Ubin Bioblitz 2016

Ubin BioBlitz 2016
Pulau Ubin Butterfly Survey

Last weekend, ButterflyCircle and Nature @ Seletar Country Club members participated in the 24-hour biodiversity survey on Pulau Ubin. The survey coincided with a special event, "Celebrating Ubin's Heritage" on 3 Dec 2016, graced by Senior Minister of State, Desmond Lee. At the same event, NParks flagged off BioBlitz@Ubin, a community effort involving various biodiversity groups to survey the island’s fauna and flora over 24 hours. This will provide a snapshot of the fauna found on the island, and sets the ground for the Pulau Ubin survey in 2017.

The familiar portal welcoming all visitors to Pulau Ubin

BioBlitz is a popular citizen science movement worldwide. The term “BioBlitz” was coined by Susan Rudy, a naturalist with the US National Park service, in 1996. BioBlitz refers to a concerted effort by scientists and the community to record as many species of flora and fauna as possible within a specific location and timeframe. BioBlitzes have been conducted around the world, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. There is a community involvement component to many of these BioBlitzes, and members of the public are invited to join scientists and naturalists in a concerted effort to inventory species that exist within a designated area, such as an urban park or nature reserve.



The bumboat ride is an integral part of the experience of any outing to Pulau Ubin

Our survey group met at the Changi Point Ferry Terminal and took the NParks-chartered bumboat over to Pulau Ubin. After meeting at the registration point, and waiting for Mr Desmond Lee to ring the bell to start of the 24-hour survey, the group, together with a few other members of the public who had signed up for the survey, set off to Butterfly Hill.


Some of the survey members with Senior Minister of State, Mr Desmond Lee

The scheduled 2-hour survey of Butterfly Hill and the surrounding trails commenced with a quick briefing and the group started on the trail, counting the number of species that were seen along the transects.




After a quick briefing, the survey of Butterfly Hill commences

As the weather in the morning was cloudy and overcast, there were fewer butterflies up and about as would normally be expected on sunny days. However, as the early morning drizzle cleared up, our winged jewels started being slightly more active as the morning wore on. The interpretative signage on Butterfly Hill helped to inform the new members in the group about the butterfly-plant relationships.






Butterfly Hill survey and some of the butterfly species that came out to greet us

The group were entertained by the usual Danainaes like the Plain Tiger, Blue and Dark Glassy Tiger, Common Mormon, Painted Jezebel and the larger butterflies on Butterfly Hill. Of notable interest was a couple of Grass Demons (Udaspes folus) that were active around their host plants. There were several Common Rose fluttering amongst the Snakeweeds and other flowering plants, one female was even spotted ovipositing on its caterpillar host plant, Aristolochia acuminata.


At the mangrove boardwalk at Chek Jawa Wetlands

The group recorded about 30 species of butterflies on this first leg of the walk, which ended at around 1:45pm. After a short break at the registration point, two mini buses arrived and took the group to the starting point of the second leg of the survey - Chek Jawa. A short trip brought us to the start point at Chek Jawa and the survey started at around 2:15pm.


A friendly Spotted Black Crow perched on a palm leaf

The weather continued to be cloudy and overcast, and the group walked along the boardwalks leading to the mangrove swamp area. Other than the usual Common Palmfly which was active along the boardwalk, the group encountered a Spotted Black Crow that was perched on a palm leaf. The butterfly was cooperative and did not fly off from its perch even after everyone had their full share of photos of it.


Out at the coastal boardwalk

The group emerged from the mangrove boardwalk and spotted a few Lycaenidae like the Common Tit and what appears to be a worn-out Scarlet Flash. A school of mudskippers distracted the group for a while, as would a large White Bellied Sea Eagle, that flew overhead. The walk along the coastal boardwalk, as expected, did not turn up any butterflies.


Back at the entrance to Chek Jawa Wetlands

The survey ended around 3:45pm at the Chek Jawa Visitor Centre and the group headed back to the main village to take the bumboat back to Singapore island. Although the BioBlitz was a 24-hour survey, the butterfly survey ended after 4:30pm as generally, it would be less fruitful to survey butterflies in the late afternoon and evening, as most of them would be settling in for the night and would not be flying actively any more.


Part 2 of the BioBlitz survey starting at the Sensory Trail

The next day, Sunday 4 Dec 2016, the survey continued. A smaller group this time, members took the bumboat over to Pulau Ubin and started the survey at 10:00am. This time, the survey transect started at the Sensory Trail. The weather was more cooperative on this hot and sunny Sunday morning.




Forested walk at the Sensory Trail

There were many species of butterflies actively flying, and of note were the Common Jay (first discovered on Pulau Ubin, and is now a regularly seen resident), Malayan Plum Judy, Ancyra Blue (also first discovered on Pulau Ubin), Perak Lascar, Blue Nawab and residents of the mangrove area along with the transects brought us past.




Members of the survey looking out for butterflies

A cooperative Common Mormon was spotted puddling and allowed the group to take photos and videos of its puddling activity before it flitted off, having its fill of its liquid diet. With the sun almost overhead, the group reached the end of the transect along the Sensory Trail, and we saw some workers putting on the finishing touches to House 363B which was refurbished and conserved as a model of a Chinese kampung house.



Taking a closer look at a puddling Common Mormon

Built in the 1970s, the house was owned by Mr Chew Teck Seng, who used to operate a provision shop in the village centre known as ‘Teck Seng Provision Shop’. Renamed ‘Teck Seng’s Place’, the house features interpretive signs and specially-curated memorabilia to give visitors a glimpse into life on Pulau Ubin in the 1970s.

ButterflyCircle photographers at work!

The group made its way back to the registration point and met other survey groups that had also completed their respective surveys of other taxonomic groups. The BioBlitz ended at 12 noon, and all the group leaders recorded their finds over the past 24 hours on their designated transects. The results will be consolidated by NParks and will be shared at a future Ubin forum.

Big group of BioBlitz @ Ubin participants covering bees and wasps, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, other insects, snakes, and many taxonomic groups!

The happy but tired group made their way back to the jetty and took the bumboats back to the mainland. It was a relatively fruitful survey for butterflies (despite the poor weather on Saturday), yielding 34 species over a four-hour survey of Butterfly Hill and Chek Jawa, and 31 species over a two-hour survey at Sensory Trail.

ButterflyCircle and Nature @ SCC members with other volunteers who joined us on Sat and Sun for the 24-hour biodiversity survey on Pulau Ubin

Members of the two groups, ButterflyCircle and Nature @ SCC, were happy to have participated in BioBlitz @ Ubin 2016 and look forward to the comprehensive biodiversity survey of Pulau Ubin in 2017.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Bob Cheong, Chng CK, Goh EC, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Vanessa Lee, Soh KY and Jonathan Soong.

Special thanks to the members of ButterflyCircle and Nature @ Seletar CC who turned up to help with the survey, and the newbie members who also joined in.  Thanks to members of the public who also joined as volunteers on the survey with us!  

Butterfly of the Month - December 2016

Butterfly of the Month - December 2016
The Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis)

It is the final month of 2016 already! The year has sped past and it has been an interesting year of disruptions and unexpected outcomes for many countries around the world. The year started with pessimistic forecasts of a global economic gloom. China took the first hit in January when its stock markets tanked. The outlook for the rest of the year continued to haunt many countries as there was little to cheer about as far as economic growth was concerned.

The Lunar Year of the (Fire) Monkey proved to be as highly unpredictable and impetuous as our little primate friend. It was a year when religious terrorism reared its ugly head yet again, as countless innocent lives were lost in mindless attacks on civilian targets. The Fire Monkey also breathed unprecedented temperatures into our climate, making July and Aug 2016 the hottest month in recorded history!

Then they said that Britain would never leave the European Union. A referendum put paid to that belief when the voting leaned in favour of "Brexit". Unpredictable, unbelievable and shocking, as the British come to terms with what they had decided, and to accept the consequences of their decision. And the world pondered on the impact of Brexit (when it happens) on the global economy. Already the Sterling has suffered a pounding on the forex market.

The 2016 Summer Olympics was particularly significant for our little red dot, in that a "Singapore son" finally brought home our first Olympic gold medal when Joseph Schooling won his 100m Butterfly swimming event. And not to forget the medals won by our Paralympians too.

And the US Elections happened. It seemed impossible for Republican candidate Donald Trump to win the elections. Most of the polls predicted a Clinton win. The signs pointed to a Clinton win. But the impossible happened. In a couple of months' time, the 45th President of the United States of America will be Donald Trump. This is one of the biggest disruptive and unexpected event this year. What will America be like for the next 4 years? What will it mean for the rest of the world?

Someone described these disruptive events as a 'new world order'. A world that respects law and order is making way for an era of warlords? Is the world going to be ruled by those who have the most financial muscle? Or those who possess the most firepower or biggest arsenal? It will certainly be an interesting 2017 to look forward to...

As we end this tumultuous year, let us allow a cheery bright yellow butterfly to lift our spirits and create some optimism for everyone. Our Butterfly of the Month is the ubiquitous and commonly seen Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis). Probably the most abundant and common butterfly in Singapore, this conspicuously yellow butterfly is well distributed across Singapore - even in the heart of the city in our Central Business District!

The Common Grass Yellow has bright lemon yellow wings with black borders on the upperside. It is predominantly yellow on the underside, with some brown spots on both the fore- and hindwings. The spots on the underside can be variable. Females are larger and usually a paler yellow with more diffused black borders.

The characteristic two cell spots on the underside of the forewing distinguishes this species from the several lookalike species that are also found in Singapore. However, these distinguishing characteristics can sometimes be variable and there are some individuals with only one cell spot, or where the cell spots are missing.

The Common Grass Yellow can often be observed feeding at various flowering plants in urban parks and gardens as well as the fringes of the nature reserves. They can sometimes be abundant where more than 20 individuals can be seen flying together - occasionally making a hazardous flight across major roads or expressways.

Males of the species can sometimes be observed puddling at damp sandbanks and muddy footpaths in the company of other Papilionidae and Pieridae butterflies. They can also be partial to human perspiration and if conditions are ideal they will even feed on a sweaty finger!

The caterpillars of the Common Grass Yellow feed on a variety of Leguminosae. Some examples are Caesalpinia pulcherrima (Peacock Flower), Cratoxylum cochinchinense (Yellow Cow Wood), Cratoxylum formosum (Pink Mempat), Pithecellobium duice (Madras Thorn), Falcataria moluccana (Albizia), and some Senna spp. This diversity in host plants may explain why this species is so common.



And so we look forward, optimistically, to a new year ahead in 2017, and hope that the world will continue to be a peaceful place to live in!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by James Chia, Sunny Chir, Goh EC, Federick Ho, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Jonathan Soong, Anthony Wong, Mark Wong and Benjamin Yam

Planting For Butterflies

NParks' Parks Festival
Public Talk : Planting for Butterflies

Last weekend, the National Parks Board, Singapore held its Parks Festival : Parks for Everyone at the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park. Featuring a wide range of programmes and activities spread over two days, the festival aimed to get the public outdoors into the park to enjoy themselves. There were exhibitions, workshops, educational talks, artists' handiworks and even a musical concert showcasing local talent!

The activities were grouped into 5 main categories - Entertainment, Guided Tours, Sports and Wellness Activities, Talks and Workshops, and Volunteer Programmes, Courses and Exhibitions. A timetable of the events over the two days was prominently displayed at Bishan-AMK Park so that the public can pick and choose what interests them.

The activities and mini-exhibition stalls were housed under large marquees at the open green areas at Bishan-AMK Park, so that visitors can still enjoy themselves, rain or shine. Despite the not-too-cooperative weather at this time of the year, the weekend crowd was out and about at Bishan-AMK Park and there was reasonably enthusiastic interest in the programmes and activities throughout the day. The plant workshops were well attended, as visitors were treated to a whole range of show-and-tell from wood carving to growing bananas to cultivating air plants.

On Sunday afternoon, I went to support Mr Foo Jit Leang who founded the nature group from Seletar Country Club. He was giving a talk on "Planting for Butterflies" where he was sharing his knowledge on butterflies and planting to attract them. Mr Foo's Butterfly Garden at the Seletar Country Club recently won Platinum for Environment and Biodiversity at the 2016 Community in Bloom Awards. He also went on to offer his advice to several other award-winning butterfly gardens in schools.

A small group of enthusiasts turned up for Mr Foo's talk despite some members of the audience who turned up slightly late because they could not find the venue where the talk was held! After a slight delay, Mr Foo started his talk by introducing butterflies, their biology and ecological features and other interesting anecdotes.

He shared his experience about caterpillars of both butterflies and moths, and how to plant the appropriate species of plants to attract certain species of butterflies. In a cultivated urban garden, it is important to plant the right species of plants to attract the butterflies whose caterpillars feed on those specific plants. Gardeners should be aware that butterfly caterpillars do not eat anything and everything (a common misconception).

Mr Foo's presentation showcased many colourful slides of plants, caterpillars and butterflies that he has managed to attract to the Butterfly Garden at Seletar Country Club. The total number of species that have been spotted at the Butterfly Garden currently stands at 109 - an impressive number for a garden within an "environmentally-unfriendly" golf course in Singapore!

Live caterpillars and pupae always attract the kids and fascinate everyone!

At the end of his talk, Mr Foo brought out the "live stars" of the show - caterpillars of various species of butterflies. The kids at the talk were fascinated by the different shapes and sizes of the caterpillars and pupae that were shown to them. There were also many enthusiasts amongst the audience who were very keen on breeding caterpillars.

Butterfly Habitat @ Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

The group then took a walk to the Butterfly Habitat @ Bishan-AMK Park. This compact butterfly garden was started some years back by a group of Raffles Institution students and their initial work was continued by a group of community gardeners and enthusiasts, working with NParks to bring this butterfly garden to its current state. The lush plants - both nectaring and host, have attracted a number of butterflies to the garden.

Interpretative signages help to educate members of the public on what they can find at the Butterfly Habitat @ Bishan-AMK Park

NParks has also secured an external sponsor to fund additional permanent interpretative signage to introduce visitors to the Butterfly Habitat. The signages depict pictures and information on the plants and butterflies that can be found at the Butterfly Habitat so that visitors can be educated on the biodiversity that they encounter at the garden.

Mr Foo and his team won a Platinum award at the 2016 Community in Bloom Awards for the Butterfly Garden at Seletar Country Club

So if you're planning on starting a butterfly garden in your school or community park, do contact Mr Foo or join his FaceBook Group - Nature @ Seletar Country Club. NParks, ButterflyCircle, Seletar Country Club hope to encourage more enthusiasts to set up butterfly gardens all over Singapore, so that our urban biodiversity can be conserved and enhanced for more residents to appreciate them.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Foo JL and Khew SK