillar host plants that have been specially cultivated to attract butterflies to the garden.

At the scheduled time of 9:30am for Mr Foo's talk, the audience slowly turned up on this lazy Saturday morning, and soon the Seletar CC Auditorium was almost filled to capacity. The crowd of over 80 was mainly made up of families with young children - all with a common interest and love for nature and butterflies.

Mr Foo started his talk by educating the audiences on how to differentiate between a butterfly and a moth and the misconceptions about them. In general, butterflies have thin slender filamentous antennae which are club-shaped at the end. Moths, on the other hand, have curly, comb-like or feathery antennae, often filamentous and unclubbed.

Another common erroneous assumption about butterflies and moths is that all butterflies are colourful, whilst moths are dull and unattractive. Not all moths are dull in colour, some moths come in beautiful colours and are even more attractive than some butterflies. Some butterflies, on the other hand are drably-coloured and appear very plain and boring.

Mr Foo went on to talk about planting the appropriate species of nectaring and caterpillar host plants to attract certain species of butterflies. It was important to have a wide variety of plants in the garden to encourage a diversity of species to visit and lay eggs on their specific host plants for their caterpillars to feed on. There must also be adequate nectaring (flowering) plants to sustain the adult butterflies which feed on the nectar from the flowers of these plants.

At the end of his talk, Mr Foo invited the crowd to the SCC Butterfly Garden where he showed them the various types of caterpillars and pupae that were on display. The curious crowd gathered around to have a good look. They were fascinated by what they saw, especially the more interesting looking caterpillars of the Blue Nawab, Short Banded Sailor butterflies and the caterpillar of the Inchworm moth. The children were particularly awed by the diversity of colours, shapes and sizes of these caterpillars that would one day turn into beautiful butterflies.

What came next was what everyone was looking forward to, to get up close with the flying jewels – the beautiful butterflies! The highlight of the event would have to be the release of the butterflies, this drew everyone’s attention and the crowd gathered around in excitement. A few lucky kids even got their chance to release some recently-eclosed butterflies to their newfound freedom and to watch the butterflies flutter happily away!

Nets were also provided for the crowd to have some hand-on experience to capture the butterflies for a closer look. Kids were especially excited and ran around chasing the butterflies. Mr Foo and the other members of the SCC Butterfly garden were on hand to guide the kids to handle the nets gently and to ensure that no butterflies were harmed when capturing them. After taking a closer look at the butterflies, they were released into the garden again.

The Butterfly Garden was filled with fun, joy and laughter. I am truly happy to see so many parents who took the time to bring their children to this event and let them have more opportunities to be out in the nature. I hope that this event will spark their interest to do their part to care for our environment and the conservation of butterflies for everyone to enjoy!

Text by Loh Mei Yee : Photos by Foo JL, Khew SK, Loh Mei Yee and Or Cheng Khim

Life History of the Purple Duke (Eulaceura osteria kumana )

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Eulaceura Butler, 1872
Species: osteria Westwood, 1850
Subspecies: kumana Fruhstorfer, 1913
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 50-70mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant:Gironniera nervosa (Ulmaceae, common name: Common Rough Laurel).

A male Purple Duke taking nectar from ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron.

Another male Purple Duke taking nectar from ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron.

A sunbathing male Purple Duke giving a view of its upperside.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

On the upperside, the male is purple brown with a prominent white discal band spanning both wings, broadening towards the tornal margin of the hindwing. The female is dull ochreous brown with obscure whitish markings on both wings. On the underside, the wings are tinged purplish blue in a side light, more so in the male. The white discal band spanning both wings are featured in both sexes, but in the female it is much thinner in the hindwing.

A female Purple Duke taking nectar from Sygyzium flowers.

A sunbathing female Purple Duke giving a view of its upperside.

The upperside view of a female Purple Duke.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

Purple Duke is common in Singapore, but its presence is restricted to the nature reserve where its host plant occur in abundance. The adults have a habit of flying rapidly in low bushes and settling on the underside of leaves. In the field, the female can be easily mistaken to be a female of Euthalia species. Both sexes have the habit of puddling and taking nectar from ripened fruits and flowers.

A puddling male Purple Duke.

A male Purple Duke puddling in shallow drain in the northern catchment reserve.

A puddling female Purple duke.

A female Purple Duke taking nectar from ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron.

Early Stages:

Only one local host plant is recorded for the Purple Duke. The plant, Gironniera nervosa (Common Rough Laurel), is common in the central catchment reserve. The caterpillars of the Purple Duke feed on leaves of the host plant, with the caterpillar in all but the final instar adopting the habit of eating the leaf lamina between secondary veins.

Local host plant: Gironniera nervosa (Common Rough Laurel).

Mostly underside view of leaves of Common Rough Laurel. Three caterpillars of the
Purple Duke can be seen on three separate leaves.

The eggs of the Purple Duke are laid singly on the leaf of the host plant, typically on the underside of the leaf. Each pale milky white egg is globular with a diameter of about 1.1mm. A number of longitudinal ridges are present. Each egg takes about 3-3.5 days to hatch. The young caterpillar nibbles away a portion of the egg shell to emerge, leaving the remnant uneaten.

Two views of an egg of the Purple Duke, 1-1.5 days old.

Two views of a mature egg of the Purple Duke, with portion of the egg shell eaten in the right panel.

With a length of about 3.5mm, the newly hatched is pale beige brown in both its body and head. There are a number of narrow whitish bands running length-wise on the body surface. The caterpillar also features two backward-pointing black-tipped anal processes.

Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar, length: 3.5mm.

As the 1st instar caterpillar grows up to a length of about 7-7.5mm, the body takes on a strong green undertone. After about 2.5-3 days in the 1st instar, the caterpillar moults to the next instar.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 7.3mm.

Two views of a late 1st instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 6.8mm.

The 2nd instar caterpillar has a few changes in its appearance as compared to the 1st instar caterpillar. Now the body ground colour is green, and the longitudinal bands are whitish to yellowish. The head capsule is black with two large cephalic horns, featuring side branches on the lateral peripherals as well as on the cephalic horns. This instar lasts about 4-5 days with the body length reaching up to 11mm before the next moult.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, the head capsule yet to turn black.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, length: 9.8mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult.

The 3rd instar caterpillar resembles the 2nd instar caterpillar closely. The main change occurs in the head capsule where the black lateral processes and cephalic horns are proportionately longer. The head is mostly pale brownish. The many longitudinal bands in the earlier instar give way to a checkerboard pattern of yellow and green. The 3rd instar takes about 4-5 days to complete with the body length reaching up to 16-17mm.

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

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, length: 15.2mm.

Two views of a late 3rd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 15.7mm.

A late 3rd instar caterpillar found on a leaf in the field.

The 4th instar caterpillar resembles the 3rd instar caterpillar with the main change occurring again in the head capsule. Now the "face" is whitish green and the body appears to be predominantly green and adorned with numerous tiny yellowish spots. It has two prominent, pale whitish to yellowish dorso-lateral bands. This penultimate instar lasts about 7 to 10 days with body length reaching about 26-27mm.

Head of Purple Duke caterpillars. Left: 3rd instar; Right: 4th instar.

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

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 26mm.

Two views of a late L4 caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 25.5mm.

The next moult brings the caterpillar to its 5th and final instar. Now the head capsule is mostly whitish green and the cephalic horns pale reddish brown. The two pointed anal processes are greenish to pale reddish brown in colour.

Two views of a newly moulted 5th instar caterpillar .

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, length: 35mm.

A 5th instar caterpillar sighted on the underside of a leaf in the southern catchment reserve.

The 5th instar lasts about 11-13 days, and the body length reaches up to 45-47mm. In this instar, the caterpillar does not avoid secondary veins of the leaf when feeding.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar,late in this stage, length: 49mm.

A 5th instar caterpillar sighted in the northern catchment reserve.

Toward the end of the 5th instar, the body gradually shortens in length with the body base colour turning to translucent green. Eventually the caterpillar comes to rest on a chosen spot on the underside of a leaf. Here it stays dormant for a while before spinning a silk pad and anchoring its anal claspers to it. It then becomes an pre-pupatory larva in this upside-down pose.

An early pre-pupatory larva of the Purple Duke, length: 35-38mm.

A pre-pupatory larva of the Purple Duke.

Pupation takes place about 0.5-1 day later. The pupa suspends itself with a cremastral attachment to the silk pad on the substrate. The pupa is mainly green mottled with cryptic yellowish markings. Each pupa has a pair of short cephalic horns. The body has a slight keeled appearance as it broadens and tapers to a yellowish ridge on the dorsum. Length of pupae: 24-26mm.

Two views of a pupa of the Purple Duke.

After 6 days of development, the pupa turns yellowish brown in the abdomen and black in the wing pads as the development within the pupal case comes to an end. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case.

Two views of a mature pupa of the Purple Duke.

A female Purple Duke emerges from its pupal case.

A newly eclosed female Purple Duke clinging on its pupal case.

A newly eclosed male Purple Duke resting near 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 Jonathan Soong, Benedict Tay, Huang CJ, Nelson Ong, Sunny Chir, Khew SK and Horace Tan

Butterfly of the Month - March 2017
The White Banded Awl (Hasora taminatus malayana)

March seemed to have come and (almost) gone in a flash. This is the last Saturday of the month, and I almost forgot to showcase our feature butterfly for this month on the blog! March seemed like a short month, after all the Lunar New Year festivities and holidays in February came to an end, and everyone settled back to work.

For homeowners who still hold outstanding loans, the US Fed hike in March caused a bit of concern for these SIBOR-linked borrowers. With two more impending rate hikes under the Trump administration in the coming quarters, the days of low-interest loans may be numbered. It will be interesting to see how the global economy changes in these turbulent times. A friend recently shared that business is booming back in the US, and she was swamped with work piling up for the months to come.

A White Banded Awl feeding on the flower of Ixora (top) and puddling on damp concrete (bottom)

This month, I tried the GrabCar app for the first time - ironically, back in my hometown in Penang where I was visiting my parents. This transportation platform, like the more ubiquitous Uber, is one of the disruptive technologies that has radically changed the face of public transportation. I must say that my maiden experience with Grab was largely positive and hassle-free. I merely clicked on the app, set my destination, and the designated car details and driver were sent to me.

Other than a small hitch where the driver missed my pickup location (and I could see on my smartphone tracking his car, that he went off to an adjacent road), the car arrived in about 10 minutes flat from the time I clicked 'confirm booking' on my smartphone. The driver was a Malaysian Indian who was in between jobs. He was polite and very knowledgeable about current affairs and recent news in Malaysia and Penang. All in all, the ride was pleasant and I reached my destination in good time. The best thing was that Grab's fixed fare was only 55% of what a normal taxi would have cost!

Back home in Singapore, I took possession of my new "toy" - a DJI Mavic Pro. This new high-tech drone (or some prefer to call it 'flying camera') is pretty awesome technology. My first impression of this Chinese-designed-and-manufactured drone was that the finish and quality of the product exceeded all expectations. The amount of technology in the hardware and software is mind-boggling and I am still discovering new things about the drone.

Unfortunately, Singapore is a small island and the number of no-fly-zones and regulatory requirements limit the number of places that one can legally fly the drone. Hopefully, some of these regulations can be relaxed a bit so that responsible recreational drone pilots can help to document Singapore in a totally different perspective and for a variety of useful applications from urban planning to building inspections.

This month, we feature a pretty skipper, the White Banded Awl (Hasora taminatus malayana). This species belongs to the subfamily Coeliadinae of the family Hesperiidae. The subfamily features a number of robust, fast-flying, fat-bodied butterflies commonly referred to as the Awls or Awlets. Many of the species are crepuscular, often seen on the wing in the early hours of the morning and late in the evenings just before dusk.

A typical pose of the White Banded Awl, playing hide-and-seek from under the shelter of a leaf

The White Banded Awl is a forest-dependent species, usually found in the nature reserves in well-shaded localities. It has a habit of flying rapidly and is often observed to settle on the underside of a leaf with its wings folded upright. Once disturbed, it takes off at high speed to search for another hiding place to rest on the underside of a leaf again.

A pristine White Banded Awl puddling on damp concrete

The species is also known to puddle on bird droppings and sometimes found puddling on damp building structures (concrete or wood) in the early morning hours. Occasionally, it is also found feeding off sap on damp tree trunks with its long and distinctive proboscis. When certain forest trees flower, e.g. Syzygium spp. the White Banded Awl may be seen zipping rapidly amongst the flowers and stopping to feed on the nectar.

The male White Banded Awl is dark velvety brown above and unmarked, whilst the female has small pale yellow post-discal spots on the forewings. The underside is pale brown with the wing bases strongly suffused with iridescent bluish-green scales. There is a narrow but distinct white post-discal band on the hindwing. In a side light, the bluish sheen makes it an attractive looking skipper and distinctively different from the majority of brown and sombre looking butterflies in the family.

The White Banded Awl's 'baby photo'

The caterpillar of the White Banded Awl feeds on Derris trifoliata (Sea Derris), a host plant that it shares with at least two other species of butterflies in Singapore.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Nelson Ong, Jonathan Soong and Horace Tan

Butterflies' Favourite Nectaring Plants #9
The Chinese Violet (Asystasia gangetica micrantha)

A Malay Lacewing feeds on the flower of the Chinese Violet

The feature plant in this article of our series on butterflies' favourite nectaring plants is the Chinese Violet. This tough widespread "weed" can be found in a number of habitats in Singapore, particularly in areas which have been cleared and awaiting development, or left to remain wild. It can be found growing in unkempt gardens to secondary forested areas to back-mangroves, usually as a low ground cover.

The Chinese Violet plant, with its delicated white and purple flowers

The Chinese Violet is a member of the family Acanthaceae, which features many butterfly host plants amongst the 2,500+ species in the family. The Chinese Violet is no exception, being a host plant for several Nymphalidae species like the Autumn Leaf, Blue Pansy and Great/Jacintha Eggfly. This species originated from sub-Saharan Africa, but has become naturalised in Asian countries like Singapore, where it grows rapidly in the hot humid climate.

This herbaceous plant spreads quickly and is able to climb vertically up to 1m or more, if supported. It does not appear to be particularly fussy about its substrate soils, and can appear in relatively harsh environments all across Singapore, although it prefers semi-shaded conditions to grow best. It roots easily when its stems and nodes come into contact with moist soil. Cuttings sprout white roots within 3-4 days if left in water, and the plant can easily be propagated this way.

Plant Biodata :
Family : Acanthaceae
Genus :Asystasia
Species :gangetica
Sub-species :micrantha
Synonyms :A. coromandeliana, A. intrusa, Justicia gangetica, Ruellia intrusa
Country/Region of Origin : Africa, Tropical regions
English Common Names : Chinese Violet, Common Asystasia, Creeping Foxglove, Ganges Primrose
Other Local Names : Ara Songsang, 赤边樱草, 十万错花

The paler green underside of the Chinese Violet leaf

The opposite pairs of leaves occur at right angle to each other

The green leaves are simple, opposite and decussate (successive pairs of opposite leaves occur at right angle to each other). Each leaf is ovate or heart-shaped, sparsely hairy, smooth-edged and ranges between 3 to 7.5cm long. The plant grows upright on squarish stems that have ribs and short hook-like hairs.

The flower of the Chinese Violet with the purple lower lip

The flowers are in small, one-sided racemes at the stem tips, with the flowers at the bottom of the raceme opening first. Flowers of the Chinese Violet are small and tubular, each up to 3.5cm long. There are usually 6 to 10 flowers borne on each raceme. The calyx has 5 rounded lobes, purple, vein-ridged markings on the lower lip, and 4 stamens. This species is free-flowering throughout the year. These bisexual flowers attract insects including various species of butterflies to act as pollinators in the reproduction process.

Buds, flowers and fruits of the Chinese Violet

Explosively dehiscent fruits, which come in club-shaped capsules, are initially green, but becomes brown and dry after dehiscence (3.6 cm long). The fruit resembles an upside down cello and contains 4 whitish to brownish black, circular seeds which are flattened and beaked (5 mm long, 1 mm thick). Fruits contain 3 mm-long hooks which help to propel the seeds further away from the plant during explosive dehiscence.

Ripened fruit and seeds of the Chinese Violet

In some parts of Africa, the leaves are eaten as a vegetable and used as an herbal remedy in traditional African medicine. The leaves are used in many parts of Nigeria as a traditional African medicine for the management of asthma. In Australia, this species is considered invasive and a serious threat to native ecosystems, and sightings of the Chinese Violet have to be reported to the authorities.

Flower of the Chinese Violet, where a spider tries to remain 'hidden' to wait for unwary prey coming to feed on the flower

Besides being host plant to several butterfly species, the white/violet flowers of the Chinese Violet is rather attractive to the adult butterflies. The 'universality' of the flower of this plant to butterflies is interesting, as we have seen species from 5 out of the 6 butterfly families feeding on it. With the exception of Riodinidae, representative species from Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae have been regularly observed sipping nectar from the flowers of the Chinese Violet.

The bigger swallowtails also like to feed on the flower of the Chinese Violet

Of the Papilionidae, we have seen these larger swallowtails fluttering at the white/violet flowers of the Chinese Violet with their long proboscis extended deep into the flower. Species observed are the Common Mormon, Lime Butterfly, Common Mime, and even a Blue Helen, although it is often difficult to photograph these species moving rapidly from flower to flower with their forewings constantly flapping in the usual Papilionidae fashion.

The Grass Yellows feeding on the flower of the Chinese Violet. Note how they have to poke their heads deep into the flower to get at the nectar within the flower.

Amongst the Pieridae, the Grass Yellows (Eurema spp.) are most often seen stopping and pushing their heads deep into the flower of the Chinese Violet. Perhaps the shorter proboscis of the smaller Grass Yellows cannot extend far enough into the flower to reach the nectar, so they need to push their heads further in to get at their liquid diet.

The Tigers and Plain Lacewing reaching into the flower to get at the nectar

The large Danainaes and Nymphalinaes from the family Nymphalidae are quite regularly spotted to feed on the nectar from the Chinese Violet flowers. As with the Pieridae, even these larger butterflies are observed to push their heads deep into the flower (often giving a "headless" butterfly shot) when their heads are out of sight whilst they feed at the flower. Species featured here include the Common Tiger, Dark Glassy Tiger, Plain Lacewing and Malay Lacewing are some examples of the Nymphalidae that feed on the Chinese Violet flowers.

The diminutive Lycaenidae are also attracted to the flower of the Chinese Violet. Being small butterflies with fine proboscis, the Lycaenidae also have to reach far into the flower to get at the nectar.

Skippers love the flower of the Chinese Violet

In the early morning hours, look for the Hesperiidae (Skippers) zipping amongst the low bushes of the Chinese Violet, reaching far into the flower with their long proboscis to feed on the nectar. From the photo records of ButterflyCircle members, it appears that a larger number of different species of Hesperiidae have been observed feeding on the flower of the Chinese Violet than any other family.

Despite being an unwanted weed found in wastelands, unkempt patches of greenery and cleared patches of sites awaiting redevelopment, the Chinese Violet is a valuable plant that is used for sustenance by Singapore's butterflies. It is a caterpillar host plant for at least 3 species of butterflies, and a nectaring plant for a good variety of species of butterflies.

So when you are out butterfly-watching, do keep a lookout for these 'white dots' amongst the low green shrubbery and ground cover - these are the pretty flowers of the Chinese Violet. Watch for the butterflies that feed on these white/violet flowers and add on to the list of species that you can see here, that use the Chinese Violet flower as a nectar source.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Loke PF, Horace Tan and Mark Wong

IPSG Talk at Deyi Secondary School
Introduction to Butterflies

A group of teachers from the IPSG session at the Deyi Secondary School butterfly garden

Last week, I was invited to give a talk about butterflies to a group of teachers at Deyi Secondary School. The Principal of the school, Mrs Lim AP, had recently set up a butterfly garden in her school grounds and thought that a sharing session amongst her teachers would be useful. Coincidentally, she had a Biology Instructional Programme Support Group (IPSG) that day, and we had another group of teachers from schools within the cluster who were also invited to the talk.

Many of the teachers had biology background and hence it was easier to use basic taxonomic terms about butterflies without having to elaborate on the technicalities of the terms. My talk was calibrated more for the layman, and covered basic topics like butterfly morphology, behaviour, ecology and conservation.

Teaching the teachers about butterflies at the sharing session

It is always interesting to observe how people are surprised to learn of the rich butterfly diversity on our little red dot. Taking into account the seasonal migrants, we have recorded 331 species in Singapore at the end of 2016. Obviously, discoveries and re-discoveries will continue - both at the technical level and also at the field observation level. There will always be surprising finds every year, and we hope that even within the 714 sq km of our little island, lurks species that have been hidden from us all these years.

Given the teacher-centric audience, I also launched my typical quiz on the identification between butterflies and moths. As with previous audiences, it was always fun to see how people have preconceived ideas of what they consider are moths, and what butterflies should look like. In so far as I've surveyed, most beginners would not get a clear "pass" on the quiz. Although biologically, both butterflies and moths fall under Lepidoptera, the layman has always been curious about the differences between a butterfly and a moth.

In the one hour talk, the audience was kept alert and intrigued about butterflies and I was glad to see that most were quite interested at the information provided. I suppose having lots of pretty pictures of butterflies helped in what could have been a 'boring' subject to some.

Some hands on experience with caterpillars. Tian reassuring the teachers that butterfly caterpillars are quite harmless

I was assisted by my two friends Tian HM and Or CK. Tian was the man behind the landscaping of the butterfly garden at Deyi Secondary School and he conceptualised the planting beds and the species of host and nectaring plants to attract butterflies to the garden. CK helped with recording the talk and her bubbly personality is always welcome at any gathering.

After the talk, we brought the group out to the butterfly garden facing Ang Mo Kio Street 42. It was a quiet corner of the school, slightly away from the buildings and partially shaded by some trees. Despite its proximity to the road, the site was slightly elevated and hence provided a relatively conducive area for butterflies to roam about.

Visiting the butterfly garden

Tian did a good job of mixing host plants, nectaring plants and other filler plants in the small area of about 250m2 that formed the butterfly garden. Even at the late hour of almost 5pm in the evening, we spotted species like the Common Grass Yellow, Chestnut Bob, Striped Albatross and Chocolate Pansy fluttering around. We also saw caterpillars of the Leopard Lacewing, Tawny Coster and Plain Tiger on the host plants.

Caterpillars in the butterfly garden, and educational signage on the plants that have been cultivated at the butterfly garden to attract butterflies

A group of students from the school was at the butterfly garden, and as expected some of them were quite freaked out by the caterpillars and dared not touch them. It is a fundamental consideration when architects and landscape designers talk about biophilic design (originating from the innate tendency of humans to seek connections with nature and other forms of life) and infusing our built environment with plants (and the biodiversity that comes with them). Though biophilia is normally considered from the human perspective, a large segment of our population tends to be rather selective at what they consider as an affiliation for "all" things nature.

I had previously observed that over the past few decades, the typical Singaporean growing up in our sanitised environment and HDB apartments tend to shun the "wilder and untidier" side of nature. This may have, in certain situations, drawn a line between biophilia and biophobia. To some, if even the totally harmless butterfly can be perceived to be a "dangerous critter" to be feared and avoided, what more an ugly looking caterpillar!

The setting up of butterfly gardens in schools is a good step in the biodiversity conservation efforts in our city in a garden. More of these school gardens, together with a growing network of community butterfly gardens, park connectors, urban parks and the nature reserves will go a long way in improving our butterfly conservation efforts in Singapore. Deyi SS should be lauded for taking the extra effort to set up their own garden, and a critical success factor is the enthusiasm behind the leadership and the teachers of such schools who are key behind the success and sustainability of such butterfly gardens in school premises.

Principal of Deyi SS, Mrs Lim AP and me. :)

In any case, I was glad to be of help in the educational efforts in biodiversity conservation, in particular the appreciation and understanding of butterflies. The journey of sharing knowledge and nurturing new advocates of butterflies and their conservation in our urban greenery is a long one. But every little bit counts as we build a society that cares for the environment as much as our human aspirations for better living conditions.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Or Cheng Khim

Special thanks to Mrs Lim AP, Principal / Deyi Secondary School and the teachers who attended the talk. Also to Tian HM and Or CK for assisting during the talk and site visit to the butterfly garden

Butterfly of the Month - April 2017
The Silver Forget-Me-Not (Catochrysops panormus exiguus)

A quarter of 2017 had come and gone. The fourth month of the year seems quiet enough, although the uncomfortable tension that came with two US military strikes on Syria and Afghanistan lingers in the air. It would appear that the Trump administration will not hesitate to show its destructive force in the use of (currently) conventional weapons in sending a strong message to ISIS.

Already, the amassing of US military hardware in South Korea, and the reciprocal response from China is causing consternation in north-east Asia. Will the US, which appears to be emboldened by their military strikes on the ISIS strongholds, also use force to teach North Korea a lesson? Will North Korea stay quiet in the face of US hostilities, as Syria and Afghanistan appear to be? We live in times of great uncertainty indeed.

I was in China waiting for my flight to take off, when news of the US strike on Afghanistan broke. Although far away, the impact of the incident caused quite a bit of delays at airports in China. Despite no one mentioning that the 'temporary closure' of certain airports in China and the flight delays that ensued were a result of the international incident, we can only speculate that China was on high alert during that short period of time.

And then there was the United Airlines incident that buzzed the internet for a few days. Due to the prevailing policy that airlines in the US are allowed to over-sell their flights, whenever a flight is full, the airline will invite passengers to forego their seats (for a little compensation) to accommodate the airline's policy. However, the incident on United Express Flight 3411 where a "booked, paid and seated" passenger was selected at random and physically dragged out of the plane by security personnel.

I recall that some years ago, I was offered to take a later flight when the plane that I was booked on, was full. The American Eagle counter staff was polite and persuasive and I agreed to take a US$150 compensation and took a flight that was 3 hours later. The difference was that I was persuaded not to take the flight before I boarded the plane. The current incident where a passenger was violently dragged off the plane after being seated is totally unacceptable, which is probably why it set off an internet storm all around the world.

Perhaps living the life of a butterfly is a lot less complicated? This month, we feature a small hairstreak or Lycaenidae species called the Silver Forget-Me-Not (Catopyrops panormus exiguus). It was re-discovered in Singapore back in 1997. References indicated that this species was not seen in Singapore since the late 19th century and was therefore considered 'extinct'. However, a small population was observed in the Khatib Bongsu area and Pulau Ubin. Subsequent sightings of this species on Sentosa and various parts of the island indicated that the species is extant and resident in Singapore.

Considered a moderately rare species, the Silver Forget-Me-Not is usually encountered singly where it flies with a rapid erratic flight amongst the low shrubbery. The caterpillar host plant is Pueraria phaseoloides which is a "weed" growing in open wastelands and cleared areas.

Comparison between the Silver Forget-Me-Not and the Forget-Me-Not showing the position of the costal spot on the forewing edge on the underside of the forewing.

This species is not to be confused with its lookalike cousin, the Forget-Me-Not (Catopyrops strabo strabo). Almost identical in most respects, these two species are hard to separate in the field, as they frequent the same habitats and display the same habits. The key distinguishing difference is the location costal spot on the underside of the forewing.

Upperside of the male and female Silver Forget-Me-Not

The Silver Forget-Me-Not is pale shining blue on the upperside of the male. The female is heavily black dusted with broad black apical area on the forewing, and dull blue wing bases. The underside is greyish white with the usual Lycaenidae streaks and spots. The hindwing has a long filamentous white-tipped tail at vein 2.

Puddling Silver Forget-Me-Nots

At certain times of the day, both males and females of the Silver Forget-Me-Not can be observed to open their wings partially to sunbathe. These are the only times when one can observe the uppersides of the wings, as they normally stop with their wings folded shut, even when they feed on flowers or when they puddle on damp footpaths and streambanks.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Nelson Ong, Jonathan Soong, Lemon Tea and Mark Wong

Butterflies of Singapore Checklist
Featuring some recent additions

In our blog article on the the review of the year 2016, we referred to some seven new additions to the Singapore Checklist, bringing the total number of butterfly species observed in Singapore to 331. This weekend's article features four of these species and offers some insights on the status of these species in Singapore. Very often, we have migratory species that make their occasional appearance in Singapore and due to their seasonality, these are classified as 'seasonal migrants' in the Singapore Checklist.

However, there are still some lookalikes that are hard to distinguish, except perhaps with physical voucher specimens or even using DNA barcoding to establish a distinct species that occurs in our environment. Then there is always the possibility that some species have eluded observation by hiding deep in Singapore's forested nature reserves. They are probably rare, but resident species, yet to be discovered or re-discovered.

A dead Dark Jungle Glory (Thaumantis noureddin noureddin) found at NTU

Amongst one of the surprising finds last year, was the Dark Jungle Glory (Thaumantis noureddin noureddin). A relatively pristine individual was found by NIE lecturer Assistant Prof James Lambert on the premises of the Nanyang Technological University. The butterfly was found dead with its wings spread open.

The Dark Jungle Glory is described as being dark brown on the upperside with the wing bases a shining purple-blue, with a fascia of diffuse white spots on the forewing. The dark-greyish brown underside has a white post-discal line which is shaded with dark brown and a number of ocelli on the hindwing. The species is often found in bamboo thickets and fly close to the ground in dark heavily shaded habitats.

A Dark Jungle Glory in its typical habitat amongst dead leaf litter on the forest floor

It is curious that this species, considered a re-discovery is still found in Singapore after all these years. We do not believe that this is a seasonal migrant, as the Dark Jungle Glory stays in shaded habitats close to its likely caterpillar host plant of bamboos. It is probably rare, but has remained extant in Singapore in very limited habitats. It should be looked for in future, particularly in the NTU area which still has pockets of undisturbed heavily shaded forested areas.

The next large species that has been observed in Singapore over the past years, is the Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis). This butterfly, which resembles the Glassy Tigers of the Danainae subfamily, has been observed from time to time, and it was not until a confirmed shot by Chung Cheong was recorded recently. It was probably missed due to its resemblance to the Glassy Tigers and proved elusive.

A Dark Blue Tiger shot in Singapore in 2006

The Danainae have been known to be strong flyers and display migratory tendencies. That the Dark Blue Tiger has been sighted several times in Singapore, is therefore not surprising, as the tough "Tiger" can survive rough conditions that would have been fatal to other more delicate species. The species is not uncommon in Malaysia, and is often seen in butterfly enclosures where it is one of the farmed species for display. The Dark Blue Tiger is a large butterfly with narrow elliptical bluish markings. It resembles other species in the Parantica and Ideopsis genus but it appears much bluer in flight.

A Ganda Dart with the hindwing patch with the veins not darkened

The next two species to be discussed are skippers from the Hesperiidae family. It is often challenging to identify skippers from field shots - particularly amongst the lookalike species, of which several species can be very similar in appearance. Amongst these are the species from the genus Potanthus and Telicota. These orange-black skippers are small, skittish and appear frustratingly identical to butterfly watchers.

The species referred to as the Ganda Dart (Potanthus ganda). This species is of the same size and appearance as the more commonly found Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha). However, the Ganda Dart prefers the forested areas in the nature reserves in Singapore whilst the Lesser Dart is more widespread and can be found in urban parks and gardens.

The Ganda Dart differs from the Lesser Dart in that the veins on the yellow band on the hindwing above are not blackened. It is also described to have deeper orange colouring (but a rather unreliable characteristic when comparing weathered individuals with pristine ones). Both the Ganda Dart and Lesser Dart flies with the usual skittish skipper habits and often stop with their wings opened in the typical skipper fashion. Photos of the Ganda Dart appeared online as early as 2010 but was not validated until recently, with breeding records.

The next skipper of interest is the rare species from the genus Zographetus. These are forest-dependent butterflies and are rarely, if ever, found outside the sanctuary of the nature reserves in Singapore. Three species have been listed as extant in Singapore by the early authors. However, only one - Zographetus doxus (Spotted Flitter) has been recorded with certainty.

A Rusty Flitter perches in the shaded understorey in the nature reserves

Over the years, another closely related species, the Rusty Flitter (Zographetus ogygia) has been photographed but not included in the Singapore Checklist due to the uncertainty relating to their superficial features. However, as more and more evidence appeared, the confidence level of distinguishing these two species has risen and therefore the 2nd species Zographetus ogygia has been added to the Singapore Checklist. A 3rd species, Zographetus rama, recorded previously in Singapore, should be looked for.

It is highly likely that there continues to be discoveries or re-discoveries in our Singapore's forests where rare species have eluded observation till now. Many of these species may be cryptic in appearance, with several species looking very similar to each other. The skippers, in particular, the brown ones, tend to be difficult to identify from a single field shot and specimens may need to be collected to establish the ID of the species with greater certainty.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chung Cheong, Khew SK, Koh Cher Hern, James Lambert, Bobby Mun, Kurt Orion, Nelson Ong, Jonathan Soong, Tai LA and Horace Tan

Note : The English Common Name of Zographetus ogygia follows the Butterflies of Thailand 2nd Edition by Pisuth Ek-Amnuay. Elsewhere it is known by other common names but we will accept the Southeast Asian name as "Rusty Flitter".

Butterflies' Favourite Nectaring Plants #10

The Mile-a-Minute (Mikania micrantha)

A Long Banded Silverline takes nectar from the flower of the Mile-A-Minute Weed

In this 10th instalment of Butterflies' Nectaring Plants series, we feature a rather invasive 'weed', the Mile-A-Minute Weed (Mikania micrantha). This plant is a native to Central and South America, and is a fast-growing vine that was intentionally introduced to a number of countries. In recent years, it has become an unwanted invasive plant that has been a target of biological control in some countries.

The Mile-A-Minute Weed is a member of the Asteraceae (Compositae) family that is native to tropical Central and South America with a climate and humidity that is similar to Singapore and Southeast Asia. It is able to grow vigourously via its climbing vines and can spread rapidly, if unchecked, often smothering other plants in its way. Young shoots of this plant have been reported to grow at an average of 25mm to 80mm per day!

The Mile-A-Minute Weed climbs on other plants and often smothers them completely!

If supported, the plant can climb up trees to as high as 25m, completely covering the supporting plant and eventually depriving the host of sunlight and nutrients, and even eventually killing it. The plant can grow in a variety of habitats but usually prefers damp, lowland clearings or open areas, where there is adequate temperate, light and rainfall. It also grows along streams and roadsides, along edges of forests and forest plantations, along fence-lines, in pastures and wastelands and on and among trees and shrubs. It may be common in areas affected by slash and burn agriculture.

A female Colour Sergeant feeds on the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute Weed

In Singapore, it can be found in open wastelands, recently-cleared sites, coastal reclaimed sand-filled sites and even at the fringes of our nature reserves. Aesthetically, the Mile-A-Minute is not a particularly pretty plant and is not usually used intentionally as part of any landscaping designers' palette of plants. However, some landscape contractors are experimenting with this plant as part of their vertical greenery walls, exploiting the Mile-A-Minute's propensity for climbing large distances vertically.

Plant Biodata :
Family : Asteraceae (Compositae)
Genus : Mikania
Species : Micrantha
Synonyms : Acanthospermum micrantha, Willoughbya micrantha
Country/Region of Origin : Central and South America
English Common Names : Bitter Vine, Mile-A-Minute, American Rope; Chinese Creeper; Climbing Hempvine; Mikania vine;
Other Local Names : Ulam Tikas, Sembang Rambat, 薇甘菊, 小花蔓澤蘭

The heart-shaped leaves of the Mile-A-Minute Weed

The slender stem of the Mile-A-Minute Weed bears opposite leaves at about 5-20cm intervals. The dark green leaves are ovate with a cordate base. The leaves have pointed tips and a heart-shaped base, and generally triangular in shape. The foliar margins are curvy, undulate and irregular. Mature leaves are thicker than the younger leaves and smooth to the touch. The foliar venation is net/pinnate.

The white flowers on branched inflorescence of the Mile-A-Minute Weed

Flowers are in compact heads of 4-6 mm long, small and white to greenish and usually hanging on much branched inflorescence. Fruits are 2 mm long achenes, black with a head of white pappus hairs 2-3 mm long. The featherlike seeds are dispersed by wind. A single stalk can produce between 20 and 40 thousand seeds a season.

A Blue Spotted Crow (middle photo) and a Magpie Crow (bottom photo) on the Mile-A-Minute Weed's flowers

The small white flowers of the Mile-A-Minute Weed are attractive to butterflies. It is interesting to see that small and large butterflies feeding on the flowers. Although we can only speculate at this point in time, that the quantity of nectar is sufficient to satiate the appetites of both the large and small butterflies alike. Although I have not come across any photos of the Papilionidae feeding on the flowers of this plant, I have observed a Common Mormon fluttering around the flowers before.

Various Nymphalidae butterflies feeding on the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute Weed

The larger Danainae - the Crows of the genus Euploea in particular, have been seen to feed on the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute Weed. Amongst the other Nymphalidae, the larger species like the Cruiser, Malay Lacewing, Autumn Leaf, Great Eggfly, Tawny Coster and various Sergeants (Athyma spp) have been observed feeding on the flowers of this plant - usually within the forested areas of our nature reserves, where the plant can be found climbing on other plants.

Examples of Pieridae on the Mile-A-Minute flowers

The Pieridae, in particular the Grass Yellows of the genus Eurema and even the Tree Yellow have been seen on the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute Weed. It is highly likely that other species of the Pieridae will also take to the flowers of this plant.

A variety of Hairstreaks and Blues on the Mile-A-Minute Weed's flowers

The Lycaenidae has also been often seen on the flowers of this plant, often feeding on the flowers and moving from flower to flower for long periods of time. Various Theclinae have been photographed at the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute Weed in urban parks and gardens where the weed grows wild on fences and other shrubs/trees. Amongst butterfly species that are seen are the Copper Flash, Long Banded Silverline, Club Silverline and various Blues from the Nacaduba genus.

The Hesperiidae are also often seen to feed at the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute Weed throughout the day. Thus far, we have not seen the larger Skippers on the flower of this plant, although many smaller species like the Lesser Dart and other species of the Potanthus, Oriens and Ampittia genera have been regularly observed at the flowers of this plant.

Although this weed is a bane to landscape managers and contractors, where they have to often physically remove the plants before they smother and kill off other more valuable plants, the Mile-A-Minute's flowers are a good source of nectar for our butterflies. Hence even an unwanted invasive is still useful to our butterflies and should be judiciously managed and not totally be eradicated from our botanical biodiversity in Singapore.

The next time you are out on a walk in our parks or forests, do look out for flowering bushes of the Mile-A-Minute Weed and search for the hungry butterflies feeding on their flowers.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK, Federick Ho, Nelson Ong, Tea Yi Kai and Horace Tan.

Other References :
Medicinal Uses of Mikania micrantha

Butterfly of the Month - May 2017
The Short Banded Sailor (Phaedyma columella singa)

A Short Banded Sailor feeding at the flowers of the red Javanese Ixora

As the year progresses towards summer, there is a perceptible change in the ambient temperature in the atmosphere around us as the mercury climbs higher. Despite a few days of really heavy thunderstorms that caused some flash floods around our city, the famed Singapore humidity hits the moment the scorching sun returns to a blue cloudless sky. The warmer weather also triggered some trees to start flowering and in a couple of cases, the nectar buffet brought out our butterflies in full force, much to the delight of butterfly watchers and photographers.

The Festival of Biodiversity 2017 returns at the end of this month, and ButterflyCircle will collaborate with the Nature @ Seletar group of enthusiasts led by Mr Foo JL and his team of tireless volunteers to put up a booth to showcase Singapore's butterfly diversity. FOB2017 will be held at the Nex shopping mall on 27-28 May 2017. This will be the 6th instalment of the Festival of Biodiversity, which started back in 2012 at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

So if you have a free weekend on 27-28 May, do visit the FOB 2017 at the Nex shopping mall to learn about Singapore's awesome biodiversity. If you are interested to discover ways that you can contribute to conserving and protecting our nation’s precious natural heritage, head on down to the Festival for an amazing learning experience! You can expect to see exhibits and learn about our biodiversity in both terrestrial and marine environments, and the passionate people behind some of Singapore's nature groups.

A mating pair of Short Banded Sailors

Over the years, various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and in particular, nature conservation groups have come of age. There have been a lot more dialogues between the government agencies and the nature groups resulting in more well-considered and balanced developments in Singapore. Whilst the outcomes may not always satisfy everyone, it is the compromises amongst the stakeholders that have shown the maturity, and the listening ears on both sides is encouraging.

In land-scarce Singapore, it is always important to establish a balance between our infrastructural development and nature conservation. It is not a zero-sum game where the outcome is totally at the expense of one over the other, but making compromises and coming up with collaborative solutions that are derived from meaningful dialogues. Ideally, we should strive for developments where nature and the built environment can co-exist in harmony. It is still a long way ahead for the NGOs to raise awareness and to educate the general community but also to learn the pressures and challenges from the government's and developers' perspectives.

This month, we feature a relatively common butterfly, the Short Banded Sailor (Phaedyma columella singa). This species is widespread in Singapore, and can be found in multiple habitats all across the island. The caterpillar is polyphagous, feeding on at least five different host plants, of which some are common roadside plants, e.g. the Angsana. It can be found in back-mangrove habitats to urban parks and gardens and even in nature reserves.

The Short Banded Sailor displays the typical black and white 'sailor' colour scheme, like many species across several genera in the sub-family Limenitidinae. It is the only representative of its genus, Phaedyma, in the region. It has a graceful gliding flight, sailing through the air with occasional flap of its wings.

The upperside of the butterfly features horizontal black and white stripes across the fore- and hindwings. The underside is a rich orangey brown with white stripes arranged as on the upperside. The white triangular discal patch is often more rounded than the similar looking Common Sailor and Burmese Sailor. The species also lacks the white spots in space 2 and space 10 of the forewing when compared to many of the other Neptis species, but this can sometimes be variable.

The distinctive caterpillar of the Short Banded Sailor

The caterpillar of the Short Banded Sailor is quite distinctive and cannot be confused with any of the other related species. Amongst the caterpillar host plants, the Angsana (Pterocarpus indicus) is a common roadside tree, whilst the Sea Hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum) occurs in coastal and back-mangrove habitats.

Short Banded Sailor puddling (top), feeding on the ripened fruit of the Singapore Rhododendron (middle) and perched with its wings to sunbathe (bottom)

The Short Banded Sailor is quite common in Singapore. The sun-loving adults are often observed gracefully gliding at treetop level, often settling on sun-lit spots with wings fully open. The adults visit flowers and ripening fruits for their daily intake of nectar and the males have been observed to puddle for mineral intakes on damp patches.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Bob Cheong, Federick Ho, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Tan BJ, Horace Tan and Mark Wong.

Sentosa Butterfly Park
A Pale Shadow of its Past Glory?

Back in the 1980's, whenever someone mentions 'Butterfly Park (or Farm)', one would usually be pointed to the Penang Butterfly Farm at Teluk Bahang, Malaysia or the Sentosa Butterfly Park in Singapore. The original Penang Butterfly Farm, the "first tropical butterfly exhibition in the world" was opened in March 1986 by its founder/owner, David Goh. The Butterfly Park at Sentosa followed in Jun 1987. Both attractions were designed by Irish landscape designer, Gordon Ledbetter, who was also involved in butterfly farms in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England and Edinburgh in Scotland in the mid-80s.

A pair of Ornithoptera priamus - a species that is occasionally brought in to Sentosa Butterfly Park

Over the years, I had the pleasure of visiting the Sentosa Butterfly Park quite regularly (as I often do too, for the Penang Butterfly Farm whenever I visited Penang). Whilst the Penang Butterfly Farm featured almost exclusively Malaysian butterfly species, the one at Sentosa featured more exotic species like the spectacular Ornithoptera butterflies from Sulawesi, and other non-native species. It was always an enjoyable experience to visit both butterfly parks and to be surprised by species that I had not encountered before in the wild.

Entopia (formerly Penang Butterfly Farm) as it looks today

In July last year, the Penang Butterfly Farm transformed itself with a major revamp of its premises that quadrupled its original size. Its rebranding to Entopia and leveraging on technology and education, gave it a much-needed boost in visitorship, and the new premises is probably the largest butterfly aviary in the region today.

Some attractive non-native butterfly species shot on my previous trip to Sentosa Butterfly Park in 2013

I had last visited the Sentosa Butterfly Park (named Sentosa Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom in full) some time in 2013. On that visit, I could still see some interesting Indonesian species like the Scarlet Mormon (Papilio rumanzovia), Green Swallowtail (Papilio peranthus) and Ambrax Butterfly (Papilio ambrax) just to name a few. However, the actual butterfly aviary was compartmentalised to only a corner of what the original butterfly enclosure was when it was first opened in 1987.

This week, I made a visit to the Sentosa Butterfly Park again, to see if there had been any changes to the facilities. Sentosa Island itself had undergone an amazing transformation with the Resorts World starting with its soft opening in 2010 and the official opening of the Integrated Resort in 2012. Today, Resorts World, especially Universal Studios, is a must-visit destination for many families out for a day of fun and excitement in Sentosa.

After I paid the S$16 admission fee to the Butterfly Park, I observed that the general condition of the premises had somewhat deteriorated from the last time I visited it four years ago. There were a lot of stacked boxes around the untidy corridors next to the ticketing booth and the Butterfly Park seemed to lack a 'sense of arrival' that many theme parks around the world feature.

As I parted the plastic chain curtains that led into the first part of the Butterfly Park, I was rather disappointed to see that the butterfly aviary portion of the facility had remained the same as it was, four years ago. The size of the area that featured live butterflies had been reduced to about a third of the original size of the facility that opened back in 1987. The other compartments featured showbirds and other animals, which seemed to attract the attention of the tourists that were around on that day I visited.

Pupae and just-eclosed Papilio peranthus in the Pupa House

There seemed to be no more than 10-15 species of butterflies flying around, although there were quite a number of pupae in the Pupa House that awaited eclosion. The physical infrastructure appeared to be very much in need of a major facelift, as the structures looked tired and run-down. The name Butterfly Park seems to be a misnomer now, as a much larger part of the enclosure is dedicated to birds, lizards and other critters.

Whilst I acknowledge that the number of flying butterflies within the enclosure can fluctuate from time to time, depending on the availability of pupae from its supply chain, what a visitor can see on a typical day seems to be a far cry from the touted (probably misrepresented in Wikipedia) 15,000 live butterflies! I counted no more than 150 live butterflies fluttering around.

Wayfinding was generally easy, although there were some strange dead-end corners here and there that probably made sense in the original enclosure before the partitioning. The Pupa House looked very much the same as it did many years ago, with some minor facelifts. At least there was a staff who was stationed there to brief the visitors (and also to stop them from manhandling the newly eclosed and vulnerable butterflies!).

Something unacceptable in the Pupa House. Signages depict copyrighted work of photographers from whom permission was not sought. The photos used also cropped off the authors' copyright, indicating a premeditated intention to remove the copyright notice?

Furthermore, the identification of the butterflies on the two photos on the signage is incorrect. Did the curators do proper research on the species before putting up these signages?

I was very disappointed to see the rather amateurish educational posters in the Pupa House. A couple of the posters had the species misidentified! What was worse, was at least two of the photos depicted were plagiarised from my photographer friends without their permission! Come on, the people in charge of Sentosa Butterfly Park; as a profit-making commercial entity, surely you would be aware of using others' intellectual property without their consent? I hope that the people concerned would take note and correct this injustice immediately, and perhaps pen a note of apology to the photographers concerned.

The focus of the "Butterfly Park" appears to be more towards birds and other more exotic attractions to cater to tourist preferences?

I continued on my journey through the enclosure and observed the bird show and a very tame iguana that seemed to be quite happy to let visitors stroke it. There were some tortoises and exotic looking birds along the trail. Tourists and visitors seemed to be more interested and spent more time looking at these animals and birds rather than the butterflies. Perhaps this attraction could be rebranded to Sentosa Butterfly and Bird Park instead?

The signage and interpretative panels appear to be rather outdated and in need of an urgent facelift

The tunnels leading to the framed collections were very much the same as I remembered them from many years ago. I suppose these museum specimens are still relevant and held some educational value for the visitors. With today's low-priced graphics and printing technology, perhaps some of these static displays could be given a quick facelift and refresh some of the exhibits. Hiring a good graphics designer can make a big difference to the signage.

Can you count the number of beetles used in this piece of artwork?

I could never bring myself to accept 'works of art' made with the bodies of numerous dead insects. There was another occasion in 2010 where ButterflyCircle members lodged a protest to the Singapore Art Museum for an art piece which featured dead butterflies. Various emails to the persons in charge eventually ended with a response from Prof Tommy Koh (then Chairman of the National Heritage Board) himself, who acknowledged our emails by saying "You have, however, made an important point, and, going forward, I will request all our museums and curators to keep in mind the ethic that we should treat all animals with respect." Unquote.

Using large numbers of dead insects as artwork? It is not illegal as such, but you be the judge as to whether it is necessary.

And then I see these framed specimens. It is quite heartbreaking to see dead butterflies and beetles depicted in such a manner. Some observers will see nothing wrong in breeding butterflies and beetles and then killing them to create a collage such as the ones shown here. To each his own. The point made here, is that such pieces of "art" have very little to do with nature education nor conservation.

Some ad hoc renovations? Note the rusty corrugated zinc roofing on the bottom right of the photo

As a paying visitor, I left the Sentosa Butterfly Park, totally disappointed and saddened at what it had become. The original vision seemed to have been long forgotten. It is indeed a pale shadow of its past glory. Perhaps my observations and comments are premature, and the owners of SBP have something up their sleeves with a new facelift planned. Perhaps they should take a page from Entopia and what Joseph Goh has done for the Penang Butterfly Farm. It is a risky investment, no doubt - but probably a necessary one, if SBP wants to remain competitive.

Feedback and reviews on TripAdvisor on Sentosa Butterfly Park and Entopia

I did a quick check on TripAdvisor and the spontaneous reviews made by visitors and tourists to SBP and Entopia. The results speak for themselves, for what they are worth. It may not be fair to compare a facility that is about 30 years old with one that is just newly-minted. But this is what the competition for the tourist dollar is all about. Can SBP afford to remain stagnant? Its own, and Singapore's eco-tourism's reputation is at stake.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK, LokePF, Anthony Wong and Mark Wong

References :

Entopia (Penang Butterfly Farm) - Entrance Fee - S$21.00
Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park - Entrance Fee - S$8.00
Malacca Butterfly and Reptile Sanctuary - Entrance Fee - S$7.00
Cameron Highlands Butterfly Farm - Entrance Fee - S$2.25
Kipandi Butterfly Farm (Sabah) - Entrance Fee - S$6.50
Sentosa Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom - Entrance Fee - S$16.00

Butterflies' Larval Host Plants #13
The Sea Almond (Terminalia catappa)

This 13th instalment of our Butterflies' Larval Host Plants series features Terminalia catappa (Sea Almond), a member of Combretaceae which is a family of flowering plants comprising about 530 species of trees, shrubs and lianas. Sea Almond is a perennial and deciduous member which assumes the tree form.

The genus name "Terminalia" refers to the plants’ leaves being clustered at the end of the branches.

A wild Sea Almond tree at the water edge of Jurong Lake.

Sea Almond is native to tropical Asia, North Australia and Polynesia. It has been introduced to and cultivated in many other tropical and sub-tropical regions. In Singapore, it can be found growing wild along the coast, on rocky and sandy beaches. It is also commonly planted in parks/gardens and along roadsides as ``shade'' trees.

A young Sea Almond plant next to a park connector.

Plant Biodata :
Family: Combretaceae
Genus: Terminalia
Species: catappa
Synonyms: T. procera, T. latifolia, T. moluccana.
Country/Region of Origin: Tropical Asia, North Australia and Polynesia.
English Common Name: Sea Almond
Other Common Names: Pacific Almond, Ketapang, Indian Almond, Tropical Almond Tree, 榄仁树.
Larval Host for Butterfly Species: Arhopala centaurus nakula (Centaur Oakblue), Flos apidanus saturatus (Plain Plushblue), Spindasis lohita senama (Long Banded Silverline).

Rows of cultivated Sea Almond trees on both sides of the road in the Jurong district.

Young shoots growing from the trunk of a mature Sea Almond tree.

Buttress roots of a Sea Almond tree.

Sea Almond is a fast growing tree with spreading canopy and a tiered growth form. It can grow to a height of 20-35m, and often has buttress roots. Its thin leathery leaves are large (8–38 cm long, 5–19 cm wide), spatula-shaped and spirally arranged at the end of the twigs. The leaves are shed up to twice a year with the colour turning yellow and read before dropping off.

Spirally arranged leaves of the Sea Almond.

Spirally arranged leaves of the Sea Almond seen against the sky.

A leaf of the Sea Almond, notes its spatulate leaf shape.

Young developing leaves are yellowish brown to reddish, turning yellowish green to dark green when they mature. Leaves of Sea Almond contains tannins, and are used in tanning and dyeing. Other uses include treatment of headache and colic (using juice of young leaves), and topical treatment for rheumatic joints (in Indonesia and India).

Young leaves of the Sea Almond.

Developing leaves of the Sea Almond.

A twig bearing young, developing leaves of the Sea Almond.

Sea Almond is monoecious. Many tiny, white, petal-less flowers occur on long spikes emanating from leaf axils. Male flowers occur at the tip of the spike while the female flowers are at the bottom end.

A spike bearing flower buds of the Sea Almond.

A spike with flower buds at the tip and flowers at the bottom end.

A spike bearing numerous flower buds of the Sea Almond.

Close-up view of flowers of the Sea Almond.

Fruits are almond-shaped (3.5-7cm long), occurring in small clusters. Each fruit has a leathery, corky outer layer and a thick stony core containing the seed. It is initially green, turning yellow or red when ripened. The fruit is buoyant and can still viable after days in water.

A branch of the Sea Almond bearing developing fruits.

Fallen fruits of the Sea Almond.

The seed germinates with two near kidney-shaped cotyledons. Other young leaves follow thereafter.

A newly germinated Sea Almond plant. Note the seed (arrowed) and the two cotyledons.

Close-up view of the two cotyledons.

In Singapore, the Sea Almond serves as the larval host plant for three butterfly species in the Lycaenidae family: Centaur Oakblue, Plain Plushblue , Long Banded Silverline.

A Centaur Oakblue.

A Plain Plushblue.

A Long Banded Silverline.

Eggs of the three lycaenid species are laid singly or in small groups on young shoots, petioles or young leaves of the Sea Almond. Those of the Long Banded Silverline can also be found in crevices or cracks on the trunk.

Eggs of the Centaur Oakblue laid on twigs of Sea Almond.

Two close-up views of an egg of the Centaur Oakblue.

Eggs of the Plain Plushblue Oakblue laid on young shoots of Sea Almond.

A group of eggs of the Plain Plushblue.

Close-up views of two eggs of the Long Banded Silverline.

Caterpillars of all three lycaenid species feed on young leaves of the Sea Almond. They live in close association with ants, and are typically sighted with a few ants in attendance. Caterpillars of the Long Banded Silverline even share residence with ants in latter's pavilion on the leaf underside. Caterpillars of the Centaur Oakblue and the Plain Plushblue typically build their own shelters on the leaf for rest and concealment. It is not unusual to find a fair number of ants in such leaf shelters.

A group of weaver's ants attending to a caterpillar of the Centaur Oakblue.

Two views of a caterpillar of the Centaur Oakblue.

Two young caterpillars of the Plain Plushblue being attended by two ants.

Two views of a caterpillar of the Plain Plusblue

A caterpillar of the Long Banded Silverline hiding in an ant pavilion.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar of the Long Banded Silverline.

References:

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

WildSingapore - Sea Almond.

LKCNHM, The DNA of Singapore - Terminalia catappa.

NPark's Flora Fauna Web - Terminalia catappa.

The Plant Observatory - Terminalia catappa.

Text and Photos by Horace Tan.

Flourishing Fraser's Hill
Another Visit to Malaysia's Popular Hill Resort

A scenic view from Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Malaysia

The hot and humid weather in Singapore prompted thoughts of the cool fresh air on one of Malaysia's renown hill resorts, Fraser's Hill (largely in the state of Pahang). When our ButterflyCircle member, May Chan from Hong Kong told us that she would be making a visit to Singapore for some R&R and butterfly shooting, it was a good opportunity to show May some of Malaysia's butterfly diversity in Fraser's Hill. So, thanks May, for giving us a good excuse to head up north again this year.

All loaded and ready to go! Leaving Ipoh International Airport in our rented Honda City cars

As with our previous trips, a short flight from Changi Airport to Ipoh, the capital of the state of Perak, getting our rented cars, and off we went on the ~3 hour road trip to Fraser's Hill. This time around, we skipped a night's stay at Ipoh (and missed treating ourselves to some of the yummy local street food) and headed straight to Fraser's Hill. Along the way, we had hoped to stop at the usually productive Chiling Waterfalls to shoot butterflies.

But alas, the area where there used to be a carpark was under construction and some extensive earthworks were in progress. There appears to be some significant building works going on and even a site office at the site. Perhaps there will be some future facilities at this location, and hopefully the waterfall area will be accessible again soon. It was only after searching for what the plans are for Chiling Waterfalls that I realised that two young men had lost their lives here in late 2016.

Shahzan Inn, our 'home' for 4 nights on Fraser's Hill

So, off we went on our way past the Gap Resthouse, which still remained in its sorry state. It used to be a place for a rest stop and accommodation in the 80's but has since fallen on tough times and lack of business. The last 8km drive up the winding one-way road took us all the way past the landmark Fraser's Hill clock tower, and on to where we will be staying for this trip, Shahzan Inn.

Puddling butterfly shooters shooting the puddling butterflies at Jeriau Waterfall

It was just past noon when we finished checking into our rooms, so we decided to head to Jeriau Waterfalls to check out the butterfly scene. It was a warm afternoon, but our favourite puddling ground was completely inundated this time, leaving a small strip of sand. We were told that it was an exceptionally wet April and May this year, and that explains the higher water levels. Along the drive up, there were several signs of minor landslides as workers were repairing the slopes.

Some puddlers from Jeriau Waterfall

It was a good first afternoon, as a number of common puddlers came to greet the newbies in our group. I think May was quite excited to see species that she had not encountered before in Hong Kong. For the other newbies who were visiting Fraser's Hill for the first time in their lives, anything new was a +1 to their butterfly "collection". We called it a day just before 5pm and headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest and dinner.

The famous Fraser's Hill clock tower from a different perspective!

Parked safely by the roadside and all ready for some action!

The next day, low clouds blew past the hotel as we were having breakfast, but the sun came out and it was a nice warm day for butterflies. We headed to Jeriau Waterfalls again and explored the areas nearby. Quite a number of puddlers were around in the early morning warmth and everyone was busy doing their signature prone positions to shoot the butterflies at their eye-level. Our friends from Kuala Lumpur, LC Goh and KS Wong, drove up to join us for their weekend dose of butterflies.

The group encountered the Mapwings, several Sergeants, the usual Swallowtails and Whites and some persistent Crows on the puddling grounds. Interestingly, only a couple of skipper species were around this time and appeared towards the end of the day. The common Lycaenids were also out and the most obvious one was the Udara sp. It was always refreshing to shoot at Fraser's Hill because of the cool breeze that blows in once in a while - almost like shooting in aircon comfort!

The most photographed landmark on Fraser's Hill - the Clock Tower

The day ended with dinner at the local 'kopi tiam' area and a night stroll to take in the sights. As it was a Saturday night, there were more local 'weekenders' from KL and Ipoh who were up on Frasers for a short weekend to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. The town centre had more cars than usual and there was a lot more activity.

Low clouds coming in fast!

The next day was a really cloudy and it drizzled several times. The weather was not too cooperative, and the sun stayed hidden for most of the day. Butterfly activity was low and David and team, who went to Jeriau Waterfalls again, saw very few new butterflies. It was just as well, as some of us were stranded at the hotel. Note to self : Remember not to drop the keys when rummaging in the boot of the car and then closing the boot. :)

Dinner at Shahzan Inn to feed a hungry army

The day proved uneventful and we kept ourselves entertained on our mobile devices more than shooting butterflies. Dinner was at the hotel, and our ButterflyCircle veteran, Bob Cheong, would have had his third bowl of the by-now famous oxtail stew for dinner. Actually, the food at the hotel was not too bad, compared with the other places around.

When the clouds descended on our shooting ground.

On our final full day at Fraser's Hill, we decided to explore some old hunting grounds at the Telecom Loop. The clouds came really low in the early part of the morning, and we looked as though we were walking in some mysterious fog in an old English movie as we walked around, half-expecting Jack the Ripper to spring out from behind some bushes. Fortunately for us, the winds were in our favour and the clouds dissipated by mid-morning and the butterflies came out to play.

It was interesting to observe a pair of Sumatran Gems dogfighting and perch with their wings opened flat. However, they had this irritating habit of perching just out of reach of our cameras and we had to shoot them from afar. Uncle Bob was actively shooting at the 'flappers' stopping at the Lantana flowers. The rest of us walked up and down the road looking for new species to add to our tally.

After a quick lunch of buns, we moved off to another location along Telecom Loop and found several cooperative puddlers. It was the first time I sighted an Orange Staff Sergeant (Athyma cama gynea) puddling. Although it closely resembled the more common Colour Sergeant (Athyma nefte subrata), the markings on the Orange Staff Sergeant were distinct enough to separate the two. The usually skittish Green Commodore also came down to frustrate the photographers, whilst a more cooperative Plain Yeoman gave us more than enough chances to shoot its upperside and underside.

Siesta time for Bob!

It was past 4pm in the afternoon when we had our fill of shooting the puddlers and frequent up-and-down exercises of proning and chasing after the butterflies. The tiring activity was taking a toll on my old creaky bones and I could understand why Uncle Bob needed to take a short siesta from butterfly shooting towards the end of the day.

Cool night breeze and a night scene at the Fraser's Hill Golf green

I tried the oxtail stew for dinner this evening and I could understand why Uncle Bob likes this dish. This was our final night on Fraser's Hill and it was a nice relaxing trip and we especially enjoyed the cooler temperature on Malaysia's favourite hill station. Perhaps the wetter weather this year has delayed the butterfly activity a bit, but I am sure our newbies enjoyed their first-time experience on Fraser's Hill.

We started early next day with the intention of leaving the hotel earlier than our usual time to head to Gua Tempurung to check out our usual butterfly hangout. However, we were slightly delayed when a number of Awls (Hasora spp.) zipped around the hotel and puddled on the tiled floor. After getting our shots of the skittish skippers, we bade our farewell to Fraser's Hill.

Some butterflies at Gua Tempurung in Perak

The drive down was uneventful and we made good time, reaching our destination at Gua Tempurung just past 11am in the morning. We noticed that there were a few new structures since we visited last year, and quite a lot of the vegetation had been cleared. A school outing to the caves was in progress and we were surprised at the number of visitors on a weekday! We limited our shooting to a just small area near the car park, but was pleasantly surprised by a friendly Wizard, a very pristine Blue Leaf Blue, and the Burmese Caerulean which appeared to be a resident species at this location.

Good bye Fraser's Hill! Until next time...

All too soon, it was time to head to the airport to return our trusty rented cars and head home. Although the number of species and butterflies encountered cannot be compared to Chiangmai and Chiangdao in Thailand, it was nevertheless an enjoyable trip for the newbies, and in particular our guest from Hong Kong. So until next time, Fraser's Hill, keep on flourishing and remain green for many decades to come!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by David Chan, May Chan, Bob Cheong, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Loh MY and Simon Sng

ButterflyCircle @ Festival of Biodiversity 2017!

Nex Mall, Serangoon : 27-28 May 2017

The Festival of Biodiversity is in its 6th run this year. An annual event organised by the National Parks Board (NParks) Singapore, in collaboration with the Biodiversity Roundtable, the Festival aims to create awareness and foster a sense of appreciation for Singapore's natural heritage. The festival showcases Singapore’s impressive and unique array of island biodiversity. This event celebrates Singapore’s natural heritage and in doing so, hopes to bring about greater awareness of the rich biodiversity that Singapore has.

After taking a break from having the Festival at an urban shopping mall, the FOB 2016 was held at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This year, 2017, the FOB was moved back to a shopping mall! This time around, Nex Shopping Mall @ Serangoon was selected. The intention of hosting the Festival at shopping malls was to showcase Singapore's awesome biodiversity to the heartlanders and 'uncoverted' residents of Singapore who may have otherwise not get the chance to see up-close, Singapore's natural heritage.

Back to a shopping mall again this year! FOB2017 at NEX Shopping Mall

This year, ButterflyCircle continued to support the FOB for the sixth time. Members from the Nature @ Seletar Butterfly Garden and volunteers from Chung Cheng High School provided the much-needed reinforcements to man the butterfly conservation and education booth at FOB. As with the two previous years, Mr Foo JL brought in his awesome collection of live caterpillars to wow the visitors to the booth.

Mr Foo JL and his caterpillar parade. Our volunteers checking out the caterpillars

We featured many caterpillar host plants and their respective butterfly species whose caterpillars feed on the plants. As our knowledge of the early stages of butterflies grow over the years, the information that is useful to parks managers and landscape designers has helped to enhance Singapore's butterfly biodiversity in our urban gardens. It is important to augment Singapore's "City in a Garden" reputation with our local fauna that animates our greenery and brings life to our gardens.

ButterflyCircle's booth. Up and ready!

As with previous FOBs, we started setting up ButterflyCircle's booth early on Saturday morning. We put up the colourful display boards as our booth's backdrop, and fired up the video that featured our butterfly conservation objectives and showcasing butterflies. Mr Foo brought his 'babies' and plants and set them up with tender loving care. The live caterpillars are always a crowd pleaser, particularly with the children, whose curiosity and appetite for knowledge often throw us lots of questions.

Our young 'customers' looking in amazement at the caterpillars and pupae

It was encouraging to see many parents and their children visiting the booths at FOB17 and enjoying a learning journey about our island's flora and fauna. Kids who are keen to learn and enrich themselves with knowledge of our local biodiversity are the future custodians of our environment and the sustainability of our marine and terrestrial life and ecosystems. It is important to arm them with information so that whatever profession that they choose to take up, there is always a love for the environment and the enthusiasm to 'make our planet great again' (to paraphrase the French President in a recent speech)

Minister Desmond Lee explaining to Minister MCCY Grace Fu about Singapore's biodiversity

FOB17 was hosted by Minister Desmond Lee as with many previous FOBs. Minister Desmond is often seen as a champion of biodiversity and the environment. Indeed, he has won the respect and support of the green groups in Singapore for his tireless endeavours to conserve and protect the environment in his signature style of sincere and meaningful dialogue and balanced views. This year, we also had the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms Grace Fu, to grace the opening of FOB17.

A group shot with former Cabinet Minister, Mr S. Dhanabalan

Nature groups were also pleasantly surprised by one of our 'pioneer generation Ministers' and one who cared for the conservation of our environment, Mr S Dhanabalan, who joined in this year's FOB festivities. Even after retirement, Mr Dhanabalan continued to lend his weight behind many conservation projects and support biodiversity enhancement projects. It was an honour to meet Mr Dhanabalan at the FOB17.

Minister Desmond Lee, in his speech, shared the initiatives on nature conservation and the discoveries that the volunteer community made during the various Bioblitz surveys in Singapore. He also spoke of the forthcoming projects that the government was implementing, as well as lauded the efforts of the nature community in Singapore.

The crowd at FOB2017

It was interesting to see a different group of visitors at the Nex Shopping Mall this year. The FOB was held at Vivo City Mall for three years in succession from 2013-2015, and it was a good idea to move to a different mall and attracting shoppers from a different part of Singapore to view the FOB exhibits this time.

This year, besides the live caterpillars, we also had some art and craft, creating a flextangle informative gadget

Over the two days, we were kept busy with many visitors to the booth and entertaining lots of curious questions about butterflies. Our volunteer teachers, students and members of ButterflyCircle and Nature @ Seletar groups helped to answer queries and share our knowledge about butterflies to the visitors. Our balloonist, Cheng Khim, delighted the visitors (particularly kids) with her colourful balloons in the form of flowers and butterflies.

Cheng Khim and her balloon art entertained young and old alike!

It was a tiring (and hot) weekend as the group did our best to educate the visitors about butterflies in Singapore, and what they can do to help with butterfly conservation. But to our volunteers, it was a meaningful time to spend and I could see the boundless enthusiasm and energy with which they shared their passion and love for butterflies to the community.

A wefie with our two Ministers

And so we ask some thought-provoking questions again after the FOB17 ended - what next? Have the six editions of FOB that started back in 2012 achieved its objectives? Is continuing the FOB in the coming years going to be sustainable? Has reaching out to the masses in Singapore changed anything? Or have we reached a point of diminishing returns? Should FOB change its form and refresh itself with a new format of engagement? Some food for thought...

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Huang CJ, KhewSK and Or CK

Special thanks to teachers Jo Teo and Noor Sarah and the students of Chung Cheng (Main) for volunteering their time and effort at the booth, to Rita Dumais Sim, Vina Hermanto, Soh Kam Yung and son, Vanessa Lee, Rachel Lee, Eugene Koh, Mei Hwang, Lydia Davina Yeo and Chen Yimin for helping to engage the crowd. CJ for her design of the panels and producing the ButterflyCircle video, BC members Bob Cheong, Koh CH, Siaomouse and Nikita for their presence, and our balloonist Cheng Khim for her colourful creations. And of course to our guru Mr Foo for bringing caterpillars and plants to entertain the crowd.

Past Festivals of Biodiversity :

FOB 2012 at Singapore Botanic Gardens
FOB 2013 at VivoCity Mall
FOB 2014 at VivoCity Mall
FOB 2015 at VivoCity Mall
FOB 2016 at Singapore Botanic Gardens

Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden
Community Planting Day

The Bukit Panjang community and volunteers with Mayor Dr Teo Ho Pin at the Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden

Located in the north-west of Singapore, Bukit Panjang, formerly called Zhenghua, is home to about 140,000 residents. Pre-independence, Bukit Panjang consisted of mainly rural settlements and agricultural farming. Over the decades, Bukit Panjang has developed from a largely agricultural and industrial area to a highly urbanised and self-contained town, as kampung folks and farmers were re-housed in new Housing and Development (HDB) flats. Despite these changes, much of the area’s terrain and greenery have been preserved to form a unique blend of urban and rural space. The area retains its strong connection to nature through the neighbouring Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to the south and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve to the east, both of which contain rain forests.

Trail of Community Gardens in Bukit Panjang. The Butterfly Garden is not shown on NParks' map at the moment

In recent years, the National Parks Board's (NParks) Community in Bloom programme worked with the residents to bring back the kampung spirit in the form of community gardens. Residents and volunteers are encouraged to set up gardens where they can bring back their past activities as well as bond with their neighbours and friends living around the precinct. Bukit Panjang constituency is home to more than 11 community gardens specialising in edibles and medicinal herbs. The Bukit Panjang community gardens have a large variety of vegetables and fruits which are grown by community gardeners who work together to keep the kampung and gotong royong spirit alive in modern Singapore.

Sussie Ketit, who started the original Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden in 2013

Tucked in between two of the community gardens along Bukit Panjang Road, a small butterfly garden was set up in 2013. Championed by grassroots activist Sussie Ketit and her team of volunteers, the butterfly garden led a low profile existence with about 10-15 species of butterflies regularly seen at the garden.

Site visit to the Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden with Mayor Dr Teo in March 2017

This year, Sussie approached Foo JL of Seletar Country Club Butterfly Group for his assistance to expand the Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden (BPBG). A site visit amongst our group of butterfly enthusiasts and the Mayor of North West Community Development Council (CDC), Dr Teo Ho Pin in March this year, initiated plans for the expansion of the original BPBG.

Planter beds all ready for the plants

The group, ably led by Foo and his volunteers, Sussie and Sebastian Chia, and landscape contractor Tian HM set out to plan BPBG 2.0. The Town Council and a group of volunteer gardeners chipped in to help as well. The plans took shape as the planter beds were constructed and topsoil added. Butterfly host and nectaring plants were prepared and readied for the planting day planned for Jun 2017.

Foo JL and Cheng Khim at the morning briefing and show-and-tell to the volunteers

The Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden 2.0 Community Planting Day started early on Saturday 3 June. Foo JL and Cheng Khim were on hand to brief the community volunteers and gardeners about butterfly plants and the caterpillars of butterflies that feed on them. Cheng Khim helped to brief the non-English speaking participants and everyone enjoyed the show-and-tell session with live caterpillars and information about plants that attract butterflies.

Working hard at planting butterfly plants!

The group then went to the various planting beds that were already prepared with many butterfly host and nectaring plants. A final briefing by Tian on how to properly dig a hole and place the plants gently into the soil, everyone was raring to go. Armed with spades, shovels and changkuls, the volunteers, young and young-at-heart, helped to fill the planters with their selected plants.

Young and the young-at-heart digging and putting in their favourite plants with tender loving care

Despite the hot and humid morning, everyone had a lot of fun digging and planting the various host and nectaring plants. The rather ad-hoc placement of the plants is typical of a natural butterfly garden habitat, where the landscape design allows for a more natural look, rather than a horticultural display of organised and manicured planting.

Mayor Dr Teo Ho Pin joins in the fun

Mayor Dr Teo joined in the planting exercise and he energetically planted a Red Tree Bush (Leea rubra), a butterfly nectaring plant, right in the centre of the "VIP" planter bed. The local gardening community ladies also joined in to help Mayor Teo make sure that the plants were well watered. Foo JL brought some butterflies for Mayor Teo to release, to mark the event.

Making sure the plants are well watered

The morning ended with a nice buffet (like all things Singaporean, there will always be good food at such gatherings), generously sponsored by Sussie. After the hard work, everyone was in high spirits and looking forward excitedly to more butterflies at BPBG in the coming months.

The proximity of Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden to the Nature Reserve and park connectors makes it a potentially good location to attract more species to its location

The BPBG is situated along Bukit Panjang Road next to Block 213/214 Petir Road. The site is quite ideal, as it is linked to the Pang Sua and Zhenghua Park Connector network that links to biodiversity-rich areas like Dairy Farm Nature Park and further south, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Its immediate proximity to the forests of the Central Catchment Nature Reserves is also advantageous, as a concentration of nectaring plants may attract some forest butterflies along the edge of the reserves to fly over to feed.

The next generation. A bunch of eggs and caterpillars of the Three Spot Grass Yellow (Eurema blanda snelleni) found at the BPBG. Very soon these pretty yellow butterflies will be fluttering around at the garden!

And so BPBG has been planted and good to go. It has 'pupated', waiting for the plants to grow, and for the flowers to bloom and attract butterflies. Its metamorphosis has started, and we will wait for a couple of months to see the fruits of the community's labour. Hopefully, we can encourage more butterfly enthusiasts to enjoy butterflies and conserve the environment that is conducive for our winged jewels to survive for our future generations to enjoy them.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sebastian Chia, Foo JL, Huang CJ, Sussie Ketit, Khew SK, Or Cheng Khim and Rita Dumais Sim.

Butterfly of the Month - June 2017
The Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina)

2017 edges towards the mid-way mark of the year, as some of us may be pondering what we have achieved over the first half of the year. Or how much of our new year resolutions have we accomplished? Time and tide wait for no man, and each of us should just focus on pursuing our own dreams and aspirations, and not judge what goals others chase by our own irrelevant yardsticks. To each his own, and as long as it brings that person happiness, who are we to judge?

The summer months are upon us, and temperatures are hitting uncomfortable highs again. It would not be a surprise if ambient temperatures around the world hit records again this year. It is therefore lamentable when the world's largest economy has decided not to collaborate with the rest of the world on climate change mitigation strategies. Choosing that path will probably set back efforts made in the last few decades, and we can only face the consequences with the rest of the world, as we share the same old mother earth.

The local economy continues to appear weak, as far as the industry that I work with, is concerned. As many companies struggle with costs and business sustainability, governmental agencies are pushing for more collaborative business models and the increased use of technology. For many companies, it is a time for contemplation about the future of the business and how to remain competitive and yet profitable. Change is certainly in the air, and time is of the essence.

In Singapore, it would be difficult for any coffee shop talk to avoid making reference to the current dispute amongst the siblings of a most prominent family. A personal take on this, is that the matter that is being debated heatedly across all portals of social and mainstream media, is a private matter that should be settled amongst themselves and not dragged out in the open as a free show. And like most things on social media, everyone would have their own theories and opinions, whether welcome or not.

Hence back to our world of butterflies where life is probably still more innocent and simpler. This month, we feature a common urban butterfly, the Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina). This species is rather widespread across Singapore, where it can be seen in urban gardens, parks as well as the forest fringes. As its caterpillars feed on many varieties of ornamental palms this 'boring' looking butterfly is very much a part of our urban biodiversity in Singapore.

A mating pair of Common Palmfly. Male on the left, female on the right.

The Common Palmfly belongs to the subfamily Satyrinae, often referred to by the common English name of "Browns and Arguses". They are typically drab-coloured butterflies, usually ornamented with cryptic patterns and ocelli on the undersides of their wings. Satyrinaes prefer shaded habitats under the tree canopy and normally fly at low level amongst the shrubbery. For a large number of species in this family, their caterpillar host plants tend to be monocotyledons like grasses and palms.

On the upperside, the Common Palmfly has bluish-black forewings with light blue submarginal spots. The hindwing is reddish brown. The underside is speckled with reddish-brown striae that is very variable. The general appearance on the underside of the Common Palmfly can vary quite a bit in terms of the physical features and also the colour. Females tend to be lighter coloured with the submarginal areas on both wings lighter.

The males can be much darker and appears almost a dark purple-blue in some examples. In most examples, there is a white spot on the costa of the hindwing. However, there are some individuals where this white spot is significantly reduced or even totally absent (causing some observers to assume that they are looking at a different species of butterfly).

A Common Palmfly showing a peek at the upperside of the forewing

In my early years of collecting butterflies as a kid, we referred to this species as the "Thumb Print Butterfly". This is because the apical area on the underside of the forewing has a lighter patch with reminds one of a thumb print on the butterfly's wing.

The Common Palmfly is skittish and is difficult to approach when it is alert. It takes short 'hops' amongst the shaded undergrowth and stops with its wings folded upright, all ready to take off again should an intruder enter its circle of fear. A unique behaviour of this species from field observations is how the butterfly occasionally stops on the surface of a leaf, walks on the leaf using its legs, then then flies off to another leaf and repeats this behaviour.

Some local examples of its caterpillar host plants are : Ptychosperma macarthurii (MacArthur Palm), Cocos nucifera (Coconut), Dypsis lutescens (Yellow Cane Palm), Caryota mitis (Fish Tail Palm). Undoubtedly there will be more species of palms that its caterpillars feed on. Many of these species of palms are used in urban landscape design, and this explains why the Common Palmfly can be seen in urban residential gardens, particularly where pesticides are not used regularly.

Cat-like look of the Common Palmfly caterpillar

The caterpillar feeds in a very neat way of making a straight cut across the leaf of the palm making it appear as though someone had cut the leaf with a pair of scissors. The caterpillar has an interesting appearance with 'horns' on its head, giving it a cat-like appearance. The full life history of the Common Palmfly has been successfully recorded here.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chng CK, Jerome Chua, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Henry Koh, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Horace Tan and Benjamin Yam.

Butterfly Photography 101 - Part 5

Butterfly Photography 101 - Part 6

Butterfly of the Month - February 2017

Butterfly Photography 101 - Part 7

Butterfly Photography at Our Local Parks - Coney Island

About Butterflies - Talk at Seletar Country Club

Life History of the Purple Duke v2.0

Butterfly of the Month - March 2017

Favourite Nectaring Plants #9

IPSG Talk @ Deyi Secondary School

Butterfly of the Month - April 2017

Featuring some recent additions to the Singapore Checklist

Favourite Nectaring Plants #10

Butterfly of the Month - May 2017

Sentosa Butterfly Park

Larval Host Plant for Butterflies: Sea Almond

Flourishing Fraser's Hill

Festival of Biodiversity 2017!

Bukit Panjang Butterfly Garden

Butterfly of the Month - June 2017