Butterflies Galore! : Malayan Eggfly

Butterflies Galore!
The Malayan Eggfly (Hypolimnas anomala anomala)

The Malayan Eggfly is a seasonally common species in Singapore.  The caterpillar host plant is the Australian Mulberry (Pipturus argentus), a secondary forest plant that is quite widespread in distribution across the island. The Malayan Eggfly occurs in two forms, i.e. form-anomala and form-nivas. This species is a good example of mimicry, where the Malayan Eggfly mimics the distasteful Danainae "crows". Form-anomala is a good mimic of the male Striped Blue Crow, whilst form-nivas is a good mimic of the Striped Black Crow.

Pictured here is a form-nivas Malayan Eggfly, featuring the white patch on the hindwing that the form-anomala does not have. The white markings on the hindwing can be variable, from a few obscure white stripes to a large distinct patch. This individual was photographed last weekend at the Dairy Farm Nature Park by young ButterflyCircle member, Jonathan Soong.

Butterfly of the Month - May 2014

Butterfly of the Month - May 2014
The Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites atlites)

The month of May 2014 appears to be one that is fraught with political changes and turmoil in many countries in Asia.  Scientists have also forewarned of a climatically extreme year ahead. The cyclical El Nino effect is predicted to peak in 2014, bringing along with it, unprecedented climate conditions. The El Nino effect is the name that climatologists give to warming of the surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean.



The last time El Nino was at its peak was back in 1997, where there was a prolonged drought in Singapore. That year, the annual rainfall in Singapore was about half of the long-term average and the annual average temperature was 1.4 degrees Celsius above average.  Affecting most of South East Asia, the predicted prolonged drought may bring the dreaded haze back to the region, if the unabated slash-and-burn land-clearing methods continue in neighbouring Indonesia.



Over in Vietnam, protests over China's supposed incursion into Vietnamese territorial waters erupted into violent riots. Anti-Chinese protesters burned factories in various cities and there were fatalities in the unrest. As the unhappiness with China's territorial claims continue, Vietnam would obviously not be the natural choice for visitors and tourists for the short to medium term.




Further north of Singapore, our neighbours in Thailand saw the military declaring martial law to resolve the deepening conflict between the frequently demonstrating supporters of political parties. As the unrest continues, the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore' website advised that Singaporeans "should seriously reconsider visiting Thailand at the moment." It is quite bizarre how situations can change so quickly, particularly when a group of ButterflyCircle members had just recently returned from a fruitful outing in peaceful Chiangmai just about three weeks ago.



Back here in Singapore, the "sakura" season of mass-flowering trees of various species continued into early May. But the natural phenomenon most talked about in the past week or so, revolved around a moth! The Tropical Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa zampa) was seen in great numbers all across the island, from suburban residential areas to multistorey car parks and even tall office buildings in the Central Business District! At my own office building, a moth was seen holding on to dear life outside the window of my 18th storey office!



The outbreak of this moth (which has been frequently mistaken for a large butterfly by members of the public), appears to have been triggered by a confluence of climatic conditions and possibly the reduced predatory pressure towards the end of the avian migration season. No one can be sure why these moths suddenly appeared in numbers but to the casual observers, enjoy them whilst they last!



Our Butterfly of the Month for May 2014, is the Grey Pansy. One of four species that occur in Singapore, the Pansies (named after the colourful flowers from the family Violaceae) are active sun-loving butterflies of the genus Junonia. The Grey Pansy is the rarest amongst the four Pansies that are found here; the others being the Blue, Peacock and Chocolate Pansy.


An example of a dry-season form of the Grey Pansy with obscure and lighter markings

The distribution of the Grey Pansy is quite widespread across Singapore, and the species is locally common at times, particularly in the vicinity of water bodies, where its caterpillar host plant grows. It can be found in the forested nature reserves as well as urban parks and gardens.



The Grey Pansy is a pale violet grey above with the underside light grey. Both wings have dark brown irregular post-discal spots and submarginal lines and streaks. The more prominent ocelli on the fore and hindwings are orange-crowned.



The species has quite distinct wet- and dry-season forms where the underside markings are darker and more pronounced in appearance in the wet-season form, whereas in the dry-season form, the underside markings are very much obscure and paler.



The Grey Pansy is usually alert and skittish, and adopts a flap-and-glide flight pattern. It has a habit of returning repeatedly to a few favourite perches when it patrols its territory, and then open its wings flat to sunbathe. It likes the ripened fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) on which it feeds greedily. Occasionally, it can be spotted puddling at damp footpaths.



The life history has been documented, and will be featured in a forthcoming article on this blog.

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Bobby Mun, Nelson Ong, Benedict Tay & Benjamin Yam

Butterflies Galore! : Plain Banded Awl

Butterflies Galore!
The Plain Banded Awl (Hasora vitta vitta)

The Awls (Hasora spp) are butterflies that are usually seen in the early morning hours up to about 8 - 9 am, after which they retreat to the shaded forests to rest for most of the day. They have a preference for surfaces of buildings and wooden surfaces near forested areas which are damp with dew in the early morning hours. They are also often spotted feeding on bird droppings in the forests.

Like most skippers, they are fast-flying and alert. This species, the Plain Banded Awl, is moderately rare in Singapore, but is regularly seen from time to time. This individual was reported feeding on the columns of a shelter in our nature reserves together with other species of Hesperiidae. It was photographed by young ButterflyCircle member Jerome Chua. The caterpillar host plant of this species is Spatholobus ferrugineus, and the full life history has been recorded here.

Butterflies Galore! : Cruiser

Butterflies Galore!
The Cruiser (Vindula dejone erotella)

This medium sized butterfly is regularly seen in the forests in Singapore. With a wingspan of about 70-80 mm, the brightly-coloured orange male is very noticeable when it flutters amongst the shrubbery and along forest paths. Males are a rich fulvous orange above, with a paler discal band. The underside is similarly coloured, but paler, with a distinct brown post-discal stripe across both wings.

The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, where the female is pale-greenish grey with a prominent post-discal white band across both wings. The ocelli on the female's wings are larger and orange-ringed. Both sexes have a short pointed tail at vein 4 of the hindwing. The male is often encountered puddling at sandy streambanks in the forested nature reserves as is shown here. More photos of the Cruiser can be found here.

Life History of the Gram Blue

Life History of the Gram Blue (Euchrysops cnejus cnejus)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Euchrysops Butler, 1900
Species: cnejus Fabricius, 1798
Subspecies: cnejus Fabricius, 1798
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 20-26mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Pueraria phaseoloides (Fabaceae/Leguminosae, common name: tropical kudzu), Vigna reflexopilosa (Fabaceae/Leguminosae, common name: creole bean).

The upperside view of a female Gram Blue.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
On the upperside, the male is pale purple and with tornal spots in spaces 1b and 2 of the hindwing thinly crowned in orange. The female has a brown border on both wings and is pale shining blue in the basal area, and its hindwing has submarginal spots bordered with a dark sinuate line and larger and more prominent orange-crowned tornal spots in spaces 1b and 2. On the underside, both sexes are pale buff with a series of marginal, submarginal and post-discal spots, all pale brown and white-bordered. In the hindwing, there are three black basal spots, one black costal spot, two orange-crowned tornal spots in spaces 1b and 2 which are edged with metallic green scales and a white-tipped tail at the end of vein 1b.

The upperside view of a male Gram Blue.

Field Observations:
Gram Blue is moderately common in Singapore. Its distribution is rather localized and at times they can be locally abundant in wastelands or trail side where its host plants, the tropical kudzu and the creon bean, are growing as weeds. In the early morning and late afternoon sun, both sexes are often seen sunbathing on leaves with open wings. The adults have the habit of visiting flowers of various weeds for nectar.

Butterflies Galore! : Green Oakblue

Butterflies Galore!
The Green Oakblue (Arhopala eumolphus maxwelli)

The male Green Oakblue is one of three extant species of the genus Arhopala that features metallic green uppersides instead of the usual purple or dark blue uppersides that are more common amongst the species in the genus. The female of the Green Oakblue, however, features purple uppersides with broad black borders on both wings (shown above). The species was re-discovered in Singapore some time in late 2007 in a patch of forested area near a reservoir park. The full life history has been documented here. Click on the link to see the male of the Green Oakblue.

The underside of the Green Oakblue is typical Arhopala - brown with the usual striations. One of the key distinguishing markings is the post-discal spot in space 4 on the forewing being out of line with the spots above and below it. The species is considered moderately rare, but is very local and at times, several individuals may be spotted together. This pristine female Green Oakblue was shot by young ButterflyCircle member, Jonathan Soong.

Butterflies Galore! : Plain Tiger

Butterflies Galore! 
The Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus)

The Plain Tiger is a common urban species that has been spreading around Singapore's parks and gardens ever since its caterpillar host plants, Calotropis gigantea and Asclepias curassavica, have been cultivated as butterfly-attracting plants. Back in the 1990's, the species was relatively unknown in the urban environment. Today, it can be considered to be abundant in the vicinity of butterfly gardens where its host plants can be found.

A medium-sized and colourful butterfly, it flies slowly and will usually not go unnoticed by the casual observer visiting our parks and gardens. The mating pair perched on the red cultivar of the Snakeweed (Stachytarpheta indica), shows the male (top) and female (bottom). Note that the male Plain Tiger has an extra black spot on the hindwing. This mating pair was shot yesterday at the Gardens By the Bay's open butterfly garden.