Flying Tigers 2.0

Tiger Refresh!
An Update of the Flying Tigers of Singapore

Some time back in January 2008, our weekend blogpost featured the Flying Tigers of Singapore. More than 11 years ago, there were 5 extant Danainae species that were referred to as "Tigers". Their common names probably originated from their striped appearance, and in some of the cases, the orange colour and/or stripes, reminiscent of the Malayan "Pak Belang".

Over the years, at least three other species appeared in Singapore and were spotted by eagle-eyed butterfly watchers and photographers. All these species have been classified as vagrants as sightings of them have been infrequent, and in some cases, only from a single chance encounter.

The Tigers belong to the subfamily Danainae, relatively large and slow-flying butterflies that are usually distasteful to predators. This is due to their caterpillar host plants that are lactiferous and in most cases, contains toxic substances which the caterpillars sequester to give themselves a "chemical protection" against predators.

The majority of species in the subfamily Danainae also display aposematic colouration, which is nature's way of communicating to would-be predators that the butterfly should be avoided, unless the predator is asking for some trouble. The characteristic stripes, iridescent colours or bright and showy colours of the Danainae are good examples of aposematic warning colouration that other butterflies and moths mimic to provide some measure of protection for themselves.

Today, the 5 extant species of Tigers that we featured in the 2008 blogpost are still doing fine, and over the past decade, where urban parks and gardens have cultivated more Tiger-friendly host and nectaring plants, they have become more common. These five species - The Plain Tiger, Common Tiger, Black Veined Tiger, Blue Glassy Tiger and Dark Glassy Tiger are still often seen feeding at the flowers in parks and gardens.

In Oct 2014, another species of the genus Ideopsis, the Grey Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis juventa sitah) was observed at Pulau Ubin, and then subsequently in the same year, at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This species is not uncommon up north in Johor, and has been seen in numbers at the Desaru area on the eastern coastal areas of Johor.




It is possible that an outbreak of the species has sparked off some strays into Singapore. It has not been reliably seen in recent years after the sightings in 2014, but added to the Singapore Butterfly Checklist as a vagrant species appearing in Singapore.

In 2016, a free-ranging Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis) was photographed in the field. The Dark Blue Tiger has been sighted previously but no photographic evidence of a Singapore field-shot individual was recorded so far. Also, at that time, the butterfly aviaries in Sentosa, Hort Park (now closed) and Changi Airport also imported this species from Malaysia and there may have been escapees.

In Jan 2019, another wild shot individual was posted from Pasir Ris Park. Although still considered a vagrant species, the Dark Blue Tiger was added to the Singapore Checklist and 'adopted' as one more flying tiger in Singapore.

Also in 2016, a single individual of the Blue Tiger (Tirumala limniace) was spotted at a suburban garden feeding on Crotalaria retusa. The Rattlebox Weed is a favourite plant of the Danainaes where they feed on the sap of the stem and seedpod of the plant. A rare species even in Malaysia, it was therefore a surprise that a pristine vagrant appeared in Singapore.

Perhaps, as the author suggested, the Blue Tiger shot 5 years ago was a stowaway on a plant that was imported to Singapore as a pupa, and then eclosed here. Other than this individual, so far no other sighting of the Blue Tiger has been made in Singapore since.



This is the latest inventory of "Tigers" in Singapore, with a total of eight sighted and recorded over the years.  Let us hope that there will be other Tigers that will make their way to Singapore in the coming years.  

Text and Photos by David Chan, David Ho, Mei Hwang, Khew SK and Loke PF

Flying Tigers 3.0

Flying Tigers 3.0

Featuring Singapore's Tiger Butterflies

And we're back again... Over twelve years ago, in Jan 2008, when we featured the different "Flying Tiger" species in Singapore, we had only five species of these Tigers recorded then. After many years of continued observations by butterfly enthusiasts in Singapore, the list of "Tigers" was updated to include more recent sightings of other species that were either vagrants, strays or seasonal migrants to Singapore. Back in that 2019 update, we featured 8 species (but inadvertently missed out one! Oops!)

So in this latest refresh, we add in the latest Tiger spotted at Butterfly Hill on Pulau Ubin recently - the Swamp Tiger (Danaus affinis malayana), and to correct the one we left out in the Flying Tigers 2.0 update : the Yellow Glassy Tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia). Hence we now currently have 10 Flying Tigers spotted in Singapore as at 2020.

One of our extinct "Tigers" in Singapore, the Chocolate Tiger (Danaus melaneus sinopion) which has not been seen here in over a century!

One of the Tigers recorded by the early authors but has since gone extinct in Singapore is the Chocolate Tiger (Danaus melaneus sinopion). According to references, it has not been seen in Singapore since the 1900's. Nevertheless, it was listed as an extant species on the Singapore Checklist but its status is classified as extinct. However, it was even featured on an TransitLink stored-value ticket some years back, even though no one has actually seen the species in the wild in the past century.

A white-hindwinged form-intermedius Common Tiger feeding on the flowers of the Red Tree Bush (Leea rubra)

An orange-hindwinged form-genutia Common Tiger on the seed pod of the Rattlebox Plant (Crotalaria retusa)

A white-hindwinged form-alcippoides Plain Tiger feeding on the yellow flowers of the Blood Flower (Asclepias curassavica)

A two-in-one shot of a male orange-hindwinged form-chrysippus courting a feeding female white-hindwinged form-alcippoides.  Note the male's hair pencils extruded to spray pheremones to attract the female

A mating pair of Black Veined Tigers

The first group of Tigers under the genus Danaus features the more colourful species with colours that are reminiscent of their feline mammalian namesake - black and orange. Of the species found here in Singapore, the Common Tiger (Danaus genutia genutia), Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus) and the Black Veined Tiger (Danaus melanippus hegesippus) are relatively common and can be sometimes found in numbers where their respective host plants and other Danainae-attracting plants are grown.

The latest addition to the Flying Tigers in Singapore - the Swamp Tiger (Danaus affinis malayanus)

The fourth and most recent species, the Swamp Tiger (Danaus affinis malayanus) was recently spotted on Pulau Ubin in Aug 2020. A single female individual was feeding at the flowers of the Bandicoot Berry (Leea indica) and stopped to rest at some vines. The species is known to prefer mangrove habitats in Malaysia, and was probably a stray from the mangroves of nearby Johor.  Pulau Ubin also has its patches of healthy mangroves and it is possible that the Swamp Tiger was looking for its host plant in the habitat.

A Dark Glassy Tiger feeding on the flower of the Spanish Needle (Bidens alba)

The seasonal Yellow Glassy Tiger feeding on the flower of the White Weed (Ageratum conyzoides)

The next genus of species of Tigers would be the Parantica, which features two species - the Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides) and the seasonal Yellow Glassy Tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia). The Dark Glassy Tiger is common in urban parks and gardens where the Rattlebox Plant (Crotalaria retusa) is cultivated. The Yellow Glassy Tiger, on the other hand, is a very rare vagrant that has only been seen in Singapore a handful of times in the field over the past 3 decades (although it is not uncommon in Malaysia).

A Blue Glassy Tiger feeding on the flower of the Golden Dewdrop (Duranta erecta)

A Grey Glassy Tiger perched on a palm frond. Note the much paler markings and the almost white hindwing cell

The genus Ideopsis hosts two species of Tigers that have been seen in Singapore. The first one, Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina) is common and can be seen in various habitats and widely distributed all over Singapore. The more recently discovered Grey Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis juventa sita) is a rare vagrant that has only been seen twice so far - on Pulau Ubin and at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This species is not rare in the coastal areas of Johor, and could have strayed over to Singapore on favourable winds.

A Dark Blue Tiger feeding on the flower of the Spanish Needle at Pasir Ris Park Butterfly Garden

A Blue Tiger puddling at a rocky outcrop

The final two Tigers are recent additions from the genus Tirumala. In the early records, there were no observations of any species of this genus in Singapore. It was only in the past decade that two species from this genus were spotted in Singapore. The Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis) has been observed a handful of times in Singapore and the individuals were believed to be vagrants coming in from Malaysia. The Blue Tiger (Tirumala limniace) of which only a single sighting was made so far, was probably a stray or a stowaway that made its way to Singapore.

We have updated the list of Flying Tigers in Singapore to 10 this year, but will we ever see the remaining 5 that fly in Malaysia - a few of them montane or found only in the northern part of the peninsula? Who knows? With Mother Nature, there will always be surprises.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by David Chan, Khew SK, Loh MY, Loke PF and Mei Hwang

Featuring some recent additions to the Singapore Checklist

Butterflies of Singapore Checklist
Featuring some recent additions 

In our blog article on the the review of the year 2016, we referred to some seven new additions to the Singapore Checklist, bringing the total number of butterfly species observed in Singapore to 331. This weekend's article features four of these species and offers some insights on the status of these species in Singapore. Very often, we have migratory species that make their occasional appearance in Singapore and due to their seasonality, these are classified as 'seasonal migrants' in the Singapore Checklist.

However, there are still some lookalikes that are hard to distinguish, except perhaps with physical voucher specimens or even using DNA barcoding to establish a distinct species that occurs in our environment. Then there is always the possibility that some species have eluded observation by hiding deep in Singapore's forested nature reserves. They are probably rare, but resident species, yet to be discovered or re-discovered.

A dead Dark Jungle Glory (Thaumantis noureddin noureddin) found at NTU

Amongst one of the surprising finds last year, was the Dark Jungle Glory (Thaumantis noureddin noureddin). A relatively pristine individual was found by NIE lecturer Assistant Prof James Lambert on the premises of the Nanyang Technological University. The butterfly was found dead with its wings spread open.

The Dark Jungle Glory is described as being dark brown on the upperside with the wing bases a shining purple-blue, with a fascia of diffuse white spots on the forewing. The dark-greyish brown underside has a white post-discal line which is shaded with dark brown and a number of ocelli on the hindwing. The species is often found in bamboo thickets and fly close to the ground in dark heavily shaded habitats.

A Dark Jungle Glory in its typical habitat amongst dead leaf litter on the forest floor

It is curious that this species, considered a re-discovery is still found in Singapore after all these years. We do not believe that this is a seasonal migrant, as the Dark Jungle Glory stays in shaded habitats close to its likely caterpillar host plant of bamboos. It is probably rare, but has remained extant in Singapore in very limited habitats. It should be looked for in future, particularly in the NTU area which still has pockets of undisturbed heavily shaded forested areas.

The next large species that has been observed in Singapore over the past years, is the Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis). This butterfly, which resembles the Glassy Tigers of the Danainae subfamily, has been observed from time to time, and it was not until a confirmed shot by Chung Cheong was recorded recently. It was probably missed due to its resemblance to the Glassy Tigers and proved elusive.

A Dark Blue Tiger shot in Singapore in 2006

The Danainae have been known to be strong flyers and display migratory tendencies. That the Dark Blue Tiger has been sighted several times in Singapore, is therefore not surprising, as the tough "Tiger" can survive rough conditions that would have been fatal to other more delicate species. The species is not uncommon in Malaysia, and is often seen in butterfly enclosures where it is one of the farmed species for display. The Dark Blue Tiger is a large butterfly with narrow elliptical bluish markings. It resembles other species in the Parantica and Ideopsis genus but it appears much bluer in flight.

A Ganda Dart with the hindwing patch with the veins not darkened

The next two species to be discussed are skippers from the Hesperiidae family. It is often challenging to identify skippers from field shots - particularly amongst the lookalike species, of which several species can be very similar in appearance. Amongst these are the species from the genus Potanthus and Telicota. These orange-black skippers are small, skittish and appear frustratingly identical to butterfly watchers.

The species referred to as the Ganda Dart (Potanthus ganda). This species is of the same size and appearance as the more commonly found Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha). However, the Ganda Dart prefers the forested areas in the nature reserves in Singapore whilst the Lesser Dart is more widespread and can be found in urban parks and gardens.

The Ganda Dart differs from the Lesser Dart in that the veins on the yellow band on the hindwing above are not blackened. It is also described to have deeper orange colouring (but a rather unreliable characteristic when comparing weathered individuals with pristine ones). Both the Ganda Dart and Lesser Dart flies with the usual skittish skipper habits and often stop with their wings opened in the typical skipper fashion. Photos of the Ganda Dart appeared online as early as 2010 but was not validated until recently, with breeding records.

The next skipper of interest is the rare species from the genus Zographetus. These are forest-dependent butterflies and are rarely, if ever, found outside the sanctuary of the nature reserves in Singapore. Three species have been listed as extant in Singapore by the early authors. However, only one - Zographetus doxus (Spotted Flitter) has been recorded with certainty.

A Rusty Flitter perches in the shaded understorey in the nature reserves

Over the years, another closely related species, the Rusty Flitter (Zographetus ogygia) has been photographed but not included in the Singapore Checklist due to the uncertainty relating to their superficial features. However, as more and more evidence appeared, the confidence level of distinguishing these two species has risen and therefore the 2nd species Zographetus ogygia has been added to the Singapore Checklist. A 3rd species, Zographetus rama, recorded previously in Singapore, should be looked for.

It is highly likely that there continues to be discoveries or re-discoveries in our Singapore's forests where rare species have eluded observation till now. Many of these species may be cryptic in appearance, with several species looking very similar to each other. The skippers, in particular, the brown ones, tend to be difficult to identify from a single field shot and specimens may need to be collected to establish the ID of the species with greater certainty.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chung Cheong, Khew SK, Koh Cher Hern, James Lambert, Bobby Mun, Kurt Orion, Nelson Ong, Jonathan Soong, Tai LA and Horace Tan

Note : The English Common Name of Zographetus ogygia follows the Butterflies of Thailand 2nd Edition by Pisuth Ek-Amnuay. Elsewhere it is known by other common names but we will accept the Southeast Asian name as "Rusty Flitter".

2016 - Looking Back...

ButterflyCircle 2016 - Looking Back...
The Year in Review

2016 will probably be remembered as a year of surprising disruptions around the globe. It was also a year in which many talented musicians and artistes left us, leaving only fond memories of their achievements in music, film, art and so on. As I pen this final blog article for 2016 on the last day of the year, we take a look at the year's worth of information that was shared with the nature and butterfly-loving community.



The year started out pretty well for the butterflies, and was admittedly much better than 2015. However, there seems to be a perceptible decline in both numbers and diversity in Singapore compared to, say, a decade back. The environmentalists will probably point at the irreversible damage done by the relentless development across the island.



But then again, there are promising signs preserving more greenery in our environment and efforts in habitat enhancement and biodiversity conservation initiatives. I recall in the mid 1990's when I was doing butterfly surveys for the National Parks Board, the Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus chrysippus) was actually quite uncommon! The intentional planting of its caterpillar host plants in urban parks and gardens has made this species quite common today, and one can regularly see this pretty butterfly fluttering slowly in our parks and gardens.



Could climate change be another factor? After all, we did experience the 'hottest day' on record here (and globally) in 2016. With the constant increase in average ambient temperatures, how would the butterflies' ecological survival be under threat? Fortunately, the annual scourge called the "haze" didn't affect us much this year, as it appears that some concerted effort by the Indonesian government did some good to minimise the burning of forests by large corporations driven by commercial gain.


A butterfly survey at Pulau Ubin in 2016

In our review for 2015, we take a look back at the key activities that ButterflyCircle contributed to - from butterfly education, conservation and awareness-promoting activities. Our efforts continued to feature prominently in collaboration with NParks and community activities. This year, our buddy group from Nature @ Seletar Country Club lent a much-needed helping hand to our activities.



Our social media platform, the Butterflies of Singapore FaceBook Group, continues to be very active, with members from all over the world coming in to share their photos and passion for butterflies. Membership is almost 6,500 on the group, and there are many daily posts from enthusiasts from all over. The sharing and learning is useful to everyone who is keen to find out more about butterflies.



ButterflyCircle's forum is still maintained to store a repository of information, photos and discussions all the way back to 2004 when it was first started. Despite not being as active as before, historical discussions and identifications of new discoveries are useful to look back on for reference, as new information surfaces. We have to thank Dr TL Seow, whose expertise and keen eye for details has helped in a big way, in the identification of cryptic and hard-to-ID species. Thanks also to Anthony Wong, who helped set up the forum and maintaining it all these years.



The Butterflies of Singapore Blog continued to be a repository of butterfly-related articles which shared information, not only with the community in Singapore, but around the world . The blog, now into its 9th year, has featured over 800 informative articles to anyone with more than just a fleeting interest in butterflies - from biology to ecology to life histories to plants and photography.



To have the endurance and determination to maintain the blog takes a lot of effort. The research, sourcing for and selecting photographs, composing and writing takes quite a bit of single-mindedness and focus. Maintaining a steady flow of at least one article per week for 9 years is not easy. This is where I must always acknowledge the help of Horace Tan, who has penned so many articles in this blog, especially for his ever-popular life histories series.



The regular Butterfly of the Month series continues into its ninth year in 2016, and has thus far featured a total of 110 butterfly species. Every article features multiple photos of each species (featuring the excellent work by ButterflyCircle members) with a write-up that weaves in personal stories and observations, and more detailed descriptions of the feature butterfly of the month.



Our early stages expert, Horace Tan added nine more detailed and meticulous documentation of the life histories of Singapore butterflies this year. A total of 193 fully documented life histories are now featured on this blog - an awesome digital library of the early stages of butterflies that are "made in Singapore". Work on Vol 2 of the Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterflies is in progress.



Horace's series on the larval host plants of butterflies continues in 2016, with the detailed documentation of 7 local host plants that the caterpillars of various species of butterflies feed on. Each article comes with more detailed botanical data on the plant, as well as how the plant serves as a host for the caterpillars of various butterflies.





Two favourite butterfly nectaring plants in Singapore

We also featured two species of our butterflies' favourite nectaring plants - the Spanish Needle and Singapore Daisy. Both are considered "invasive weeds" but nevertheless packed with nectar that our winged jewels love. These two plants are found more commonly than before, as creators of new butterfly gardens in Singapore add them to their palette of butterfly-attracting plants.



ButterflyCircle's overseas outing group shots in 2016 (Beer usually features prominently at our meal sessions)

ButterflyCircle group outings also brought members to Fraser's Hill, Chiangdao, Betong and other places further up north. It has always been exciting to photograph new species and for that moment of euphoria when encountering that 'lifer' amongst the rarities that can be found in the forests of our neighbouring countries.  Special thanks, as always to Antonio our friendly Italian giant for facilitating our butterfly tours in Thailand.


Nature @ Seletar CC and ButterflyCircle at FOB2016

Our community engagement and education activities continued in 2016. This year, with added reinforcements from Mr Foo and his enthusiastic bunch from Nature @ Seletar CC group, we co-participated in many surveys, outings and talks. The 5th Festival of Biodiversity was helmed by Mr Foo and his gang, who put up a butterfly ID station as part of the activities of FOB2016.






Group outings and surveys in 2016

Together, ButterflyCircle and Nature@SCC also participated in the OBS Ubin Field Survey, Ubin Day 2016, a "Planting for Butterflies" talk at NParks' Parks Festival in November and the Ubin BioBlitz survey in early December. It was also encouraging to see the younger generation who are passionate about nature conservation and green issues, coming forward and being more active in environmental protection initiatives and projects.





Some of our featured butterfly watching/photography locations in Singapore

In our Butterfly Photography locations in Singapore, we introduce 4 good destinations for butterfly watching and photography this year - Seletar Country Club, Gardens by the Bay (Meadows), Fusionopolis North and Upper Seletar Reservoir Park. A separate article also discussed the "fall" of a previously good butterfly garden at Alexandra Hospital, which deteriorated badly due to the use of pesticides and neglect (from the butterfly habitat point of view).




Two articles about butterfly photography were also posted in 2016, as a primer to introduce butterfly photography to the community. These two articles featured the hardware that are used by ButterflyCircle members to capture the beauty of butterflies in scintillating and minute detail. More articles are being prepared and will be presented next year.



Latest discovery of the Dark Jungle Glory with indisputable evidence by Asst Prof James Lambert of the NIE

In terms of species addition to the Singapore checklist, a paper that is jointly written by Anuj Jain is currently under review and should be available in the scientific journal Biotropica in the coming year. In the paper, more species (mainly vagrant or single-sightings) were added to the checklist. One more species found in 2016, by Asst Prof James Lambert was a dead Dark Jungle Glory (Thaumantis noureddin noureddin) in Nanyang Technological University.


Some of the new additions to the Singapore Checklist in 2016

Over the years, Dr TL Seow has helped us identify a number of cryptic Arhopala and Hesperiidae and the following will be added to the checklist together with the larger species found in 2016 :

1. The Bright Oakblue (Arhopala sublustris ridleyi) - bred by Horace Tan and ID'ed by Dr Seow TL
2. The Large Cornelian (Deudorix staudingeri) by Anuj Jain
3. The Purple Spotted Flitter (Zographetus ogygia ogygia) - recorded by Jerome Chua and Jonathan Soong in Sep 2012 and ID'ed by Dr Seow TL.
4. The White Club Flitter (Hyarotis microsticta) by Yong Yik Shih
5. The Ganda Dart (Potanthus ganda ganda) - spotted as early back as in 2011 on BC's forum and identified by Dr Seow TL.
6. The Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis) - finally a photographic evidence by Chung Cheong although this species has been seen before, but with no photo/specimen record.
7. The Dark Jungle Glory (Thaumantis noureddin noureddin) by James Lambert

With these additions, further sightings and/or voucher specimens are necessary to validate their status in Singapore, under the paper's definitions of extant, migratory or vagrant. Although in the cases of the Bright Oakblue, Purple Spotted Flitter and Ganda Dart, these three are probably resident species which were overlooked due to their cryptic appearance. With these additions, the Singapore checklist now records a total of 331 species (up from 324 in 2015).

Two new cryptic Potanthus species - possibly P. juno (top) and P. mingo (bottom) which requires further investigation before being added to the Singapore Checklist in due course

There have been other cyptic Potanthus spp. that have been identified by Dr Seow TL as P. mingo, P. confucius, and P. juno, either bred or photographed and discussed in ButterflyCircle's forums, but we will leave these species out for the moment, until we have researched more into their IDs, and these, together with some Arhopala may be added to the checklist after further validation in due course.

Let's leave the bad memories of 2016 behind...

And on this final day of 2016, we look back at a rather tumultuous year with mixed feelings and wait in anticipation of a better and more peaceful 2017 ahead. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a resounding...

Happy New Year

... and may the world be a better place for everyone in 2017!

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chng CK, Chung Cheong, Antonio Giudici, Huang CJ, Khew SK, James Lambert, Simon Sng, Jonathan Soong and Horace Tan