Butterflies Galore! : White Banded Flat

Butterflies Galore!
The White Banded Flat (Celaenorrhinus asmara asmara)

A colony of the White Banded Flat was re-discovered in Singapore by Nelson Ong and Yiming some time back in Feb 2011. Until then, it had been assumed that this species, recorded in the checklists of the early authors, was extinct. The surprising find ensured that the White Banded Flat would be re-instated to the Singapore Checklist once again.

Last week, ButterflyCircle member Sunny Chir shot the White Banded Flat at its very local hideout. We are glad to know that the colony still thrives and does not appear to be in danger of disappearing just yet. But its existence in the Singapore butterfly list remains highly threatened.

Life History of the Malay Lacewing v2.0

Life History of the Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsea hypsina)
An earlier version of the life history of the Malay Lacewing can be viewed by clicking this link.

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Cethosia Fabricius, 1807
Species: hypsea Doubleday, 1847
Subspecies: hypsina C. & R. Felder, 1867
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 60-80mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Adenia macrophylla var. singaporeana

A female Malay Lacewing showing its underside.

A female Malay Lacewing showing its upperside.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Above, the forewings are black with a white subapical band beyond the cell; the basal area is orange-red for the male (with the red confined to the base of the wings) and black for the female (with a yellowish-white patch in mid space 1b). The hindwing is entirely orange-red (paler in the female) except for the scalloped black distal border. Underneath, the wings are orange-red with white fasciae and adorned with black spots. The forewing cell has several black-edged, pale blue transverse stripes. The wing borders are dark coloured and deeply indented with lace-like pattern of white markings. One distinguishing feature to separate Malay Lacewing from other Cethosia species is the absence of a white submarginal band on the hindwing underside.

A male Malay Lacewing showing its underside.

A male Malay Lacewing showing its upperside.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

The Malay Lacewing is essentially a forest dweller and its local occurrence is confined within the sanctuary of the nature reserves in the catchment areas. It is not uncommon in the reserves, and adults can be spotted visiting flowers of flowering plants such as Leea indica in forest clearings or alongside forest trails. At times, females can also be seen checking out leaves of various plants in search of an ovipositing site.

Down Memory Lane - Singleton

Down Memory Lane
The Singleton (Una usta usta)

This small butterfly, known as the Singleton, was recorded in the checklists of the early collectors and the authors of the two main reference books on butterflies of Malaysia and Singapore. The male of the Singleton is deep brownish purple above, whilst the female is lighter but has a broad border on both wings. The underside is pale buff brown with prominent black spots on both wings.

It is not known why the butterfly disappeared from Singapore, or when it did. It is reported that the Singleton is nowhere considered common, even in Malaysia. However, on ButterflyCircle members' trips up north, males of this species are quite regularly encountered puddling on damp riverbanks. In looking back at the numerous butterfly surveys in Singapore, starting in the early 1990s, no one has thus far seen the Singleton. Will it be back here again one day? Or will it remain only in our memories and is gone forever from Singapore?

Butterflies Galore! : Orange Emigrant

Butterflies Galore!
The Orange Emigrant (Catopsilia scylla cornelia)

Amongst the three species of the genus Catopsilia in Singapore, the Orange Emigrant gets my vote for being the prettiest of the three. Fast-flying and erratic in flight, this Pierid is common and more so whenever its caterpillar host plants, Senna fistula and Senna surattensis are cultivated. The underside of the Orange Emigrant is orange-yellow with brown markings. The upperside of the forewings is white with black borders whilst the hindwings are orange-yellow.

This Orange Emigrant is feeding on the flower of the Lantana, an all-time favourite nectaring plant for butterflies. The pink variety, shown here, is less popular with butterflies compared to the orange and red varieties. The proboscis of the butterfly can be seen coated with pollen from the stamens of the flower. Butterflies are good pollinators of flowering plants when they go about feeding on nectar from the flowers.

Butterflies Galore! : Spotted Black Crow

Butterflies Galore!
The Spotted Black Crow (Euploea crameri bremeri)

The subfamily Danainae, often referred to by their collective English Common name of "Tigers and Crows" display aposematic colouration as a warning to predators that they are distasteful and should be avoided. One such species, the Spotted Black Crow is predominantly black in colour, with typical white spots on its wings which is characteristic of several species of the Euploea genus.

This Spotted Black Crow, shot last weekend, kept returning again and again to the flowers of the Stringbush to feed, even when disturbed. A moderately rare species, the Spotted Black Crow is often observed on the landward side of mangrove areas in Singapore. Its caterpillars feed on Apocynaceae plants which are lactiferous. It is the chemical compound in the host plant that gives the adult butterfly its distasteful properties.

Butterflies Galore! : Peacock Pansy

Butterflies Galore!
The Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana javana)

The Peacock Pansy is one of four Pansies found in Singapore. Sun-loving butterflies, all the four belong to the genus Junonia, of which there are six species in the Southeast Asian region. Two of them, the Lemon Pansy and the Yellow Pansy are not found this far south. In flight, the Pansies are fast on the wing and adopt a rapid gliding flight.

The Peacock Pansy is predominantly orange with large eyespots adorning both wings. The underside is paler with the same markings and ocelli as the upperside. The caterpillars of this species feed on the Creeping Ruellia (Ruellia repens). The species is fairly common and usually found in open grassy areas. This perching Peacock Pansy was shot by ButterflyCircle member Nona Ooi last weekend.

Butterfly of the Month - July 2013

Butterfly of the Month - July 2013
The Blue Helen (Papilio prexaspes prexaspes)

Last month's haze is but a memory now, blown away as quickly as the prevailing winds changed. Our northern neighbour, Malaysia received a good dose of the polluted air before the rains came and it was over as suddenly as it started, despite reaching hazardous levels in terms of air quality. The forest fires in Sumatra were blamed on the slash-and-burn method that was used to clear large tracts of land - mainly for the cultivation of oil palm. As we picked up our lives and continued with our daily routines again, after the record-breaking PSI of 401, one wonders when the next wave of the polluted smog will return again.

Whilst regulations are in place to prohibit the open burning of forests and plantations, enforcement and other punitive measures to ensure that such burning does not recur is another matter altogether. It is interesting to see how the Indonesian government gets its act together to prevent such irresponsible burning in future. Fortunately, political pressures at the diplomatic level, together with the favourable change in weather ended the July 2013 haze quickly.

Over in Singapore, after the disruptive conditions caused by the haze, Singapore experienced another abnormal weather phenomenon in the form of a hail storm in the afternoon of 25 June. Hail is a form of solid precipitation and consists of irregular lumps of ice dropping with the rain. Hail is supposedly caused by supercooled water droplets freezing on contact with particles in the air, such as dust, during a thunderstorm. Whilst the authorities declined to conclude that the hailstorm was caused by the haze, we are left to form our own opinions, considering that haze is certainly contributing to "particles in the air" as the rains fell.




July was of course an exciting month for biodiversity in Singapore, with the 2nd Festival of Biodiversity held at VivoCity. ButterflyCircle contributed a video, which basically summarises the group's work in butterfly conservation and research, as well as featured the members' high quality photographs. NParks mentioned that the visitorship over the weekend when the Festival was held was estimated at about 13,000 visitors to the exhibition area, a far higher number than the first festival held at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.



This month we feature the forest-dependent Swallowtail, the Blue Helen (Papilio prexaspes prexaspes). A rather rare species in Singapore, the Blue Helen is usually observed singly in the forest reserves. It is rarely, if ever, seen in urban parks and gardens. It was not listed in the checklists of the early authors, and was first discovered in the Chestnut Drive area some time back in late 90's. It makes an erratic appearance in various areas of the nature reserves over the years and is believed to be now a resident species in Singapore.




The Blue Helen is only one of two "Helen" species of the swallowtails that occur in Singapore. The other one is the Great Helen (Papilio iswara iswara) which also shares the same localities with the Blue Helen. However, the Blue Helen is the smaller of the two species, and is observed feeding on the flowers of the Common Asystasia, Lantana, Saraca and various Syzygium spp.



Males of the Blue Helen are often observed puddling at sandy stream banks and damp footpaths in the forests that have been tainted with decomposing organic material. Usually flying amongst the treetops restlessly, this species can be approached more easily when it is distracted whilst puddling.



The Blue Helen is a predominantly black butterfly, with four prominent white patches on the upperside of the hindwings extending into space 4. On the underside, there are narrow pale beige submarginal spots but some may be obscure. Near the tornal area of the hindwing there are blue lunules. There is a spatulate tail at vein 4 of the hindwing.



Thus far, the caterpillar host plant of the Blue Helen remains elusive. Although it is likely to share similar host plants from the Rutaceae family like the related Great Helen, the early stages of this species remain unrecorded in Singapore.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK, Henry Koh, Huang CJ, Simon Sng, Jonathan Soong & Mark Wong