The Yellow Vein Lancer (Pyroneura latoia latoia)
A Yellow Vein Lancer feeding on the flower of Lantana camara pink hybrid
We bid farewell to the 11th month of 2025 as the year will come to a close soon. The rainy and cool weather in Singapore adds to the atmosphere as shopping malls have begun their Christmas decorations and playing songs of the season. School's out, and many Singaporean families have taken off for their year-end vacations and family bonding time.
It has been a rather quiet month, except for a weather scare up in our northern neighbour. The usual monsoon months have hit many states in West Malaysia with floods causing many residents to have to evacuate from their homes. To make matters worse, there was a threat of the cyclone Senyar, an exceptionally rare tropical storm that formed in the Strait of Malacca, bringing severe weather to western Peninsular Malaysia. This region almost never sees cyclones - the last comparable event was tropical storm Vamei, almost 24 years ago. Fortunately, the damage caused by Senyar was minimal, but the floods and heavy rains continued.
A Yellow Vein Lancer feeding on the flower of the Bandicoot Berry (Leea indica)
The massive fire in Wang Fuk Court, Hong Kong made the regional news. The fire broke out at the multi-tower residential complex in Tai Po, New Territories. The fire quickly spread across seven of the eight towers of the residential development that was under renovation. The use of unapproved flammable building material for renovation work allegedly contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. As of yesterday, the death toll was 128 people, including a firefighter.
The Wang Fuk Court fire brings a grim reminder to professionals in the building industry across the region, and more so in Singapore, where our land-scarce situation has pushed developments to go high rise, like in Hong Kong. Although we do not have many towers as tall as those in Hong Kong, land optimisation pressures may push us towards a super high-rise solution. But in doing so, are we also prepared to eliminate the risk of such as massive fire? This is food for thought amongst our built environment industry - across developers, consultants, contractors and maintenance personnel.
Speaking of fires, we come back to our feature butterfly for November 2025 - the Yellow Vein Lancer (Pyroneura latoia latoia). The genus Pyroneura has its Greek etymology meaning πῦρ / pyro- = fire and νεῦρον / neuron / neura = nerve, sinew, or vein. Most likely the name refers to the yellow, orange, or golden streaks on the wings — especially along the veins of many species in the genus, including Pyroneura latoia (Yellow Vein Lancer). These warm vein colours stand out against the darker brown ground colour, giving a “fire-like” appearance along the veins.
On a bed of red - a Yellow Vein Lancer feeding on the flower of the Red Bush (Leea rubra)
The Yellow Vein Lancer is the sole representative of its genus in Singapore, although there are as many as 12 species in total recorded from the Malay Peninsula. As many of the species are very similar in appearance, there is no reason why one or more of the other species may appear in Singapore some day. So, all shots of this species should be carefully scrutinised to check if any of the other species may have been missed thus far.
The Yellow Vein Lancer is a forest butterfly, usually found in Singapore's nature reserves and other forested areas. It is seldom seen outside the sanctuary of the forests but where it is found, it is relatively common, particularly when feeding on the flowers of the Bandicoot Berry (Leea indica) where several individuals can be observed together. It is a fast flyer, like most skippers, but usually stays in the vicinity, perched on the uppersides of leaves.
A Yellow Vein Lancer caught in flight showing a full view of its uppersides
The Yellow Vein Lancer is dark brown on the upperside and the forewing has a series of pale hyaline spots. In addition to these spots, the forewing has a series of yellowish basal streaks. The hindwing has a series of discal hyaline spots partly overlaid by a yellow band.
On the underside, the veins are prominently yellow (hence the genus name referring to "fire-vein"). There are large hyaline spots and dark brown streaks between the veins. The antennae are yellowish from the apiculus to about a quarter of its length, and the eyes are a dark chocolate brown. The abdomen is brown and yellow banded.
The species has been successfully bred in Singapore on Oncosperma horridum (Arecaceae, common name: Mountain Nibung Palm). The local host plant is a tall clustering palm with pinnate leaves, and with its stem covered in black and downward pointing spines. This palm can be found growing in the Central Catchment Reserve in relative abundance at certain localities.
Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK, Koh CH, Loh MY, Mei Hwang, Richard Ong, Michael Soh and Horace Tan
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