The Grey Tinsel (Catapaecilma major emas)
A male Grey Tinsel showing a glimpse of its purple-blue upperside as it shifts its hindwing.
As the Wood Snake slithers into the Lunar New Year, claiming its place in the sun for the next 12 months, Chinese families all over the world celebrate the New Year. On this 1st day of the Lunar New Year, well-wishes are the order of the day, as families, friends and everyone you know will pour wishes of health, wealth, prosperity and happiness for the new year ahead.
People born in the Year of the Snake are characterised as being intelligent, intuitive and philosophical. On the other hand, they can be prone to jealousy and suspicion. This year's Wood Snake is particularly charming, intelligent and creative sign, but also secretive, cunning and sometimes ruthless. If you were born during a Snake year, get ready for an exciting year ahead! Be prepared for life-changing opportunities that will come your way, and you will thrive in times of change as a Snake, says a renowned Chinese metaphysics consultant.
Over the US, President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States of America. His return to the top post is expected to be very exciting and unpredictable globally, even as he started his first day in office with a slew of executive orders. He promised that "The golden age of America begins right now. From this day forward our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world." An interesting combination indeed, an unpredictable US president in the Year of the Snake!
The weather in Singapore has been uncharacteristically cold and wet for a Lunar New Year period - the coolest weather that I can remember for a long, long time. The Lunar New Year period is usually associated with scorching hot and dry weather here in Southeast Asia, so this year's weather is very unusual. Even as we celebrate the first day of the Lunar New Year, parts of Singapore were still experiencing light drizzles and 26deg temperatures. Another example of climate change?
We start 2025 by introducing a rather rare mangrove-associated species, the diminutive Grey Tinsel (Catapaecilma major emas). It was first re-discovered in the mangrove forests at Pulau Ubin in October 2004. Over the years, sightings of the species have been few and far in between but always near mangrove areas at Khatib Bongsu, Pulau Ubin and Pasir Ris Park. Species of the genus have been described as rare, with the Grey Tinsel being the most often encountered.
The male Grey Tinsel is purple blue above with narrow black borders. The female is a pale blue with broad black borders on both wings. On the underside, the ground colour is pale buff-brown with silver markings broken up into separate, rather irregular spots. The underside forewing post-discal spots in spaces 4 and 5 are in line.
A female Grey Tinsel perched on the underside of a leaf of its caterpillar host plant
The antennae are black-and-white banded with a bright orange apiculus. The hindwing features six white-tipped filamentous tails at veins 1b, 2 and 3 in both the male and female. The legs are very hairy as are the palpi and eyes. The eyes are transparent and brown. The butterfly uses all six legs to walk and move around.
An environmental shot of the Grey Tinsel showing its size in relation to the leaves of its caterpillar host plant.
The species is small, with a wingspan of only about 40mm. It is skittish and flies erratically and is alert to movements. Females have been spotted on its caterpillar host plants Sonneratia ovata and Avicennia rumphiana - both plants usually found in back-mangrove and mangrove habitats. It tends to perch on the undersides of leaves and the caterpillars are tended by the ant species of the Crematogaster genus. The protection of Singapore's last remaining mangrove areas and the associated caterpillar host plants is critical to the survival of this rare species and its continued existence in Singapore.
Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK, Loh MY, Zick Soh, Horace Tan and Yip Jen Wei
