Lascars of Singapore

The Lascars of Singapore
Featuring the Lascar butterflies of Singapore

A Malayan Lascar perches on a leaf after a shower

The Lascar butterflies belong to a group of species under the sub-family Limetidinae of the family Nymphalidae. These Lascars were probably so named after an Indian sailor, army servant, or artilleryman. An excerpt from Wikipedia reads "The British East India Company recruited seamen from areas around its factories in Bengal, Assam and Gujarat, as well as from Yemen, British Somaliland and Portuguese Goa. They were known by the British as lascars. These seamen included Indian sailors, who would go on to serve on British until the 1960s."

A Common Lascar perched with open wings 

A Perak Lascar feeding on the flowers of a Syzygium tree

In our butterfly world, the Lascars are butterflies that are orange-and-black banded. They are generally small butterflies with wingspans usually not exceeding 50mm. They have a weak flap-glide-flap flight, usually flying amongst low shrubbery, but can quickly take off to the treetops when alarmed. There are currently four different species of Lascars in Singapore, although there is a strong likelihood of a fifth species due to the difficulty of separating them from field shots.

A Burmese Lascar perched on the leaf of a Singapore Rhododendron

The typical Lascar is alert and skittish, and when in flight, not easy to distinguish amongst the different species. They are usually found in forested habitats, although they are widely distributed across Singapore. One of the species is often associated with back-mangrove habitats due to its host plant being found in such areas.

1. The Malayan Lascar (Lasippa tiga siaka)

The Malayan Lascar is probably the most common and widely distributed of the four species in Singapore. It can be observed at parks and gardens like the Southern Ridges, Botanic Gardens although it is mainly spotted in forested areas around the fringes of, and within the nature reserves.

A mating pair of Malayan Lascars

The wings are typically banded with black and orange, with the underside a paler colour. The species can be distinguished from the similar-looking Burmese Lascar by the submarginal spot in space 3, which is wider than the adjacent spots in spaces 2 and 4. It has been bred on the caterpillar host plants Erycibe tomentosa and Bauhinia semibifida.

2. The Burmese Lascar (Lasippa heliodore dorelia)

A Burmese Lascar puddling at a damp footpath

The Burmese Lascar is rarer than its lookalike cousin, the Malayan Lascar. It is a forest-dependent species that does not fly far from the nature reserves of Singapore. It is sometimes observed seen puddling at damp sandy footpaths in the nature reserves. It has been successfully bred on its caterpillar host plants of Rourea minor, Rourea asplenifolia and Cnestis palala.

A mating pair of Burmese Lascars

The Burmese Lascar features the typical orange/black banded appearance of the Lascars, with the underside a paler orange-yellow with dark grey bands. The primary distinguishing characteristic of this species that separates it from the very similar-looking Malayan Lascar is the submarginal spot in space 3, which is barely wider than the adjacent spots in spaces 2 and 4.

3. The Perak Lascar (Pantoporia paraka paraka)

A Perak Lascar perched on a leaf to sunbathe

The Perak Lascar is more frequently encountered in back-mangrove and mangrove habitats where its preferred host plants, Dalbergia rostrata and Dalbergia candenatensis are found. Its third caterpillar host plant, Cnestis palala which it shares with the Burmese Lascar, grows mainly in the forested nature reserves, where the Perak Lascar is sometimes also found. In Singapore, it is often observed in the vicinity of mangrove habitats in Pulau Ubin, Kranji, Sg Buloh Wetlands and Pasir Ris Park.

A Perak Lascar perched on the flower buds of the Singapore Rhododendron

The Perak Lascar has the typical orange/black banded appearance, with the underside a paler colour. The diagnostic identification characteristic of this species are two orange submarginal lines on the forewing above, with one or both bent at space 3. Together with the marginal orange spots that appear like a third thin line, giving the appearance of three orange lines, the Perak Lascar is easy to identify and when it stops to rest, cannot be mistaken for any of the other Lascar species in Singapore.

4. The Common Lascar (Pantoporia hordonia hordonia)

A Common Lascar forages amongst leaf litter

The fourth Lascar found in Singapore is the Common Lascar, which frequents the forested nature reserves in Singapore. Both its caterpillar host plants are forest plants - Archidendron clypearia and Parkia speciosa. The last-named host plant is also called "Petai" and is a bean that is consumed in traditional Malay cuisine.

A Common Lascar puddling at a damp footpath

A Common Lascar showing its marbled undersides

The Common Lascar also has the orange/black banded appearance, but if the underside of this species can be seen, the marbled underside will set it apart from the other three species described above. On the upperside, there is a single thick orange sub-marginal line, with a inner pale grey line.

A possible Broad-Striped Lascar, a species that is very similar to the Common Lascar

However, it is this species that can be easily confused with the Broad-Striped Lascar (Pantoporia sandaka sandaka), which has a very similar appearance except in that the orange sub-marginal line is thicker than the inner pale grey line. In the Common Lascar, the pale grey line is thicker than the orange submarginal line. However, in view of the difficulty of separating them definitively, the existence of Pantoporia sandaka is tentatively held in abeyance until physical specimens or DNA analysis can be made available for validation.

ID Keys to the 4 Lascars

There are two other similar-looking species that were recorded in Singapore by the early authors - The Grey Lined Lascar (Pantoporia dindinga) and the Baby Lascar (Pantoporia aurelia) but these have not been seen in recent years or could have been missed. Hence if any observers and butterfly watchers out there who spot these Lascars, do try to take a good photo of these species, as they may still be extant in Singapore after all!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chng CK, Khew SK, Loh MY, Loke PF and Horace Tan

Butterfly of the Month - December 2020

Butterfly of the Month - December 2020 

The Knight (Lebadea martha parkeri)

A typical male Knight subspecies parkeri 

All too soon, it's already the final month of a very tumultuous year 2020. A year that will be remembered in history as the COVID year. Global fatalities caused by this coronavirus has crossed 1.6 million and counting, with the US topping the charts at more than 302,000 deaths so far. Whilst not as deadly as the 1918 Spanish Flu, which killed an estimated 20 - 50 million people, COVID19's fatalities has to be taken in the context of the availability of modern healthcare and advanced medical science in 2020.

But there is optimism as several companies have had relatively good success with developing a viable vaccine to combat the virus. With millions of doses of vaccines almost ready to ship in the coming weeks, the world may see an end to this scourge that turned the world upside down for most of 2020. A year where air travel came to a virtual standstill, face masks are the norm and WFH is an abbreviation that is immediately understood by most.

In the past months, digital transformation of businesses, working collaborations and other daily needs like ordering food and transportation have evolved at breakneck pace. Detractors of online meetings using Zoom, Teams or Skype had to eat their words and quickly jump on to the norm of virtual meetings on digital devices. In just a few short months, people who said "it can't be done", began to embrace online meetings as though they had been using such platforms for years already!

And then the havoc that COVID19 wreaked on the economy, where businesses in vulnerable sectors crumbled. Salary cuts, headcount cuts and the eventual closure of companies, some which have been in business for decades, underpinned the severity of the pandemic across many countries. It was also interesting to observe how different countries' governments' interventions helped save businesses, or conversely, their inaction accelerated the demise of companies.

Singapore is fortunate to have an excellent healthcare system in place, and this played a significant part at minimising fatalities caused by the COVID infections. Several government financial support schemes that helped both big and small companies tide through the tough times were put in place quickly, and this certainly help alleviate the full impact of the economic storm.

A female Knight subspecies parkeri sunbathing on a leaf

Taking a break from the woes of our human world, we turn to our final Butterfly of the Month for 2020. Our feature butterfly for December is the Knight (Lebadea martha parkeri). This moderately common species occurs in urban and forested habitats, where its caterpillar host plants, Ixora congesta and Ixora javanica are cultivated. The Knight is a rather common species on Pulau Ubin and is regular seen on various parts of the island.

There are two subspecies of the Knight in Singapore - ssp parkeri, which is the more common subspecies found in Singapore, and ssp malayana, which is the subspecies that is more often seen in Malaysia. There are overlapping variations and intermediates across the two subspecies such that for some individuals, it is challenging to decide which subspecies they belong to.

A typical male Knight subspecies parkeri with its strong purplish-blue hindwing

A typical female Knight subspecies parkeri showing its extensive purplish-blue hindwing

Underside of a male Knight subspecies parkeri feeding on the ripened fruit of the Singapore Rhododendron

The upperside of the Knight is ochreous brown with a complex pattern of white lunules and zig-zag markings. A post-discal white band spans across both the fore and hindwings. In the male, the apical area of the forewing above is strongly whitened, whilst it is reddish-brown in the female. The underside is paler with similar markings as the upperside.

The Singapore subspecies was named after Norman Parker, a Singapore-based collector who discovered it in the early 1970's. This ssp parkeri has the submarginal area of the upperside of the hindwing a pale purplish-blue. The Malaysian subspecies malayana has this same area of the hindwing a reddish-brown. There are intermediates between the two subspecies with more or less violet-blue on the distal half of the hindwing, depending on the individuals.

An example of a male Knight which can be considered subspecies malayana with reddish hindwing. This individual was shot at the mangrove area of Pasir Ris Park

A male Knight subspecies malayana with its reddish hindwing and absence of the purplish-blue colouration.  This individual was shot at Panti Forest in Johor

A female Knight subspecies malayana with its reddish hindwing without any purplish-blue colours.  This individual was also shot at the Pasir Ris mangrove area. 

Subspecies malayana has been found on Pulau Ubin and Pulau Tekong, two offshore islands between Johor in Malaysia and Singapore island. Individuals that are more towards the colour of the Malaysian ssp malayana have also been spotted at Pasir Ris Park and Changi.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Alan Ang, Janice Ang, James Chia, Khew SK, Koh CH, Lim CA, Loh MY, Loke PF, Jonathan Soong and Tea YK

Life History of the Banded Royal

Life History of the Banded Royal (Rachana jalindra burbona)

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Rachana Eliot, 1978
Species: jalindra Horsfield, 1829
Subspecies: burbona Hewitson, 1878
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 30-34mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Macrosolen cochinchinensis (Loranthaceae, common name: Common Chinese Mistleoe).

The underside of a male Banded Royal.

The upperside of a male Banded Royal.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
On the upperside, the male is deep shining blue with black distal borders on both forewing and hindwing; the female is brown with black spots at the hindwing tornus and in space 2 surmounted by a narrow bluish grey area, and the black spots in spaces 1b and 2 lined with white patches. On the underside, both sexes are white with a broad brown distal border on both fore- and hindwings. A series of white-striae in the brown border separated it into two halves, with the outer half paler brown than the inner half. In the hindwing, there is a black tornal spot, a blush green patch in space 1b, a prominent orange-crowned black sub-marginal spot in space 2, and black post-discal striae in spaces 1b and 2. Each hindwing has a pair of black tails at ends of veins 1b and 2, with the one at vein 1b bordered with dense white cilia, and the one at vein 2 white-tipped.

The upperside of a female Banded Royal.

The underside of a female Banded Royal.

Field Observations:
The Banded Royal is rare in Singapore. It was only recently re-discovered in 2006 where a few individuals were sighted in an open area within the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Since then, sightings of this species have mostly been confined to a few locations within the catchment nature reserve and in a western wasterland, and typically only a single individual appeared each time. The fast-flying adults have been sighted taking nectar at flowering plants.

Early Stages:
Across the distribution region of the Banded Royal, several plants in the Loranthaceae family have been identified as the larval hosts. In Singapore, thus far only one larval host plant has been identified. This local larval host is the Common Chinese Mistletoe (Macrosolen cochinchinensis ), a parasitic shrub with all parts of the plants glabrous (having no hairs, smooth). The leaves are leathery, opposite, ovate or lanceolate. On this plant, the early stages of the Banded Royal feed on the young leaves and developing fruits, with a strong preference for the latter.


Local host plant: Macroseolen cochinchinensis(Common Chinese Mistletoe).

A Banded Royal female laying an egg on a branch of the Chinese Mistletoe.

A freshly laid egg of the Banded Royal. Inset: an enlarged view of the egg.

Eggs are laid singly on the stem of the host plant, typically at the axil (angle/space between stem and branch, or between leaf and stem), or on a recess area or nook/crevice present on the stem. Each egg is about 0.8mm in diameter, white with a strong greenish tinge when freshly laid. It is bun-shaped with a depressed micropylar at the pole and a surface reticulated with rather large polygonal depressions.

Two vlews of an egg of the Banded Royal.

A fully developed egg with the caterpillar ready to emerge.

It takes about 3 days for the egg to hatch. The young caterpillar consumes just enough of the egg shell to emerge. It is pale yellowish brown in coloration, and has a length of about 1.1mm. Long setae (hairs) run along the length of the body dorsally as well as sub-spiracularly. Raised dorsal tubercles are transparent. A diamond-shaped black prothoracic shield is present. The 1st instar lasts about 3 days with the body length increased to about 2.1mm.

A newly hatched caterpillar next to its empty egg shell, length: 1.1mm.

Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar, length: 1.1mm.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 1.9mm.

A late 1st instar caterpillar of the Banded Royal, dormant prior to the moult to the next instar.

In the 2nd instar caterpillar, the dorsal tubercles are proportionately reduced in size, and the long dorsal setae seen in the 1st instar are now absent. The body base colour can either be reddish brown (red form) or green (green form). The caterpillar still features a black diamond-shaped prothoracic shield. The dorsum of the mesothorax and metamthorax are whitish, forming a prominent and trapezoidal patch. The dorsum of the 3rd to the 5th abdominal segements are also whitish, while that of the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th abdominal segements are dark reddish brown. The dorsal nectary organ is whitish and featured prominently on the dorsum of the 7th abdominal segment. The 2nd instar lasts for about 3 days, with the body length reaching up to 5.5-6.3mm.

A newly moulted 2nd instar caterpillar, eating its old skin.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar of the Banded Royal, red form, length: 4.5mm.

Two views of 2nd instar caterpillar of the Banded Royal, green form, length:5.5mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, late in this stage, dormant prior to its moult, length:5.6mm.

In the 3rd instar, the markings on the dorsum of the caterpillar resemble those in the 2nd instar, but there is an additional pair of black dorso-lateral spots featured on the posterior segments. As in the 2nd instar, the body base colour can either be greenish or brownish. The dorsal nectary organ on the 7th abdominal segment and the tentacular organs on the 8th abdominla segment are now easily discernible.

Two views of a newly moulted 3rd instar caterpillar, eating its old skin.

Frontal view of a 3rd instar caterpillar, showing the black prothoracic shield, and the whitish patch on the mesothorax and metathorax.

Posterior segments of a 3rd instar caterpillar, showing the dorsal nectary organ on the 7th abdominal segment, and the tentacular organs on the 8th abdominal segment.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar eating a developing fruit of the Chinese Mistletoe, with greenish body base colour, length: 7.5mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, with brownish body base colour, length: 10mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar eating a developing fruit of the Chinese Mistletoe, with greenish body base colour, length: 11.5mm.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar eating a developing fruit of the Chinese Mistletoe, with brownish body base colour, length: 12.5mm.

As the body grows to a length of around 12-13mm, the caterpillar stops feeding and comes to rest at a spot on the stem to prepare for the next moult. After about 3 days in the 3rd instar, the moult to the 4th and final instar takes place.

Two views of a late 3rd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult to the final instar.

The 4th instar caterpillar resembles the 3rd instar caterpillar in most body features/markings, and is generally pale brown to greenish brown. In some individual specimens, the body colour can be mostly whitish in the abdominal segments. The prothoracic shield and the head are both black, as in the earlier instars. The 4th (and final) instar lasts about 5 days with the body length reaching up to 23mm.

Two views of a newly moulted 4th instar caterpillar, eating its old skin.

Frontal view of a 4th instar caterpillar, showing the black prothoracic shield, and the whitish patch on the mesothorax and metathorax.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar feeding on a developing fruit of the Chinese Mistletoe, length: 18mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, length: 19mm.

Two views of a late 4th instar caterpillar, length: 23mm.

As it enters the pre-pupatory phase of its life cycle, the caterpillar ceases its feeding activity. Its body gradually shrinks in length and the colour turns pale brownish. The pre-pupatory caterpillar wanders around for up to 1-1.5 day in its quest for a suitable pupation site. Typically it settles for a spot on a surface which is partially concealed. At the chosen pupation site, it stays dormant for 1 day or so before spinning a silk pad to which it attaches itself via claspers at the posterior end.

Two views of a pre-pupa of the Banded Royal.


The pupation event for a Banded Royal caterpillar.

About 1 day after the pre-pupatory caterpillar secures itself to the pupation spot, pupation takes place. The pupa is held firmly via its cremaster to the silk pad on pupaton spot. It is 14.6 to 15.2mm in length, with the typical shape for a lycaenid pupa. It has a brown thorax with a whitish elongated dorsal patch on the mesothorax and metathorax, and pale yellow brown abdomihnal segments and brownish wing pads.

Two views of a pupa of the Banded Royal, length: 14.8mm.

Two views of a mature pupa of a female Banded Royal.

Two views of a mature pupa of a male Banded Royal.

Eleven to thirteen days later, the pupa becomes darkened in color signaling the imminent emergence of the adult. One can now tell the sex of the soon-to-emerge butterfly from the coloration of the wing pad at this stage (see pictures above). The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the mature pupa.


A female Banded Royal emerges from its pupal case.

A newly eclosed female Banded Royal resting next to its pupal case.

References:

• [C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society, 1992.
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012.
• A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew S.K., Ink On Paper Communications, 2nd Edition, 2015.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Loh Mei Yee, Lim Cheng Ai, Khew SK and Horace Tan