Singapore-Hong Kong Butterfly Hospitality

Singapore-Hong Kong Butterfly Hospitality!
Visit by the Hong Kong Lepidopterists Society

It all began with an email from James Young, the 2010 Chairman of the Hong Kong Lepidopterists Society to ButterflyCircle member Horace Tan, to request for some assistance on information of good butterfly watching locations in Singapore. A small group of the HKLS members, led by Arex Li, and which also included the former Chairman of HKLS, Dr Lee Ping Chung would be visiting Singapore for a butterfly watching/photography tour.

Unfortunately, the HKLS trip dates clashed with another trip that some of the senior BC members were making to Perak, Malaysia. Other senior members were also away, either for work assignments or for holidays. The organisation and assistance to the HKLS entourage was therefore left to BC member Anthony Wong. This is Anthony's story about the HKLS visit :

"After a few emails between Arex Li and me, about which locations are good for butterfly watching in Singapore, I learnt that the bunch of 6 veteran butterfly watchers from HKLS had planned fulfil their goal of spotting species of Hairstreaks (Lycaenidae) and Skippers (Hesperiidae) in Singapore.

HKLS members working as a team with supplementary flash lighting to improve a shot

The locations of the itinerary had to be changed to places which were less accessible, a tougher terrain to walk, and lunch had to be taken out of the picture! These guys and gals are certainly hardcore with an insatiable appetite for butterfly watching.

A Ciliate Blue sunbathing during the outing with our HKLS friends

Day 1
After picking them up from their hotel, we zoomed to Dairy Farm Nature Park to rendezvous with ButterflyCircle members Ben Yam and Yao Yang. The gloomy weather did not dampen the HKLS visitors one bit and I can recall Arex jokingly saying that the dark clouds are just an illusion, and after saying so, the intrepid bunch decided to brave the weather and pressed onwards into the trails.

Dr Lee proning to get the butterfly's eye-level shot

A short drizzle, followed by strong sunshine and suddenly butterfly activity was at an all-time high for the day. A pristine Yamfly (Loxura atymnus fuconius) popped by to play. Everyone had lots of fun chasing this skittish butterfly and this certainly boosted the morale of the party. There was one point of time where the Yamfly stood still and long enough for “creative” lighting to be applied!

A cooperative Yamfly came out to play and posed for our HKLS visitors!

After a good day out in the field, everyone headed back hungry and tired. Dinner arrangements were covered by Mark Wong and we brought the group to Lao Pasat (Old Market) to savour the local delicacies such as BBQ stingray, Satay (Skewered Meat), Oh Luak (Oyster Omelette), just to name a few.

Are they going to finish ALL that food on the table??

Day 2
As the group got ready and planned to head out early in the morning, the weather on this Sunday was exceptionally wet for Singapore and probably one of the wettest day in the month. There were flash floods in certain parts of Singapore and our famous Orchard Road got flooded again! As it was raining cats and dogs, we had no choice but to hole up in the hotel and wait for the storm to pass.

Our bored Hong Kong visitors playing card games at the hotel, thanks to the heavy Sunday morning thunderstorms


One for the album - posing with BC's Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore!

That happened around noon time and Dr Lee did not want to waste another second and we headed to the Butterfly Lodge at Oh’ Farms for a round of shooting whilst waiting for the sun to shine.

HKLS and BC members at Oh' Farms. Left - Right : Anthony, Chung Pheng, Kwai Yin, Rachel, Dr Lee, Yeok Keong, Arex, Manson, Gigi and Benjamin (front)

A glimmer of hope came with the sky starting to brighten up. After a quick discussion with ButterflyCircle members Chung Peng and Ben Yam, we decided to head to a nearby reservoir nature reserve.

HKLS and BC members at Upper Seletar Reservoir Park

Our Hong Kong friends were rewarded with a number of Hairstreaks that came out in the afternoon after the heavy downpour. There was even a hungry one that kept on puddling on us. The catch of the day was the Pale Mottle (Logania marmorata damis). The leader and former Chairman of the HKLS group Dr Lee explained to me that this species is not found in Hong Kong and this is a new species to almost everyone in the group.

Arex Li demonstrating the latest Kung Fu Panda 2.0 pose for butterfly shooting

The group was very enthusiastic and made up for the wasted morning due to the rain, and continued to shoot till past 7pm! We ended the day with a scrumptious meal at the famous Rangoon Road Bak Kut Teh (Pork Ribs Soup).

Day 3
Although it was still drizzling, the enthusiastic group headed to Singapore Botanic Gardens to check out some favourite butterfly hangouts.

I recommended that we should head to the Ginger Garden, as there were always quite a number of skippers flying around that area, and true enough, a Common Snow Flat (Tagiades japetus atticus) was seen fluttering around. The rain and cool weather made the butterfly rather docile, and everyone probably got a good shot of this butterfly.

HKLS members posing with Horace Tan at MacRitchie Nature Trail

ButterflyCircle member Horace Tan met up with the group for lunch and we decided to head to MacRitchie Reservoir to check out certain spots to look for the Flos sp as the weather is improving.

Horace showing our HKLS friends the host plant of Flos apidanus

At the boardwalk trails at MacRitchie, we were greeted by several Branded Imperial (Eooxylides tharis distanti) and Common Posy (Drupadia ravindra moorei) fluttering around the forest fringes, allowing most of our visitors to get close enough to photograph the these pretty long tailed Hairstreaks.

The past few days of wet weather made the paths damp and slippery, but we could see quite a number of puddling butterflies, which were obviously hungry due to previous days of rain. The HKLS members certainly took their hobby very seriously, even equipping themselves with elbow and knee guards so they can prone on any hostile terrain to get the perfect shot!

Since this was their last night in Singapore, we decided to celebrate and Mark and I brought them to the famous fish-head curry restaurant at Samy’s Curry @ Dempsey Road. ButterflyCircle’s founding member Khew SK joined us for dinner despite having just returned after a long bus ride from a butterfly expedition over the weekend.

Our HKLS visitors having a spicy but sumptuous curry dinner at Samy's Curry @ Dempsey Road

The evening was spent sharing stories about the butterflies as the HKLS members showed us videos of butterflies feeding and frolicking in Hong Kong and other parts of the world where they had visited.

It was an exhausting but exciting 3 days spent with the lively and friendly members of HKLS. I have learnt many things such as how to apply back lighting for butterfly photography, how to take videos of butterflies, as well as the different behaviours and habitats of butterflies from around the world.

We hope that our Singapore hospitality helped to make the trip by our HKLS friends more fruitful and enjoyable, although the weather could have been more cooperative!

Text by Anthony Wong ; Photos by Gigi Lai, Arex Li, Anthony Wong, Mark Wong and Benjamin Yam

Special thanks to ButterflyCircle members, Benjamin Yam, Chung Pheng, Horace Tan, Mark Wong and Yao Yang for all the help rendered over the 3 days showing the HKLS members around Singapore's butterfly-hunting grounds. Thanks also to Yeok Keong of Oh' Farms for showing the HK group around the Butterfly Lodge as well as giving everyone a lift to Upper Seletar Reservoir Park.

Further Reading & References :

• Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society Facebook Page


• Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society Website


• Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society Forums

Life History of the Malayan Sunbeam

Life History of the Malayan Sunbeam (Curetis santana malayica)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Curetis Hübner, 1819
Species: santana Moore, 1858
Subspecies: malayica C & R Felder, 1865
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 40mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Callerya atropurpurea (synonym: Millettia atropurpurea; Leguminosae), Millettia pinnata (synonym: Pongamia pinnata; Leguminosae).


A puddling Malayan Sunbeam found in the nature reserve.


A male Malayan Sunbeam sunbathing with its wings opened.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Above, the wings are bright orange with black borders. In the male, the black distal border continues to the dorsum in the forewing, and the third of the hindwing near the tornus is darkened. The female is in paler orange than the male and has much broader black borders. On the hindiwng the orange portion in the female only occupies a small crescentic area. Underneath, the wings are silvery white with obscure fasciae. On the forewing, the post-discal band runs from the costa near the apex towards the dorsum in an oblique manner. The post-discal striae are shaded inwardly with grey patches. Legs are banded in reddish orange.

Malayan Sunbeam: male (left); female (right). Note the minor difference in wing shape.


Another sunbathing male Malayan Sunbeam.


A male Malayan Sunbeam adult 'licking' a newly laid cement surface in a man-made jungle shelter.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

This species is uncommon in Singapore. Individuals are typically encountered in the Central Catchment Area, Bukit Timah nature reserve, Southern Ridges, Singapore Botanical Gardens and on Sentosa Island. Adults can be occasionally sighted in these areas where they have been observed to engage in sunbathing, puddling, and ovipositing activities.

A sunbathing male Malayan Sunbeam giving us a glimpse of its upperside.


Another puddling Malayan Sunbeam.

Early Stages:

The two currently known local host plants, Callerya atropurpurea and Pongamia pinnata, belong to the Leguminosae family. The first of the two is a newly recorded host while the second is previously recorded by Col. C.T. Bingham in early 1900s in Mergui (C&P4). In Singapore, both plants can be found growing in the wild as well as being cultivated as wayside trees. The caterpillars of the Malayan Sunbeam feed on the young foliage of these host plants.

Local host plant : Callerya atropurpurea. Young leaves.


Local host plant : Callerya atropurpurea. Mature leaves.

Eggs are laid singly on young shoots of the host plant. At times several eggs can be found on one single young shoot. Each egg resembles a flattened bun with coarse hexagonal reticulations. It is initially pale greenish when newly laid but turns whitish as it matures. Each egg has a basal diameter of about 1mm.

Two views of an egg of the Malayan Sunbeam, diameter: 1mm.

It takes about 2.5 days for the egg to hatch. The young caterpillar consumes the upper portion of the egg shell to emerge. The remaining egg shell is left alone as the newly hatched proceeds to check out the immediate surrounding and nibble on leaf lamina for its first meal. With a length of 1.5mm, it has numerous fine setae on its body surface, with those occurring dorso-laterally and laterally particularly long.

Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar after a few nibbles, length: 1.8mm.

The caterpillar is initially yellowish green but turns dark yellowish or reddish brown as it develops in this instar. The first instar lasts about 2-2.5 days and its body length reaching about 3mm.


Two late 1st instar caterpillars lying dormant prior to their moult, length: 3mm.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 3mm.

The body of the 2nd instar caterpillar is covered with many short setae. Its body colour is dark yellowish to reddish brown, with variations existing between individual specimens. On each body segment, there are several oblique pale stripes laterally. A prominent change occurs on the 8th abdominal segment where a pair of long cylindrical and erect processes, black to dark brown in colour, is now present. When the caterpillar is disturbed or stressed, tentacles with tuffs of white and black hairs at their apices, are everted from these procesess and whirled around at great speed. This instar lasts for about 1.5-2 days and reaches a length of about 6.0mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 3mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, later in this stage, length: 5.5mm

The 3rd instar caterpillar looks similar to the 2nd instar caterpillar but has a pair of white, quadrate lateral patches on the 5th abdominal segment. White lateral stripes, varying in lengths but lesser in prominence than that on the 5th abdominal segment, appear later and becoming more prominent on the body segments. The body color varies from red to reddish brown, yellowish brown and greenish brown in different individuals. The caterpillar grows up to 11mm in this instar which lasts about 2-3.0 days.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, newly moulted, length: 5mm. Note the exuvia and head capsule lying nearby.


Two views of a 'red-form' 3rd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, length: 6mm.


Two views of another 3rd instar caterpillar with lesser degree of red skin tone, length:8.5mm

The 4th (and final) instar caterpillar resembles the 3rd instar caterpillar but with a more prominent contrast of white stripes/patches against the base colour of yellowish green to purplish/pinkish green. The dorsum of the body segments of the 2nd and 3rd thoracic segments are pale green/pink to whitish in coloration. The dorso-lateral oblique white stripes on the 1st two abdominal segments are joined or nearly joined while those on other segments are well separated.

Two views of a 'green-form', 4th instar caterpillar, earlier on in this stage, length: 13.5mm


Two views of a 'red-form' 4th instar caterpillar, length: 20mm.

The 4th (and final) instar lasts about 4 days and the body reaches up to a length of about 20mm. In the last day of this stage, the caterpillar ceases feeding, and its body shrinks in length. The entire body decolorises to a dark shade of jade green.


Two views of a 'red-form' 4th instar caterpillar, later in this stage, with reddish patches decolorised, length: 20mm.

A Malayan Sunbeam caterpillar reacts with the eversion of its tentacular organ when an intruding caterpillar gets too close for comfort.

Eventually, the late 4th instar caterpillar comes to rest on a spot on the surface (typically the upperside) of leaf. Here the caterpillar prepares for pupation by spinning a silk pad and a silk girdle to secure itself. It then becomes immobile in this pre-pupatory state for about 1 day.

Two views of a pre-pupa of the Malayan Sunbeam

The next day the pupation takes place. The pupa is held via its cremaster and a silk girdle to the silk pad on the substrate. It is almost hemispherical in shape and has a flat under surface. It is entirely jade green but with a fair number of white speckles dotting the pupal surface. There is a rather large spade-shaped whitish marking on the dorsum. In some specimens, this white marking is adorned with several yellowish brown dots. Length: 10-13mm.

The pupation event of a Malayan Sunbeam caterpillar.

Two views of a pupa of the Malayan Sunbeam.


Front view (left) and rear view (right) of a pupa of the Malayan Sunbeam.

Seven days later, the pupa becomes darkened in color signaling the imminent emergence of the adult. The orange patch on the forewing upperside can now be seen through the pupal skin in the wing case. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the mature pupa.

Two views of a mature pupa of the Malayan Sunbeam.


A newly eclosed Malayan Sunbeam.

References:

• [C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 1st Edition, 2006

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Henry Koh, Loke PF, Sunny Chir and Horace Tan

Butterfly Portraits - Common Red Flash

Butterfly Portraits
Common Red Flash (Rapala iarbus iarbus)

Nikon D3 fill-flashed with SB800 ; Tamron 180mm f3.5 ; ISO1600 ; f/10 ; 1/320s in Aperture Priority Mode and Rear Synch ; Handheld

This is an old shot from 2008. After ButterflyCircle member Sunny Chir spotted a colony of the Common Red Flash at an open field, many of us took the opportunity to go out to that location to get a good shot of this species. Common Red Flash males have a favourite time of the day where they 'dogfight' and then stop to open their bright red wings to sunbathe in the hot sunshine. However, it is a great pity that the site where the species frequented is now a large parking lot for lorries and industrial vehicles.

I headed out to the site on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and was fortunate to see a few male Common Red Flash flying rapidly amongst the shrubs and tall grass. This individual was particularly acrobatic, and stopped regularly at the tips of a few favourite lallang blades. The challenge was to approach it quickly enough before it took off again to dogfight with the other males. The breezy conditions did not help either, as many macrophotographers would attest, especially when trying to shoot a butterfly that is not much larger than a 10-cent coin!

The slightly shady conditions where the butterfly perched made it necessary to rack up the ISO to 1600 and with an aperture of f/10, I managed to get a decent shutter speed of 1/320s to help freeze the moment. After blasting off a series of shots, the butterfly returned again and again to a few favourite lallang perchers. One of the subsequent shots made it to the cover of the recently-launched Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore book - featuring this Little Red Dot.

This shot was one of several that I like, because the Red Flash perched almost at the tip of the lallang, and with the background of other lallang blades wafting in the breeze, it made the butterfly appear almost like in open-winged flight, suspended in space with a surreal background.

ButterflyCircle Photographer : Khew SK, an architect in his early 50's, and founder member of ButterflyCircle

Observation Notes on the Variability of Two Blues

Observation Notes on the Variability of Two Blues
Common Hedge Blue & Cycad Blue

A typical Common Hedge Blue with its full complement of spots and streaks in the usual arrangement

From the large number of photographs taken by ButterflyCircle members of two common Lycaenidae species - the Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa lambi) and the Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava), there have been many occurrences of interesting variations of the spots and streaks on the underside of both species. Whilst in most cases, we would consider these as variations in the markings, we observe that in some individuals the variations are so marked that it would be more accurate to consider these aberrations.

The Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa lambi)

Another Common Hedge Blue with the typical complement of spots and streaks on the underside of its wings

Firstly, we will take a look at the high variability of the Common Hedge Blue. A relatively common species that can be found in urban parks and gardens as well as along open trails of the nature reserves, this butterfly is shining blue above with narrow black margins in the male, but is paler with broad black borders in the female. The underside features a series of black spots and streaks.

The variability of the underside spots and streaks of the Common Hedge Blue is the subject of discussion of this article. The variations range from the size of spots, the alignment of the spots and streaks, as well as the presence or absence of these features.

In the first series of shots below, we examine the arrangement of some of the key spots and streaks on the underside of the species. The grey streak at the end of the hindwing cell in relation to the spot adjacent to it can vary between being almost contiguous to distinctly separated. In certain individuals, the spot is even missing.

Note the arrangement of the discal-end streak and the adjacent grey spot in this individual


In this example, the grey streak and spot are slightly separated


This example shows an even larger separation between the streak and spot


In this individual, the grey discal streak is present, but the adjacent spot is missing altogether

Another series of variations involve the location and sizes of the various spots. Some are large and distinct, whilst others are small and inconspicuous. In some cases, there are extra, or even missing spots.


The forewing costal pair of spots appear to be almost contiguous in this example


A typical Common Hedge Blue


Compare the size of the spots of this individual with the typical one above, and note the missing small sub-basal black spot. Also note the relative sizes of the spots and streaks.

In yet another example, the marginal spots are indistinct and the fuzzy markings of the submarginal spots give it the appearance of a thick grey band. Note that the grey spots on the underside of the hindwing are very indistinct and small and some features are missing. The overall appearance of this individual may give the impression that it is a totally different species!

The indistinct marginal spots and the fuzzy sub-marginal band makes this individual of the Common Hedge Blue appear as though it is a totally different species!

The last example shown here is an extreme case of aberration where the characteristic spots at the costal region of the hindwing are conjoined to form a thick black marginal band. This could be related to a phenomenon known as melanism.

An extreme aberration of the Common Hedge Blue where the costal spots are conjoined to form a long black bar

Three morphological distinct types of melanism were described by Dr. Frederik H. Nijhout:

1. A general darkening of the background colour of the wing.
2. A broadening of existing dark pattern elements.
3. A change in colour of most or all pattern elements (e.g. switch from brown (phaeomelanin) to black (eumelanin)).

The Cycad Blue (Chilades pandava pandava)

A typical Cycad Blue with its full complement of spots and streaks on the underside of the wings. This is the most common "variant" that is featured in reference books

In this species, we also see a display of variability of the spots and streaks that are featured in a typical example of the Cycad Blue. The Cycad Blue is a common butterfly, and is usually found in the vicinity of its host plant, the Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta). The caterpillars of this species is considered a pest of this plant, that is commonly used in ornamental horticulture.

The upperside of the male is light purplish-blue with narrow black margins and a prominent tornal spot on the hindwing. The female has broad boarders and is a paler blue above.

Like in the preceding species, the Cycad Blue has also been observed to have a variability in the range of individuals photographed, albeit slightly less dramatic than the Common Hedge Blue. In many cases, there are extra, or missing spots on the hindwing below. The size of the spots and streaks are also variable.

Another example of a typical Cycad Blue with the usual spots and streaks

From the many examples that ButterflyCircle members have photographed in the field, we can separate the variants into 2-, 3- and 4-spotted examples. The spots in question being the black, almost circular post-basal spots on the underside of the hindwing.

A individual with the dorsal black spot missing. This is an example of a "Two-Spotted" variant of the Cycad Blue


A "Three-Spotted" variant, but with the dorsal spot very tiny, almost imperceptible


A typical "Three-Spotted" variant, which displays the 'standard' appearance most commonly found in the Cycad Blue

An example of a "Four-Spotted" variant where there is an additional post-basal spot on the underside of the hindwing

A mating pair of the "Four-Spotted" variant. What is unique about this photo is that both the male and female are "Four-Spotted"!

The most extreme example that we have come across is where the costal spot is so enlarged as to appear like an elliptical patch, and the usual three post-basal missing. Again, at a glance, an observer may be forgiven, if he had assumed that this was a totally different species altogether!

Two shots of the same individual of a rare aberrant Cycad Blue where the apical black spot on the hindwing is large and elongated, and the post-basal spots are missing

In the separation of different species of butterflies where a slight shift of a spot here and there, or the absence or presence of a spot or streak, would distinguish a different species, the variability in some species of Lycaenidae will add confusion and the occasional challenge to the identification of a butterfly, particularly through field observations and photography.

The discussion in this article shows the wide range and variability of the physical distinguishing features of two Lycaenidae through aberration and melanism. Perhaps these could be distinctly different species? If anyone out there who reads this can shed additional information on this, please feel free to post a comment on this thread to share your knowledge.

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, Federick Ho, Bobby Mun, Khew SK, Henry Koh, Jonathan Soong, Horace Tan, Anthony Wong & Benjamin Yam

Special thanks to Teo TP for additional notes