Life History of the Banded Lineblue

Life History of the Banded Lineblue (Prosotas lutea sivoka)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Prosotas H.H.Druce, 1891
Species: lutea Martin, 1895
Sub-species: sivoka Evans, 1910
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 18-22 mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Acacia concinna (Fabaceae, Leguminosae, common name: soap pod).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Upperside, both sexes are brown. Underside, both sexes are pale yellowish orange and  similarly marked in both wings with darker yellowish orange spots arranged the form of post-discal band, cell-end bar and subbasal markings. The forewing has a series of small black marginal spots and a series of faint dark yellowish orange submarginal spots. The hindwing has dark marginal spots in spaces 3-6, of which the one in space 6 is the largest. There are two tiny black tornal spots at the end of vein 1b, and a larger black  subtornal spot in space 2. The hindwing of this species is tailless.

A Banded Lineblue visiting a flower of Mile-a-minute.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

This tiny species was recently discovered in Singapore (see this BC blog article for details). Sightings of  adults have typically been in the vicinity of its local host plant, either visiting flowers on nearby flowering shrubs/herbs or puddling on wet ground. In flight, they can easily be mistaken as other similarly-sized Lineblues. A definite identification can only be made when the butterfly perches briefly and allows its trademark hindwing marginal spot in space 6 to be observed.

Random Gallery - Scarce Silverstreak

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Scarce Silverstreak (Iraota rochana boswelliana)

This fast-flying Lycaenid, the Scarce Silverstreak, can be found quite often in urban parks and gardens, usually in the vicinity of its caterpillar host plant, Ficus microcarpa.  The male is shining deep greenish-blue with broad black forewing borders, whilst the female is drab brown.  The underside is distinctively marked with brown and white streaks, and is unlikely to be mistaken for any other butterfly species in Singapore. 

This shot of a pristine male of the Scarce Silverstreak was taken by ButterflyCircle member Chng CK last Sunday at a herb garden.  Here it is featured perched on a leaf of Melastoma sp.  The complete life history has been recorded and can be found on ButterflyCircle's blog here.

Celebrating a Homecoming

Celebrating a Homecoming
The Return of the Fleming Collection

This morning, I attended the Ground Breaking Ceremony of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National University of Singapore's Cultural Centre. The new purpose-built museum, which is expected to be ready in 2014, will be home to some 800,000 fauna specimens that is currently housed in the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity (RMBR). The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum will be a 7-storey building of about 7,500 sqm of which about 2,000 sqm is exhibition space.

 

Top : Prof Tommy Koh addressing the group of guests at the Ground Breaking Ceremony
Middle & Bottom : Artist's impression of the new Natural History Museum by W Architects

Amidst all the excitement of the future museum that will feature South East Asian biodiversity, a small group of us were celebrating a homecoming of sorts. About six months ago, Prof Peter Ng, the Director of RMBR met me and Mr TH Tan, a retired Malaysian entrepreuner, to talk about the acquisition of the iconic WA Fleming collection. For butterfly enthusiasts, students and collectors, the late WA Fleming (or Wicky Fleming) was one of the well-known collectors in the 60's and 70's in Malaysia and Singapore. Fleming was the author of "Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore" - one of two reference books that is a must for all butterfly enthusiasts in Malaysia and Singapore.

1st Edition of Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore (W.A. Fleming) published in 1975 and 2nd Edition of the book published in 1983 by his wife Mrs Alix Mc Cartney

After a series of discussions and negotiations, we were elated to learn that Mrs Alix McCartney, the wife of the late Wicky Fleming, and his son, Angus Fleming, decided that the permanent resting place of the Fleming collection should be at the new Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in Singapore.

The late Wicky Fleming

Wicky Fleming was a Scotsman who arrived in Selangor, Malaysia in December 1937 to join a London-based rubber company. During the war, he was interned at Changi Prison in Singapore and later at the Kuching Prison in Sarawak. After the war, he returned to Selangor as a planter.  He took up butterfly collecting as a hobby in September 1963 till the time of his death in May 1978. During the 15 years that he collected in Malaysia and Singapore, he amassed a collection that is one of the most complete Malaysian butterfly collections by a private individual during that era.

 

Angus Fleming wheeling the Fleming Collection at the arrival hall of Changi Airport T3, and one shot of the historic moment with Prof Peter Ng, Director/Raffles Museum

After Wicky's death in 1978, his wife, Alix returned to the UK in 1979 and his collection moved back to Straffordshire with her.  All these years, she and her sons respected Wicky's last wish that his collection must remain intact in its entirety and not be separated or any specimens sold off individually. On 8 Jan 2013, almost 34 years since the Fleming collection went to the UK, the entire collection reached Changi Airport Terminal 3. At 12:12 pm Angus Fleming, with the excellent facilitation of SIA ground staff, wheeled his late father's collection through the glass doors of the arrival hall.  It was a historic moment for the museum and for everyone involved in bringing the collection to Singapore.

Part of the Pieridae collection - well packed with pristine specimens that date back more than five decades!

In the Fleming collection, was a total of 8,723 butterfly specimens covering some 1,001 species/subspecies of butterflies from Malaysia and Singapore that Wicky Fleming collected over the period 1963 - 1978. A priceless collection and an invaluable reference collection for all butterfly enthusiasts in the region.

A box of the beautiful Lycaenidae butterflies from the Fleming collection

What is particularly important about this collection, is that the specimens are properly organised and accurately identified by Wicky Fleming and validated by other experts such as the late Lt Col John N Eliot. The specimens in the collection correspond very closely to Fleming's book, Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore, and also the 2nd edition of the book by his wife. It is an important reference for collectors and future students of butterflies who are keen to learn how to identify their collected specimens.

Angus carefully opens the boxes and checks the condition of the collection after the nearly 11,000 km journey from London

As we excitedly opened each box to check on the contents to ensure that every specimen survived the journey unscathed from Heathrow Airport to Changi Teminal 3, I was amazed at the pristine condition of the butterflies, and many looked as though they were still alive just yesterday! The collection is now in quarantine and put through a disinfection process to eliminate any pests and organisms that may have come with the collection. After that, the boxes will be carefully stored in a humidity and climate controlled environment until the new LKCNHM is ready and operational.

More shots of the well-maintained and preserved collection

As Prof Peter Ng says, Malaysia and Singapore are very different today from the days when Wicky was collecting butterflies. The environment has changed and the political situation has changed. Habitats have been altered by development and cultivation of cash crops, forests denuded and then there is climate change. This is why sustainable conservation strategies and rehabilitation of our green areas to preserve and enhance our remaininng biodiversity will only gain in importance. Even where development occurs, strategies have to be put in place from the outset, to look at how there could be reinstatement of habitats or even creating man-made habitats for our biodiversity to recover.

And so a collection of butterflies that is very important to science, education and research returns to the region from which most of the specimens were collected. Whilst many of our readers may feel uncomfortable at the number of butterflies collected, this scientific collection's value cannot be overstated. Without the knowledge and evidence that is embodied in this collection that was made over 40-50 years ago, we would have been less knowledgeable about butterflies today. This collection is not for sale, nor would any individual be able to put a price to any specimen. Eventually, parts of the collection may be shown to the public after the LKCNHM opens - with historical and scientific narratives about the butterflies and the collector, but that is a subject that will be presented in future blog articles.

Angus and Khew holding up a box of rare Nymphalidae butterflies from the Fleming collection

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Khew SK : Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum graphics by W Architects

Special thanks to the people who made the homecoming of the Fleming Collection to the region and to its permanent resting place at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum : Angus Fleming, Mrs Alix Mc Cartney, Mr TH Tan, Prof Peter Ng, Prof Dick Vane-Wright, Dato' Henry Barlow, Dr Tan Swee Hee, staff of Singapore Airlines at Heathrow and Changi, and staff of Raffles Museum of Biodiversity, NUS.

Media Report - Straits Times - 14 Jan 2013 : "Valuable Collection for Museum"

References :

1. The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society. 1991
2. Butterflies of West Malaysia and Singapore, WA Fleming, 2nd Edition, Longmans, 1983

Life History of the Common Grass Yellow

Life History of the Common Grass Yellow (Eurema hecabe contubernalis)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Eurema Hübner, 1819
Species: hecabe Linnaeus, 1758
Subspecies: contubernalis Moore, 1886
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 35-45mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Caesalpinia pulcherrima (Fabaceae, common name: Peacock Flower ), Cratoxylum cochinchinense  (Hypericaceae, common name: Yellow Cow Wood), Cratoxylum formosum (Hypericaceae, common name: Pink Mempat), Pithecellobium duice (Fabaceae, common name: Madras Thorn), Falcataria moluccana (Fabaceae, common name: Albizia), Senna spp.

A Common Grass Yellow taking nectar from a flower of Leea indica.

A Common Grass Yellow resting at a leaf perch.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Above, the wings are deep lemon-yellow, each with a black border which is regularly scalloped and deeply excavated between veins 2 and 4 in the forewing. Below vein 2 of the forewing, the black border is featured at a right angle to the dorsum or sloping towards the base. Underneath, the wings are also yellow with freckled brown spots. There are typically two cell spots on the forewing - a characteristic that is mainly used to identify the lookalike species in the genus. However, some specimens of the Common Grass Yellow could exhibit variations in which only one or no cell spots are present. Males have a brand lying along the cubital vein on the forewing underside. Females are typically paler yellow with broader black border.

Another resting Common Grass Yellow.

A Common Grass Yellow taking nectar from a flower of Leea rubra.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

Common Grass Yellow is one of the most common butterflies in Singapore. This is likely due to its many host plants being common in the wild or widely cultivated in parks and other public areas. The adults can be seen fluttering tirelessly in parks, wastelands and even  urbanised areas. They regularly visit flowers for nectar and puddle on wet grounds for minerals.

Random Gallery - Black Veined Tiger

Random Butterfly Gallery 
The Black Veined Tiger (Danaus melanippus hegesippus)

Of the three Danaus species that occur in Singapore, the Black Veined Tiger is often considered the least common amongst the three. However, where its host plant, a Cynanchum sp. is abundant, the Black Veined Tiger can be found in decent numbers. This species is often confused with the Common Tiger (Danaus genutia genutia), but can easily be separated by its broader submarginal hindwing black border. The hindwing ground colour is also generally whiter in appearance.

This mating pair of Black Veined Tigers was observed on this first day of 2013 at the Pasir Ris Park's Butterfly Garden. It is interesting to observe that in this case, the male did the flying. When approached, the alert male would fly off, carrying the passive female as he looks for a safe place to hide amongst the bushes at the Butterfly Garden.

2012 - The Year in Review

ButterflyCircle 2012
The Year In Review

This will be the final weekend feature article for 2012 as we wrap up and close for the year. We look ahead to 2013 with hope and anticipation that our beloved winged jewels will continue to thrive and flourish in our environment on the tiny equatorial island of Singapore. We also look forward to more new discoveries and re-discoveries of species that will be included in the Singapore Checklist of Butterflies.

A Dry-Season Form Bush Brown during the wet season in Singapore?

Throughout the year, this blog recorded a total of 95 articles including this one. A reasonable achievement and an all-time record, considering that in 2011 we did a total of 73 articles which was the highest number of articles since we started this blog. Once again, many thanks to Horace Tan for his meticulous recording of the early stages of Singapore's butterflies, and also to all our members of ButterflyCircle who unselfishly shared their excellent photographs to give that extra quality to the articles on this blog.

Samples of Horace Tan's life history work

Horace recorded a total of 22 excellent Life History articles this year - with the complete photographic record of each species' from egg to all caterpillar instars to pupa. In many cases, video recordings of pupation and eclosion are also captured in vivid detail! There are few, if any, comparable work that records the butterflies' early stages with such meticulousness and detail.

Indeed, it was Horace's efforts that yielded ButterflyCircle's second book on the Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterflies.  This book, published by the National Parks Board, was launched successfully on 26 May 2012.  It was the culmination of many months of hard work by the NParks team (Rachel, Li-San and Linda), Horace and myself to put the book together from design, content, proof-reading and the final printing.  It was indeed a satisfying project for all involved and the effort paid off when we saw the final product.  It was an achievement for ButterflyCircle to have contributed to nature education and sharing of knowledge with specific reference to Singapore's butterflies.

A collage of ButterflyCircle members at the Festival of Biodiversity

Also in 2012, ButterflyCircle was featured at the Festival of Biodiversity.  The Festival was jointly organised by the National Parks Board and the Biodiversity Roundtable as a platform to showcase the nature community's efforts and raise awareness of Singapore's biodiversity.  We are proud to have been featured as a standalone community of butterfly enthusiasts and given recognition for the work that ButterflyCircle has done to promote the conservation of butterflies in Singapore.

Tampines-Changkat Butterfly Garden and Nature Centre featured in a media report

ButterflyCircle members also contributed to the creation of a Butterfly Garden at Tampines-Changkat.  The brainchild of Member of Parliament Ms Irene Ng, the Butterfly Garden was set up by a community group that has seen the Butterfly Garden featured in many publications and media articles.  Following the success of the Butterfly Garden, the new Tampines-Changkat Nature Centre was set up and declared open on 1 Sep 2012 by Ms Irene Ng.  This Nature Centre functions as an education resource for nature enthusiasts and a meeting place for like-minded volunteers in Tampines-Changkat.  More plans are in store for 2013!

Our four new butterfly species discoveries in 2012

A total of four new butterfly species were discovered in the year.  These were the Common Jester, Plain Puffin, Banded LineBlue and the Yellow Flat.  Three of the species were discovered by ButterflyCircle member Federick Ho (he must be extra lucky this year to have the Butterfly Fairy smile on him three times!).  By a "discovery" we mean that the species has not previously been recorded before by the early authors, collectors and researchers.  All four species can be found in Malaysia, but have never been listed on any Singapore checklist before.

There are several other species pending confirmation or further validation, so we will leave those for 2013 or when the species are confirmed with a good level of certainty by experts. Most of these unconfirmed species belong to the families of Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae, of which there are many lookalikes that may give some element of doubt without careful validation.

RANDOM GALLERY SERIES BY BUTTERFLYCIRCLE MEMBERS

In March 2012, this blog also started a Random Butterfly Gallery series that showcases the excellent photography of ButterflyCircle's members.  The series adds more colour and frequency to the blog articles in between the longer and more detailed weekly feature and life history articles.  

Favourite Butterfly Nectaring Plants series

In June 2012, we also commenced a new series on Favourite Butterfly Nectaring Plants, starting with the Snakeweed which was followed by the StringBush. More plants will be added in future articles and the information will be useful for those who are planning on setting up their own little butterfly garden or just planting to attract butterflies.

In July 2012, ButterflyCircle also played host to US researcher Melissa Whitaker who is pursuing her Doctorate at the University of California, Davis.  Her subject matter involves the study of butterly-ant relationships or myrmecophily. Melissa was on a tour of SouthEast Asian countries to collect material for her research when she dropped by Singapore for a couple of days to learn more about our local butterfly fauna.

ButterflyCircle and the Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterflies were also featured in NParks online newsletter, My Green Space.  The prolific fellow-blogger, Dr Wee Yeow Chin of the Bird Ecology Study Group (BESG) also chipped in and shared his stories of breeding the Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas).  I have always admired Dr Wee for his hard work and sharing of articles of interest about birds, and has contributed more, in terms of educating nature enthusiasts and the layman alike, than any other birder has done.

BUTTERFLIES OF THE MONTH FROM JAN - DEC 2012

The five-year running series, Butterfly of the Month, saw the continuation of the long-running feature articles showcasing our beautiful flying jewels with 12 more species featured in each month of 2012. Which one is your personal favourite Butterfly of the Month in 2012? Do post a message on this blog and let us know.

Exotic butterfles from Sulawesi and Taiwan

ButterflyCircle members also organised group outings beyond Singapore's shores to learn more about butterflies in the region. Trip reports and mouth-watering butterfly photos from various locations in Thailand, Sulawesi, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia can be found at our forums.

A Butterflies of Singapore FaceBook Group was also set up, and the active site has daily posts from members from all over the world. The membership is growing steadily and at the time of this article, has already gone past 460 members.

All in all, it has been a very eventful year for ButterflyCircle.  We hope to continue by sharing our members' works and stories in 2013 and for as long as we can.  It is encouraging that besides the founding senior members and stalwarts in ButterflyCircle, we also have young and talented members who have joined us as well.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our members and readers of this blog a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by James Chia, Sunny Chir, Chng CK, Federick Ho, Goh Eng Chuan, Huang CJ, Khew SK, Koh CH, Loke PF, Nelson Ong, Jonathan Soong, Horace Tan, Tan CP, Lemon Tea, Anthony Wong & Benjamin Yam

Random Gallery - Common Rose

Random Butterfly Gallery
The Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris)

The Common Rose would hardly be "common" as its name would suggest, if not for the cultivation of its host plants - Aristolochia spp. in various parks, gardens and landscaping projects in Singapore. Brought back from the brink of extinction, the species is now found in areas where its host plants thrive.  Continued cultivation of its caterpillar host plants will ensure the conservation of this species in the Singapore butterfly fauna.

The butterfly is usually active, flying almost non-stop for long periods of time, continuing to flap its wings, even as it slows down to feed on flowering plants.  Occasionally, it stops to rest with its wings opened flat on the top surfaces of leaves, but it is skittish and takes of quickly if it senses any movement nearby. This shot of an in-flight Common Rose feeding on the flowers of the Snakeweed was taken by ButterflyCircle member Loke PF last weekend at Hort Park.