Life History of the Copper Flash

Life History of the Copper Flash (Rapala pheretima sequeira)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Rapala Moore, 1881
Species: pheretima Hewitson, 1863
Subspecies: sequeira Distant, 1885
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 31-35mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae, common name: Mango), Hibiscus tiliaceus (Malvaceae), Syzygium zeylanicum (Myrtaceae), Mallotus paniculatus (Euphorbiaceae, common name: Turn-in-the-wind) and Saraca thaipingensis (Fabaceae, common name: Yellow Saraca).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
On the upperside, the male is mostly dark reddish brown, and the female is dull steely blue. On the underside, both sexes are pale brown. Both wings have a broad cell-end bar and a brown post-discal band which is whitened on the outer side. The forewing has a spot in the middle of the forewing cell (which could be absent in some females). The hindwing has a black marginal spot in space 2 and another on the tornal lobe. Between the two spots, the marginal area in space 1b is covered with bluish scaling. There is a white-tipped tail at the end of vein 2. The legs are white and black-banded.

Field Observations:
This species is moderately common in Singapore and can be found in serveral urban parks and nature reserves. The adults are fast flyers and make rapid sorties among foliage. Both sexes have been observed to visit flowers of various plants for nectar.

Butterflies Galore! : Common Three Ring

Butterflies Galore!
The Common Three Ring (Ypthima pandocus corticaria)

This "Cinderella" of butterflies is unlikely to raise the heart rate of butterfly photographers or create any sort of excitement when spotted. It is a relatively common and unremarkable species that is encountered at the fringes of the nature reserves amongst grassy patches. It flutters weakly at low levels and stops to perch, either with its wings folded upright as is shown here, or opened when sunbathing at certain hours of the day. However, it is alert and somewhat skittish and it would take a bit of persistence on the part of the photographer to get a shot of this butterfly on an ideal perch.

The Common Three Ring is the largest member of the genus Ypthima in Singapore. It is greyish brown above, with a large subapical black yellow-ringed ocellus on the forewing. There are two silvery spots in the black ocellus. On the hindwing, there is a similar but smaller subtornal ocellus, and another pair at the tornal area. The underside is greyish to pale buff brown, with the wings traversed by innumerable fine dark brown striations where the hindwing has three yellow-ringed black submarginal ocelli.

Malayan Birdwing sighted again

Malayan Birdwing (Troides amphrysus ruficollis)
Another sighting of this giant birdwing!

Back in March 2011, I found the caterpillar of the Malayan Birdwing (Troides amphrysus ruficollis) at Alexandra Hospital. It was recorded as a re-discovery and species #301 in the Singapore Butterfly Checklist. After that, there appeared to be no reliable sightings of this gentle giant butterfly until now.

Last weekend, ButterflyCircle member Yong WH managed to encounter the Malayan Birdwing again! This time, a male was spotted perched on some leaves of the Fishtail Palm, taking a rest. It is hoped that with more schools and gardens cultivating one of its host plants, Aristolochia acuminata, this magnificent Birdwing will fly in our Singapore skies again.

Butterfly of the Month - November 2013

Butterfly of the Month - November 2013
The Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus)


A two-in-one shot, showing the upper and under side of the Lime Butterfly

The month of November is upon us all too soon! The 2nd of November 2013 saw the 400,000-plus Indian community in Singapore celebrating Deepavali (or Diwali, which marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year according to the Lunar Calendar. Also known as the Festival of Lights, Deepavali celebrates the victory of Goodness over Evil and Light over Darkness - as it ushers in the new year.



Over in the Philippines, what is believed to be the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded to make landfall struck the areas covering Biliran Island, Eastern Samar, Leyte, northern Cebu, Samar, Southern Leyte and Luzon. The city of Tacloban in Leyte was badly hit by the 310 km/hr winds, and the estimates of casualties numbered in the thousands. The category 5 "super typhoon" Haiyan has come and gone, leaving entire communities decimated in its wake and the survivors have just begun the potentially long and traumatic process of getting their lives back to normalcy again. Our sympathy and prayers go to all those affected.



One wonders if these extreme weather phenomenon that we experience today is attributed to the process of climate change and global warming? Even in Singapore the weather patterns that have changed over the past few years leaves one wondering if the designs of our infrastructure and buildings would be able to withstand the onslaught of heavy rains and strong winds. Already, unprecedented flash floods in some areas of Singapore have required the government departments to expedite the drainage works to accommodate the inundation of our little island with the intensity and volume of rainfall rarely encountered in the past.



And there will certainly be the debates on whether the extent of deforestation in many countries will continue to increase, leaving the cleared land even more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. Singapore, our little 712 sq km island nation has been spared natural disasters like typhoons, tsunamis and earthquakes so far. But if we were to be affected one day, will we be ready?



Over to our Butterfly of the Month for November, we feature the humble and common urban butterfly, the Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus). Attractively coloured with black and pale yellow markings on the upperside forming an irregular band running from the forewings to the hindwings. The underside is pale yellow with black markings. Both sexes are mostly yellow with black streaks and irregularly-shaped spots. On the hindwing, several black spots are lined with blue striae. There is a series of orange post-discal bars on both hind- and forewings.



The sexes are very similar. The distinguishing characteristic can be found in space 1b on the hindwing. There is a red spot in both sexes. In the male, this spot is capped with a narrow blue lunule with a very narrow intervening black gap. In contrast, the red spot and the blue lunule in the female have a rather large black spot between them. Like in all Papilionidae, the Lime Butterfly has all six legs fully developed. The eyes are 'opaque' and jet black.



The Lime Butterfly is a fast flyer and its rapid and erratic flight makes it very challenging to shoot whilst in flight, although not impossible. There have been excellent shots taken by ButterflyCircle members where the Lime Butterfly was photographed in mid-flight whilst feeding on flowers. At times, the butterfly stops to rest amongst shrubbery, either with its wings folded upright, or opened flat to sunbathe.


A Lime Butterfly feeding on the flowers of Lantana

It is common in urban areas where its caterpillar host plants - mainly the Citrus spp., are cultivated. It has several alternative host plants, largely from the Rutaceae family. Even the Indian Curry Leaf plant (Murraya koenigii) is one of the Lime Butterfly's host plants. The complete life history of the Lime Butterfly has been recorded here.



We have had reports of caterpillars found on a potted Citrus plant on the 13th storey of a high rise apartment in Singapore. The owner was quite certain that the plant was over a year old (implying that the caterpillars were not stowaways on a new plant and brought up to that height) and placed along the common corridor of the apartment, suggesting that the visiting female Lime Butterfly flew up to that height (about 40m high) to oviposit on the host plant.


A male Lime Butterfly puddling on damp sand in the nature reserves

The Lime Butterfly can be found in parks and gardens, often seen feeding on Lantana and Ixora flowers, flying rapidly amongst the greenery. It is sometimes observed at the fringes of the forested nature reserves and even in the nature reserves. Males of the species have been observed to puddle at the sandbanks of forest streams, in the company of other Papilionidae, Pieridae and Lycaenidae butterflies.



Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK, Henry Koh, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Nelson Ong, Nona Ooi & Anthony Wong

Butterflies Galore! : Metallic Caerulean

Butterflies Galore!
The Metallic Caerulean (Jamides alecto ageladas)

This Lycaenid was re-discovered by ButterflyCircle members in 2008 when a colony of the species was found at the now-gone Mandai Orchid Garden. As the caterpillar of this species feeds on the flower of the Torch Ginger, several other colonies of the Metallic Caerulean have been found since. A translocation attempt at the Zoo was also successful, and the species can also be found at the Zoo today.

Males have a black diffuse border on the forewing above whilst the females have the forewing border extending narrowly along the costa to the base. The upperside is a bright metallic light blue. The species has many lookalikes in the genus. This Metallic Caerulean was photographed by young ButterflyCircle member Jonathan Soong.

Butterflies Galore! : Tree Yellow

Butterflies Galore!
The Tree Yellow (Gandaca harina distanti)

The Tree Yellow is the only representative of the genus Gandaca in Singapore and Malaysia. It is distinctive in that the underside is completely unmarked. On the upperside, except for a narrow black marginal border on the forewing, the colour of the butterfly is a plain lemon yellow throughout. When it flight, it could sometimes be mistaken for one of the several Grass Yellow (Eurema) species, but its lighter lemon yellow and generally larger size usually distinguishes it from the others.

This shot shows the Tree Yellow puddling (imbibing salts from damp sand) in the nature reserves. Although common, the species is usually associated with the forested areas in the nature reserves and is seldom seen in urban gardens and parks. At times, several individuals are observed puddling together.

Life History of the Common Dartlet

Life History of the Common Dartlet (Oriens gola pseudolus)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Oriens Evans, 1932
Species: gola Moore, 1877
Sub-species: pseudolus Mabille, 1883
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 22-27mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Ottochloa nodosa (Poaceae), Axonopus compressus (Poaceae, common names: Wide-leaved Carpet Grass, Cow Grass), Centotheca lappacea (Poaceae, common name: Sefa).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

On the upperside, both sexes are dark brown with yellowish orange post-discal bands on both fore- and hindwings. The forewing band stretches from the dorsum to almost touching the costa, and is deeply excavate at vein 5. On the underside, the wings are yellowish-orange with post-discal bands mirroring those on the upperside. These bands are roughly defined by varying degrees of black shading.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

This small and fast flying skipper is common in Singapore and can be found in parks, gardens and the nature reserve. At these locations, the adults can be seen enjoying the sun in sunny condition, typically in grassy areas or low shrubs. They visit flowers for nectar and puddle on wet ground or even bird droppings for mineral intake.