The Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava)
This little butterfly is common, especially in the vicinity of its caterpillar host plant, Cycas revoluta and other Cycad species. It can be found in urban parks and gardens, and in areas where various Cycads are planted - even in the nature reserves. At the main entrance of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where two large trees of Cycas rumphii are present, the Cycad Blues are regularly seen fluttering around the plants, chasing each other in rapid flight.
This shot of a pristine Cycad Blue was taken last weekend by ButterflyCircle member Tea Yi Kai. The butterfly is perched on the edge of a Nepenthes tendril in Yi Kai's suburban garden. As long as pesticides are not used in urban parks and private gardens, butterflies are able to survive for the enjoyment of nature enthusiasts. We have often considered the wanton spraying of pesticides as 'weapons of mass destruction' because not only do these pesticides kill mosquitoes (albeit inefficiently) they destroy a large part of our urban biodiversity in the process!
