Four New Discoveries!

Four New Discoveries in May & June 2014!
Records of new butterfly species in Singapore

Over the past four to six weeks in the months of May and June 2014, Singapore's mainstream and social media was abuzz with the "invasion" of the Tropical Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa zampa) all over Singapore. The large grey-and-white moth, started appearing in residential apartments, office buildings, shopping malls, multi-storey car parks and is too obvious to go unnoticed by all and sundry. There were comments that the appearance of these moths was a bad omen, and that unfortunate events will follow. These are usually common old wives' tales associated with moths and not surprising.

The by-now well known in Singapore moth, the Tropical Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa zampa)

The media reports also featured interviews with ecologists and experts and I was also requested for my opinion on the sudden appearance of these large moths in Singapore. Amongst the many theories and postulations put forth by the experts ranged from the unusually dry weather in the first two months of 2014, the sudden flowering of many species of trees in Singapore and the reduced predation pressure on the caterpillars and adult moths that coincided with the end of the bird migratory season.


A close up view of the Tropical Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa zampa)

Even as Singaporeans wondered about this moth, which continued to appear in numbers everywhere, the Malaysian news reported even larger numbers of the moths across the Causeway, with pictures of lighted buildings literally covered with hundreds of them!

North East winds blowing from Malaysia towards Singapore : Source - National Environment Agency, Singapore

Whilst the moth made the news and piqued the curiosity of the public, butterfly enthusiasts in Singapore also had a lot of excitement with sightings of four new butterfly species over the past four to six weeks! The months of April and May coincide with the end of the North East Monsoon months where light north easterly winds continue to blow from Malaysia towards Singapore. As these are months that also see the increase in butterfly numbers in Malaysia, the late north easterly winds could also have aided some of these butterflies in their journey southwards to Singapore.

The newly discovered Striped Jay (Graphium bathycles bathycloides)

Coupled with the end of the bird migratory season, the reduced predation of butterflies and other sources of food by these birds, could also have been a plausible explanation for the ability for some butterflies to survive the journey across the Straits of Johor into Singapore without being eaten.

Starting with the most recent species spotted in early June, was the Striped Jay (Graphium bathycles bathycloides) by Tea Yi Kai. Whilst on a weekday outing in the Central Catchment Nature Reserves, he spotted this fast-flying Graphium puddling with a number of other Papilionidae. Although this was the first individual to be spotted and identified, Yi Kai also received news from a birder Stanley Feng that he shot another Striped Jay some time back in Oct 2010, after Yi Kai posted his discovery on social media.

A Striped Jay shot in Endau Rompin National Park, Malaysia

Nevertheless, we record this seasonal migratory species (or seasonal stray) as species #312 in the Singapore Butterfly Checklist. Thanks to Yi Kai for spotting and getting photographic evidence of this species in Singapore, and contributing his photos to ButterflyCircle. The Striped Jay is considered a seasonally common lowland species in Malaysia, and often photographed amongst large numbers of puddlers at sandy streambanks in the forested areas. It is a fast-flyer like its other cousins in the Graphium genus and is certainly possible that it flew over from nearby Johor, aided by the winds.

Jerome's shot of a Great Jay (Graphium euryplus mecisteus) another new discovery for Singapore

Just two days before Yi Kai's discovery, ButterflyCircle member Jerome Chua was also at almost the same location as Yi Kai in the Central Catchment and he photographed a tattered individual of another Graphium species. When he posted the photo, it was quickly validated as another of the "Jay" species - the Great Jay (Graphium euryplus mecisteus). Again, this species has never been recorded from Singapore before, and is now added to the Checklist as species #313.

A shot of the Great Jay at Endau Rompin National Park, Malaysia

The Great Jay is relatively rarer than the Striped Jay, gauging from our own experience from trips to Endau Rompin National Park in central Johor in Malaysia, and other butterfly-rich areas further up north. The Blue Jay (Graphium evemon eventus), Common Jay (Graphium doson evemonides) and Striped Jay tend to be more often photographed on these outings than the Great Jay.



But it could be due to the seasonality of some of these closely related species. Equally as fast-flying as its other cousins, the Great Jay could also have flown here on its own steam, perhaps with a little bit of help from the north-easterly winds.

A series of shots of the Red Helen by Clayton Low, using his mobile phone

Just around the time when Jerome discovered the Great Jay, another butterfly watcher, Clayton Low, was at the rather urban location of the National University of Singapore in the southern part of Singapore, when he spotted a large black swallowtail. Using his mobile phone, the quick thinking Clayton managed to get three shots of the swallowtail when it was feeding on the flowers of the Ixora. Another surprise new discovery! This time, it was the Red Helen (Papilio helenus helenus), another species that was not in the checklists of the early authors.

A Red Helen shot in Malaysia

The Red Helen is closely related to the two extant species in Singapore - the Great Helen (Papilio iswara iswara) and the Blue Helen (Papilio prexaspes prexaspes). It is not rare in the lowlands in Malaysia, and outings amongst butterfly watchers often yielded many shots of this species puddling where more than five or six individuals are seen together. Thanks to Clayton for contributing his photos to be featured in this blog.

A group of puddling Papilionidae.  How many Red Helens do you see?

How this species managed to make it so far south, deep into Singapore, is another mystery. Clayton's photos of what he spotted showed a relatively pristine individual, minus the usual wear-and-tear of a butterfly that has survived a long migratory journey from up north. Could it be an escapee from the nearby Sentosa Butterfly Park, where the Red Helen is one of the species featured in the enclosure? Or this individual was just robust (and lucky!) enough to make the journey into Singapore from Malaysia without getting bashed up? Nevertheless, we record this as species #314 in the Singapore Checklist.

A dead female Lesser Albatross (Appias paulina distanti) shot by Wong Chung Cheong

Finally, Yong Yik Shih, a nature enthusiast, sent a photo of a dead butterfly to the ButterflyCircle chat group. It was shot by a bird photographer Wong Chung Cheong at the Rivervale area in Singapore. This was clearly a female Lesser Albatross (Appias paulina distanti), another new record for Singapore. The Pieridae species are strong flyers and known for their migratory ability, and certain species like the Catopsilia spp. even bear the name "Emigrant" in their English Common Name! It is certainly possible that this female Lesser Albatross made it across the Causeway on her own steam but succumbed to either fatigue or even the venomous bite of a spider that ended her short life.

Another female Lesser Albatross captured by Abiel Neo in May 2005 in Singapore

Nevertheless, credit to Yik Shih and Chung Cheong for contributing their discovery to this blog, and we record this species as #315 in the Checklist. Upon noticing this discovery, veteran ButterflyCircle member Steven Neo reported that his son, Abiel Neo, captured another female Lesser Albatross many years back at SAFTI Military Institute in Jurong on the western side of Singapore. Abiel was serving his national service at SAFTI when he came across the stray female Lesser Albatross, and the specimen is labeled as found on 15 May 2005. Again, another sighting in the month of May!

Top : A male Lesser Albatross shot in Fraser's Hill   Bottom : Three male Lesser Albatrosses puddling in Endau Rompin National Park, Malaysia

The Lesser Albatross is seasonally common in Malaysia, and we have encountered males of the species puddling in numbers at sandy streambanks in the forest. Coincidentally, in the past two months, there have been many sightings of the related Chocolate Albatross (Appias lyncida vasava) a recorded seasonal migrant to Singapore, ranging from Seletar Country Club to the nature reserves and all the way down south to Gardens by the Bay! A female Chocolate Albatross was even observed ovipositing on its caterpillar host plant in the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The past few months have been remarkable in terms of new Lepidoptera sightings, from the currently ubiquitous Lyssa zampa to the new butterfly species observed. Thus far, these seasonal migrants or strays recorded this year are :

• Malaysian Albatross (Saletara panda distanti) in Apr 2014
• Red Spot Sawtooth (Prioneris philonome themana) in Apr 2014
• Lesser Albatross (Appias paulina distanti) in May 2014 (also spotted in May 2005)
• Red Helen (Papilio helenus helenus) in May 2014
• Great Jay (Graphium euryplus mecisteus) in May 2014 
• Striped Jay (Graphium bathycles bathycloides) in June 2014 (also spotted in Oct 2010)

A male Red Helen puddling at Endau Rompin National Park, Malaysia

It would be great if these species are able to somehow breed in Singapore and become naturalised species rather than migratory strays. But we will never know for sure. So do keep your eyes peeled for new butterflies coming across from our neighbouring countries. They certainly do not have to respect geographical and political boundaries like we humans do, and will come and go as they please, as long as the environment and habitats are conducive to their sustainable existence.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Tea Yi Kai, Jerome Chua, Clayton Low, Wong Chung Cheong, David Fischer, Khew SK, Mark Wong, Abiel Neo & Steven Neo

Special thanks to Tea Yi Kai, Clayton Low, Yong Yik Shih and Wong Chung Cheong for sharing their finds with ButterflyCircle.

• [C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society, 1992.
• Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore, W.A. Fleming, 2nd Edition, Longmans, 1991
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012.
• Butterflies of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand, Laurence G Kirton, Beaufoy Publishing, 2014
• A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew S.K., Ink On Paper Communications, 2010.

Special remarks on the English Common Names of the butterflies featured in this article : the names are taken from the literature cited above as they are more relevant to the butterflies of the South East Asian region.  There are other references on the Internet, e.g. Wikipedia and other sources like the checklists of butterflies in North Asia and various Indian butterfly fauna literature which refer to these species by different common names.  However, we maintain that reference to the books that are written by authors relevant to South East Asian butterflies would be more applicable and we choose to use the names quoted in these books for our local butterflies, where applicable.

Butterflies Galore! : Malayan Sunbeam

Butterflies Galore!
The Malayan Sunbeam (Curetis santana malayica)

The Sunbeams belong to a group of small butterflies in the subfamily Curetinae. In the field, the butterflies appear silvery white when in flight. Most of the species in the subfamily feature orange uppersides with thick black marginal borders. There are two extant species of the Sunbeams in Singapore, but it will not be surprising if the other species of the genus, which occur in Malaysia, are encountered here in the future.

They are fast-flyers but are often encountered resting with their wings folded upright - either on top of leaves or at times, on the undersides of leaves. At certain times of the day, they will open their wings to sunbathe and to show their attractive upperside colours. The Sunbeams are also often observed puddling at sandy streambanks, like this individual shot by ButterflyCircle member Nona Ooi. More shots of this pretty butterfly can be found here.

Life History of the Blue Jay

Life History of the Blue Jay (Graphium evemon eventus)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Graphium Scopoli, 1777
Species: evemon Boisduval, 1836
Subspecies: eventus Fruhstorfer, 1908
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 50-65mm
Local Caterpillar Host Plant: Artabotrys wrayi (Annonaceae).

A pair of puddling Blue Jay.

A Blue Jay perching on a leaf.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
As with most Graphium species, the wings are produced at the forewing apex and hindwing tornus, and the inner margin of the hindwing bends inwards. On the upperside, the wings are black with a broad bluish macular band running from the sub-apical area of the forewing to the basal area of the hindwing. There is also a series of blue streaks in the cell of the forewing. A series of blue submarginal spots is present in both fore- and hindwings. On the underside, the same spotting pattern can be found against a dark brown base, with the spots larger and more silvery green. Additional red and black spots are featured on the hindwing. Unlike the lookalike species, the Common Jay, the black costal bar in the hindwing of the Blue Jay does not have a red spot, and it is joined to the black basal band.

A puddling Blue Jay.

Another Blue Jay puddling with fully open wings.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
Blue Jay is common in Singapore and is oftern seen flying up and down jungle tracks in the nature reserve on sunny days. The males are often observed puddling at damp forest paths and stream banks. The adults are fast flyers and have an "erratic" flight.

Butterflies Galore! : Malayan Eggfly

Butterflies Galore!
The Malayan Eggfly (Hypolimnas anomala anomala)

The Malayan Eggfly is a seasonally common species in Singapore.  The caterpillar host plant is the Australian Mulberry (Pipturus argentus), a secondary forest plant that is quite widespread in distribution across the island. The Malayan Eggfly occurs in two forms, i.e. form-anomala and form-nivas. This species is a good example of mimicry, where the Malayan Eggfly mimics the distasteful Danainae "crows". Form-anomala is a good mimic of the male Striped Blue Crow, whilst form-nivas is a good mimic of the Striped Black Crow.

Pictured here is a form-nivas Malayan Eggfly, featuring the white patch on the hindwing that the form-anomala does not have. The white markings on the hindwing can be variable, from a few obscure white stripes to a large distinct patch. This individual was photographed last weekend at the Dairy Farm Nature Park by young ButterflyCircle member, Jonathan Soong.

Butterfly of the Month - May 2014

Butterfly of the Month - May 2014
The Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites atlites)

The month of May 2014 appears to be one that is fraught with political changes and turmoil in many countries in Asia.  Scientists have also forewarned of a climatically extreme year ahead. The cyclical El Nino effect is predicted to peak in 2014, bringing along with it, unprecedented climate conditions. The El Nino effect is the name that climatologists give to warming of the surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.



The last time El Nino was at its peak was back in 1997, where there was a prolonged drought in Singapore. That year, the annual rainfall in Singapore was about half of the long-term average and the annual average temperature was 1.4 degrees Celsius above average.  Affecting most of South East Asia, the predicted prolonged drought may bring the dreaded haze back to the region, if the unabated slash-and-burn land-clearing methods continue in neighbouring Indonesia.



Over in Vietnam, protests over China's supposed incursion into Vietnamese territorial waters erupted into violent riots. Anti-Chinese protesters burned factories in various cities and there were fatalities in the unrest. As the unhappiness with China's territorial claims continue, Vietnam would obviously not be the natural choice for visitors and tourists for the short to medium term.




Further north of Singapore, our neighbours in Thailand saw the military declaring martial law to resolve the deepening conflict between the frequently demonstrating supporters of political parties. As the unrest continues, the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore' website advised that Singaporeans "should seriously reconsider visiting Thailand at the moment." It is quite bizarre how situations can change so quickly, particularly when a group of ButterflyCircle members had just recently returned from a fruitful outing in peaceful Chiangmai just about three weeks ago.



Back here in Singapore, the "sakura" season of mass-flowering trees of various species continued into early May. But the natural phenomenon most talked about in the past week or so, revolved around a moth! The Tropical Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa zampa) was seen in great numbers all across the island, from suburban residential areas to multistorey car parks and even tall office buildings in the Central Business District! At my own office building, a moth was seen holding on to dear life outside the window of my 18th storey office!



The outbreak of this moth (which has been frequently mistaken for a large butterfly by members of the public), appears to have been triggered by a confluence of climatic conditions and possibly the reduced predatory pressure towards the end of the avian migration season. No one can be sure why these moths suddenly appeared in numbers but to the casual observers, enjoy them whilst they last!



Our Butterfly of the Month for May 2014, is the Grey Pansy. One of four species that occur in Singapore, the Pansies (named after the colourful flowers from the family Violaceae) are active sun-loving butterflies of the genus Junonia. The Grey Pansy is the rarest amongst the four Pansies that are found here; the others being the Blue, Peacock and Chocolate Pansy.


An example of a dry-season form of the Grey Pansy with obscure and lighter markings

The distribution of the Grey Pansy is quite widespread across Singapore, and the species is locally common at times, particularly in the vicinity of water bodies, where its caterpillar host plant grows. It can be found in the forested nature reserves as well as urban parks and gardens.



The Grey Pansy is a pale violet grey above with the underside light grey. Both wings have dark brown irregular post-discal spots and submarginal lines and streaks. The more prominent ocelli on the fore and hindwings are orange-crowned.



The species has quite distinct wet- and dry-season forms where the underside markings are darker and more pronounced in appearance in the wet-season form, whereas in the dry-season form, the underside markings are very much obscure and paler.



The Grey Pansy is usually alert and skittish, and adopts a flap-and-glide flight pattern. It has a habit of returning repeatedly to a few favourite perches when it patrols its territory, and then open its wings flat to sunbathe. It likes the ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) on which it feeds greedily. Occasionally, it can be spotted puddling at damp footpaths.



The life history has been documented, and will be featured in a forthcoming article on this blog.

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Bobby Mun, Nelson Ong, Benedict Tay & Benjamin Yam

Butterflies Galore! : Plain Banded Awl

Butterflies Galore!
The Plain Banded Awl (Hasora vitta vitta)

The Awls (Hasora spp) are butterflies that are usually seen in the early morning hours up to about 8 - 9 am, after which they retreat to the shaded forests to rest for most of the day. They have a preference for surfaces of buildings and wooden surfaces near forested areas which are damp with dew in the early morning hours. They are also often spotted feeding on bird droppings in the forests.

Like most skippers, they are fast-flying and alert. This species, the Plain Banded Awl, is moderately rare in Singapore, but is regularly seen from time to time. This individual was reported feeding on the columns of a shelter in our nature reserves together with other species of Hesperiidae. It was photographed by young ButterflyCircle member Jerome Chua. The caterpillar host plant of this species is Spatholobus ferrugineus, and the full life history has been recorded here.

Butterflies Galore! : Cruiser

Butterflies Galore!
The Cruiser (Vindula dejone erotella)

This medium sized butterfly is regularly seen in the forests in Singapore. With a wingspan of about 70-80 mm, the brightly-coloured orange male is very noticeable when it flutters amongst the shrubbery and along forest paths. Males are a rich fulvous orange above, with a paler discal band. The underside is similarly coloured, but paler, with a distinct brown post-discal stripe across both wings.

The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, where the female is pale-greenish grey with a prominent post-discal white band across both wings. The ocelli on the female's wings are larger and orange-ringed. Both sexes have a short pointed tail at vein 4 of the hindwing. The male is often encountered puddling at sandy streambanks in the forested nature reserves as is shown here. More photos of the Cruiser can be found here.