Life History of the Colonel

Life History of the Colonel (Pandita sinope sinope)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Pandita Moore, 1858
Species: sinope Moore, 1858
Subspecies: sinope Moore, 1858
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 60mm
Caterpillar Host Plants: Uncaria spp. (Rubiaceae)

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
The adult is structurally close to the Athyma spp., with robust bodies and broad wings, but with the key difference of having the forewing cell slenderly closed instead of being open. Cells on both forewing and hindwing are short, roughly about one-third of the total length from wing base to wing margin. The wings are orange in base color. Above, the markings have dark brown shading in the basal halves of both wings. Each wing has a blackish brown post-discal band and three dark lines in the marginal areas. These post-discal and sub-marginal ands are broader and darker in the female. Beneath, the markings on the wings are almost identical to those above, with lesser brown shading in the basal area.



A Colonel feasting on the Singapore Rhododendron in a wasteland.


A Colonel sunbathing on a perch in the nature reserve.


Another sunbathing Colonel in the nature reserve.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
This species is uncommon in Singapore. Sightings of the fast flying adults have been confined to several patches of clearings in the Central Catchment Nature Reserves, and several wastelands in the western and north-western parts of Singapore. Individuals have been sighted visiting flowering plants in the wastelands and forest clearings,

Early Stages:
Thus far, only one species of Uncaria growing in the Central Catchment Nature Reserves is known to be utilized by the Colonel locally. Early stages of the Colonel also adopt the same feeding and frass-management routines as described for the Commander and Athyma species in earlier blog articles. Another plant, Nauclea subdita (Rubiaceae), has been recorded as the host plant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by an avid ButterflyCircle member, LC Goh.

Local host plant: a Uncaria spp. found in the nature reserves.

The eggs of the Colonel are laid singly at the tip of a leaf on the host plant. The eggs are somewhat globular in shape, with surface marked with hexagonal pits and bearing short spines at pit corners, giving them the appearance of minute sea-urchins. Each egg has a diameter of about 1mm.

Two views of an egg of the Colonel laid at a leaf tip. Diameter: 1mm.

Two views of a mature egg of the Colonel. The head and mandibles are visible in the right view.

The egg takes about 3 days to hatch. The young caterpillar emerges by eating away part of the egg shell. The rest of the egg shell becomes the first meal for the newly hatched, which has a cylindrical pale yellowish green body covered with many small tubercles and short setae. The head capsule is yellowish brown in color.


Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar of the Colonel, length: 2mm.

Similar to the feeding habit of the Athyma spp., the 1st instar caterpillar of the Colonel also feeds from the leaf tip and leaves the midrib intact and protruding. A frass chain is also constructed laboriously by the young caterpillar at the tip of the exposed midrib. Between feeds, the caterpillar rests on either the exposed midrib or the frass chain. In later instars, the caterpillar tends to rest near where the protruding midrib joins the remaining lamina. At this site, it also attempts to camouflage itself with a collection of frass pellets secured with silk threads to the lamina. After reaching about 4.5-5.0mm in 2.5-3 days, the caterpillar moults to the 2nd instar.


A 1st instar caterpillar of the Colonel.
Top: newly hatched (2.5mm in length) resting near its frass chain in its early stage
of construction. Bottom: same caterpllar, now 1-day old, (3.5mm in length) resting on the
same but longer frass chain.

An early 1st instar caterpillar of the Colonel working on lengthening its frass chain.

One 1st instar caterpillar resting on the exposed midrib/frass-chain structure.

The body color of the 2nd instar caterpillar is pale brown with a series of lateral dark patches and a faint dorsal band black in color. Besides tiny tubercles covering most of its body surface, the 2nd instar caterpillar also features short and branched spines dorso-laterally and spiracularly. The head capsule is light brown and dotted with a number of conical tubercles. As it grows in this star, sub-spiracular white patches become visible on abdominal segments, most prominently in segment 6 to 9. This instar lasts about 3 days with the body length reaching 7-7.5mm.


2nd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 4.5mm


2nd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 7mm

The 3rd instar caterpillar has slightly longer dorsolateral spines, with pairs on thoracic segments longer than the rest. Its head capsule is dark brown to black irorated with pale brown tubercles. This instar takes about 3 days to complete with body length reaching about 10-11mm.


3rd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 6mm


3rd instar caterpillar, late in this stage. .Lengths: 9mm (top) and 11mm (bottom).

The 4th instar caterpillar has much longer dorso-lateral spines which are heavily branched. The body is brown to reddish brown in color. Besides conical tubercles, the head capsule also carries some short spines. This instar lasts 3 days with body length reaching about 18mm-19mm.


Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 10mm.


Two views of 4th instar caterpillar, late in this stage. Lengths: 16mm (top); 17mm (bottom)

The 5th and final instar brings about a drastic change in appearance. Now the branched dorso-lateral spines very well developed on all body segments with those on the meso- and metathorax being the longest. Newly moulted caterpillar has deep reddish brown spines, but the color changes to pinkish red as the caterpillar grows. The body base color is initially a mix of green and brown, but this soon changes to a uniform green color as growth proceeds in this instar.


Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 18mm.

There is one prominent pinkish red saddle mark on the 5th abdominal segment (as typical in many Athyma spp). The light to dark brown head capsule has much longer and pointed spines. As with other members of the Limenities subgroup, when disturbed, the caterpillar adopts a characteristic posture with the anterior body arched and the head tucked beneath the thorax.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 29mm.

Frontal view of the head capsule of a 5th instar caterpillar.

The 5th instar lasts for 6 days, and the body length reaches up to 30-32mm. On the last day, the color of the body and the spines changes to yellowish brown and then eventually to pale brown. The caterpillar ceases feeding and wanders around. Eventually it comes to a half on a branch/stem or a leaf underside, where the caterpillar spins a silk pad from which it soon hangs vertically to take on the pre-pupatory pose. Within the few hours prior to pupation, the caterpillar gradually relaxes and lengthens to a straight posture. Waves of contraction soon travel from the the rear end to the head until the pupation event kicks in.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, with color changes taking place.


Pre-pupatory larva. Left: early stage with in curl-up posture. Middle: soon to pupate with
straightened posturet. Right: near the end of the pupation event.

Pupation takes place a day later. The pupa suspends itself from the silk pad with no supporting silk girdle. It is almost entirely pale brown in color with segments and parts outlined in a darker shade of brown. The abdominal segments are slender, and the thoracic portion being larger and expanded laterally. Dorsally, there are two prominent processes curved towards each other. When disturbed, the abdominal segments flex laterally, and could stay in that position for a period of time. Length of pupae: 18-19mm.

A time-lapse sequence of the pupation event
of the Colonel caterpillar

Two views of a shining pupa of the Colonel.

After about 5 days of development, the pupal skin turns translucent as the development within the pupal case comes to an end. The spots and streak on the forewing upperside also become discernible. The following day, soon after day break, the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case.

A newly eclosed Colonel resting on its empty pupal case.

A newly eclosed Colonel, proudly showing us its uppersides.

References:

• The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, The Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 1st Edition, 2006

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Mark Wong, Sunny Chir and Horace Tan

A Little Butterfly Hospitality

A Little Butterfly Hospitality - Entertaining our Guests from KL

Over the weekend where Dr Laurence Kirton, his wife Yoke Lin, and his capable assistant from FRIM, Chooi Khim were here, they had a quick tour of some of our favourite butterfly spots in Singapore. As we were always short on time, moving from one place to another, and just making it for the Butterfly Conservation Dialogue at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Sunday afternoon.

However, a visit to Singapore by our butterfly guru would not be complete without a short stop at our urban butterfly-attracting gardens. Dr & Mrs Kirton and Chooi Khim had an evening tour of the Butterfly Garden at Hort Park on Saturday evening and also enjoyed the horticultural displays around Hort Park. We ended with a cosy dinner at the Kha Restaurant at Hort Park.

Looking for the Common Imperial at AH Butterfly Trail

Sunday morning saw us up early (that's 9:30 am for us butterfly enthusiasts!) and we headed out to Alexandra Hospital Butterfly Trail. The Kirtons were quite amused that our first stop was a hospital! But at the trail, the butterflies were already up and about, and Dr Kirton made some interesting observations on the variety of species found in our urban environment. A small patch of green next to a busy road can be an oasis for a good diversity with just the correct host plants. A pristine Common Imperial (Cheritra freja friggia) came down to play.

Our next stop was nearby Kent Ridge Park, and a quick stroll to the Canopy Walk. It was an enjoyable nature outing, and despite the lack of many butterflies, we still observed a handful of species, one of which is probably our commonest Nymphalidae, the Chocolate Pansy (Junonia hedonia ida) which was out in numbers. We had a discussion on the Common English Names at this juncture, and we also wondered why Junonia hedonia was given the name Chocolate Pansy, whilst the species found up north, Junonia iphita horsfieldi took the name Chocolate Soldier.

At the end of the Canopy Walk, and as if to say hello to our friends from Kuala Lumpur, the wine red Malayan Plum Judy (Abisara saturata kausambioides) flitted just on the aluminium railings just to tease our visitors.

The morning walk ended quite nicely as we headed back to the hotel that the Kirtons were staying at, to freshen up. We then headed to the Botany Centre at SBG for the Butterfly Conservation Dialogue.

The next day, Monday, we headed out to the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity, where Dr Kirton and Chooi Khim perused the Butterfly collection. We were hosted by Ms Lua Hui Kheng, the person in charge of the zoological collection. One of Dr Kirton's objectives was to study and compare the specimens of Stiboges nymphidia at RMBR's collection for comparison with the specimens taken in Malaysia. There were some observations on the physical markings of the species that could suggest the possibility of a subspecies occuring.

Dr Kirton and Chooi Khim photographing specimens at RMBR

The rest of us studied the numerous boxes of butterflies and helped to make revisions to some incorrectly labeled specimens. Also with us, were Dr Leong Tzi Ming and Dr Cheong Loong Fah, who were there to meet Dr Kirton for a chat. Dr Horace Tan also joined us later.

At the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research Butterfly Collection

After a full day at RMBR's butterfly collection and doing quick inspections of almost all the drawers of butterflies, we left, tired but satisfied that a relative bit of work was done. I also learnt a lot from Dr Kirton and Chooi Khim that day, and it was a good day of exchanging views and knowledge about butterflies.

As the Kirtons left on Tuesday morning and headed back to KL, I thought what a little 'butterfly' hospitality from Singapore did to help our visitors enjoy their stay on our little island, and we got, in exchange, some knowledge and words of wisdom from one of the foremost authorities on butterflies in Malaysia.

Text & Photos by Khew SK

Butterfly Conservation Dialogue

Butterfly Conservation Dialogue
with Dr Laurence Kirton (FRIM) and Horace Tan



On Sunday 28 Jun 09, about fifty members and friends of ButterflyCircle and NParks' staff were treated to a Butterfly Conservation Dialogue with prominent entomologist and butterfly guru from the Forest Reseach Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), Dr Laurence Kirton and our local expert 'cat-farmer' Horace Tan of ButterflyCircle.

Held at the Function Hall of the Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens, the audience had a thought provoking afternoon about butterfly conservation issues.

The dialogue was preambled by Khew, who shared some of the statistics of extant butterfly species in Singapore, and discussed a translocation project, Save the Harlequin. This project was featured in earlier articles in this Blog. With the successful completion of the Butterfly Garden at Hort Park for research and educational purposes, one of the objectives of the Butterfly Garden is to conduct research on some species which have gone extinct in Singapore, with the hope of eventual re-introduction back into Singapore. To address concerns of human intervention and interfering with the natural course of things in nature, studies will be carried out, as well as establishing sustainable critical mass of host plants for the respective species before any re-introduction is carried out.

Dr Laurence Kirton then took the stage, and shared some grim facts and figures about the world's de-forestation woes and the rapid rate of habitat loss in South East Asia. In terms of biodiversity conservation, Dr Kirton highlighted the iconic status of butterflies as a means of attracting attention on conservation issues. Butterflies being attractive and colourful, appeal to the masses and hence is a good taxonomic group to focus on, when talking about biodiversity conservation in South East Asian countries.

Dr Kirton then went on to discuss the issues of taxonomic problems in identifying species and the constant evolution of naming and revising the identification of genera, species and subspecies in the region. As new and relevant information from research become available, it is unavoidable that taxonomic names of butterflies are often amended and updated. He also cited areas where there is still much work to be done, like the early stages of butterflies.

Members of ButterflyCircle and friends in the audience

Aspects of butterfly distribution, identification of habitats and ecology were also discussed and their importance stressed. Dr Kirton shared his views on the importance of education and awareness and this is where interest groups like ButterflyCircle play an important role in helping create greater awareness of conservation and other related issues. With the pervasive use of the Internet, the use of IT has catapulted communication and interaction in the cyber world to a level which will continue to affect our lives, and keeping in touch within the nature circles and sharing of information is easier than in the past. There is also a need for good guide books and attractive literature to help the general public to learn and have a greater awareness of butterflies and the impact of environmental degradation on their survival.

Like all good talks, there will always be good food for the growling tummies as well

After a short tea break, Horace Tan, ButterflyCircle's Chief cat farmer and early stages expert, shared his graphic-intensive presentation on the wide spectrum of the characteristics of the life histories of Singapore's Butterfly Fauna. Keeping the audience thrilled with his super-macro shots of eggs, caterpillars and pupae, Horace also added his amazing time-lapse sequence animations of caterpillars eating out of their eggshells, and the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a pupa. It was an entertaining session as Horace presented early stages material seen for the first time in public.


Horace, our Chief Cat-Farmer, sharing the finer aspects of the life histories of butterflies

Dr Kirton then returned to the lectern to talk about his proposal for a standardisation of English Common names of butterflies. Whilst biologists and taxonomists embrace and prefer the use of scientific latin names, the importance of Common names becomes a critical issue with the ordinary folk and nature enthusiasts. Currently, common names are easily "invented" and spread across the region by individuals and authors of books. However, problems occur when a same species is called by several different common names, causing confusion amongst butterfly enthusiasts.

It was therefore timely that a common standard be proposed for Malaysian and Singaporean butterfly species. Dr Kirton went on to elaborate the terms of reference for the Working Group, Selection Committee and Main Steering Committee and a structured and systematic process for decision making. He also shared the Excel database on research into existing common names, and how volunteers can populate the database through their research and work. This can then be used as a reference for the Selection Committee to decide and register the most favoured common name for the two countries. Dr Kirton also invited volunteers to come forth to help with their time and research and to key in information into the database.

After a short but spirited Q&A session amongst the participants, the Butterfly Conservation Dialogue was called to a close at around 6:30pm. A good crowd stayed back for the full afternoon and this showed the enthusiasm and interest amongst the audience. It was ButterflyCircle's first successful talk to members and friends, and it is envisaged that there will be other future talks for members on a variety of subjects dealing with butterflies.

ButterflyCircle would like to extend its sincere appreciation to Dr Laurence Kirton, who came down all the way from Kuala Lumpur to share his wisdom and experience with Singapore, and Horace Tan for his excellent work in life histories and impressive presentations, and to all members of the audience who showed their enthusiasm and support for the dialogue.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Bobby Mun

Special thanks to :

• Director and General Manager, Singapore Botanic Gardens, for the complimentary use of the Function Hall at Botany Center
• Senior Management and Staff of National Parks Board
• Anthony Wong (for being Treasurer for the event)
• Bobby Mun (for being official photographer for the event)

Launch of the Butterfly Garden at Hort Park

Launch of the Butterfly Garden at Hort Park

An exterior view of the recently completed Butterfly Garden's flight cage at Hort Park

After months of design, planning and working with various collaborating partners, NParks' new Butterfly Garden was finally opened to the public on 23 May 2009. Providing a visual feast of multihued plants and butterflies, the Butterfly Garden enables visitors to learn about the different stages of metamorphosis from caterpillar into butterfly. At the same time, it serves as a butterfly breeding area and an experimental garden for research on suitable nectar (food) plants and host plants for breeding for a variety of butterfly species, including locally extinct species such as the Clipper (Parthenos sylvia lilacinus), Common Sergeant (Athyma perius perius) and Yellow Glassy Tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia). ButterflyCircle members were actively involved in contributing expertise, design advice, photos and support for this project.

It all started with an idea from NParks' CEO, Mr Ng Lang, who thought that having a butterfly garden and flight cage at Hort Park would be a refreshing addition to the already feature-rich horticultural displays at this 23 hectare regional park, also known as the "Gardening Hub" of Singapore.

With this, planning for the Butterfly Garden started, with staff from the Hort Excellence Division, Gary Chua and Keneric Ng who were the primary "Energizer Bunnies" behind all the work of putting the Butterfly Garden together. NParks' in-house architect, Wong Wai Sung from the Facilties Management Division, designed the flight cage and caterpillar breeding facilities, the work was well under way by late 2008.

Architectural drawings of the Butterfly Flight Cage : Copyright - NParks

I recall a couple of meetings at my office, where the team sat and reviewed the drawings and fine-tuned the architectural details of the cage, including suggesting appropriate materials, designing the footpath widths so that visitors can watch the butterflies without getting into each others' way, organising the planting beds so that maintenance of the plants can be easily done and detailing the 'sally port' vestibule to minimise the escape of butterflies from the flight cage. One meeting also included the sponsors for the automatic misting system, Netafilm Ltd.

Further negotiations with the Penang Butterfly Farm were carried out, and at a visit to Hort Park with Joseph Goh, we sealed the deal for a year's sponsorship of the supply of butterfly pupae from Penang Butterfly Farm.

Work in progress with the main structural steel elements up and in place

With all the plans and arrangements in place, tenders were called for the construction works, and the construction was under way immediately after the New Year. The flight cage was completed some time in April, and the landscaping carried out over the next few weeks, whilst butterflies were introduce into the cage to 'test run' the facilities. Appropriate plants, both host and nectaring, were selected to enhance the horticultural aesthetics within the flight cage as well as add further colour and diversity to the plant inventory.

Finally, on 22 May 09, NParks held a media briefing to the Press and a short tour for the reporters. The next day, Saturday 23 May 09, the Butterfly Garden was opened to the public for the first time.

Our two key drivers of the project, Gary Chua and Keneric Ng

The 105 sqm theme garden comprises an enclosed area and a outdoor garden. The enclosed area is designed as a conducive breeding environment for the butterflies, and showcases native species as well as selected species that would be researched as subjects for a "Species Recovery Programme". Visitors would be able to observe the butterflies through a viewing window and enter the enclosed area during guided walks and on the last Saturday every month. The outdoor garden enables visitors to view the butterflies and their pupae on host plants in a natural setting. Educational signage and pupae display cases are installed at the garden for visitors to learn about the life cycle and habits of butterflies.

Khew showing the CEO of NParks around the Butterfly Flight Cage


Gary briefing the enthusiastic visitors to the Butterfly Garden

As part of the programme for the launch of the Butterfly Garden, two public talks were conducted, one by Mrs Rosalind Tan of Alexandra Hospital to showcase the "Healing Gardens of AH", and the 2nd talk by Khew SK on "Enhancing Butterfly Biodiversity in Urban Parks & Gardens".

Khew giving a public talk at the Launch of the Butterfly Garden at Hort Park

ButterflyCircle members helped to contribute their excellent photos for the A1 sized posters that adorn the walls of the Hort Park's Visitor Centre, as well as collaterals like the Butterfly Brochure as well as bookmarks.


ButterflyCircle members' work featured on A1 sized posters at the Hort Park Visitors' Centre

A special appreciation is extended to all ButterflyCircle members who turned out in full force to support the launch, as well as those who contributed their photographs and helped in one way or another. The collaboration between NParks and ButterflyCircle is a start of many exciting biodiversity conservation projects to come, and the success has encouraged us to play a more active and important role in helping more Singaporeans enjoy Nature's Flying Jewels.

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Anthony Wong, , Bobby Mun, JZ and KhewSK

Acknowledgments :

Special thanks to :

• Mr Ng Lang, Mr Kong Yit San, Ms Kartini Omar, Mr Gary Ng, Mr Wong Wai Sung and Mr Keneric Ng of the National Parks Board for their advice, support and collaboration on the Butterfly Garden Project.
• Members of ButterflyCircle for their photos, advice and participation in the Butterfly Garden Project, Brochures, Posters, Bookmarks and other Collaterals.