Life History of the Ancyra Blue

Life History of the Ancyra Blue (Catopyrops ancyra)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Catopyrops Toxopeus, 1929
Species: ancyra C. Felder, 1860
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 24mm
Caterpillar Host Plants: Pipturus argenteus (Urticaceae), Trema tomentosa (Ulmaceae)

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
Above, the male is dull blue with two black and subequal tornal spots on the hindwing. The female is fuscous black with basal parts shot with iridescent blue on the forewing and duller blue on the hindwing, and it has black submarginal spots on the hindwing with those spots in spaces 1b and 2 crowned with orange. Underneath, the dark interneural submarginal spots on the hindwing are separated from the rest of the wing by a narrow lunulate line, and the orange areas crowning the large dark subequal spots in spaces 1b and 2 are inwardly defined by a narrow dark line. There is a pair of white-tipped tails at the end of vein 2 on the hindwings.


One male Ancyra Blue pondering on his next move


Another Ancyra Blue ready to take flight under the hot midday sun.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
This species was not recorded as being extant in Singapore by early researchers. It was first sighted in 2004 in Pulau Ubin by ButterflyCircle members, and since then, sightings have been made at multiple locations on the Singapore main island, including the Central Catchment Reserves, the Southern Ridges and western areas of Singapore, where the host plants are found to be thriving. Typically, a small colony of the adults can be found in one location. Encounters with the adults usually take place in brightly-lit condition with them engaging in activities such as sunbathing, dog-fighting or making oviposition visits to the host plants.

Early Stages:

Outside Singapore, recorded host plants are found in the plant families Urticaceae, Fabaceae (Caesalpiniaceae) and Euphorbiaceae. The local host plants recorded todate are Pipturus argenteus (Urticaceae) and Trema tomentosa (Ulmaceae), the latter being a new addition attributed to Sunny Chir, an active ButterflyCircle member, who sighted a small colony with females ovipositing on the host plant in an urban park. According to Prof. Konrad Fiedler, this is the first confirmed record of Trema-feeding in C. ancyra.

Trema tomentosa is a shrub or small tree with ovate or ovate-elliptic leaves of length 8-15cm. The acuminate leaves are toothed and three-nerved from the base with undersides covered in tiny silvery hairs. Though not common locally, this plant can be found in various waste grounds such as the abandoned farmland in the west, the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and the Southern Ridges. The early stages of the Ancyra Blue mainly feed on the flower buds. However, when flower buds are in short supply, the caterpillars have been observed to munch on young leaf shoots. Furthermore, the final instar caterpillar has no trouble dealing with the tougher lamina of mature leaves.


The host plant, Trema tomentosa.


Clusters of flower buds of Trema tomentosa.

Eggs of Ancyra Blue are laid singly on the underside of a leaf. The egg is small (about 0.4-0.5mm in diameter) and light green in colour, circular with a slightly depressed micropylar area and a reticulated pattern of intersecting ridges.


Left: an egg of the Ancyra Blue, diameter: 0.4mm-0.5mm. Right: ready for hatching.

An animated hatching sequence of an Ancyra Blue caterpillar.
The actual process lasts about 2 minutes.

Two to three days later, hatching takes place after the young caterpillar has nibbled away sufficiently large upper portion of the egg shell to emerge. Measured at a length of about 0.8mm-0.9mm, its pale yellow body is cylindrical in shape, sporting long setae (hairs) and a dark brown head capsule.


1st instar caterpillar feeding on a flower bud, length: 1.2mm

The 1st instar caterpillar finds its way from the leaf underside to a nearby cluster of flower buds to start its feeding frenzy. As it feeds and grows, it gradually takes on a yellowish to light greenish coloration.

Another feeding 1st instar caterpillar with frass pellets nearby, late in this stage, length: 1.8mm

After about 3 days of growth and reaching a length of about 2mm, the caterpillar moults to the next instar. The 2nd instar caterpillar has numerous short setae covering its body which has taken on a woodlouse shape. The body is yellowish green overall with the head capsule now in pale yellow.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 2.5mm

The 2nd instar caterpillar reaches a length of about 4mm, and after 2-3 days in this stage, it moults again. The 3rd instar caterpillar has proportionately shorter but still numerous body hairs, a green body color and a wider body compared to the earlier instars. This instar takes 3 days to complete with the body length reaching about 5.5mm.


Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 5.5mm

The 4th (and final) instar caterpillar is more striking in general appearance as there are a fair number of prominent white specks doting the green body surface, in addition to other smaller brown specks which are less discernible. Zooming in on these specks, one could see that they occur at the base of setae and have an "asterisk" structure. These structures could serve as mechano-receptors or might be glandular in nature. At a larger scale, the typical lycaenid nectary organs (both the dorsal nectary organ on the 7th abdominal segment and tentacular organs on the 8th abdominal segment) are now distinguishable.

Two views of 4th instar caterpillars in varying degrees of development,
Lengths as stated in the pictures.

The white "asterisk" structures at base of setae on the body of a 4th instar caterpillar.

A 4th instar caterpillar showing the presence of the dorsal nectary organ and tentacular organs.

After 5 days of growth and reaching a maximum length of around 12mm in the final instar, the body of the caterpillar gradually shrinks. Soon the caterpillar seeks out a spot on the surface of an adjacent leaf to station itself. At this site, it enters the pre-pupatory phase where it readies itself for pupation by spinning a silk girdle and a silk pad. The caterpillar secures itself to the silk pad via claspers on its posterior end.


Two views of a pre-pupa of the Ancyra Blue, showing a finished silk girdle
securing the pre-pupa to the leaf surface.

An animated pupation sequence for an Ancyra Blue caterpillar.

Pupation takes place after 1 to 1.5 days of the pre-pupal stage. The pupa has the typical shape for most Lycaenid species. It is greenish in color with a few brown and black specks scattered on the surface. The pupa has a length of about 7-8mm.


Two views of a fresh pupa of the Ancyra Blue.

5 to 5.5 days later, the pupa becomes darkened in color signaling the imminent emergence of the adult. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the mature pupa in the morning hours. Out of a group of 8 adults successfully bred in the last month, 3 were male and the rest female.


Mature pupae: male (top), female (bottom). Note the difference in the wing pad area as
the forewing uppersides are different for the two sexes.


A short eclosion sequence of one male Ancyra Blue


A newly eclosed Ancyra Blue resting next to its pupal case.


Another newly eclosed Ancyra Blue

Acknowledgments:

I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Konrad Fiedler for his generous advice on host plant information for the Catopyrops spp. and the functions of the "asterisk" structures found on the body surface of the mature larvae.

References:

• The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Borneo, Vol.2, No.1 Lycaenidae, Y. Seki, Y Takanami & K. Otsuka, Tobishima Corporation 1991.

Text and photos by Horace Tan

Butterfly Photography at our Local Parks #3

Butterfly Photography and Watching at our Local Parks
Featuring : Butterfly Hill @ Pulau Ubin

About Pulau Ubin
Shaped like a boomerang, Pulau Ubin (Granite Island) is situated just off the northeastern corner of mainland Singapore. The 1020-hectare island was once a cluster of five smaller ones separated by tidal rivers, but the building of bunds for prawn farming has since united these into a single island. Two other islets, Pulau Ketam (Crab Island) and Pulau Sekudu (Frog Island), lie to its south. Ubin is largely a series of undulating, granite hills. In the early days, granite mining supported a few thousand settlers. Much of the original vegetation was cleared for the cultivation of rubber and crops like coffee, pineapple, coconut and jasmine. Today, abandoned granite quarries remain as picturesque relics of Ubin's history, while forests and grasslands have regenerated to cover up the ravages of the past. (Source : NParks Website)

Pulau Ubin is well-known for its relatively unspoilt habitats brimming with rich diversity of flora and fauna. Many nature lovers and enthusiasts make their way there on weekends to spend their time observing and enjoying nature in one of Singapore's remaining frontiers of undeveloped tracts of forests.

Besides the usual weekend activities of trekking, cycling, bird watching, etc., not many are aware of a lushly landscaped hillock just to the west of the jetty and Ubin town, along Jalan Jelutong. This hillock, planted specially with butterfly-attracting plants, has been the destination of many butterfly enthusiasts and photographers over the past couple of years.

At least 60 species of butterflies have been spotted on Ubin's Butterfly Hill over the past years - a few of which were first discovered on Ubin, and which were new to the Singapore Butterfly Checklist.

Ubin's Butterfly Hill is a short 5 minute walk from the jetty. Upon landing at the jetty, turn left towards the town and walk until you reach the NParks maintenance base (where there are also public toilet facilities). Continue along the dirt path until you reach the main access point to the Butterfly Hill. A prominent landmark at the hilltop is a pyramidal-roofed hut where one can take shelter from the hot sun (or rain, as the case may be). All around the hut are various plants which were originally selected for their butterfly-attracting properties.

On a typical good day, an observer should be able to spot no less than 20-25 species of butterflies. Amongst the top 10 "resident" species are the Pea Blue, Plain Tiger, Mottled Emigrant, Common Red Flash, Common Grass Yellow, Blue Glassy Tiger, Dark Glassy Tiger, Painted Jezebel, Striped Albatross and Blue Pansy.

A Plain Tiger strikes a menacing pose on Ubin's Butterfly Hill


A mating pair of Pea Blues (Lampides boeticus), a resident species at Ubin's Butterfly Hill.

Station yourself at the various nectaring flowering plants like the Common Snakeweed, Creeping Daisies, Ixora, and so on, and you will be rewarded with sightings of various species of butterflies. The early morning hours are better, as it will be less breezy and more conducive for butterfly photography.

Do look out for the Dwarf Crow (Euploea tulliolus ledereri) - a resident Ubin species which was originally discovered on Pulau Ubin, and not found elsewhere on Singapore island. Also first discovered on Ubin, are the Ancyra Blue (Catopyrops ancyra), Dingy Line Blue (Petrelaea dana dana) and the skipper Cephrenes acalle niasicus, and they occasionally visit the flowers at Butterfly Hill as well.

A Dwarf Crow (Euploea tulliolus ledereri), a Danainae that was first discovered on Pulau Ubin.

Check out the open plains areas where tall lallang grows. You may often find Tawny Costers (Acraea violae), a variety of skippers and other Lycaenids taking a rest on the lallangs waving in the breeze.

Observe carefully the leaves of Calotropis gigantea, Pomelo and Seven Golden Candlesticks (Senna alata), and you may find the caterpillars of the Plain Tiger, Great Mormon and Mottled Emigrant respectively, as these are the butterflies' host plants.

An assortment of some of the butterfly species (and one large Atlas Moth!) that you may expect to encounter on Ubin's Butterfly Hill

Map of Pulau Ubin

The Butterfly Hill is located at the southern part of the island, just a short distance westwards from the Ubin Jetty (Click on Map to enlarge)

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK

Life History of the Fluffy Tit

Life History of the Fluffy Tit (Zeltus amasa maximinianus)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Zeltus de Nicéville, 1890
Species: amasa Hewitson, 1865
Subspecies: maximinianus Fruhstorfer, 1912
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 28mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Clerodendrum laevifolium (Verbenaceae)

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
Above,the male is mostly black but pale azure blue on the baso-dorsal area of the forewing and the whole of the hindwing minus the apical area. It has the appearance of a deep lustrous purple in a side light. The female is pale brown and has whitish tornal areas on the hindwings marked with black marginal spots. Beneath, both sexes are white with apical areas on both wings shaded ochreous brown, more broadly so on the forewings. The cell-end bars are darker ochreous brown, and each wing has a narrow post-discal line and an obscure submarginal line. Each hindwing has a small black spot at base of space 7, a large black spot in space 2 and another on the tornal lobe. There are two pairs of white tails with the pair at vein 1b rather long, about twice as long as the pair at vein 2.

Sun bathing Fluffy Tit adults displaying their uppersides. Left: male, right: female.

One Fluffy Tit adult perching on a leaf in the nature reserves against a sun-lit background.

Another Fluffy Tit visiting flowers of Leea indica in the nature reserve.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
This species is relatively rare in Singapore. Sightings are typically made in localities where its host plant is growing. Encounters with the adults typically take place in brightly-lit condition at the fringe of the forest or alongside trails in both the catchment reserves and Southern Ridges. The adults flits around very actively, and elegantly with its long white tails twirling behind. Males have been observed to puddle on forest floor.

Early Stages:
Locally, this plant is rather common in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and the Southern Ridges. The flowers occur in slender cymes and have pale yellow corolla. Fruits are initially green but turned black when ripened. The early stages of the Fluffy Tits feed on all parts of the flower including the tender pedicles (flower stalks).

The host plant, Clerodendrum laevifolium.

Flowers of the host plant.

A mother Fluffy Tit ovipositing on the flowers of the host plant in the nature reserves.

Eggs are laid singly on a flower bud, the calyx or pedicle of a flower of the host plant. Each egg is light green in color, small and circular with a slightly depressed micropylar. The surface is covered with hexagonal pits which have tiny lumps littering the pit floor. Diameter: 0.7mm.

An egg of the Fluffy Tit laid on the calyx, about 0.7mm in diameter.

Three days later, the egg hatches with the young caterpillar eating away the upper portion of the egg shell to emerge. Measured at a length of about 1mm, its pale yellow body is cylindrical in shape, sporting long setae (hairs) and a yellowish brown head capsule.

A newly hatched caterpillar pausing next to its empty egg shell.

1st instar caterpillar, newly hatched, length: 1mm.

The 1st instar caterpillar starts feeding on the flower buds and other tender parts of the flowers in the vicinity. As it feeds and grows, it gradually takes on a light greenish coloration.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 2mm.

After 2-3 days of growth and reaching a length of about 2mm, the caterpillar moults to the next instar. Numerous short setae cover the caterpillar body which has taken on a woodlouse shape. It has a yellowish green body color with a faint pinky undertone. In contrast to the features-rich adults, the early stages of Fluffy Tit are all rather unremarkably plain in appearance. Caterpillars in subsequent instars will look rather similar to the 2nd instar caterpillar with only minor changes in appearance.

A 2nd instar caterpillar, length: 4mm.

The 2nd instar caterpillar reaches a length of about 4.5mm, and after 2 days in this stage, it moults again. Except for the larger size and proportionately shorter body hairs, the 3rd instar caterpillar has a similar appearance as in previous instar. This instar takes 2.5 to 3 days to complete with the body length reaching about 8mm.

3rd instar caterpillar, length: 8mm.

The 4th (and final) instar caterpillar still has the same general appearance as the earlier two instars, but now the dorsal nectary organ on the 7th abdominal segment has become rather prominent.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar dining on a flower bud, early in this stage, length: 10.5mm. Note the dorsal nectary organ on the caterpillar in the bottom picture.

4th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 15mm.

After 2.5 to 3 days of growth and reaching a maximum length of around 16mm in the final instar, the body of the caterpillar gradually shrinks. Soon the caterpillar seeks out a spot on the surface of an adjacent leaf to station itself. At this site, it enters the pre-pupatory phase where it readies itself for pupation by spinning a silk girdle and a silk pad. The caterpillar secures itself to the silk pad via claspers on its posterior end.

Two views of a pre-pupa of the Fluffy Tit, showing a finished silk girdle securing the pre-pupa to the leaf surface.

Pupation takes place after 1 day of the pre-pupa stage. The pupa has an interesting shape which is broadened sideway, quite unlike the typical elongated shape for most Lycaenid species. It is greenish in color with two yellowish green dorsal patches, one on the thoracic segments and the other on the abdominal segments. The thoracic has a pair of small brown dots, whereas the abdominal patch has two rows of such dots. The pupa has a length of about 8mm and a width (taken at the broadest part) of about 5.8mm.

Two views of a fresh pupa of the Fluffy Tit.

Six days later, the pupa becomes darkened in color signaling the imminent emergence of the adult. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the mature pupa.

Two views of a mature pupa of the Fluffy Tit.

A newly eclosed Fluffy Tit.

References:

• The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Borneo, Vol.2, No.1 Lycaenidae, Y. Seki, Y Takanami & K. Otsuka, Tobishima Corporation 1991.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Khew SK, Sunny Chir and Horace Tan.