Random Gallery - Malay Baron

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Malay Baron (Euthalia monina monina)

The Malay Baron is one species that displays polymorphism in one of the sexes. In the case of this species, the males occur in three distinct forms, f-monina, f-gardineri and f-decorata. Often, a range of intermediates of these forms occur. The Malay Baron is largely a forest-dependent species and is predominantly found in forested areas in the nature reserves rather than in urban parks and gardens. 

This male f-gardineri Malay Baron was photographed at a park connector near a forested area by ButterflyCircle member Loke PF. The males of this species are robust and fast flyers, but often return to sunbathe on favourite perches. They are also known to feed on fermenting fruits on the forest floor. Females of this species are typically larger, often with 30% or more wing area compared to the males.

Butterfly of the Month - March 2013

Butterfly of the Month - March 2013
The Magpie Crow (Euploea radamanthus radamanthus)

Our butterfly of the month for March is very impatient to be featured, so this blog article is coming out earlier than usual on this third month of 2013. As far as the wet weather is concerned, it's been warming up from the rainy days that we experienced in February. Though there have been really hot days, there are afternoon passing showers that can strike unexpectedly and then leave the rest of the day hot and extremely humid again.

Over here in Singapore, the government presented the budget for the fiscal year 2013 that spurred lots of debates from the residents - from coffee shops to corporate board rooms. Touted to be a progressive budget, the various packages affected practically everyone in Singapore, from individuals to businesses; Singaporeans and foreigners; singles and families. But like all things, not everyone will be pleased, and there will always be some disgruntled quarters.

The hotly-debated issues of congestion and crowdedness that grew worse in Singapore over the years continue to dominate social media websites, print media and formal and informal discussions all over the island. There have, however, been debates that border on racism, and coming from purportedly Singaporean netizens, this cannot be good for anyone in the longer term at all.

On the issue of the high cost of living, one sought-after commodity stands out prominently - car ownership. In Singapore, we have the unique Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system where one has to first procure a certificate to entitle one to own a car. It would appear like a logical solution to alleviate congested roads in Singapore, until one realises that to procure a piece of paper that is the COE may cost in excess of SGD90,000! In some neighbouring countries, that amount could land you a decently-sized house!

Speaking of neighbouring countries, the recent month-long incursion by armed Filipino Islamic militants is something that is virtually unheard of in recent years. The normally peaceful SouthEast Asian region was rocked with news of the clashes between the insurgents and the Malaysian police and military forces that left over 60 dead. Scores of followers of a self-proclaimed Philippine sultan landed in the state of Sabah on Borneo island last month to assert a long-dormant territorial claim in what has become Malaysia's worst security crisis in years. In military parlance, this could be well considered an invasion of sorts that would provoke retaliation of the highest order.

Let us leave the woes of the human world aside and come back to our butterfly of the month. For March 2013, we feature a Danainae species that is fairly common in Singapore and Malaysia, the Magpie Crow (Euploea radamanthus radamanthus) Although the butterfly cannot be described to be abundant, it is widespread in distribution and on some occasions, several individuals (usually males) were encountered in the same location. They are usually attracted to flowering trees e.g. Syzygium spp., damp wooden structures and decomposing organic matter.

 

Male Magpie Crows puddling on decomposing organic material on sandy streambanks

The Magpie Crow is so named, probably because of its black-and-white appearance, reminescent of the typical Magpie, a group of birds of the family Corvidae. The upperside of the wings of the Magpie Crow is bluish-black, with submarginal pale blue spots and white patches on the discal area of the forewings and long white streaks on the dorsal area of the hindwings. Males feature a pale blue brand on the forewings above.

 

The male Magpie Crow is by far the commoner of the two sexes, and appears in urban parks and gardens as well as in forested areas of the nature reserves. When attracted to either flowers or the pungent odours of decomposing organic material that it likes, the butterfly will often stay for a some time, circling around its target and repeatedly returning for a taste of its preferred 'cuisine'. Even when disturbed, it will stubbornly stay in the vicinity and return to the food source when the threat passes.

A male Magpie Crow puddles on the efflorescence from a plastered building

We have encountered the male Magpie Crow puddling on sandy streambanks which have been tainted by decomposing organic material, as well as damp timber structures. On one occasion, a male Magpie Crow was found feeding on the efflorescent salts from a plastered building. It was probably looking for the chlorides that were oozing out from the efflorecence. The butterfly also appears regularly when there are flowering trees where it feeds greedily on the flowers in the company of many other species of butterflies. The Magpie Crow is sometimes also partial to human sweat, and can be brazen enough to alight on an observer and stay to feed off the salts from a sweaty finger!

A male Magpie Crow feeds on the sweaty finger of ButterflyCircle member Les Day, quite brazenly confident that it will not be caught, killed and pinned in a collection.

The female Magpie Crow is rare, and appears almost brownish compared to the male's deep bluish-black colouration. However, the female sports larger areas of white, making it much whiter in appearance when it flies around. The submarginal spots on the female's wings are white, instead of pale blue as in the male. Females are more often encountered at flowering plants, or just flying around treetops and shrubbery. We have thus far not observed any female Magpie Crows puddling like the males.

 

Male Magpie Crow (top) and female Magpie Crow (bottom) : Compare the patch of white on the hindwings

The Magpie Crow flies slowly in an unhurried manner, but is often very skittish and alert to any intrusion into its space. Like many of its other related species in the genus Euploea (or commonly referred to as "Crows"), the Magpie Crow is believed to be distasteful to birds and displays aposematic colouration that warns would-be predators of its distastefulness. The early stages have not been recorded in Singapore yet, but the caterpillars are believed to feed on a lactiferous host plant.

Male Magpie Crow (top) and female Magpie Crow (bottom) : Note the colour of the submarginal spots on the wings - pale blue in the male and white in the female

It is noteworthy to mention that the two female forms of the rare Courtesan (Euripus nyctelius euploeoides) both mimic the male and female of the Magpie Crow for protection against predators. The female form-isina is a good mimic of a male Magpie Crow, with its bluer colour and smaller patches of white, whilst female form-euploeoides that has more extensive white patches on the wings and is pale brown, mimics the female Magpie Crow.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by James Chia, Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Nelson Ong, Horace Tan, Mark Wong & Benjamin Yam

Random Gallery - The Courtesan

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Courtesan (Euripus nyctelius euploeoides)

The Courtesan is a rare species in Singapore, but makes regular appearances across the island from nature trails to urban parks and gardens. It is a species that displays sexual dimorphism - with the male appearing quite different from the female, including an obvious size difference and shape of wings. The female also exhibits Batesian mimicry in that both the two extant forms, f-isina and f-eupleoides mimic the male and female of the distasteful Danaid, the Magpie Crow.

Sightings of the females of the Courtesan are even much rarer, and this photo, taken by ButterflyCircle member Nelson Ong, features the f-eupleoides which is more often seen than the other form, f-isina. The caterpillar host plant of this species is Trema tomentosa a fairly common mid-sized tree that is found all over Singapore, but is never abundant.

Life History of Arhopala major major

Life History of Arhopala major major

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Arhopala Biosduval, 1832
Species: major Staudinger, 1889
Subspecies: major Staudinger, 1889
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 32-38mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant : Macarange gigantea (Euphorbiaceae, common name: Giant Mahang).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Above, the male is bluish purple with a dark border on the forewing extending from 2mm (width) at the tornus to 3mm at the apex ; the female is pale purple with broader dark borders than the male. Underneath, for both sexes, the post-discal band on the forewing is  dislocated at vein 4, and the post-discal spots in spaces 5, 6 ,7 on the hindwing overlapping and their centres aligned. The spot in space 3 on the forewing is usually an oblique oval. There are tornal green scales in the tailless hindwings which are slightly toothed at the end of vein 2.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

This species is common in Singapore. Sightings of the adults largely occur in the Central Catchment Area and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve where its host plant, Macaraga gigantea is present in relative abundance. Essentialy a forest denizen, the adults are typically observed in shady areas near its host plant. Its underside markings are almost indistinguishable from its close cousin, Arhopala amphimuta amphimuta.

Random Gallery - Banded Swallowtail

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Banded Swallowtail (Papilio demolion demolion)

The Banded Swallowtail is a very skittish and fast flying butterfly.  Although not rare, encounters of this species can be limited to a few preferred locations. When in full flight, it is very difficult to photograph, and the fleeting moments when it alights to feed at flowers allow a photographer a very narrow window of opportunity to shoot it.

When stalking a speedy feeding butterfly, it's all about anticipation, knowledge of the behaviour of the butterfly, its preferred flower and then positioning oneself at the best position that would yield a good shot with a nice background, and the rest is pure luck and a good dose of skill! In an earlier article, photographing these skittish Swallowtails was also discussed in this article. This shot, taken by ButterflyCircle member Sunny Chir, exemplifies a well-executed shot of a Banded Swallowtail, perched on a Lantana flower, proboscis extended whilst its wings are in motion, ready to fly off in the blink of an eye!

Butterfly of the Month - February 2013

Butterfly of the Month - February 2013
The Common Evening Brown (Melanitis leda leda)

This is the last weekend of the short month of February and it's time to feature another butterfly species for the month again.  Indeed it felt like a very short month, especially with the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays and the break from work made it feel rather short. I celebrated my birthday quietly; which came and went without much fuss. Beyond a certain age, birthdays do come and go without much fuss actually!

It was also a time of soul searching for Singaporeans, as the catch-word of the month, xenophobia was being tossed around like the season's yusheng (raw fish) by all and sundry, and in particular politicians and aggrieved citizens who debated passionately about the government's White Paper on Population. For the first time for as long as anyone can recall, Singaporeans staged a peaceful protest against the prospects of this little island's future population growth. Whether the number of protesters and supporters was 1,000 or 7,000, depending on who reported it, it didn't quite matter. It was still a watershed event that could portend of many heated debates in the near future.

 

We may be on the threshold of a new era of politics in Singapore, where the citizens' voice grow louder and there has to be even more transparency, open debates, consultations and dialogues between the government and Singaporeans on policies that affect the lives of the citizens of this Little Red Dot. The social media chatter and the cacophony of voices over cyberspace are no longer merely 'noise' that can be ignored by any country's politicians, much less in IT-savvy and well-connected Singapore.  "Whither Singapore?" was a question that a prominent ex-Minister apparently asked.  Whither indeed!

 

Top : A different form of a newly-eclosed Common Evening Brown bred in Singapore. Bottom : A typical form of the Common Evening Brown photographed on Pulau Ubin, Singapore

February 2013 was certainly a very wet month for Singapore with exceptionally rainy days. For the first time since I can remember, this was the wettest Chinese New Year that I've ever encountered in my life. It rained practically every day since the first day of the Year of the (Water) Snake, and for the next few consecutive days, putting paid to my plans of enjoying the holidays out with our beloved butterflies. Most of our regular butterfly shooters spent their time cooped up at home moping away, if they didn't have to perform the customary visits to family and relatives during the Chinese New Year.

This month's butterfly is the Common Evening Brown (Melanitis leda leda) a rather large and drably coloured butterfly sporting a wingspan of between 60-70mm. The English common name gives a hint about the time of activity of this Satyrinae. Indeed, the Common Evening Brown usually flies in the early hours of dawn and is most active shortly before the hours of dusk. It is not often seen during the day, except if disturbed. The flight of the butterfly is rapid and erratic, but it keeps at low level and after short hops, it settles down in thickets and dense vegetation where its undersides' cryptic patterns camouflage it very well.

 

The Common Evening Brown's upperside is dark brown with black sub-apical white-centred spots and inwardly shaded with orange brown. The very varlable underside it usually buff or grey, with fine dark brown striations. A submarginal row of yellow-ringed ocelli is usually found in the more common form of this species. The variations on the underside patterns seem to be related to the wet and dry seasons in the region.

A heavily variegated form of the Common Evening Brown

The Common Evening Brown is crepuscular and attracted to the lights of homes in the evening hours and the butterfly is quite regularly seen perched on the walls and ceilings of residences in the vicinity of wooded areas where the species occurs. It was reported in a research paper that during the monsoon or rainy months of the year, species such as the Common Evening Brown tend to be attracted to artificial light from human habitats after they are disturbed from their usual resting places by the heavy downpours.

A Common Evening Brown perched amongst dead leaves on the forest floor

This disturbance induces them to move to another safe location, and in the absence of natural light, a source of artificial light may be sufficient to attract them to search for a safe place to roost. Unfortunately, in homes and residences, any insect that is attracted to the artificial lights become fair game for the resident house lizard (or chichak) lying in wait for dinner!

This Common Evening Brown was photographed, perched on a wall at the common corridor of a Housing & Development Board flat on the 16th storey!

In urban Singapore, where the residential apartments are high rise, the appearance of the Common Evening Brown along the common corridor of an apartment block at the 16th storey comes as a surprise! For a butterfly that tends to lurk close to the ground and typically flies at no more than 3m from the ground, flying high up in our urban jungle and perching on the wall of a building at more than 45m from the ground would be something of a remarkable occurrence!

 

The caterpillars of the Common Evening Brown has been bred on Guinea Grass (Panicum maximum) and certain species of bamboo. The species is widespread and occurs in open wastelands and back mangroves, as well as in parks and gardens where its host plant can be found. But it is by no means considered a common species. At times, the butterfly can be observed feeding on rotting fruits, which it shares with other Satyrinae and Nymphalidae species.

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Khew SK, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Nelson Ong, Tan BJ, Horace Tan, Mark Wong & Benjamin Yam.

References : 

• Soumyajit Chowdhury & Rahi Soren : Light attracted butterflies: a review from the Indian sub-region with an inventory from West Bengal, India

Random Gallery - Common Line Blue

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Common Line Blue (Prosotas nora superdates)

Puddling butterflies sip water rich in minerals and other essential nutrients (mostly salts and nitrogen-rich solutions) that have leached from soil and rocks, or tainted with organic animal material excretions. Puddlers are usually males of butterfly species (but not always exclusive to males), and across several of the families from Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae.

This Common Line Blue (Prosotas nora superdates) is one of three species from the genus Prosotas found in Singapore. All three species have been observed to puddle.  This shot of a puddling Common Line Blue was taken within the nature reserves by ButterflyCircle member Lemon Tea Yi Kai.