Butterflies Galore! : Five Bar Swordtail

Butterflies Galore!

The Five Bar Swordtail (Pathysa antiphates itamputi)

This fast-flying "swallowtail" butterfly is always a crowd-pleaser whenever it appears. Usually easier to approach and photograph when it is puddling, the Five Bar Swordtail is unique in the sense that its long tails taper off in a sword-like shape. The colours on the undersides of the wings are also an attractive blend of black, white, yellow and green.

This well-executed shot of the Five Bar Swordtail was taken by ButterflyCircle member Loke PF last weekend at the Dairy Farm Nature Park. The puddling butterfly's colours are brought out effectively on a clear background of pastel green. Note also the little bubble of pee at the tip of the butterfly's abdomen.

Festival of Biodiversity 2013

Festival of Biodiversity 2013
Vivocity 13-14 July



The Festival of Biodiversity 2013!

The Festival of Biodiversity (FOB) is an annual event organized by the National Parks Board in collaboration with the Biodiversity Roundtable. It first started in 2012 and was held at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The FOB an event to celebrate Singapore’s natural heritage to bring about greater awareness of the rich biodiversity in Singapore.

ButterflyCircle is a partner and a member of the Biodiversity Roundtable. Last year, ButterflyCircle featured a collage of our members' work at our booth. We also launched our book, "Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterflies". See the blog article here.

This year, ButterflyCircle will be doing a video clip showcasing our members' work and ButterflyCircle's objectives, activities and contributions to promoting butterfly conservation and education in Singapore. The video clip will be played on a 40" LCD screen at the exhibition area of the FOB.

There will be activities for the family! Nature workshops are free on a first-come-first-served basis. There will also be several exhibitions (i.e. 'Our Natural Heritage', 'Animals Specimens Showcase', 'Year of the Snakes in Singapore 2013').

The FOB will be held at Vivo City (Level 1 Central court B & West Boulevard) on the 13th & 14th of July (Sat & Sun) from 10am to 10pm. The launch will be at 11:30am on Saturday and President Tony Tan will be the Guest of Honour!

All ButterflyCircle members are welcomed to join in for the Launch/Opening Ceremony at 11:30am at Vivocity. See you there on Saturday!

Please visit this website for more details: Festival of Biodiversity Website

Butterflies Galore! : Elbowed Pierrot

Butterflies Galore! 
The Elbowed Pierrot (Caleta elna elvira)

In butterfly photography, one has to look for both the big and small butterflies to fully appreciate their beauty and diversity. Whilst it is easy to spot the larger and more showy and colourful butterflies, many small butterflies often escape the notice of the casual observer. There are a number of butterfly species that have wingspans of 10-30mm. They also fly fast and erratically, and are not easy to spot, much less photograph! In macrophotography, the beauty of a very small butterfly can be brought to larger-than-life details that our eyes do not normally see when in the field.

One such butterfly is the diminutive Elbowed Pierrot. A black-and-white butterfly with thin, thread-like tails, it only has a wingspan no more than 30mm. ButterflyCircle member Anthony Wong shot a close-up of this small butterfly perched at the edge of a leaf at Dairy Farm Nature Park last weekend.  

Butterflies Galore! : Little Maplet

Butterflies Galore!
The Little Maplet (Chersonesia paraka paraka)

This small butterfly is forest dependent and rarely strays outside the sanctuary of the nature reserves in Singapore. It has a habit of flying and then perching under a leaf with its wings spread open. It is usually skittish and is difficult to photograph (due to its behaviour of hiding under leaves). It is the only representative of the genus Chersonesia in Singapore. There have been records of other related species of the genus in Singapore, but none have been reliably seen in recent years.

The life history of the Little Maplet has been successfully recorded on the fig Ficus aurantiaceae (Orange Fig) here. This individual was photographed by ButterflyCircle member Chng CK last weekend in the nature reserves. What is unusual about this shot, is that the Little Maplet was sunbathing on top of a leaf rather than displaying its usual behaviour of hiding under the leaf. The butterfly has also been observed to puddle amongst the leaf litter on the damp forest floor, and occasionally feeding at flowering forest plants.

Life History of the Chequered Lancer

Life History of the Chequered Lancer (Plastingia naga)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Plastingia Butler, 1870
Species: naga de Nicèville, 1884
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 38-45mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Caryota mitis (Arecaceae; common name: Fishtail Palm).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Above, the wings are brown with the forewing adorned with pale yellow hyaline spots in the cell-end and spaces 2, 3, 6 and 7, and a narrow yellow streak in space 1b. A series of interneural yellowish streaks is present in the hindwing. Beneath, the wings bear a striking pattern of black veins and whitish rectangular spots on a black background. The abdomen is black and white banded.

A Chequered Lancer sunbathing with partially open wings.

Another sunbathing Chequered Lancer giving a glimpse of its upperside.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

The Chequered Lancer is moderately common in Singapore. Sightings are rather frequent in nature reserves and in parks where its host plant, the FishTail Palm, is commonly found. The adults are fast flyers and are skittish when disturbed. They have been observed to visit flowers and sunbath in sunny weather, and to puddle on bird dropping.

Down Memory Lane - Smaller Wood Nymph

Down Memory Lane : Gone Forever?
The Smaller Wood Nymph (Ideopsis gaura perakana)

A long time ago, this black-and-white butterfly was recorded in Singapore. Both the reference books by the early authors listed the Smaller Wood Nymph as extant in Singapore. It resembles the much bigger Tree Nymph (Idea stolli logani) which still flies in Singapore today, but is only about half the size and has more rounded hindwings. The wings are a pale translucent grey with large black spots. It is more often found in the hill stations, but has also been observed as far south in the peninsula, in the nearby lowland forests in Johor, Malaysia.

The typical black and white colour is a display of aposematic colouration where it mimics and is mimicked by the Idea species and also the female of the moth Cyclosia pieridoides consistent with Mullerian mimicry. Its host plant is a species of the forest vine, Hoya, and is likely to have alternative host plants even in Singapore. Will it ever return to fly gently, at the mercy of the breeze, in our forests again ? Or will it remain only in our memories and is gone forever from Singapore?

Butterflies Galore! : Malay Viscount

Butterflies Galore!
The Malay Viscount (Tanaecia pelea pelea)

Of the two species of the genus Tanaecia found in Singapore, the Malay Viscount is by far the commoner. It is a forest dependent species and is usually found in the safety of the forested areas in Singapore's nature reserves. It prefers to forage on the forest floor for overripe fruits and can frequently be observed at the ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron, on which it feeds greedily.

Did you know that Viscount is pronounced as (vaɪkaʊnt), where the "s" is silent? There are still some people whom I've heard pronouncing the name incorrectly. The Malay Viscount may sometimes be confused with the female Malay Baron or the female Horsfield's Baron when in flight. Only a closer look and checking on the diagnostic features of the markings can one ID it correctly. This individual was photographed last weekend by ButterflyCircle member Mark Wong at the Dairy Farm Nature Park.