Butterflies Galore! : Bamboo Tree Brown

Butterflies Galore!
The Bamboo Tree Brown (Lethe europa malaya)

This skittish Satyrinae often lurks in the shaded areas in the vicinity of bamboo clumps and remain well camouflaged until it is disturbed. In freshly eclosed individuals, the large violet submarginal ocelli on the underside of both wings are very attractive. The species is uncommon, but not rare. It is local in distribution and usually found in the vicinity of its caterpillar host plant - bamboos.

This Bamboo Tree Brown was photographed by young ButterflyCircle member Jonathan Soong at the Butterfly Hill on Pulau Ubin last Sunday. For this species, a butterfly photographer has to be very patient in stalking it, especially when the butterfly is extremely alert and skittish, and prefers to stop amongst dead leaves and forest litter at low levels.

Butterflies Galore! : Great Mormon

Butterflies Galore!
The Great Mormon (Papilio memnon agenor)

Over here in Singapore, the large flower of the Hibiscus (Malaysia's national flower) does not appear to attract butterflies very often.  Is it because there are other more nectar-rich flowers around that makes a butterfly simply avoid the Hibiscus?  However, at the Butterfly Hill on Pulau Ubin last Sunday, we saw a number of large butterflies, like this Great Mormon, feeding on the Hibiscus flower.  Amongst the other species are the Common Birdwing, Common Mormon and Orange Emigrant.  

This male Great Mormon, shot by young ButterflyCircle member Brian Goh, is shown probing deep into the Hibiscus flower with its proboscis for nectar.  There were certainly other flowering plants around in full bloom that day, like the Ixora, Lantana, Bidens, Wedelia, Stachytarpheta and Cordia planted at Butterfly Hill.  So, why did the Hibiscus suddenly become so attractive to the butterflies?  Readers are invited to share their observations and experience here.  

Butterflies Galore! : Great Eggfly

Butterflies Galore!
The Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina bolina)

This "Eggfly" occurs as two different subspecies in Singapore - Hypolimnas bolina bolina (known as the Great Eggfly), and Hypolimnas bolina jacintha (known as the Jacintha Eggfly). Whilst the females of the two subspecies are relatively easier to distinguish, the males are almost indistinguishable and look very similar in appearance. It would be quite interesting to ascertain if the two subspecies can interbreed, and whether they are evolving into a single species or otherwise.

The submarginal white chevron markings on the underside of the hindwing were used to distinguish between ssp bolina and ssp jacintha. However, intermediates are beginning to show, and rendering this physical diagnostic attribute unreliable to separate the two. These two Eggfly subspecies should be observed closely to see whether they eventually separate more distinctly or merge into a single subspecies.

Butterflies Galore! : Malay Lacewing

Butterflies Galore!
The Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsea hypsina)

The Malay Lacewing is one of three species of the genus Cethosia that occurs in Singapore. One of the species, the Plain Lacewing, was last seen in Singapore in the late 1990's and has not been seen since. The other, the Leopard Lacewing, a "foreign talent" species, is considered relatively common now, after being first spotted in Singapore some time in 2005. The Malay Lacewing is essentially a forest-dependent butterfly, although there have been sporadic sightings of it in urban parks, even at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

The common name Lacewing was probably coined for the intricate patterns on the underside of the wings of this butterfly, which features pretty patterns on a ground colour of orange and red. The life history of the Malay Lacewing has been recorded on Adenia macrophylla var. singaporeana a member of the Passifloraceae family. This female, feeding on the flowers of Lantana, was shot last weekend at Pulau Ubin.

Life History of the Copper Flash

Life History of the Copper Flash (Rapala pheretima sequeira)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Rapala Moore, 1881
Species: pheretima Hewitson, 1863
Subspecies: sequeira Distant, 1885
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 31-35mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae, common name: Mango), Hibiscus tiliaceus (Malvaceae), Syzygium zeylanicum (Myrtaceae), Mallotus paniculatus (Euphorbiaceae, common name: Turn-in-the-wind) and Saraca thaipingensis (Fabaceae, common name: Yellow Saraca).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
On the upperside, the male is mostly dark reddish brown, and the female is dull steely blue. On the underside, both sexes are pale brown. Both wings have a broad cell-end bar and a brown post-discal band which is whitened on the outer side. The forewing has a spot in the middle of the forewing cell (which could be absent in some females). The hindwing has a black marginal spot in space 2 and another on the tornal lobe. Between the two spots, the marginal area in space 1b is covered with bluish scaling. There is a white-tipped tail at the end of vein 2. The legs are white and black-banded.

Field Observations:
This species is moderately common in Singapore and can be found in serveral urban parks and nature reserves. The adults are fast flyers and make rapid sorties among foliage. Both sexes have been observed to visit flowers of various plants for nectar.

Butterflies Galore! : Common Three Ring

Butterflies Galore!
The Common Three Ring (Ypthima pandocus corticaria)

This "Cinderella" of butterflies is unlikely to raise the heart rate of butterfly photographers or create any sort of excitement when spotted. It is a relatively common and unremarkable species that is encountered at the fringes of the nature reserves amongst grassy patches. It flutters weakly at low levels and stops to perch, either with its wings folded upright as is shown here, or opened when sunbathing at certain hours of the day. However, it is alert and somewhat skittish and it would take a bit of persistence on the part of the photographer to get a shot of this butterfly on an ideal perch.

The Common Three Ring is the largest member of the genus Ypthima in Singapore. It is greyish brown above, with a large subapical black yellow-ringed ocellus on the forewing. There are two silvery spots in the black ocellus. On the hindwing, there is a similar but smaller subtornal ocellus, and another pair at the tornal area. The underside is greyish to pale buff brown, with the wings traversed by innumerable fine dark brown striations where the hindwing has three yellow-ringed black submarginal ocelli.

Malayan Birdwing sighted again

Malayan Birdwing (Troides amphrysus ruficollis)
Another sighting of this giant birdwing!

Back in March 2011, I found the caterpillar of the Malayan Birdwing (Troides amphrysus ruficollis) at Alexandra Hospital. It was recorded as a re-discovery and species #301 in the Singapore Butterfly Checklist. After that, there appeared to be no reliable sightings of this gentle giant butterfly until now.

Last weekend, ButterflyCircle member Yong WH managed to encounter the Malayan Birdwing again! This time, a male was spotted perched on some leaves of the Fishtail Palm, taking a rest. It is hoped that with more schools and gardens cultivating one of its host plants, Aristolochia acuminata, this magnificent Birdwing will fly in our Singapore skies again.