Monday 30 July 2012

Survey @ the Singapore Zoo

Last Saturday, ButterflyCircle conducted a smashing butterfly
survey at the Singapore Zoo. The species encountered would
be used as a baseline for further conservation efforts! That day,
our group of 12, spotted a total of 42 different species! One of
the most common butterflies was the Chocolate Demon.

They were attracted by the numerous Torch Gingers.
ButterflyCircle previously collaborated with the zoo to
transplant the torch gingers from the (now closed) Mandai
Orchid Garden. This was an amazing effort to save a rare
species, the Metallic Caerulean.

We were excited to spot this lovely metallic caerulean there,
as it proved that the efforts had paid off! Another beautiful
butterfly had been saved. Hopefully these jamides butterflies
will continue to strive there! Below is a much more common
relative, which was spotted as well, the Common Caerulean.
Among the wild grassy patches, a few speedy skippers
were spotted. One of them was the caltoris bromus, a new
addition for Singapore's check-list, where its presence here
was confirmed by our fantastic butterfly breeder, Mr. Horace Tan,
who first bred the caterpillars. This is another skipper that was seen,
the Yellow Grass Dart.
Another butterfly that was spotted many times that day
was this Peacock Pansy. It has beautiful orange wings, and was
very conspicuous.
With many rare species encountered, the survey was
a total success. I was very happy to be part of this wonderful
event, and I hope that I can participate in even more surveys
next time. I am still settling in to Secondary school life, but I
think I am doing all right. Kudos to ButterflyCircle for this super
conservation effort!


The End.

4 comments:

  1. Lovely pictures as ever, Jonathan. It must have been a great event to have been involved with. I can't imagine seeing 41 species in one day. I saw seven species earlier this year and thought that was special!

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  2. It was indeed a wonderful experience. Of course I did not see all 42 of them, but I did get to9 see a good number. On my usual outings to the forest I don't spot so many species, usually about 10. We have plenty (302+) butterflies in Singapore!! I hope your butterfly activity picks up a it too! :)

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  3. Wow, there are so many species of butterflies here in Singapore! It's so cool! And there are many places to go looking for butterflies, so can you recommend one of your favourite/best places to go? Thanks :)

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  4. Best places? I say try the Dairy Farm Nature Park one morning. That's always my backup plan. On this wonderful blog (http://butterflycircle.blogspot.sg/ ) there are some butterfly locations featured too, and most of them are in the heart of the city!

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