Singapore's Sun-Loving Pansies - Part 1

Singapore's Sun-Loving Pansies
- Part 1



Singapore is home to four different Pansies - Blue Pansy, Chocolate Pansy, Grey Pansy and the Peacock Pansy. The four Pansy species belong to the genus Junonia (Hubner. 1819) which is characterised by their falcate forewings, brightly coloured uppersides and more sombre undersides.

The Junonia species are very susceptible to seasonal variation and often occur in both wet- and dry- season 'forms' In the latter, the underside has a cryptic pattern resembling a dead leaf and reduced ocelli.

The caterpillars of the Pansies tend to feed on species of Acanthaceae.

In Singapore, the four species can be considered common, perhaps with the exception of the Grey Pansy, which tends to be seasonally seen. Of the four, the Chocolate Pansy is by far the commonest species, occuring in the most varied habitats from urban grassland to forested areas of the nature reserves.

All four species tend to prefer open grassy areas and are most active in full sunshine. They also tend to be territorial, often returning to their favourite perches and chasing any other butterfly that comes within its 'circle of control'. They have a habit of frolicking with another individual of the same species, or engaging in aerial 'dog-fights' with each other.

The Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya wallacei)

The male of the Blue Pansy is considered the prettiest and most colourful of all the four Pansies. The forewing is black, with a whitish subapical band, post-discal ocelli. The hindwing is a bright blue with an orange-red subtornal ocellus. The female is more sombre, usually featuring only brown uppersides, and occasionaly sporting a reduced patch of blue on its hindwings as compared with the males. The females' hindwing ocelli are generally much larger than those of the males. The undersides are a pale greyish brown, with cryptic markings and ocelli.

The butterfly is common in parks, gardens and open grassy wasteland and flies in an able gliding fashion. It often stops with its wings open flat to sunbathe in the sunshine.

It has been bred on the very common and abundant secondary vegetation species of Acanthaceae, the Common Asystasia (Asystasia gangetica). It is highly likely that it has alternative host plants.

The Chocolate Pansy (Junonia hedonia ida)

The Chocolate Pansy is the most common species amongst the four Pansies. It is a reddish brown above and features a prominent row of post-discal spots on both wings. The undersides are a lighter brown, with pale purplish bands on both wings. The post-discal ocelli on the undersides are much lighter, more orange than reddish-brown ocelli on the uppersides. The median stripe on the underside of both wings gives it the butterfly a leaf-like appearance when it stops to rest amongst leaf litter, rendering it some measure of camouflage from predators.

The caterpillars have been bred on a dimunitive weed, Ruellia repens which is common in open fields and cultivated areas. It is also likely that the species has other alternative host plants.




Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Khew SK and Sunny Chir

Butterfly of the Month - December 2007

BUTTERFLY OF THE MONTH - DECEMBER 2007

The Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsea hypsina)

This is a new monthly series where a butterfly species is featured as the Butterfly of the Month. To start the series, I have chosen the Malay Lacewing, a favourite amongst butterfly enthusiasts and photographers.

The Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsea hypsina) belongs to the genus Cethosia, which includes some of the most beautiful butterflies in the region. The upperside of the wings of both the male and female of this species feature a bright orange-red colour with black borders. The outer margins of both wings are serrated, particularly more so on the hindwings, giving the wings a saw-toothed appearance. The intricate 'lace' patterns on the undersides of the wings are likely to have given rise to the origin of its English common name, Lacewing.

The Malay Lacewing is described as the commonest species of the genus in Malaysia and Singapore. It is characterised by the pale yellow subapical border on the forewing above. Males tend to fly more energetically than the females. It is essentially a forest butterfly, preferring to stay within the confines of the nature reserves in Singapore, and the forested areas. The Malay Lacewing can often be observed at the flowers of Leea indica, Snakeweed (Stachytarpeta indica), Mile-a-Minute (Mikania cordata), Ixora spp. and Lantana camara. It is always a joy to watch this pretty butterfly flutter amongst the flowering bushes, searching for its favourite nectaring source to feed upon, and flying nonchalantly in a spectacular display of its bright cheerful colours.

A Malay Lacewing feeding on the nectar from the flowers of Ixora javanica.


With its wings slightly opened, this Malay Lacewing balances on the flower of a pink Lantana camara as it sucks nectar.

Females of the Malay Lacewing have a yellowish-white dorsal patch on the forewings above, which is absent in the males. The females also appear a paler orange-red whereas the males sport a darker shade of orange-red on the wings above.

Left : Male Malay Lacewing Right : Female Malay Lacewing. Note the extra yellowish white triangular patch on the dorsum of the forewings of the female.

The wine-red caterpillars of this species are known to feed on Passifloraceae. The species is distateful to predators.

Text and Photos by Khew SK

Life History of the Yellow Glassy Tiger

The Yellow Glassy Tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia) is closely related to the two Glassy Tiger species found in Singapore. Although it was recorded as extant in Singapore, the Yellow Glassy Tiger has not been seen in the past two decades or more, and feared to be extinct in Singapore.

ButterflyCircle member Goh LC from Kuala Lumpur was fortunate enough to record the early stages of the Yellow Glassy Tiger. Below are his photos and observations of the life history of this pretty Danainae butterfly.

Butterfly Biodata :
Genus : Parantica (Moore, 1880)
Species : aspasia (Fabricius, 1787)
Subspecies : aspasia (Fabricius, 1787)
Common name : Yellow Glassy Tiger
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly : 60 – 75mm
Caterpillar Host Plant : Raphistemma sp.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly :
The ground color of the wings is predominantly bluish grey, with the usual black markings of the Parantica species. Each wing has a bright yellow basal patch, that on the hindwing covering about half of the wing surface. Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour : This butterfly is not uncommon, and frequents forested areas rather than open country. It flies slowly and often glides in mid air. While at rest, it hangs upside down on the dried branches usually with their wings folded shut.

Special Points of Interest :
This species demonstrates both Batesian* and Mullerian** mimicry. The female Wanderer (Pareronia valeria lutescens) mimics the Yellow Glassy Tiger for protection from predators. When the female Wanderer is foraging for food, or looking for a host plant to oviposit, it flies and behaves like the Yellow Glassy Tiger. But when alarmed the Wanderer takes off in a very capable fashion. This is an example of Batesian* mimicry.

Female Wanderer (Pareronia valeria lutescens)

In an example of Mullerian** mimicry, the male of day flying moth, Cyclosia pieridoides shares a similar appearance to the Yellow Glassy Tiger when in flight. Interestingly, the female of this species of moth mimics the Smaller Wood Nymph (Ideopsis gaura perakana), another distasteful Danainae. Both the Yellow Glassy Tiger and the Smaller Wood Nymph were recorded in Singapore by the early authors, but these species do not appear to exist on the island, as they have not been observed for the past two decades or so.

* Batesian mimicry : In this type of mimicry, the mimic not only looks like the model, but also behaves like it. This disguise increases the chances of the mimic being mistaken for the distasteful model which then gives it some “immunity” as it is avoided by its predators.

** Mullerian mimicry : A strategy that has evolved among butterflies (and moths) is for all members of a group to resemble each other and also be unpalatable. This approach spreads the chances of any one butterfly (or moth) being eaten over a larger number of species, and over a larger number individuals within a species. When a bird catches any one of these individuals, it quickly learns to keep away from all the species within the group. This type of mimicry is referred to as Mullerian mimicry, after Muller who first described it.

Early Stages :
The female oviposits a single spindle-shaped egg, usually on the underside of a leaf of the host plant. The egg is white in color, measuring 1 x 2mm high.


The egg of Yellow glassy tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia)

After about 4 days, the caterpillar hatches from the egg, and immediately starts to consume the eggshell completely. The caterpillar then starts to eat the leaf that the egg was laid upon. The 1st instar caterpillar has a smooth round black head. The color of its body is yellowish-green. There are 2 reddish knots in the prothorax near the head and 2 slightly smaller reddish knots in the last abdominal segment. These knots will eventually evolve into the long filamentous processes known as tubercles.

1st instar Yellow glassy tiger caterpillar (4mm)

As it moults into the 2nd instar, the body turns into red colour and white spots start to appear along with a few yellow spots in the prothorax and last abdominal segment. The head remains black colour like it was in the 1st instar. The knots are more prominent in the prothorax and last abdominal segment.

2nd instar Yellow glassy tiger caterpillar (6mm)

In the 3rd instar, the red colour of its body has become richer, the white and yellow spots are more striking. The knots have turned into paired tubercles. The front tubercles are white with reddish bases and tips.

3rd instar caterpillar showing its black head, white and yellow spots (10mm)

The 4th instar caterpillar is essentially similarly patterned as the 3rd instar, except it has grown bigger. White spots appear on its black head. The round spots lining its body from thorax to last abdominal segment have turned yellow.

4th instar caterpillar with white spots on its head (24mm)

The final instar caterpillar is similar to 4th instar caterpillar, except the colours are more defined and the tubercles are longer. The red colour of its body has turned darker. It is a neat eater as it finishes one leaf completely before starting on a new leaf.

Final instar caterpillar (30mm)

After a total of 14 days upon hatching from the egg, the caterpillar then goes into half a day of dormant pre-pupation pose. The caterpillar prepares for pupation by curling itself into a ball, and anchoring itself by its cremaster to a variety of perches including the leaves or stems of the host plant.

Pupa of the Yellow Glassy Tiger (9 x 15mm)

The pupa is light green with black spots on the abdominal segment of the pupa after 1 day. The silver spots will then appear on the wing and head segments of the pupa after 2 days. After about 8 days, the pupa shell turns transparent and the wings of the butterfly can be seen through the pupa shell. Upon eclosion, the adult butterfly emerges and hangs its wings out to dry, as it pumps fluids into the wings to expand them. When its wings are sufficiently hardened, it opens and closes them as if to test them for flight.

Text and Photos by Goh LC & Khew SK

The Silverlines of Singapore

A male Club Silverline perches on a flower

The Silverlines belong to the genus Spindasis. The butterflies are distinguished by the silvery markings on the undersides and the hindwings possess two tails. Males of the species are usually with iridescent blue or purple tinge with a broad border on the forewings, whilst females are either brown, or a pale blue. Many species in the genus have an orange tornal patch with black spots on the underside of the hindwings. Females are typically larger with the forewings more rounded at the apex. Species of the genus are distributed from Sri Lanka to Japan, the Philippines and in South East Asia.

The female of the Long Banded Silverline (Spindasis lohita) is described to oviposit on a host plant on which aphids or scale insects live, and which has a nest of the ant Crematogaster rogenhoferi which attend them. The newly hatched larva seeks protection from the ants which build a nest shaped like an aircraft hangar on a branch or amongst leaves with wood flakes. The larva lives in the ants nest from which it emerges during the night to feed. The larva is always attended by a few ants. The larva is described to be dark green or brown, mottled with lighter shades and pale orange spots. Pupation takes place in a small rough cocoon made of leaves spun with silk. The pupa has no silken girdle and is hooked onto the wall of the next only by the cremaster.

Known host plants of the species are Dioscorea pentaphylla, Terminalia paniculata, Xylia sp., Psidium guayava (Guava), Glochidion rubrum Mallotus japonicus, Rhamnus formosana, Rumex crispus and Rhus javanica.

In Singapore, only two species of the genus Spindasis are known to exist. These are :

• Long Banded Silverline (Spindasis lohita senama)
• Club Silverline (Spindasis syama terana)

A male Long Banded Silverline opens its wings to sunbathe in the afternoon sun

In the male of the Long Banded Silverline, the dorsal area of the forewing and almost the whole of the hindwing is shot with purple blue. The pale yellow underside is traversed by five or six silver lines which are broadly edged with dark red.

The Long Banded Silverlines like to perch and stay quite still. The top right shot shows an individual puddling on damp seepage.

The Club Silverline can be distinguished from the former species by the basal streak on the forewing below. The colour of the silver edging may be black (most often) or dark red (rarely).

Like the Long Banded Silverlines, the Club Silverlines often stop to perch on grasses. The first shot shows an individual feeding on its favourite nectaring plant - the flowers of the Mile-a-Minute creeper (Mikania cordata)

The butterflies are often seen in the early morning hours and late afternoon hours, feeding on flowering plants. The flowers of the Mile-a-Minute (Mikania cordata) are the usual favourite. The butterflies are fast flyers, but often stop to perch on a few favourite perches to rest. In the later part of the afternoon, they often open their wings flat to sunbathe.

A Club Silverline opens its wings to sunbathe.

The two species are quite widely distributed on Singapore island, and also on Pulau Ubin and Tekong, but they are not common.


Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, Horace Tan, Sum Chee Ming & Khew SK

References :

• Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula 4th Edition : AS Corbet & HM Pendlebury
• Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore 2nd Edition : WA Fleming
• Butterflies of Thailand 1st Edition : Pisuth Ek-Amnuay
• Life Histories of Asian Butterflies Vol 2 : Suguru Igarashi & Haruo Fukuda
• Malaysian Butterflies - An Introduction : Yong Hoi-Sen
  

Life History of the Purple Duke (Eulaceura osteria kumana)

Butterfly Biodata :

Genus : Eulaceura Butler [1872]

Species : osteria (Westwood, [1850])

Subspecies : kumana (Fruhstorfer, 1913)

Wingspan of Adult Butterfly : 60mm

Caterpillar Host Plant : Gironniera subaequalis

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly : The forewing of the adult butterflies is strongly falcate and the hindwing produced at the tornus. Males are pale purple brown above with a white discal fascia. The female is dull ochreous brown with obscure while fasciae in the distal halves of both wings.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour : Adult butterflies often fly rapidly along jungle paths and settle upside down on the undersides of leaves with their wings folded shut. When disturbed, the butterfly will zip off and display the same behaviour on the next leaf, usually flying short distances. In the early morning hours, both the males and females are more likely to stop on the uppersides of leaves with wings opened flat to sunbathe.

Early Stages :

The female oviposits a single egg, usually on the underside of a leaf of the host plant. The egg is pinkish in colour, almost round with vertical ribs running down the length of the egg.

Egg of the Purple Duke (Eulaceura osteria kumana)

After about 3 days, the caterpillar hatches from the egg, and immediately starts to consume the eggshell completely. The caterpillar then searches for the younger leaves of the host plant and starts to eat the softer young shoots on the host plant.

The 1st instar caterpillar has a smooth round head with lateral dark and light green stripes running the entire length of its body. It has a forked 'tail' which is a feature of this species in all the instars.

1st instar Purple Duke caterpillar with its smooth rounded head

As it moults into the 2nd instar, the lateral green stripes are still there, but the head now takes on forked processes which are dark in colour, giving it an appearance of having 'antlers'. The caterpillar tends to hide on the undersides of the leaves of the host plant.

2nd instar caterpillar showing the black "antlered head" and forked tail.

In the 3rd instar, the black 'antlers' are now more defined, but with light pink extremities. The green stripes of the early two instars are now replaced with two lateral green bordered yellow stripes running down the side of the caterpillar's body. There is a pattern of yellow spots over the entire body.

3rd instar caterpillar showing its black antlered head and sporting yellow/green spotted markings on its body.

The 4th instar caterpillar is essentially similarly patterned as the 3rd instar, but the forked 'tails' are longer and the 'antlers' have now taken a light salmon colouration. The caterpillar remains on the underside of the host plant's leaf when not eating, and carefully aligns itself with a leaf rib such that it camouflages itself very well.

4th instar caterpillar with its salmon-coloured "antlers"

The 5th and final instar caterpillar sports two lateral salmon-coloured stripes which start from the base of the 'antlers' and runs the entire length of the body to the forked 'tails'. Alternate transverse light and dark green bands can also be seen running down the body of the caterpillar, perpendicular to the lateral stripes.

5th instar caterpillar Note the twin lateral stripes. Inset : Close up of the caterpillar's head.

After a total of 38 days upon hatching from the egg, the caterpillar then goes into a day of dormant pre-pupation pose. The caterpillar prepares for pupation by anchoring itself well on the underside of a leaf. Unlike many other species which has a girdle to support the pupa, or where the caterpillar curls up in a pre-pupation pose, the caterpillar of the Purple Duke remains flat on the underside of the host plant and keeps a low profile staying very close to the leaf.

Pre-pupation pose of the caterpillar. It remains dormant in this position for about 24 hours.

The pupa is light green with a single yellow lateral stripe down the back of the pupa. The head takes on a short horned appearance. The pupa hangs from its cremaster with its head facing downwards.

Pupa of the Purple Duke. On the left photo, note the head of the caterpillar discarded as it transforms from a biting/chewing caterpillar into a pupa within which the process of metamorphosis changes it into a nectar-sucking butterfly with no biting mouth parts.

After about 8 days, the pupal shell turns transparent and the wings of the soon-to-be-emerging butterfly can be seen through the pupal shell. A few hours before eclosion, the pupa turns a warm beige with the wings becoming darker and more pronounced and distinctly visible through the pupal shell.

All ready for eclosion. The wing patters of the adult butterfly can be seen through the now transparent pupal case.

Finally, in the late morning, the adult butterfly ecloses and hang its wings out to dry, as it pumps fluids into the wings to expand them. It stays for about an hour or more to ensure that its wings are sufficiently dried and hardened before it takes its maiden flight to search for its mate and continue the circle of life.

Text and Photos by Khew SK