Butterfly of the Month - August 2009

Butterfly of the Month - August 2009
The Dingy Bush Brown (Mycalesis perseus cepheus)

A female Dingy Bush Brown perches on a blade of grass in the nature reserves

This month, we feature a species from the sub-family Satyrinae. This sub-family, referred to by its common collective English name of "Browns and Arguses", consists of many drab coloured and inconspicuous butterflies. Many are common and their caterpillars feed mainly on monocotyledons, e.g. grasses, padi & bamboos.

Another female Dingy Bush Brown lurking on the forest floor

The Dingy Bush Brown (Mycalesis perseus cepheus) is one of several species of the genus Mycalesis found in Singapore. The butterflies are small, drab brown with a pale post-discal band on the underside of both wings, often with a wingspan not exceeding 50mm, and have multiple ocelli on both the upperside and underside of the wings. They tend to fly in semi-shaded environments, amongst grasses and undergrowth along the fringes of wooded areas. They are not fast-flyers, preferring to remain low in the undergrowth and stop with their wings folded upright. However, they are skittish, and not easy to photograph properly.

The Dingy Bush Brown can be separated from its closely related species in the Mycalesis genus by the hindwing ocellus in space 2 on the hindwing moved in and well out of line with those adjacent to it.

A courting pair of Dingy Bush Browns. Left : Male, Right : Female

In Singapore, the species is local in distribution, but not rare. Where it is found, several individuals can often be seen, fluttering in the low shrubbery and feeding on organic material on the forest floor. It often flies in the company of its relatives the Dark Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis mineus macromalayana) and the Long Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis visala phamis) with which it could be confused, as well as the Nigger (Orsotriaena medus cinerea). The Dingy Bush Brown males are of a much darker brown in colouration than the females. The post-discal band on the underside of the females' hindwings is usually broader.

A unique specimen of the Dingy Bush Brown with only two ocelli on the underside of the forewing instead of the usual four

The forewing ocelli on the underside of the forewing in spaces 3 to 6 are not equal, and some usually absent. Where present, the size of the ocelli can be rather variable.

A male Dingy Bush Brown perching on a leaf

The Dingy Bush Brown is, more often than not, unappreciated by most observers, as it is considered "unattractive" and unremarkable. Its drab brown and low-profile behaviour in the field also tend to keep it much ignored by most butterfly watchers. However, upon looking closely at its ocelli and shape of the wings, one can say that Beauty is often in the Eyes of the Beholder, and one needs to look closer to see that the Dingy Bush Brown can also be considered a pretty butterfly in its own right!

Text & Photos by Khew SK

An Encounter with a Long-Lost Friend

An Encounter with a Long-Lost Friend
The Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas missippus missippus)


A male Danaid Eggfly perches on a leaf at a hilltop park along the Southern Ridges in Singapore

Recently, ButterflyCircle member Bobby Mun was on an outing alone at the Southern Ridges when he spotted a familiar shaped of a butterfly that resembles one of the Eggflys. On closer inspection, he realised that the white patches on the wings were more extensive than the more common species of the genus Hypolimnas.

He was able to take a shot of the butterfly before it took off to the treetops and flew out of sight. Upon checking the shot later, it was confirmed to be the long-missing Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas missippus missippus).

The Danaid Eggfly is shown as extant in Corbet & Pendlebury's 4th Edition of the "Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula". However, a male specimen of the Danaid Eggfly was only recorded with certainty by Steven Neo in 1994 in the Mandai Road area. The species has not been observed since then. It was therefore a pleasant surprise that Bobby spotted this species and also most fortunately managed to take a good shot of the butterfly.


A shot of a male Danaid Eggfly showing the upperside white patches. This specimen was taken by BC member, Tan BJ at Hainan Island in China

The Danaid Eggfly is described as "rare" in WA Fleming's "Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore". The male of the species resembles that of the Great Eggfly and Jacintha Eggfly. But on the hindwing beneath there is a black costal spot that is present in the Danaid Eggfly. The female of the Danaid Eggfly is an almost exact replica of the Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus) which it mimics. It has a wide geographical range, starting from the American mainland to Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka and South East Asia.


A shot of the male Danaid Eggfly taken at Hainan Island, China

ButterflyCircle is pleased to report the sighting of this rare long-missing species, and hopes that more frequent sightings of the Danaid Eggfly will follow.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Bobby Mun & Tan BJ

Life History of the Great Mormon

Life History of the Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Papilio Linnaeus, 1758
Species: memnon Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies: agenor Linnaeus, 1768
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 135mm
Caterpillar Host Plants: Citrus maxima (Common Name: Pomelo, Family: Rutaceae), Lime species (Family: Rutaceae).


Another male Great Mormon

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
Great Mormon is a large butterfly with a wing span of up to 135mm. Above, the tailless male is black dusted with bluish green, and below it has red tornal patch and red wing bases. Female is polymorphic with both tailed and tailless forms. The female forms -f. esperi, -f. butlerianus, -f. agenor and very rarely -f. ityla are found in Singapore. The commonest form is -f. esperi, which is generally similar to the male except that it has a white subapical patch on the forewing. The rare -f. butlerianus situated in the tornal area of the forewing and the red markings on the underside of the hindwing are more extensive.


A male Great Mormon perching on a leaf.


Form -esperi of the female Great Mormon

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
Locally the occurrence of this species is restricted to the forest area in the Central Catchment Nature Reserves as well as on offshore islands like Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong. The adults usually fly rapidly at tree-top height, except when they come down to feed at flowering bushes or to look for oviposition sites. Like many of the Papilio species, when an adult stops to feed at flowers, it flutters its forewings while its hindwings are kept relatively still.

Early Stages:
The local host plants include the common lime species and the Pomelo (Citrus maxima) which is a cultivated plant. As members of the Citrus family, the leaves of these host plant have a pleasant aromatic smell when crushed or when broken at stalks.


Host plant : Citrus maxima. Left: Young leaves and mature leaves. Right: a Pomelo fruit.

The eggs of the Great Mormon are laid singly on undersides of leaves of the host plant. The egg is pale creamy yellow with a finely roughened surface. It is nearly spherical with a diameter of about 1.8mm.


A fresh egg of Great Mormon, diameter: 1.8mm


Two views of a mature egg, giving a faint front view of the head of the caterpillar.

The egg takes about 3 days to mature. The young caterpillar eats its way out of the mature egg, and then proceeds to finish up the rest of the egg shell. The newly hatched has a rather spiky appearance, and an initial body length of about 4mm. It is greyish white dorsally and dark brown laterally,


Newly hatched 1st instar caterpillar, length: 4mm


1st instar caterpillar, length: 6mm

In the first 4 instars, the Great Mormon caterpillars look like bird droppings as they rest on the leaves. The resemblance in the 3rd and 4th instars are stronger with the body also assuming a slimy appearance. As in the case of all Swallowtail butterflies, the Great Mormon caterpillars in all instars possess a fleshy organ called osmeterium in the prothoracic segment. Usually hidden, the osmeterium can be everted to emit a foul-smelling secretion when the caterpillar is threatened

As the 1st instar caterpillar grows to a maximum length of about 7.5mm, the dorsal whitish patches changes to yellowish brown. There is a faint whitish saddle on the mid-abdominal segments, and white markings on the prothorax and posterior abdominal segments. After about 3 days in 1st instar, the caterpillar moults to the next instar.


1st instar caterpillar, day 3 in this stage, ready to moult; length: mm

The 2nd instar caterpillar has a similar appearance to the late 1st instar caterpillar except for the more distinctly white markings on the anterior, middle and posterior body segments. This instar lasts 2-3 days with the body length reaching about 10mm before the next moult.


2nd instar caterpillar, newly moulted with exuvia nearby. Length: 7mm


2nd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 10mm

The newly moulted 3rd instar caterpillar bears no drastic change in physical appearance except for more dark brown to black patches appearing on the mottled body, and the more distinct white saddle mark. The brown coloration gradually changes to yellowish and dark green as the growth continues. This instar takes about 3 days to complete with body length reaching 20mm.


3rd instar caterpillar, newly moulted. Note the exuvia and old head capsule. Length: 10mm



3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage. Length: 19mm

The 4th instar caterpillar resembles the late 3rd instar caterpillar initially but with a more slimy appearance. As growth proceeds, the cryptic markings of light to dark green intermingled with white streaks becomes increasing mottled. This instar lasts about 4 days with body length reaching about 30mm.


4th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 22mm


4th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 30mm

The next moult brings the caterpillar to its 5th and final instar. Now there is a drastic change in appearance. There are two eye spots on the third thoracic segment, a transverse band at abdominal segments 1 and 2 , and oblique bars at mid-abdominal segments. After the moult to 5th instar, the body ground color is initially mottled green, but this changes gradually to the characteristic smooth green color after 1 day.


5th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 33mm


5th instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 37mm

Now the shield-like thorax is very prominent. The eye spots on the 3rd thoracic segment are connected by a transverse green dorsal band with sinuous markings. A similar band occurs between abdominal segments 1 and 2, and features pale bluish gaps between the sinuous markings. The first oblique bars, one on each side, run from the base of abdominal segment 3 to the top of segment 4. The second oblique bars occur at the two sides of abdominal segment 5, wide at the base and tapering to the dorsum. Both sets of oblique bars are mainly whitish dotted with tiny greenish and bluish spots.


5th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 53mm

The 5th instar lasts for 9 days, and the body length reaches up to 55-60mm. Toward the end of this instar, the body gradually shortens in length. Eventually the caterpillar comes to rest on the lower surface of a stem and becomes a pre-pupatory larva.


A pre-pupatory larva of the Great Mormon, with silk girdle not yet done (left)l and completed (right).

Pupation takes place a day later. The pupa suspends itself with a silk girdle from the stem. It is mainly green with large yellowish markings. The pupa has cephalic horns, a dorsal thoracic hump and is angled in side view. Length of pupae: 37-38mm.


Two views of a Great Mormon pupa.


Two views of a mature pupa.

After 10 days of development, the pupa turns black as the development within the pupal case comes to an end. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case. The beautiful undersides of its wings are fully displayed as it dries its wings for the first few hours after eclosion.

A newly eclosed female Great Mormon drying its wings near the empty pupal case

Another newly eclosed Great Mormon

References:

• The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society.
• The Butterflies of Hong Kong, M. Bascombe, G. Johnston, F. Bascombe, Princeton University Press 1999

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Anthony Wong, Henry Koh, Khew SK and Horace Tan

Romancing the Pearl of the Orient

Romancing the Pearl of the Orient -

A Study Trip to Penang

Last weekend I joined a team of staff from NParks on a study trip to Penang. The team, comprising staff from various Divisions in NParks, went on a fact-finding mission to learn more about setting up a butterfly farm as well as visiting several specialised gardens and horticultural sites to gather new ideas for their respective areas of work and for a possible future facility under NParks to enhance the conservation of butterflies and biodiversity in Singapore.

The team of nine set off from Changi Airport early on Thursday morning, and arrived at Penang just after 9:30am. We headed straight for the Penang Butterfly Farm at Teluk Bahang in a mini bus kindly sent to pick us up. Seven of us reached the Butterfly Farm (why seven?? Two members were, erm... indisposed, but that's another story for another time). We met David Goh, Joseph Goh, BT Chin and Kuennie Lee who showed us around the flight enclosure and features of the 1,500 sqm facility which features, on average, about 4,000 butterflies from 100 species.

Joseph Goh and BT Chin sharing some pointers with the NParks team

As it was nearing lunch time, David and Joseph hosted the Singapore entourage at the newly opened Papilio cafe within the flight enclosure. After a yummy meal, and lots of butterfly talk, the team moved off to the back-of-house facilities where the breeding cages and open areas where the early stages of the species featured in the flight enclosure were 'farmed'. It was eye-opening to know that the breeding facilities was about five times the size of the flight enclosure, and spread over three other sites.

At one of the sites, were durian trees (yes, we Malaysians and Singaporeans can't resist talking about the King of Fruits) laden with lots of durians. We saw the various types of breeding cages, from small containers and meshed boxes to entire enclosures where the gravid female butterflies oviposited on trellises and pots of their host plants.

Amongst the species we saw, were the Rajah Brooke's Birdwing, Batik Lacewing, Cruiser, Archduke, Clipper, Autumn Leaf, Tree Nymph and a whole host of medium to large butterflies featured at the main flight enclosure.

Yes, its durians again...

We ended the tour of the breeding facilities with a generous helping of some of the tastiest durians that I've had this season. Thanks to David Goh, we got really high quality durians at the roadside stall just opposite the Penang Butterfly Farm. After having our fill of durians, we did a quick tour of the flight cage again, and out through the museum displays and antique shop.

The team thanked David, Joseph and their staff, for their fantastic Malaysian hospitality and generous sharing of knowledge and information about the Penang Butterfly Farm's operations. At around 4:30pm, we got into our taxis and headed back to the Copthorne Orchid, happy and burpified with durians on our breath.

A group shot for the pleasant memories of our visit

Back Row : L-R : Keneric, Joseph, Khew, Wai Sung, Gary & Boon Tat

Front Row : L-R : David, Kartini, Khee Li, Meena & Kuennie

After checking in and a quick freshening up, the team, finally nine of us, (inclusive of our two lost sheep), checked out the night scene at the Gurney Plaza. After a sumptuous dinner, it was a quick round of shopping and then a movie for the younger ones in the team.

The next day, we were up early and in our chartered mini-bus, we headed for the Penang Botanic Gardens. More popularly known to Penangites as the "Waterfall Gardens", the Penang Botanic Gardens was established by the British way back in 1884 from an old quarry site. Covering about 35Ha at the main gardens, the PBG is a popular spot with locals and visitors alike. The place was crowded, even though we visited on a Friday morning, with joggers, tourists and school children engaging in various outdoor activities and out for a morning exercise.

An interesting morning at the Penang Botanic Gardens

The team checked out various plants and shrubs and the feature collections at the PBG. After about 2 hours, we left the PBG and headed off to Teluk Bahang again, this time to the Tropical Spice Garden. The Tropical Spice Garden first opened its doors to the public in November 2003, as an ambitious, yet holistic eco-tourism project showcasing over 500 varieties of exotic fauna and flora (with an emphasis on spices), spread over 8 acres of secondary jungle.

Our guide showing the team some interesting spices

The Spice Garden features over 500 varieties of tropical flora specially selected from all over the world. Divided into 3 designated trails, Jungle Trail, Ornamental Trail and Spice Trail landscaped on natural jungle terrain, each trail offers sufficient interest for a 20-45 minute walk. Our team had a friendly guide to take us around, carefully explaining the numerous spices and herbs and the uses in cooking, medicine and so on.

As we could hear several growling tummies as lunch hour approached, the team hopped on to our chartered mini-bus and headed to the Tropical Fruit Farm. Penang's Tropical Fruit Farm is situated about 800ft above sea level on the hilly terrain of Teluk Bahang in Penang is an ideal location for cultivating many types of tropical and sub-tropical fruit trees. The orchard covers 25 acres and it was developed back in 1993 to conserve the rare and exotic fruit trees.

Fruits for lunch?

As we were running short of time, we skipped the fruit farm visit, and opted to have a lunch of fruits (aren't we healthy!) at the main visitor centre. After downing two platters of delicious local fruits (surprisingly, no durians!) the team got back on the bus and headed off to the Bayan Lepas International Airport, and to bid adios to the Pearl of the Orient, and a 'fruitful' study trip of two days.

Gary still dreaming of his medium-rare T-bone steak, instead of fruits and coconuts for lunch...

Some butterflies shot during our Penang Trip





Top to Bottom : Tufted Jungle King, Wanderer, Forest White, Chocolate Soldier, Koh-I-Noor and Indian Yellow Nawab

Text and Photos by Khew SK