Random Gallery - Common Palmfly

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina)

The Common Palmfly is one of three representatives of the genus Elymnias here in Singapore. The rarest one, Elymnias penanga (Pointed Palmfly) was last seen on Pulau Ubin in the early 90's and remains elusive to this day. The Common Palmfly is by far the most common of the three species and is found in urban Singapore, as well as in the forested areas. It has a good range of caterpillar host plants, usually species of Palmae, and many of the host plants are ornamental palms found in urban gardens.

The butterfly very rarely opens its wings to show its more attractive uppersides. The shot here, taken by ButterflyCircle member Loke PF, features the Common Palmfly on the ripened fruit of the Singapore Rhododendron. It is interesting that whilst food is available, even the ants leave the butterfly alone whilst they share the spoils together.

Random Gallery - Colonel

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Colonel (Pandita sinope sinope)

This predominantly orange coloured butterfly is considered moderately rare and is a forest-dependent species. It belongs to the subfamily Limenitidinae which features many species with common names that are associated with military ranks and aristocratic peerage. (See earlier blog article on Origin of Some Common Names of Butterflies) The Colonel's wings are dark orange above with dark brown shading in the basal halves of the wings. The underside is a paler orange but with the basal area of both wings a greenish-grey.

This perching Colonel was photographed by ButterflyCircle member Sunny Chir as it was taking a rest from feeding and flying around in a forested patch in the nature reserves. The butterfly is skittish and very alert to potential threats and hence is a challenge to get a good shot of, except perhaps when it is distracted whilst feeding.

Random Gallery - Knight

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Knight (Lebadea martha parkeri)

Last week, we featured the underside of a male Knight on the gallery. Today, we show the upperside of a female Knight. Males have a distinct white apical area on the forewings, whereas the females do not have this characteristic. Featuring a more subdued colour, the female Knight also has the upperside of the hindwing marginal area pale violet-blue. The female Knight has a slightly weaker flight than the male, and prefers to glide gracefully amongst the shrubbery, looking for its caterpillar host plant to lay its eggs on. ButterflyCircle member Koh Cher Hern shot this pristine female Knight perched on a leaf last weekend.

Random Gallery - Purple Duke

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Purple Duke (Eulaceura osteria kumana)

The Purple Duke is a sexually-dimorphic species with the male and female appearing different from each other. Both sexes are skittish and fast-flying and have the habit of flying quickly to the underside of a leaf to hide when alarmed. The brown upperside of the female is reminiscent of the Tanaecia and Euthalia species which share the forested nature reserves with the Purple Duke.

In this shot, taken by ButterflyCircle member Chng CK last weekend, the female Purple Duke adopts a rather interesting pose with her proboscis extended almost horizontally to reach the juices of the ripened fruit of the Singapore Rhododendron.

Life History of the Painted Jezebel

Life History of the Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete metarete)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Delias Hübner, 1819
Species: hyparete Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies: metarete Butler, 1879
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 60-75mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Dendropthoe pentandra (Loranthaceae).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Above, the wings are white with veins black-dusted towards the outer margins. The female has its veins more heavily black-dusted than the male. Underneath, the wings are white with black-dusted veins. In the hindwing, the basal half is bright yellow and the marginal border is bright orange-red.

A female Painted Jezebel showing us its upperside.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

Painted Jezebel is common throughout Singapore with occurrence in multiple habitats in both nature reserves and urbanised areas. This is likely due to its host plant, Dendrophthoe pentandra, being a common mistletoe on many trees in these areas. The adults can be readily seen fluttering tirelessly at tree-top levels during most of the daylight hours. They only descend to take nectar from flowers or to rest in the shaded understorey towards the later part of the day.

Random Gallery - Knight

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Knight (Lebadea martha parkeri)

The subspecies parkeri of the Knight that was originally discovered by Norman Parker in Singapore has its submarginal area on the upperside of the hindwing a pale violet-blue. This subspecies is believed to be endemic to Singapore. The south Malaysian subspecies, malayana has the submarginal area of the hindwing a reddish brown. In recent years, this subspecies has been observed in Singapore, and hybrids with the hindwing showing intermediate characteristics between subspecies parkeri and malayana have been observed.

This pristine male Knight (identified by its white wingtips) was feeding on the ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron when I managed to take a number of shots of it with its wings folded upright. Although skittish, it has a weaker flight than the more alert Commander but has the same habit of perching on the top surface of a leaf, just out of reach of the photographer's lens.

Random Gallery - Plain Palm Dart

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Plain Palm Dart (Cephrene acalle niasicus)

The Plain Palm Dart is one of two species of the genus Cephrenes found in Singapore. The other one, the Yellow Palm Dart, is an immigrant from the Indo-Australian region. The existence of the Plain Palm Dart was probably overlooked as the male of the species appear very similar to the lookalike Telicota spp. The Plain Palm Dart was added to the checklist as as re-discovery only when the very distinctive female was reliably seen and photographed in Singapore. (See life history article)

The male Plain Palm Dart, with is sharper arrow-like markings on the undersides of its wings, sets is apart from the closely allied Telicota. This individual, shot by ButterflyCircle member Federick Ho, perches in the usual skipper fashion, with its forelegs drawn tightly against its body, and resting only on its mid- and hind legs. Only moderately rare, the Plain Palm Dart is widespread in distribution in Singapore and can be found in urban parks and gardens, mangrove areas and also on the offshore island of Pulau Ubin.