Bluebottle

Recent Shots

2012-01-24T19:53:00.010+08:00

Hi, sorry I haven't posted in awhile. My pictures

from my earlier posts have vanished and I am trying my best

repair the damage. But for now, I want to share a few recent

shots I have taken.

Fuffy Tit

This one was very hard to shoot, the wind was strong and the

butterfly was skittish. I only managed this picture when he

came down to feed.

Fivebar Swordtail

This is a lovely butterfly, with a bright white upperside.

It was puddling on sand and was actually very approachable

and easy to shoot.

Common Mormon

I got this picture at the same spot as the fivebar swordtail.

The mormon was tame enough for me to snap a few pictures.

Dark Caerulean

It wasn't easy to get this shot of this uncommon butterfly.

The wind kept on blowing the grass blade it was on so I had to

hold my breath and fire!

Dark Glassy Tiger

This shot is actually from Pulau Ubin, where these lovely

tigers are quite common. This one was feeding on the chemicals

found on a pea pod.

Well, that's all for now, I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

I will post more next time! :)

Butterflies of Tampines Eco Green

2011-11-27T09:47:00.024+08:00

Hi, it's been a while since I last posted, but I have more time
now so I should be updating my blog more often. :) Today
I have a write up on the butterflies of the Tampines Eco Green.
It is a eco- friendly park, with secondary forest, grass and
shrub land, and freshwater habitats. It boasts over 15 species
of dragonflies, 70 birds and many butterflies! At the entrance,
many pea plants have been planted. The peas attract many danainae
( tigers and crows ) butterflies. They like to feed on the dried seed
pods. Below is a dark glassy tiger.

The pea plants are also the caterpillar host plants of the
pea blue. The pea blues are very common in the park and often flutter
close to the ground.

At the park you can also find the two silverline species there.

The hostplant, the acacia auriculiformis, grows abundantly

around the grasslands. Both of them are rapid fliers. This is a

club silverline.

This one is a long banded silverline.

The leea rubra plants that grow along the edge of the lake

have attracted many species of butterflies to visit too. Look

out for the glassy tigers, plain and common tigers, common mime,

grass yellows and other surprise visitors! This conjoined swift

is taking a sip from one of the small flowers.

And here is a palm dart resting on the flower buds.

You can also see tawny costers at the grassland areas.

They flutter slowly in the wind and are a joy to watch.

Their host plant, a passionflower called passiflora foedita

grows in the wooded spots.

There are so man more butterflies to see at the Tampines

Eco Green and on a sunny day at least 15 species can be spotted.

The park has an area of 36.5 hectares. It is wedged between the

Sungei Tampines Canal, the Tampines Expressway and the

Tampines ave 12. There are many ways to get there but there

is no car park.

It is definitely worth a visit

The Oh' Farms Butterfly Lodge V 2.0

2011-11-03T17:45:00.021+08:00

In August 2008, a small butterfly aviary was opened

in the Oh' Farms in Sembawang. The lodge served as a

classroom for many schools, whose students went on

trips there to learn about butterflies. It was very successful,

and now it is bigger and better than ever!

The butterfly lodge houses many common urban

butterflies and now many new ones have been added.

The newly 'renovated' aviary is more than twice the size of

the original. It is also taller to provide an even more

spacious environment for the butterflies and for the people.

There are many species of butterflies flying happily

inside the lodge. Mottled emigrants, common grass yellows

leopard lacewings thrive. The lodge also offers many other

butterflies, such as blues ( lycaenidae ) and even skippers

( hesperiidae ) can be found. This is wonderful as not

many butterfly farms house these butterflies. Of

course there are the large showy species too!

The aviary is also filled with lush foliage. Butterfly host

plants and nectaring plants make up the bulk of them, but

filler plants have been added too. Bidens plants cover the main

planters with their lovely flowers and are a favourite among the

butterflies.

The lodge is definitely worth a visit and you will keep

coming back for more! The entrance fee is only $4, for an

unlimited time inside to enjoy the butterflies!

There is also a great variety of species there, here is a list,

but do bear in mind that there may always be more additions:

.common mime

.common mormon

.lime butterfly

.mottled emigrant

.lemon emigrant

.orange emigrant

.cabbage white

.striped albatross

.common grass yellow

.dingy bush brown

.plain tiger

.leopard lacewing

.the leopard

.autumn leaf

.chocolate pansy

.peacock pansy

.blue pansy

.pea blue

.potanthus species (skippers)

The Oh' farms are located within the Nee Soon

Agrotechnology Parks. The address is 14A, Bah Soon Pah Road,

(Sembawang ). The butterfly lodge is nestled right near the

entrance. Do visit it!!! :)

(pic no. 1: leopard lacewing

2: lime butterfly

3: blue pansy

4: chocolate pansy

5: striped albatross

6: common mormon

7: plain tiger)

The End.

Oriental Pied Hornbill

2011-09-17T21:07:00.003+08:00

Back in late 2008, The long- lost oriental pied hornbill

recolonised in Pulau Ubin, after many years of absence

from Singapore. Shortly after, in early 2009, sightings of

the bird spread to the mainland. Most of them were at Changi.

I did see a pair there, in that same year. But now 3 years later

the hornbill is very widespread here.

Every morning, about 9 - 9.30 am, a noisy group of

4- 6 birds would gather in the trees at Upper Seletar reservoir-

which is all the way to the North of Singapore! Though they

stay high up in the canopies, they are easily heard and

located. A very good spot to look for them is right at the

car park (B) ! A group of 4 oriental pied hornbills gather

in the rain trees directly above the car park.

In fact, the hornbills have spread even more recently

and there have been sightings of them in Bukit Timah,

in the centre of Singapore. The birds seem to be doing

pretty well and they are surely getting more common.

The reason this species is able to recolonise here

in Singapore where it previously went extinct is probably

that it is adaptable. It is one of the only hornbills that does

not require a pristine forest habitat. However, others that

live in Malaysia and Borneo are very vulnerable to global

extinction : if the forests disappear, they will vanish too.. ...

Aristolochia Tagala and the Common Birdwing

2011-09-09T14:14:00.005+08:00

I'm back with my latest painting, which features a vine

called aristolochia tagala and it features the common

birdwing ( troides helena ).

The common birdwing is the second largest

butterfly in Singapore and the females easily take

on a wingspan of 180 mm. It is a CITES protected

butterfly, as all other troides species. In Singapore it

is uncommon but always stays around its hostplant,

aristolochia acuminita , but may also use a. tagala.

The painting is in oils on a 11 by 14 inch canvas and all

the elements are life sized.

the End.

Semanga superba deliciosa

2011-08-30T17:31:00.005+08:00

Hi guys, in this blog post I'd like to share a little about

the butterfly 'semanga superba deliciosa'. It is rare and

quite local here in Singapore. The females are more often

observed as they tend to come out to forest clearings. The

elusive males stay deep inside the forest reserves.

Sightings of the adults are usually confined to the Central

Catchment forests and the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Both

the males and females like to hide in between leaves or deep in

a bush, out of reach from predators. But this also makes them

hard to shoot! The flight is weak and fluttery and they never

like the sun - you are more likely to see one where there is

plenty of shade.

The female semanga is brilliant purple on top, with a broad

black border on the forewing. It is much more bluish than

the male, that has thinner black borders. The underside is

buff with a lovely pattern of blue, black, red and orange on

the hindwing. The male is duller and darker, and has only 2

pairs of tails, whereas the female has 3.

It is a small lycaenid, and has a wingspan of say,27mm.

Despite being rare it has many host plants! Here is a list:

. melastoma malabathricum

. macrosolen cochinchinensis

. mallotus paniculatus

. saraca cauliflora

. bridelia tormentosa

. kopsia fruticosa

. trema tormentosa

Well, that's all for now.

The End.

Potanthus Mingo !!!

2011-08-27T18:23:00.004+08:00

A month or two ago, I found this strange looking skipper

deep inside the central catchment forests. The dark shading on

the edges of the orange spots was unusual so I decided to chase it.

After I got home, Uncle Seow, the butterfly ID expert told me it

was the potanthus mingo. - A new record for Singapore!

The identity was confirmed by this shot showing the

upperside. However, even more recently, a few old

potanthus shots that some butterflycircle members dug up

also showed p. mingo! In fact, p. mingo had all along occurred

in Singapore. Perhaps the early researchers overlooked them.

Now, there are at least 3 more 'new' potanthus species

identified from old shots! As common or normal they may

seem, these butterflies should be documented in detail

and I'm sure there are many more out there waiting to

be seen or dug up. :)

The End

Best of the June Hols

2011-07-30T19:10:00.008+08:00

Hi everyone, sorry for not posting for such a long

a long time. I have been pretty busy with my studies. Oh

well, during the June school hols I managed to snatch a few

weekend to go out and shoot. I have compiled a few of my

favourite shots here.

1) Yamfly

This is my favourite shot from the hols. It was shot at Dairy

farm. It is reddish orange on top, and yellow orange below. They

usually come out to sunbathe at around 4 pm, and that was when

I got this record.

2) Peacock Royal

This is my first time I saw this beautiful butterfly. The

upperside is royal blue. I love the creamy background of

the shot and of course ... ... the cute butterfly!

3) Common Caerulean

This is my first good shot of a jamides butterfly. They

tend to fly non stop and only rest for a shot period of time.

I was lucky one morning when I found this pristine male

puddling.

4) Common Tit

The common tit is a common sight in Singapore. I

found this one at the Sun Plaza Park where there

where many females laying eggs on the ixora plants. This

shot shows an 'orange form' female.

5) Long Banded Silverline

This is a very pretty butterfly. It flies at really fast

speeds. At the Tampines Eco Green park there were a few

of these zipping around the leea rubra flowers. I like the

four tails 'radiating' from the hindwing in this shot.

That is pretty much all I have so,

The End and please comment.

Busy Year

2011-02-06T18:48:00.002+08:00

Hi all Bluebottle readers,
This year I may be a little busy studying as I am
taking a major examination at the end of this year,
the Primary School Leaving Exam. So I am sorry to
say that there might only be a few posts this year.
However, I will try to make up for it after the exam
is over. Thanks!

DFNP 18/12/2010

2010-12-19T12:17:00.011+08:00

On Saturday, 18th of December, we went to DFNP.
It was a rather quiet morning at first, but as it got later,
the sun came out, and so did the butterflies. The Malayan
eggfly, dark glassy tiger and striped blue crow all came down
but didn't stay long. Then the moderately rare large snow flat
came out from beneath the leaves to sun.

At the damp wood chippings patch, I managed to get
some puddlers. The common bluebottle was the first
to come, but it did not settle fully and was difficult to shoot.
It only stayed puddling for a few seconds before moving
to another spot. Here is my best shot of it.

At the edge of the damp area, this elbowed pierrot
was puddling too. I spent over 45 mins trying to get a
nice pic of it. Also pretty hard as there was a trail of biting
ants next to me! But it was all well paid off. Here is my very
own pristine copy of the elbowed pierrot.

There were also many line blues in that area, mostly
tailless line blues. They are small and common butterflies,
often seen puddling. Here is my shot. ( tailless line blue )

Well that's all for today, it was definitely a fruitful trip.

The end and please comment.

My New T180

2010-12-09T18:38:00.009+08:00

Yippeee Yoo! My dad just bought me a new lens,
the Tamron macro 180. It's really nice. Anyway, I'll
share some shots using it. This is some kind of Mycalesis.

I love the background that it gives! The 180mm focal
length also helps me get the butterflies higher up, like this
rare ultra snow flat, feeding on the pagoda flower.

It's also great for shooting puddlers. Look at the
result! This one is a common hedge blue.

Here are more puddlers. Oh, by the way, from here

the shots are from Cameron Highlands, we went there

for a holiday. Here is a singleton.

This is a common nawab, also not found in Singapore.

This is the autumn leaf, it can be found in Singapore,

where it is common.

Well that's about it, so hope u enjoyed the pics.

The End and please comment.

Blue Nawab !!!

2010-11-15T18:08:00.010+08:00

On Sunday, we went to the HortPark with other
ButterflyCircle members. Why? Because Uncle Cher Hern
had bred a very rare butterfly, the blue nawab, and brought
it to the HortPark for a photo-taking session. I'll start off
with my favourite shot.

The butterfly was newly-eclosed, so it was nice and tame.
It is truly a beautiful butterfly and is also rather large.
The underside is silvery-grey, with many blue, green, red,
orange and brown patterns. On the upperside, it is black with
a blue-edged white band that stretches across both wings.

We were photographing the male, which is somehow less
observed than the female here in Singapore. This is probably
due to the fact that the males tend to stay really high up.
They also fly at extreme speeds, so the observer will usually
see it for a few seconds only, darting in the treetops. This species
is often lured to fermented sap or rotting fruits. The image below
shows the translucent areas on the wings.

The blue nawab can be seen in the vicinity of mangroves,

forests, and occasionally visits urban public parks. Its

caterpillars feed on the leaves of rambutan and red saga.

I must say that this opportunity was all thanks to Uncle

Cher Hern, who brought this majestic butterfly up.

Without his efforts, I (and many others) would not have

had the chance to see and shoot the this butterfly.

Well, that is all I have to say, so... ...

The End (with special thanks to Anthony and Uncle Cher Hern)
and please comment. :)

Back to USR

2010-11-07T16:06:00.008+08:00

On Saturday we went back to USR. Now that the exams
are over, I am freeee! I met Uncle Cher Hern and Uncle
Federick there. :) In a clearing of the forest, there were
lots of yamflies, and one big orange butterfly! The colonel!
It was the first time I had seen it and it is really skittish!

I will try to get better shots next time, but these are
just for the record. The colonel will come down to low
levels and be less alert around the early hours from 8am-10am.

The semanga was there, but it flew off too quickly.
But there were still many yamflies to shoot. Here is a
half-tail-gone yamfly.

At the grassy area behind the toilets, this yellow grass
dart was zipping around. It is one of the similar looking
skippers and this one is moderately common.

Well, that's all I have, so... ...

The End and please comment.

Common Red Flash @ DFNP

2010-10-16T18:37:00.009+08:00

I finally got some good shots of the common red flash

today at DFNP. In fact, we had spent the whole afternoon

searching for butterflies out in the hot sun. It was only

when we were about to leave, I met Uncle Loke there.

... ... And that was when the red flash came down to play.

It was about 5pm, so he was also sunbathing. The

upperside of the male is a bright orange-red with a thick

black/brown border on the forewing. There is also

quite a lot of brown dusting on the basal area of the wings.

Red flashes fly at tremendous speeds, zooming around

in wide circles and finally landing on the same perch.

Males are also observed to "dogfight", in which two or

more males will chase each other. What a pity this one did

not open his wings fully.

The underside is a plain buff-grey with a dark post-

discal line edged with white that runs through both the

wings. It has a false head at the tip of the hindwing, with

an eyespot and some metallic blue scales below the eyespot.

The tails are also very flimsy, and wave around wildly

even in the slightest breeze. Uncle Loke and I had quite a

good time shooting this guy.

Here is Uncle Loke hard at work trying to get a decent

shot. It is easy to see him... ... but where is subject? you can

click on the image to enlarge it and try find the butterfly.

Well, I had a great day and I hope I will see him again,

real soon. :)

A Field Guide To The Butterflies of Singapore

2010-10-11T15:03:00.005+08:00

The 10.10.10 was a very special day. Not only
was it the international day for "stop global warming",
but is was also ... ... the book launch of A Field Guide
To The Butterflies of Singapore!!!!! This totally
awesome book written by Uncle Khew features almost
all the butterflies in Singapore.

This is a major milestone for ButterflyCircle and
I am really glad this book came out. It has detailed
write ups that describe the habits, habitats and
appearance of each butterfly. It also has wonderful
images, and even stuff like the speed-o-meter, host
plants (or caterpillar food), wingspan and status.

Oh, and I got a free copy at the launch because I am
a contributor! Whoo! You can see my name on the
special thanks an credits page near the back of the book.
I am very proud of Uncle Khew for writing this amazing book.

Well, I am not going to show you the whole book!
Get yer copies now. :)

Upper Seletar Reservoir - A butterfly paradise

2010-09-20T12:33:00.018+08:00

Yesterday, I went back to Upper Seletar Reservoir, (USR).
That place is really amazing. I wish I lived there. And best
of all, it is truly a butterfly paradise. In fact, generations of
certain species have been living there. This time, I did not
manage to shoot a dbjg, but I met Uncle Cher Hern there
and got this rather skittish male baron.

There is a strange green gloss on its wings, but still
definitely a baron. The next butterfly we saw was the
Malayan lascar. This orange gem is quite hard to
shoot, but nonetheless worth the effort. This shot
shows a female on its caterpillar host plant.

While searching for the tree flitter, I chanced upon
this chestnut bob resting on a blade of cow grass.

Moving along, we walked to a clearing in the forest,

with long grasses and wild ferns. We were checking out

a bush when the rare green oakblue flew into sight.

Its underside is similar to most other arhopalas (oakblues),

but its upperside is green instead of violet.

The butterfly we saw next was really we had been

waiting for. It a the rare, and sought after lycaenid,

the Semanga Superba Deliciosa. We call it the Semanga

for short. This is the first time I saw this beauty, and I

was really really exited. It is a female, and here it is.

The semanga is really tiny, smaller than a S 10 cent coin,

with a lovely purple upperside. The underside, a shown,

is buff with a beautiful pattern on the hind wing. The male

is darker, and has only two pairs of tails. After she flew away,

we took turns to shoot this common three ring.

The poor butterfly had a parasitic mite on its eye.

(The red thing) Feeding on one of the ripe fruits of a

S'pore rhododendron bush was a horsefields baron male.

I managed to get an underside shot. The upperside is black

with a blue edge.

The last butterfly we saw was the spectacular great helen,

it is the largest helen in S'pore and is also our second

largest butterfly. This one is a female.

Well, I guess that is all for today.

Please comment.

Dark Blue Jungle Glories !!!

2010-09-13T18:02:00.007+08:00

Hi, I am finally back with some really goooood news!
I finally found the DBJGs!!!!!!! Whoo! All thanks to Uncle
Cher Hern, who directed me to the spot. Anyway, I have
been waiting for ages to see this beauty and here it is.
The rare, sought after dark blue jungle glory. They are
really quite large, males about 9cm in wingspan and the
females are about 10cm! Here is a male.

The male has much smaller eye spots, and can also
be differentiated to the female by the wing margin
and orange on hindwing. The white bar on the forewing
is also thinner in males. This is the huge female.

In the right light, the purple scales will show nicely,
like as shown here. The upperside is a deep, magnificent
blue, which flashes mysteriously as the butterfly
flutters across the forest floor. Most of the time they are
well camouflaged among the leaf litter of the forest floor.
Since the place was very dark, I had to shoot with an
exceptionally slow shutter speed, so most of my images turned
out like this.

Also, there will often be a leaf or a twig blocking the
butterfly. I shall end off this post with my favourite
shot, with the proboscis showing, and a rare green back
ground.

That's all, so I hope you feel as excited as me.
Please comment. ( this time I mean it )

Jurong Bird Park

2010-08-25T19:10:00.015+08:00

On Saturday, 21 of August, we went to the JBP.

We didn't have very much time as it was already 3.30 pm

when we arrived. Anyway, here is the toco toucan. His

bill is really amazing.

The scarlet ibis enclosure had the usual smell - yuck!

But I managed to go inside to grab a few shots. The ibises

look healthy, and the cormorants there were breeding

well.

At the Bird of Paradise, we were really lucky. It was

the first time we spotted the tiny king bird of paradise.

The female was even had a nest! Here she is, taking

a break from incubating her eggs.

The male was spectacular - even brighter and poppy

than the images I have seen of it. It was so fast, like

a flash of red, darting through the trees. His tail was also

very attractive, short, with two very long wire extensions

with a green disc at the tips. I wasn't able to get a good shot.

We also saw the twelve-wired b.o.p., one male and many

females. For the first time, I got up close with one.

This is a female.

The lory loft was noisy, full of screaming and screeching.

It is our usual stopover, to have ice cream ( me )

and coffee ( my mum ). Guess this guy is having his

'coffee' too!

At the birds of prey, good shots came easily as all

of them were big and still. Here is a large raptor, the

bald eagle.

Birds at the jungle jewels are usually hard to spot,

and even harder to shoot, as they are mostly tiny

and quick. The pic right at the top shows a female red

legged honeycreeper, and the shot below shows a yellow

hooded blackbird.

When we got to the African aviary, it was already

nearing 6 pm. This is the close-up of a vulturine

guineafowl. Stunning isn't it?

At one of the lookout points, I was surprised how tame

this purple-headed glossy starling was. It is often

the first to fly off. His yellow eye really stands out against

the dark head.

Oh well, I think that's about it.

Please comment.

Long-Tailed Broadbill

2010-08-22T17:48:00.007+08:00

Ah, I am finally back with my latest painting,
featuring a long tailed broadbill. This bird, along
with the other broadbills, have disappeared from
S'pore during the period when S'pore was developing.

It is painted with the tree syzygium zeylancium. It
has lovely white flowers, and two of these can be found
near the visitor centre of BTNR. That is the reason
I chose this tree. I complemented the painting with a
little butterfly, called the glistening caerulean, jamides
elpis pseudelpis. The jamides butterflies do drink from
syzygium flowers, and their uppersides are of a spectacular
blue. I just put a flash of it here as they do not often
open their wings.

Hope you like it.
Please comment.

Acacia Blue

2010-08-08T19:02:00.006+08:00

Yesterday was really overcast and even rained a
bit. Well there was something to brighten things
up. At Mount Faber, when we were looking around,
I spotted this lovely butterfly - the acacia blue.
It was the third time that I had seen this beauty.

It is rather rare in Singapore, and can only be found
in the areas that its host plant, albizia falcata, is
found. It also opened his wings for me. What a spectacular
sight.

Just to give you a hint on how small it actually is......

The end,
Please comment.

Lemon Emigrant

2010-07-31T20:32:00.002+08:00

We were out at the Hortpark this afternoon to
be interviewed. ( again ) The best shot of the day,
was this pristine lemon emigrant.

This large abundant pierid is often seen bobbing around
the canopies of trees near high-rise flats, and is well
adapted to the urban habitat. It is very skittish,
so it was hard for me to shoot it feeding on this
snakeweed. In flight, the emigrant looks like the
similar mottled emigrant. It also has a few forms.

Please comment.

USR breakout!

2010-07-26T14:40:00.009+08:00

Finally!!! The weather has been so terrible that I couldn't

go out for a month! Well, the 24th of July, we went

to USR! Even though I didn't stay too long, I had a great

day, as there were not one but a few rare butts spotted.

So, this is my story. When I was walking through the

rusty trail to the redflash patch, I saw this common faun.

I was rather lucky as fauns usually rest only on dried

leaves. And true to its name, they are pretty common

in the forested areas of Singapore. Not long after,

this pristine branded imperial landed on a leaf nearby.

Earlier on, I mentioned the redflash patch. Ahh,

that is what I call this opening in the forest,

near the water. It is where I first saw the common

red flash. This time there seemed to be nothing

except the common hedge blue.

He even opened his wings for me! Now that is

something new.

Just round the corner, I spotted a pair of grey wings.

It was the white royal!!! It is a very rare butterfly in

S'pore. Boy I was just so excited when I saw it.

After seeing our royal highness, a black veined tiger

swooped by. Another rare catch! They look similar to

the white morph of common tigers, but have a thicker

margin.

Wow, I was really fortunate. I guess this could

make up for that month of boredom.

Please comment.

Photo Storage Post

2010-07-25T15:32:00.019+08:00

Okay. I am going to store some of my pics here,

because they are small and watermarked. So, I will

update this post and add more in the future. These

images are only stored here. They should not be commented

on unless they are of something super amazing
or rare.

In the Papers!

2010-07-10T10:21:00.004+08:00

Ah, sorry this came so late. I was in the papers!
( my paper 22 June ) I was away on a holiday when
this came out. On the Hortpark outing, (http://nypsbluebottle.blogspot.com/2010/06/hortpark-1362010-with-bc.html)
the reporter came too. And that's why. Well, here
it is. :)

Please comment.

Sorry

2010-07-08T15:13:00.003+08:00

Hey everyone. Sorry I havn't posted in a long
time. The weather hasn't been good lately so I can't
go out and find anything interesting. :(

Ring of Rose

2010-06-17T19:14:00.004+08:00

Okay! Here is my latest painting. It is called

" Ring of Rose ". It features the rose ringed

parakeet, a parrot that often visits my school.

These lovely parakeets are not as widespread

as the long tailed parakeets, and are not as well

described.

Hope u like it.

Hortpark 13.6.2010 with BC

2010-06-14T09:40:00.013+08:00

Wow! I thought it would rain that morning. But
of course, it didn't. Never fails. Whenever I have an
outing with some members of Butterfly Circle, the
weather is always perfect. Here, great news. We
were releasing some native butts! When I opened
the lid of the box, most of the emigrants flew off.
Leaving a few leopard lacewings. This one was very
tame. it crawled onto my finger.

Later on, Anthony propped him up on a leaf so he
could rest... and so could photograph him! Here are
my best shots of the handsome fella.

This one was taken from the other side. I hope it
is as nice. =) ( second fav. )

After the shooting in the hot sun, Anthony specially
opened the butterfly enclosure for us. Thanks!
There were many Taiwanese tree nymphs gliding
around. Really big!

Now here is one butterfly that went extinct in S'pore
during the time S'pore began to develop. We can still
find it in the enclosure! ( Sorry for tattered specimen )

Back at the floral walk, there were still lots of
lemon emigrants. They are very skittish, and hard
to shoot. This was the best I could get. I know the
hindwing is burr. *embarrassed*

Finally, at the car park, I managed a record shot
of what I think is the male striped blue crow.

Please comment!

Sime Forest Birthday outing

2010-05-30T18:13:00.021+08:00

This was my very first trip to Sime forest. I met
Liyana, Anthony and Uncle Chern hern there.
Here is a fresh stink horn. In fact, it smelt rather
pleasing; like banana cake. I havn't quite nailed
down what species it is, due to the strange cap.

The first butterfly spotted was a male archduke,
which I didn't manage to shoot. But I got this
Small branded Swift resting on a fern.

At the puddling ground, there were already many

butterflies waiting for us. The photo below shows

two blue jays. ( butterflies, not birds )

Two or three of these brightly-coloured Cruisers

were puddling on the mud, opening and closing

their wings slowly. Cruisers are very approachable

when puddling, making them easy to shoot.

This was the first time I encountered the lovely

Five bar Swordtail. Sadly, this one was a five bar

no tail. :( It should have two long 'swords' on the

hindwing.

Around that same patch of mud, the tailed jay also came

to visit. It was quick, and only stayed for a few

seconds. Luckily I managed a decent shot.

The highlight of the day was definitely the common

bluebottles. there were say five of them zipping

around. They are my favourite butterflies, and

that is why I call myself 'Bluebottle'. The bottles

were hard to approach though...

Sometimes a single blue jay would join in the

congregations.

The best shot of the day, for me, was this Chocolate

grass Yellow. Sharp from head to tail, and creamy

back ground.

This cute Malayan Sunbeam was puddling on a

plastic bag at first, but later flew up to a leaf.

Liyana and I took turns to shoot it.

Finally, on the way back, this small butterfly called

the Common line Blue was spotted puddling on a red

pebble.

The end.

Please comment.

Pitta Song

2010-05-14T14:50:00.002+08:00

Whoo! Another painting post. I completed it like
three weeks ago, but since I used oils, it took a
while to dry. It is called "Pitta Song", and features
the blue winged pitta.

The pittas can be seen in both parks and nature
reserve areas.

Um, hope you like it!

Mothers' Day Walk

2010-05-09T20:15:00.011+08:00

Yesterday it was Mothers' Day! Yessssso! We went
to SBG for a walk. Here and now, I introduce my
new friend, Scarlet.

Around the lake, I saw another white breasted
waterhen wading around in search of food.

This is my best shot of the plantain squirrel, as it
is very skittish and hard to approach.

Hopping in the distance was this lovely magpie
robin. Ever since I first saw them at the Bird Park,
I have always liked these cuties very much.
With a centipede in his mouth, I caught him running,
just before flight.

He made a direct flight for the nest, despite the
people below. The nest was low, made in the bark
of a palm.

Later on, when I was chasing skippers near the
forested area, I saw something resting on a leaf.
At the first sight, it looked like a small morpho,
but you can't find morphos in S'pore. It was a bamboo
tree brown.

These fellas are very skittish, so this was the best
I could get. The skippers? They were banded demons.
small and very cute. After chasing this one for a long
time I finally got a good shot.

That was the shot of the outing. To end off, I'll
put this greater racket tailed drongo that was high
in a tree.

Please comment.

Small but Mighty

2010-05-05T17:57:00.003+08:00

When I was looking for a lime butterfly, a small
movement beside me caught my eye. It was a
spider. One of the most lovely spiders that I have
seen. Again, I am not a spider expert, so I need
some ID for him.

Although he was small, he often crawled up onto
the wall, waited, then pounced on a passing weaver
ant, then darted away. I think he is trying to catch
the ants, thinking they are some other insect,
only realising they are dreadful weaver ants
later on.

This is my first serious attempt to spider
photography, so I hope it is a good one. =)

Flowers of the Tembusu

2010-05-01T17:44:00.007+08:00

Today we went to KRP. The sky was rather clear,
unlike the recent days. A nice surprise when
we got there was these tembusus. In fact, we did not
realise that the trees were the tembusus until we
saw them......... In bloom! The whole tree would be
covered in the cream-coloured flowers.

There were, say, around 50 of them, and every
single one was flowering. It was really a sight to
behold.

The flowers were simple, five-petaled. They were
creamy-white, yellower towards the center.
These flowers are fragrant, especially in the
evening, to attract night-going moths for pollination.
The trees flower twice a year, first around May,
then second at the end of the year.

... But it wasn't just the moths that help pollinate the
flowers. I found this common mime drifting among
the blooms. However it was far and I could not get a
good shot.

The branches also had lizards climbing among
them, mostly changeable lizards. Birds such
as yellow vented bubuls, collard kingfishers and
sunbirds were flying around the trees too.
Some of the flowers were already drying up.

Soon, the trees would be covered in red berries,
another wonderful thing I wish to see.

Little Orange Moth

2010-04-23T19:19:00.003+08:00

When my mother was walking me back from
school, (I had Oral Exam ) I spotted this small
little moth. So we rushed back and once I came
to the same spot where it was, (with cam) I
was shooting away.

Closer shot.

I really do not know what its ID is, so if someone
knows, please drop by a comment.

Botanics 17...Yipeee!

2010-04-18T19:14:00.022+08:00

When I was at SBG on the 17th......

That day, my sis and my mum brought me

to SBG. While getting ready to start,( already

@ SBG ) this large moth came flying around.

It was soo lovely, that I thought it was a butterfly

at first.

I got that pic of it when it landed on one of the

wood sculptures in the vicinity. In the marsh

garden, it was really muddy. I got my pants soaked

with mud while trying to shoot this pointed line blue.

Walking around the swan lake, I do not know

how, but I spotted this spider. It was quite

colourful, and I managed a head shot.

Then, near the dell lake, my mother pointed this

ashy tailorbird out while I was busy chasing waterhens.

He was on a low branch just above me. In his beak

was a worm, and he was knocking it against the branch,

to kill the worm.

Here he is, perching proudly after his meal.

When we neared the forested patch, one of S'pore's

most beautiful birds showed up. The white rumped

shama. I went to BTNR many times to find him,

and there he was. This pic shows the white rump.

With bright orange underparts, glossy mantle

and wings, and the super long tail, the shama

steals the hearts of people who see it.( Him )

The tail is so long that I cannot show the whole

of it in the pic below.

It was a very successful day, but it began to look

darker... We were all parched so we headed for

the water cooler gazebo. From there we could see

a pair of collard kingfishers sitting on a coconut

palm.

Just when we were walking back to the entrance,

the calls of hill mynas caught our attention.

There were two in the tree, I managed to

get a shot of the lower one. This is the first time I

shot him nicely!

At the entrance, while my mother and sis waited

for a taxi, I snapped this shot.

Wow! I did rather well with bird photography

that day, and nailed some that I had never seen

before.... It was a wonderful day!

Please comment.

Not so good day @ BTNR

2010-04-11T10:32:00.016+08:00

On the 10th of Apr, It was my sister's SCGS
Carnival!( for raising funds ) We went early in
the morning, to see her on shift. So sad it rained,
but only for a while. After like 4hrs of FUN FUN
FUN, my mother and I went to BTNR. The first
butterfly I saw was this Malay viscount, that landed
a little high up.

In the main track, there were a few of these common
fauns flying around. This one landed on the track to
puddle.

Along the track, there were passion flowers scattered

along the leaf litter. They probably dropped from

their vine, on a tree higher up.

An interesting thing I saw, was two ants biting

something. They refused to let go even when

I shook the leaf. Notice the spines on the ants'

thorax.

When I walked among the plants, lots of these

small moths flew up from under saplings. Here

is my shot.

Many archdukes zipped around, here is one of

them pudding amongst the leaf litter. This one

is a male.

The 'tell tale' diff between an archduke and a

black tipped archduke is the colour of the

antenna tips. An archduke's antenna tips are

orange.

Back at the same spot where I found it earlier,

the Malay viscount came lower for a better shot.

At Hindhede np, I found this beetle on some

flower buds.

Singing away, this shrike was sitting on a branch.

My mother spotted it. It was very tame and did

not fly off until we left.

The end, please comment.

Common mime part5 Out and about!

2010-04-03T20:43:00.004+08:00

Yess! He eclosed!

In the morning, I could already see the butterfly

through the pupa, and was afraid it would eclose

when I am at Chinese tuition...... And he did!

My father snapped some shots for me.

At that time, he was drying his wings. Cute huh?

He was so still, that my father thought it was a plastic

model at first!

My mother was worried that if she waited till I

came back, it would fly off. So she came to pick me

and my sister up, and rushed us home. By the time

we got back, he was getting ready for maiden flight.

I couldn't get better shots coz he hopped into the air,

failing a few times, but in the end he flew off gracefully.

There is little I can do besides wishing my little friend

a successful future.

P.s.: I did not even see the eclosion. :(

Ubin with BC

2010-04-02T17:39:00.015+08:00

Yesterday, I was out with my family and the other
Butterflycircle members. I was glad to see them, and
some of these pics would never have been this
good if they did not help. I went to Ubin for the first time,
so it was an exiting day. At butterfly hill, there were
many male blue pansys.

They were skittish, so I was lucky that this one landed
in front of me, and gave me 2 seconds to shoot
before it flew off. We also saw belimbing trees,
with flowers and fruits.

This jacintha eggfly was resting with curled proboscis,

probably full of belimbing nectar.

There were also many orange skippers darting

around, only this one was tame for me to shoot.

This logania marmorata damis was resting on a leaf,

I tried to get parallel to it. It did not move, as it had a

parasite on the head.( red dot )

At the spice garden, this gram blue finally landed

in front of me.

In the forest trail, I spotted this red grasshopper.

We all got our cameras ready when this olive backed

sunbird came to feed its young.

We also watched this common grass yellow for

a good 20 minutes, waiting for it to lay eggs.

Though I did not get any good shots, here is a burr

upperside.

I do not have any other good records to share,

so let me just put this tame ( male ) lime butterfly

that I found around Changi.

Please comment.

Special thanks to:

Uncle Simon,

Anthony,

Liyana,

Uncle Chng,

Uncle Bobby,

Uncle Loke

AH again

2010-03-28T18:56:00.008+08:00

I was at AH today, a last minute decision. I was lucky
to get a good shot of this non-stop flyer, the common rose.
It was flying around, tasting leaves with its legs, and finally
laid an egg on this Indian Birthwort sapling.

A centaur oakblue, was also about. These lycaenids

are always present @ AH, but are skittish at times.

After walking around, covered in mosquitoes, and

waiting for butterflies that did not rest, this common

birdwing finally came down.

They use their forewings to hover, and the hindwings

stay relatively still.
When looking around, I spotted this common grass yellow

pupa on a peacock flower plant.

However, the pupa has gone bad. The abdomen is

black. And it will......will...rott in there. :(

Anyway, I'll put a nice grasshopper to end off.

Please comment.

Common mime part4 Pupa!

2010-03-23T16:53:00.006+08:00

Yippeeeeee!
Update on the common mime.

Yes! Yesterday, while the cat was pre-pupa, I did
not get to go out and check. But today, I did. No
homework, so there was lots of time. And Yippee!
He (dunno if girl or boy) pupated! Here.

Common mime's pupa are very clever. They mimic
a broken-off branch super well. See the 'broken tip'?
It also has an angular base, making it seem that the pupa
'grows' out of the twig.

I am soooo happy! This is my first butterfly pupa.
Now, I hope to see it eclose. :)

Please comment.

Common mimes part3

2010-03-21T10:31:00.003+08:00

Update on the common mime cat.

Yippee! My cat is nearing pre-pupa! It has

definitely grown bigger, and its dark patches on

the sides are lighter, showing black spots more

clearly.

Showing those black spots on dark patch...

Please comment.

Common mimes Part2

2010-03-19T18:17:00.004+08:00

Update of the common mimes.

The 4th instar cat has disappeared, very sadly,
but at least we still have the 5th instar one! I saw
him resting beside his frass ball.( poop )
Swallowtail cats seem to feed at night and are very
lethargic in the day...................................................

Please comment.

Common mimes

2010-03-18T20:23:00.006+08:00

On the way to our GP, I spotted these common
mime caterpillars on a small cinnamon plant,
beside the road. I was surprised as I had never
seen any caterpillars there before.

The one on top is a 5th instar cat, and the one below

is a 4th instar cat. I am hoping to see the 5th instar one

pupate and eclose. This is the dorsal view.

Side view.

The 4th instar caterpillar, dorsal view......

... And side view...

I will check on them and post what happens, so stay

tuned!

Another productive outing

2010-03-17T20:13:00.014+08:00

I was at MNT again, to nail some butterflies and

hopefully some birds. It was really hot that day, and

the first insect I spotted was a small robberfly.

The robberfly's favourite food is butterflies and

other insects. They are flies as you can see a little

stub on each side, which is their modified hindwings.
Then, this large brown butterfly flew by. It was a

tawny palmfly.

It was very difficult to shoot, as it did not allow me

to get close, but I guess it got tired of flying off.

Just on a leaf above the palmfly, this chocolate

pansy was hanging, mimicking a dead leaf.

There were quite a few dragonflies flying around,

this is the one I liked the most. It has a lovely

shade of blue on its abdomen. I am not quite sure

of the ID though.

Just after the dragon flew off, this large beetle

caught me eye. I will leave it to the experts to ID

this one.

A butterfly very often seen in forest trails, the

Malay viscount, showed up. They are very skittish,

and fly off at the slightest movement, but can be quite

tame when puddling, like here.

On the way back, this bat lily, which was the

highlight of the day, was right next to the path.

I decided to take a close-up of its flowers.

When we were near the place where we started,

a nigger flew into sight. So sad that this lovely

butterfly has such a rude name.

That is the end.

Please comment.

Test shots

2010-03-13T18:21:00.006+08:00

Test shots using a canon macro 100mm.

AH today

2010-02-28T19:14:00.011+08:00

Went to AHBT today, hoping for some common imperial.
The first thing that caught my eye was these two common

rose cats. They were big and fat,and nearing pupation.

I was lucky that this female common birdwing landed

for me, and landed at eye level.

There were many barons flying around, darting from

leaf to leaf. When they landed, they would flap their wings

slowly,which was how I got this underside shot.

In the trail, I chased this tattered centaur oakblue

for half an hour. In my shot, a little of the brilliant

purple upperside is visible.

When I returned after cooling down, this white

crested laughing thrush was good enough to let me

touch the bush he was in.

When I was looking for the oakblue, this plain plushblue

landed on the leaf in front of me.

The last thing that was interesting, was this empty

pupal case of a blue glassy tiger. It is not damaged,

which means the tiger eclosed this morning.

Please comment.

Flashes of red

2010-02-25T18:05:00.006+08:00

The time I went to USR, when I saw the eagle, I also saw two

male common red flashes. The first one was at a patch of wildness,

near the water edge. It was just behind a forest, a suitable habitat

for many butts. He was very good, staying still while I shot him.

He was a little hard to shoot, as he kept darting off to

scare other butterflies away when they came too close.

After a stroll along the reservoir, I decided to come to the

same spot to check on him. There I met a man, from

the Butterflycircle. He was also shooting the red flash.

However, it was tattered. Bird attack? I don't know.

It is the same one, as he would not let any other male red

flash enter his area. I was lucky to see the fab upperside,

as red flashes only open their wings from 4: 20-6:00.

Both male & female have pale grey undersides.

White bellied Sea Eagle

2010-02-20T19:39:00.007+08:00

I was at Upper Seletar Reservoir earlier on, looking for some
butterflies. I heard a call, and above me was an adult white
bellied sea eagle. It soared for a while, then lowered to take
a fish from the water. This was exciting, below is a shot
before its legs touched the water.

The bird failed to catch the fish, as seen in the image below.

It flew back into the sky, and slowly got higher and higher

and............................................

Please Comment.

Mac. Nature trail

2010-02-16T09:42:00.007+08:00

Went to MNT ( Macritchie nature trail )a few days ago.

Saw many butterflies, birds and dragonflies. The first three

quarters or so, there were no butterflies. Piles of rattan but no

butterflies. There were a few dragonflies however. This is

my favourite. It kept flicking itself into the air, making some

"clicking noises", then it would come back to the tree trunk.

There were a number of branded imperials along the trail,

many were too skittish to shoot. They flew around me,

not giving me a chance, but this one was rather co-operative.

I spent the next ten minutes trying to locate this common faun,

which landed somewhere in the undergrowth. It was after

much of being pricked by rattans and bitten by spiders, that

I got this shot.

A familiar bird was watching overhead, the greater racket

tailed drongo. It was probably looking for a c. faun to eat.

The last thing I saw was this strange insect hanging from a

fern. If you look carefully, the insect is dead and hollow,

with a hole on its back. Its death was probably due to

a parasitic wasp, which its grubs fed on the body and left

through the hole.

The end of this post, Please comment.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2010-02-14T11:03:00.002+08:00

Wishing all Bluebottle's veiwers a very happy and properous

Lunar New Year!

Hort Park

2010-02-14T10:02:00.003+08:00

I went to the Hort Park yesterday. Saw quite a few showy
butterflies, but most were very skittish. They were very active
and kept flying as it was a really hot day, and there were few
clouds in the sky. The first one I spotted was a plain tiger,
that it only came to rest after a long time of waiting.

There were many three spot grass yellows and peacock pansys
on the way but they were way too wary for me to photograph.
This leopard lacewing flew onto a flower, and it was rather co-operative.

The common tigers were also present but did not rest and simply
glided nonstop with the wind. My only shot of them was burr. :(
For the rest of the walk, I saw nothing but tigers and the skittish
lemon emigrant, which I tried and tried to get a good shot.
Patience paid off!

. . . . . And feeding on deep purple.

Had to go for 团年饭, so THE END!

All about it - Common Mormon

2010-02-08T18:31:00.011+08:00

This, is the first butterfly featured in 'all about it' and I had worked

to collect the photographs and info. This butterfly is the common

mormon. It is seen common in nature reserves, but can be spotted in

urban parks as often. The males fly much faster than females and are

more active. They may come down to rest with the wings spread out.

A male common mormon resting on its host plant, the Indian curry

plant.

Males are also fond of puddling on damp ground, and may be quite

tame to the observer. They may puddle for a second, or maybe for

an hour, based on the medium, and traffic.

The females, which seem to be less common than males, can be

observed when feeding on flowers. They mimic the distasteful

common rose, and like bougainvilleas...

And other flashy blooms...

Besides the curry plant, the mormon breeds on many citrus plants.

These are the lime, pomelo, and discarded 'kumquat' plants after the

Chinese New Year.

The common mormon is often attracted to Chinese violets growing

at forest fringes, however, they do not land to feed on the nectar.

Like other swallowtails, they only use their forewings when hovering

and flying.

Ypthima fasciata torone

2010-02-06T19:10:00.007+08:00

I was out at Mount Faber, marang trail. At the end of the trail,
or the start, I encountered a few ypthimas. I have a feeling they
are fasciata torones, but they could be the more common, five rings.

There is a small spot below the first two on the hindwing,

and the first two spots are of different size. This means

that it's a fasciata, unless the spot is an aberration on the

five ring. The one below has a very tattered wing.

Please inform me if I have gotten the ID wrong, even though

I am pretty sure. Hope to see him again.

DFNP

2010-01-23T19:11:00.012+08:00

Ahh! It was the weekend again. That meant I could go

the fab DFNP! This time I got way better pics. Ok, we got there about

quarter to three, the usual chocolate grass yellows greeted us as we entered.

Walked for a while... There were many butterflies around, like the Malayan

lascar, common caerulean and the lance sergeant. At a grassy clearing,

a flash of bright orange caught my eye. Went to check it out, and it

turned out to be a yamfly. Hope you like my photo of the champ!

Then a reddish thing glided in front of me as if to say oi! Hello? The

'thing' turned out to be a Malay lacewing. It was quite far when I shot

this photo.

At the muddy area, a common bluebottle came charging at us.

This time I got a really good shot.

The common hedge blue came down to play.

Outside the Wallace Education centre, a male branded imperial

(think it's a male coz the forewing is pointed) came down. Notice a

parasitic mite on the palpus.

Well, we were heading home when a psyche fluttered around us.

I thought it wouldn't but it came down to take a rest.

So that is the end of this post.

Please comment.

Back to the old haunt - SBG

2010-01-16T16:37:00.005+08:00

I had been waiting to go out somewhere for the entire week and finally,
we could. Since my sister wasn't feeling to good, we didn't go to
the absolutely fab DFNP. Instead, I suggested we go to the old
haunt - the SBG. We had lunch at the new food court there, and
then went off. The first insect I saw was the male dawn dropwing.

We walked and walked but I didn't spot anything interesting.
That was until I entered the ginger garden, Where I found this
common palmfly waiting for me.

True to its name, the palmfly is very common.
There were a few awls and lycaenids along the way however they
did not let me get a shot of them as they were way too skittish.
It was only on the way back did I see some beautiful butts.
The leopard came to feed on some prickly lantana and I had my
camera ready.

Last but not least, the familiar chocolate pansy came to feed on
a single lantana. Its wings were open as if to sunbathe even though
the butterfly was in the shade.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had enjoyed typing it.
Please comment.

Oh no!

2010-01-14T19:16:00.001+08:00

Just to let all readers know that I will be posting like once one or
two weeks coz' I have school. SORRY!

Jurong Bird Park

2010-01-10T18:37:00.013+08:00

I was at the bird park yesterday. It was free, as my father had some
admission thingie. Anyway, since I'm not in the mood for typing out a
long winded story, I'll just show you some of my nicer pictures.
Below is a superb starling from the African waterfall flight aviary.

Another beautiful bird, the blue streaked lory from the noisy
lory loft.

Far away from all the noise, I shot a portrait of this quiet little
cockateil.

Nearby at the ibises (which smelt really bad) This rufous night

heron came right op to my camera.

This scarlet ibis had just caught a fish at the same area.

Over at the royal ramble, this common crowned pigeon was tame

enough to let me get up close to snap a shot.

A beautiful lesser bird of paradise at the window on paradise exhibition

was resting after a tiring but splendid display.

My favourite shot of the trip, a spangled cotinga at the jungle jewels

flight aviary.

Oh my, did you enjoy the shots? Whether or not, it's going to be the

end of this post so I thought it would be nice to en off with this

majestic grey heron.

Please comment.

Common bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon luctatius)

2010-01-08T19:04:00.005+08:00

I just completed my latest painting, of two male common bluebottles
puddling at a sandy area. If you ever try painting a good bluebottle,
you will realise it's no easy task. Anyway, here it is.

I hope you think it's nice, so please do comment!

Oh, I haven't forgotten, so has anyone been eating avocados?

First day of School!

2010-01-04T15:57:00.002+08:00

Oh dear! Today was the first day of school! Now I'm primary 5.
They say p5 is very hard! What if I get a lot of homework? What
if the homework is very hard? What if my teachers are very strict?
( I haven't met all my teachers yet. )What if I cant go for any more
butterfly trips. Hey wait! That reminds me my mother is thinking of
signing me up for the nature society! Well only thinking of doing
that. Apart from that, there isn't much on the bright side.

Help!

p.s. : Now my sister is secondary 1, even more to worry......

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T20:58:00.001+08:00

Wishing all readers a very happy New Year!

The DFNP ( I know, again. )

2010-01-02T19:14:00.012+08:00

This was the last butterfly trip before school starts for me, I must

say I enjoyed it, and I hope you will enjoy reading this post. We got

there at 11 am it was unusually quiet, apart from the joggers. Yes there

were a lot of joggers. The only butterfly I saw was the psyche, which

when it did come to land, was immediately disturbed into flight by the

joggers. My mother pointed this crimson sunbird out, spot it!

We walked and walked, and walked and walked ..............

until we got to the 'muddy patch'. A few meters before it I

saw a common hedge blue, puddling on a dead centipede.

I also met KC Tsang at that spot. The cheeky fellow first went

on my toes, then checked out KC's camera!

At the muddy patch I spotted this plain nawab high up in a tree.

On the muddy area, I found a elbowed pierrot puddling.

It kept flying off as we tried to photograph it. Here's KC shooting

the elbowed pierrot, well trying!

I don't know about his, but this was my shot of the pierrot.

Nearby I was taking a little rest when this Malay viscount came

onto a fruit right next to me. Here's the result.

Then a common bluebottle( the butterfly I name my blog after ),

came charging towards the mud. I had never seen a bluebottle so

well before. It did not settle so it was hard to approach and shoot.

This was all I got.

I had to for lunch so I left the DFNP. When we did come back, it

was all ready 4.10pm. Just when we arrived another common

bluebottle flying rapidly around the leea indica flowers greeted me

as entered.

Now for the photo of the post, a female branded imperial perched

on a smilax bracteata plant. If you like it, please comment.

It was 5 by now and the butterflies were all going deeper into the

forest, except for this common caerulean.

Well that is the end of this post, with special thanks to my mother

and sister, and KC Tsang and Amy.

( all this happened yesterday )

Yet another butterfly trip to the DFNP

2009-12-31T20:09:00.023+08:00

Haha, seems I've been going back to back to DFNP, which

is a good spot for butterflies. This time, finding the butts

was easier, thanks to KC Tsang, someone who posts on the

Bird Ecology Study Group, and his wife. They're suddenly

interested in butts. So moving along, The first interesting thing

I saw was these moth caterpillars on bird's nest fern.

There were a few common bluebottles and tailed jays flying

around the leea indica trees, which were far away so I

couldn't get a shot. There were a few yamfly butts as we moved

on.

At the muddy patch where cruisers and bluebottles

favour, we saw common mormons puddling restlessly and

a mating pair of Malayan eggfly, underneath a leaf.

And on a really grassy area much further on a small

skipper I cant identify. So, if anyone knows what it is, please

comment.

It was already 5pm when we got out of the trail. We were a bit

tired, and the butterflies seemed tired too. Just like this male common

mormon puddling at the beginning where we started.

To end off this post, a male common palmfly feeding on

Singapore rhododendron fruits.

DFNP again

2009-12-27T17:09:00.010+08:00

I was back at DFNP looking for some butterflies. So this post

isn't so much a story to tell, but a collection of some lovely

butterflies.

The Chocolate grass yellow puddling on a damp wall.

A rare Acacia blue perched on the leaf of its host plant.

A Nacaduba calauria malayica puddling after the rain.

A Yamfly opening its wings slightly showing the vermilion

upperside.

Lastly, a female common mime in flight.

Here I've listed all the butterflies seen on my trip.(most couldn't

be photographed)

. chocolate grass yellow

. chocolate pansy

. peacock pansy

. common grass yellow

. psyche

. autumn leaf

. jacintha eggfly

. common palmfly

. pointed palmfly

. long brand bush brown

. common five ring

. common four ring

. abisara geza niya

. acacia blue

. nacaduba calauria malayica

. common imperial

. branded imperial

. common caerulean

. dingy line blue

. lesser grass blue

. bigg's brownie

. banded demon

. chestnut bob

. yellow vein lancer

. grass demon

. potanthus trachala tyteri

. common mime

. common mormon

Well that's the end of this post!

I'm Back!

2009-12-24T12:40:00.006+08:00

Sorry this is a bit late but MERRY CHRISTMAS! To all the
readers of this blog. Below is your Christmas card.

Ho Ho ho

2009-12-04T18:48:00.002+08:00

ON HOLIDAY !

FROM 5th DECEMBER TO 12th DECEMBER

WILL NOT BE POSTING
Please comment as much as you can!

The Photo of Today

2009-12-02T12:53:00.003+08:00

It's the The Photo of the day post again! This time, the post
features a common lycaenid called the cycad blue. This newly
eclosed female butterfly has got crumpled wings. This
was sadly caused by human disturbance forcing the insect that
was drying its wings, to tumble to the ground.

Please comment.

A common mormon and a palm bob

2009-12-01T18:43:00.005+08:00

I was at my Grandmother's place a bit earlier and it rained quite
heavily. It was just after the rain had stopped when I spotted
this female Common Mormon flying about the bougainvilleas.
It was hard to photograph as it kept on flying and did not land.
Well, I only got one good shot, so here it is.

It was yesterday that I shot the palm bob. I was walking with
my mother to a playground in hopes of finding common Mormons,
but instead, I found this Palm Bob on the surrounding foliage.

I hope you liked the photos, and please comment.

My New DSLR!

2009-11-28T17:56:00.009+08:00

My father was really kind and bought me a CANON EOS D500!
It is totally awesome. It is 15 mega pixels. Anyway, Here are some photos.
Below is a ground nut flower I shot around my house.

I also shot this bougainvillea flower all dried-out but with good
quality bracts.

We also went to the SBG. That is where I took this male dawn
dropwing.

There were many spotted doves around, so I decided to
snatch a shot.

This post will end off with this pretty flower. (dunno what it is)

Please comment.

The Photo of Today

2009-11-25T17:09:00.005+08:00

I'm back with the Wednesdaily post, The Photo of Today!

The photo of TODAY features a newly eclosed rare mangrove

tree nymph. It shows how butterflies simply hang from perches

motionlessly to dry their wings.(after eclosure)

This gives people great opportunities to photograph skittish ones,

or rare ones. Hope you liked the photo and stay tuned

because next Wednesday there will be another one!

Dairy Farm Nature Park

2009-11-22T18:32:00.022+08:00

The new Dairy Farm Nature Park is totally awesome. Its

really the place for a butterfly lover and I have yet to see the

rare dark blue jungle glory there. Well, on my trip there, I

saw quite a few butterflies. We started at car park B. Walking

into the forest, chocolate grass yellows are always there to

welcome you. Here, pictured puddling with a three spot g. yellow.

Then, a passing swallowtail caught my eye. The blue helen!

I was really excited but it flew off into the canopy before long.

I did not have to walk very much before a glistening caerulean
showed up. I watched it for a while but couldn't shoot it as

it kept flying. Just then,(this is a moment of excitement) a rare and

sought after fluffy tit settled to sunbathe, as below.

It was awesome but like the the helen, it flew off shortly.

Feeding on plant sap a few meters away was a faded

common posy.

Notice that the tail has been cut off. Probably during a bird

attack. This shows how the tails can lengthen the butterfly's

life by tricking the birds into thinking the hindwing and tails

is the insect's head. After this was a lot of leaf litter, and yellows.

For a long time, the forest appeared completely still. There

were many common fauns along the way. Then, came sunlight.

The track had small rocks and had foliage surrounding.

That meant blues. First a common hedge blue puddling.

Then a pointed line blue. I snapped a shot while it was resting.

It too came down to puddle.

Now it is coming to the end, so there wasn't much. Not even

a chocolate grass yellow. We walked to right where we started,

and instead o the yellows, there was two male branded imperials

sharing some plant sap......

Well, That is the end of this post, so I hope you enjoyed

reading it!

Speedy Skippers

2009-11-20T18:37:00.014+08:00

Have you ever come across something darting out from some leaves?
Or seen something like a moth? They could be skippers. Skippers are
butterflies with large heads and hairy bodies. Most have hooks
at the tips of their antenna and fly at high speeds. However, some
species fly similarly to bush browns, flitting around the ground.
One of the the more common skippers is the chestnut bob.

The palm bob is more common but is not featured in this post.

Below is the palm dart feeding on wild lantana at a forest fringe.

Some skippers look very alike so if coming across one, it is

better (I find ) to be patient and try to get a good shot of it first,

then when you are back home try to identify it on an online checklist,

with photographs. A beautiful skipper, the lesser dart.

If anyone wondered, awls and flats will not be included in this

post. This rare grass demon skipper's caterpillar feeds on the

turmeric, so it seems they like spicy food!

Well that is the end of this post and remember to look out for

skippers from now on if you don't!

The photo of Today

2009-11-18T16:19:00.004+08:00

Here's a new series of posts about nature that will be published on
Wednesday every week. Something like a newspaper, just that
its not news and its really short. The photo of TODAY features
a common tiger being photographed by a little photographer
that I know. It shows how tame some butterflies can actually
be.

Hope you enjoyed the photo and stay tuned because
next Wednesday there will be another one!

Pygmy grass Blues and Lesser grass Blues, whats the diff?

2009-11-15T18:29:00.007+08:00

Lesser grass blues are so common that anyone could just
accidentally step on one flying around a grassy roadside.
They really like the nectar of the Common vernonia and
Coat-button flowers. However, there is another butterfly
that accompanies the lesser grass blue at the roadsides.
That, is the Pygmy grass blue. They look very similar and
are often mistaken for one another. There are some
differences, and that's what I'll be talking about.

Above, is a Lesser grass blue, and below this
description, is the Pygmy grass blue. You can tell a
lesser from a pygmy by the spots on their hindwings.
That, meaning the underside. A lesser's spots circle
around a slightly curved line. However, the circle isn't
quite neat. It is rather broken. With 6 on the left
of the line, 2 above and 4 on the left. The lowest of
the 4 on the right of the line is tiny and often not well
seen. For a pygmy, the spots around that curvy line
are in a nice circle. There are 13 spots in total, 1 spot
that is tiny. The pygmy is also slightly smaller.

An extra thing to look out for: on the forewing of the
pygmy grass blue there is a deeply down-curved
line that the lesser grass blue does not have. There is
one exception. The pale grass blue. It is larger than the
two and has a more pronounced wing boarder.
So the next time you find a grass blue, be sure to know what it is!

p.s. : photo on top is a lesser grass blue taking off.

A spider......

2009-11-10T18:17:00.024+08:00

I was watching a movie in my house when I spotted a
spider on our old sofa. Its front two legs were banded
back and white, and its hind two legs were brown. I was
only able to snatch a few shots as the spider kept moving.
I know the image isn't very high-quality, but that was all I got.
Yes, they are far away as my camera would not focus at that
distance. Here's the shot. ( finally )

Oh, and another one.

Please tell me its ID as I am not really a Spider-smart
person.

A day of days

2009-11-08T18:23:00.012+08:00

I was up this morning when I saw a few small bees
flying around the front of my house. Here's a shot. I
don't know the exact ID, so please tell me in my Cbox or

on this post.

Outside my house, I spotted this little spider.

Again, ID please.

I have seen it before. It has an iridescent blue-green

head that looks purple at an angle. I had to go to my

friend's party today, at 2.30, so I left the house earlier

for lunch. It just so happened that we ate at a prata place

just next to the Lower Pierce Reservoir walk.( or something )

We had loads of time to kill so I went to take a look. My father

spotted a weird insect with long legs. I managed to get a shot of it.

What it actually is? I don't really know. I passed by

the ant plant, which is very distinctive.

Going on, I heard some noises. Rather far away, there

were many little birds flying around, presumably to

catch insects. I couldn't quite tell, but I am pretty sure

they were Asian paradise flycatchers, along with other

flycatchers. Below is a shot of a female. It is far away, so

I have circled it. Even then, it is hard to see its colours.

I know the photo is blurry, but I couldn't help it. :(

Here's another one.

After a while, we moved on. The sun started to shine

through the forest. About half a dozen sun skinks( I

think ) came out of their hiding places to sunbathe.

We had to leave.(remember? the party!) It was at

Safra Yishun Club, and I was going to be rock climbing.

At first, I didn't dare, so after a while, I went and had a

go. That's me.

I climbed pretty high, but did not reach the top.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the rock climbing wall really

towers. On my second try, I reached the top! It was

much harder higher up as there was less to grip.

On my third go, my father went with me. Below is a

shot of both of us reaching the top.

I made it all the way to the top. So did my father.

Coming down was much easier. It's like walking down

on a vertical wall at 40o . I hope to go there again.

P.S. : Okay, don't forget to tell me some ID!

Moth or a wasp or something else?

2009-11-07T17:28:00.004+08:00

Last night, I was just in my house when I saw
something flying around. It landed on a wall. It
was an insect of some sort. The insect had long, thin
wings, and its body looked like a moth. However, the
wings were rather like the wings of a wasp. Here's a photo.
It was late and dark so I had to use flash, so it is very bright.

I was puzzled. A cross between a moth and a fly? What
could this strange thing be? Again, I need some ID.
Whoever knows what it is, please comment on this
post AND on my Cbox, to tell me its ID.
It had a gray-blue back. Another photo, but closer.

Okay I am so not an insect expert, so I need help.
I hope I see it again......

Eat your Avocados

2009-11-05T19:00:00.007+08:00

Just completed my latest artwork. It's called:
Eat your Avocados.
It is of a rare resplendent quetzal gobbling up a small
type of avocado. Come on! If the beautiful quetzel
likes avocados, then why not EAT YOUR AVOCADOS!

Yumm!

Please comment and eat your a..............

Electrical storm

2009-11-04T20:12:00.004+08:00

It was 7 : 50 at night when lightning started to
fill the sky. I went to check. There was lightning that
somehow did not come down that much. I did not hear any
thunder though, and there was no rain. Normal lightning
is caused by static electricity building up in the clouds.
Was this any different? I've two photos.

Boom! Nahh, there wasn't any sound.

Watch the video below. Sorry for the hand,( that
was my sister,) and sorry for the waiting and sorry for
the very brief lightning......

This time, I really need help. Pleeeaaase comment.

Parts of a Butterfly

2009-11-03T17:48:00.017+08:00

I was just looking around at my butterfly photos when

one shot caught me. I have posted many butterfly posts

yet none are about the parts of a butterfly. That was how

this post came about. In the photo below, I have labeled

the main parts of an adult butterfly. Sorry the wording is

extremely untidy, I wrote it by hand.(click to enlarge)

Basically, a butterfly consists of 3 basic parts, which

other parts can be found.

HEAD

antenna

eyes

palpi

proboscis

THORAX

foreleg

mid leg

hind leg

forewings

hindwings

ABDOMEN-----( nothing on the outside)

So, here are close-ups allowing you to see the parts

clearer.

blue glassy tiger

Malayan eggfly

some body's wings. If anyone knows what it is, pls

comment. I know the ans, so I'm just testing.

Bali Mynas

2009-11-03T17:40:00.002+08:00

For an art project, I was told to draw something in
relation to Bali. So, I drew a pair of Bali mynas.
Bali mynas are critically endangered and less than
60 wild birds survive.

close-up of head.

Please comment!

Dragonflies

2009-11-01T20:29:00.004+08:00

Dragonflies. I don't really know them well, but

I do know when it's a dragonfly or a damselfly.

They are very interesting, and I like to go round

looking for them. The problem is, I don't know what species

I am looking at when I encounter one. Here are two shots.

ID? ( for both

Please comment and inform me about the ID. :)

Spotted Doves

2009-10-30T17:56:00.014+08:00

Whoo! My exams are over!( for this year ) I

haven't been able to go out to shoot but for a post,

I present my very own gallery of spotted

doves. I have lots of pics coz they are really

common, But anyway, here it is....................

spotted dove looking around at SBG

another one at SBG, just had a meal

should I fly off?

ick! Leaf litter

Ok, that's enough. Hope you enjoyed it!

2nd name: Banded Yeoman

2009-10-24T15:05:00.002+08:00

Hi everyone! Listen up here! I
have joined the Butterfly Circle, and my user
is Banded Yeoman.

BTNR again

2009-10-22T18:35:00.011+08:00

PSLE marking... Yes. That's why I went to BTNR.
This time, I was in luck. Okay, when we just got
there, 2 magpie crows were flying around. I didn't
manage to get a photo of them. Moving along, I spotted
a bird that I had never seen before. The lesser racket-
tailed drongo. It was looking for insects to eat.

Walking walking, and walking. After the drongo, there
wasn't anything interesting. Except this weird looking
insect that looks like part of the plant.

Then all of a sudden...... "A shoe buckle!" my sister
shouts. I went to take a look. On the ground, there was
a shoelace. Just then, it started to move. It was a snake.

I really don't Know what type it is, but it is very
small. Like the length of my foot.

My foot is around 20cm, so that's a small snake.
Then, a common posy fluttered around me. It
was hard to shoot as it kept moving and didn't allow
a close approach.

Hope I get better shots of it next time!

Please comment.

Wildlife outside my house1

2009-10-21T13:42:00.008+08:00

Outside my house, There's lots of wildlife. Yes, mainly

birds. Probably the most common bird in Singapore,

the Javan Myna is always visiting the Mac Arthur's palm

at my place. However, the palms aren't very close and my

camera can't zoom so well, so for me, getting a good photo

of the mynas isn't easy.How I usually do it is to put the lens

right in front of my binoculars. Then I look for the bird and

try my best to keep still as I shoot. I don't have a tripod.

This doesn't always work though. Sometimes the bird flies

away when I'm adjusting, or I just can't find the bird.

Around the Mac Arthur's, there are many others.

Plantain Squirrels, Asian glossy starlings, Black naped

orioles, common goldenbacks and banded woodpeckers.

Black naped orioles, Are rather large and conspicuous.

Their distinctive call is also very loud.

Asian koels used to be frequent.

Bird Paintings

2009-10-19T12:05:00.017+08:00

Here's some of my recent bird paintings:

A Pair Of Black Naped Orioles

Little King-king bird of paradise

At First Light-black sicklebill

Magnificent Love-magnificent bird of paradise

Count Raggi's-raggiana bird of paradise

Marvelous Hummer-marvelous spatuletail

Golden Bower-golden bowerbird & its bower

So! Enjoy! Please comment on the paintings
in the Cbox or the comment button.

Some sort of thing......

2009-10-19T11:54:00.003+08:00

In my room, yesterday, I noticed lots and

lots of ants... They were surrounding some sort

of grasshopper. It was dead and the ants were feeding on it.

After the ants abandoned it, attending to something else,

My mother picked it up and placed it on a tissue.

I have no idea what it is, so please tell me in my Cbox

or write a comment on this post. Thanks!

The Birds of Paradise 2

2009-10-07T20:08:00.025+08:00

Some more birds of paradise! The images are found from the web.Well, this time,
were learning about other types. The paradise
crows, manucodes, paradigallas, astrapias and last but not least,
the parotias. Birds of paradise's closest relatives are
surprisingly the crows! The paradise crow is a medium
sized bird of paradise, that looks a lot like its ancestors.

Another crow like bird of paradise is the manucode.
Manucodes are large glossy birds. In their display,
they fan their wings out and call loudly. Below
is the curl crested manucode, the largest manucode.

Manucodes, unlike other birds of paradise, are
monogamous. That means the male can only have
one mate, and he heps out in building the nest and
rearing the young. Paradigallas, are some more strange
birds of paradise. Below is the long tailed paradigalla.

Now the astrapias. They are some of my favourite
birds of paradise. Even though they are black like
manucodes and paradigallas, they are much more
attractive. With the long tails
and glossy throats, there's no doubt
they are so beautiful. The male ribbon tailed astrapia
has longest tail feathers( to its body size ).

The Princess Stephanie's astrapia is just as attractive.

Lastly, the parotias. Many people would have seen
them on sites like YouTube. They have six long wires
sprouting from their heads that are tipped each with
a bob. Their specialized flank plumes are raised during
the display. Below is the Lawe's parotia.( perching
and displaying )

Well, that seems to be the end of this post.

P.s. photo 1:flickr.com
photo 2:nationalgeographic.com
photo 3:birdfromeden.blogspot.com
photo 4:flickr.com
photo 5:nationalgeographic.com
photo 6&7:thebirdsofparadise.org

The Birds of Paradise

2009-10-06T17:54:00.014+08:00

It's me again. I'll be writing about the birds of
paradise. There are 43 species of them. Many people know them in general
as " Birds of Paradise ", but few go deeply into the subject.
I will be posting a series of birds of paradise articles,
and today's is of the plumed birds of paradise. ( the
basic ) Warning: The photos are all found from the web,
only the lesser bird of paradise I took. Okay let's start.
When people say "birds of paradise", they are usually
referring to the LESSER BID OF PARADISE. (below)

This is an example of a plumed B.O.P. In their display,
around four or five males gather in a tall tree, and
spread their plumes all over, calling, jumping around
and flapping their wings. Many people, also think that
their plumes, come out from the tail. Instead, they sprout from
just above their wing! The RAGGIANA BIRD OF PARADISE,
is another well known species. (below)

Unlike the first 2, the GOLDIE'S BIRD OF PARADISE
isn't very well known. Even though it is near-threatened
with global extinction, it is no less beautiful.

I'm not going to write about every species, but only a
few. Many vote for the BLUE BIRD OF PARADISE as the
most beautiful of the family. Looking at the males display,
it is easy to tell why.

All plumed birds of paradise live in the forest canopy
of New Guinea and Indonesia.

I am BACK!!!!!!!

2009-09-24T17:54:00.017+08:00

Oh I haven't been posting for such a long time!

Well never mind! I'm BACK! Yes, and that means

I'll update my blog VERY REGULARLY!

Anyway, I've got a story to tell. On the 11th

September, I,(with my sister and mother) went to

JURONG BIRD PARK! Yup! We did. So, the story:

We headed to the park at around 11am . The first exhibit

was the African wetlands. I'm going to skip it, and allot

more. So we got to the Scarlet Ibises which are sooo

stinky. But I managed to get this rofous night heron.

And SSSKKIIPPPP! Now we're at the Lory loft, which

is the favourite to many.I too had some fun.

The next I'll talk about is the HORNBILLS.

All of them look so interesting, and colourful.

They may look ugly, or a bit weird, but I like them.

The oriental pied hornbill,(that I encountered earlier

on,) is the only wild hornbill in S'pore.

Sometimes, hornbills even look a bit majestic.

Though the birds that are really majestic are the

BIRDS of PREY. They are vicious predators of many

other animals and birds. Here at the bird park, the

White bellied fish eagle is lookin pretty good.

He's yet another wild S'pore bird. Okay, the ibises,

lories, hornbills and B. O. prey have always existed in

our bird park, but here's something new! The BIRD

DISCOVERY CENTRE! That's where you learn almost everything that you need to know about birds. The part I like most is section on bird paintings. These aren't jut any normal bird paintings. They, don't just use paint they even use a few real feathers of that species .

Next door to the centre is the JUNGLE JEWELS.

The birds there are clearly enjoying the friut provided.

The SOUTH-EAST -ASIAN BIRDS aviary is another of my

personal favourites. Below, are the Nicobar pigeon and the

pink necked green pigeon, a very common Singaporean

bird.

Then, we headed for the pelican cove.( my sister likes

pelicans ) Yes I like pelicans too, but not as much.

Really nothing, for a bird park post, would do better than

some flamingos to end of with.

Butterfly Garden @ Hort Park

2009-07-17T15:12:00.006+08:00

Don't know what to say...
Butterffly on top: lime butterfly
Butterfly at the bottom: common tiger...

Wildlife at Pulau Bintan

2009-07-10T17:53:00.026+08:00

Hi, I'm back, sorry that I haven't posted in almost

2 months, and about the missing pics.( This time

I'll really do something about it.) Well. For the

June Holidays, I went to the Bintan island resort.

I'm not going to talk about my trip, but instead,

the wildlife there. One butterfly that is ought to

be seen is the tawny coster. It is very common and

striking. ( below )

Another common butterfly is the blue pansy. It's

often fluttering around the dry grass, where it almost

disappears when it lands since it often closes its

wings, showing a drab underside. I managed to get

this upperside shot. ( below )

I also spotted this snake. ( please give me its ID

in the comments for this post. )

Lesser and pygmy grass blues are always seen

sunning in the hot morning sun.( they don't sunbathe

when it's raining, obviously )

Jellyfish are also very abundant, in the waters of

Bintan. Luckily I have been stung. I took a video

of this cute jellyfish I found. ( Warning: my video

taking skills are bad, so you might get a little

giddy while watching this )

In the morning, you'll see thousands of little

crabs scuttling across the beach. Here's

one of them.

Bintan also has beautiful orange sunsets.

Like this one,

and this one.

Well bye for now!

Branded Imperial

2009-06-02T12:19:00.008+08:00

Its been a long time since I've been to the Bukit
Batok Nature Park, so, on this special day, I went.
My! It was one the best days in my life! I had a
splendid lunch, an extremely satisfying dinner,
and between all that? Okay I forgot to tell you what
that special day was. It was the 30th of May,
which is the day before my birthday! Now, back
to work. Let's get to the point. Between those
superb meals, was an encounter. Yes an encounter
of the Branded Imperial. Here's the story.
Just walking in one of the trails in BBNP, looking
out for rare forest dependents. I looked very
carefully, and I spotted it! "It" was not a rare
butterfly, but it was the the first time seeing it.
It was the branded imperial. Oh, what a cutie.
Below is the male, feeding on plant sap.

Okay, here's a better shot.( below )This shot, seems
really better than those that I find in the forums,
and those people ( in the forums ) even have DSLRs!
Well, nothing to brag about.

The female was also feeding plant sap, just a little
lower on that same little shoot. I did not get any
good photos of the female, but here's one of them.

Wow, that was an spectacular insight! Well time
to go! I hope I'll see that cutie again.

p.s. : lenth of forewing of the branded imperial:18mm

Alexandra Hospital Butterfly Trail again

2009-05-16T18:25:00.025+08:00

So far, this is my BEST ever trip to the AHBT.

I have been waiting so long, and finally, my exams

are over, so I could visit this trail again. When I got

there, as usual, there was a birdwing and a few

common palmflies and chocolate pansies. This

trail, probably has all the species of bush browns.

I found this long branded bush brown, fluttering

around, unfortunately, its hindwing had been

badly chipped. ( below )

There were also roses ( the butterflies ), mormons,

yellows and blues. Here's the exciting part. I

finally entered the trail and headed strait to the

blue and dark glassy tiger's favourite flowering

bush. this is a close up of the blue glassy tiger

( below and not cropped, and my sister took it )

The tiger was clearly not bothered, as when a

tiger or a crow is disturbed, it would extrude a

pair of scent hairs that gives off a strong pungent

odour. While this one, did not. ( below: the tiger

with its wings open, showing a wingspan of 7cm )

the tiger was sure having a nice meal. Maybe it

was already drunk, as it did not feel me stroking

its hind leg !

Just then, a leopard came into view. It was feeding

on lantana. Isn't the leopard beautiful?

Now, butterflies love rotting fruit, especially

mango. It happened that a little bit further,

there were rotting mangoes covering the ground.

On each mango, there were at least three

butterflies. Too bad I scared them off before I

could get their photo. However, this dark branded

bush brown stayed on the mango. I thought that

was a good choice, as I would be happy getting its

photo, and it would be happy too as it could

enjoy some mango. ( below )

I saw many more butterflies, but that's the end of

my post......

Pink necked green pigeons

2009-05-10T18:03:00.007+08:00

After the incident of the extraordinary

large tailed nightjar, I thought that I had to go

to the SBG again. This time, there was nothing

to see. Walking in and along the forest trails,

nothing at all. Well, only a chocolate grass

yellow, and a pair of gloves; that is. So, there's

basically just foliage. The day went on, just walking

chasing lesser grass blues. It got late, yes,

so quickly. I could already see the sunset.

Just then, ( okay, all the action is here ) a

pink necked green pigeon male flew into a tree.

I wanted to end the day with some nice bird

pictures, so I went to investigate. There were

many pigeons in the tree. Image. ( below )

The birds were high up in the tree, so I zoomed

in; the reason for the images not being super sharp.

The male birds were displaying their tails to the

female ones. The display was even impressive to

me, as I did not know that they had so many tail

feathers.

Well, it got dark so I left SBG, and headed home.

Common urban butterflies of S'pore( part 1 )

2009-05-04T18:13:00.066+08:00

Even if you are not very observant, you'll
still have seen some butterflies. Here are
some of the more common urban butterflies
in Singapore.
1 Chocolate Pansy
The chocolate pansy is very abundant here
in S'pore, and is unmistakable. Its flight has
typical gliding flaps. This pansy is dark
brown below, and orange brown on the

upperside. Eye spots can be seen from both
top and below.
2 Lesser grass Blue
If you look carefully, you'll realise that
there are tiny things fluttering above the grass
at roadsides. They are lesser grass blues.

They are very small, so many people, even the
butterfly watchers just walk by them when they
have landed. These butterflies are extremely
common in S'pore, and also very widespread,
found in forest edge, wastelands, grasslands,
roadsides, gardens......................................................
3 Dark branded bush Brown
Although not many non-watchers, but this is
the butterfly that is always straying into car parks
and houses. It is the most common bush brown
in S'pore.

4 common palmfly

In flight this butterfly appears all black
except for the corners of the forewing
( upperside ), which is blue with white spots.
Another common one, found in urban as well
as forested areas.

( p.s. : the lengths of forewings of the
butterflies: (1):29mm,(2):11mm, (3):23mm,
(4):35mm )

Large tailed Nightjar and Cycad blue

2009-05-02T18:51:00.013+08:00

Yes, another visit to the SBG. Just walking around

a forested area, a yellow fluttered right in front of me.

Yellows? they are too common, and they rarely

land, so what? Well, this one looked like a chocolate

grass yellow, and the last time I came across one

of these I did not get a very nice image. So, I was

willing to follow it. The butterfly led to a tiny

clearing in the forest. Then the butterfly flew

deeper into the forest. I was so disappointed.

Okay when a butterfly does this, I know it is

leading me to something. So I looked everywhere,

but all I saw was soil and plants. Then I felt something

like an ant biting my foot so I looked down......

A large tailed Nightjar was sitting on the ground

rather close to my feet! ( below )

Yes, it was very close to me. The nightjar was just so

cute. The nightjar from a distance. ( below )

Now, I did not want to disturb it too much so I

moved on. I walked, and walked, and an emigrant,

yes, an emigrant ( butterfly ) bobbed by me. Again,

leading me to something. Just at the spot that it

disappeared, a blue zoomed pass me. It was a

cycad blue, rather common in S'pore. Yes, they

are common, but then why do I call it a highlight?

That's coz' of my photos. At that time, it was rather hot,

so the blue was sunbathing, and I got this shot.( below )

I took many more images, but this was probably my

best. Well, Maybe not. Here's another one ( below )

Okay, this might be a little abrupt, but that's the

end of my post......

Maybe the SBG is a better place

2009-05-01T16:57:00.014+08:00

Okay, just another trip to the Singapore

Botanic Gardens ( SBG ). So what? I

often go there, and there's the same things,

but always, a surprise. I seemed to love going

there after the incident of the blue winged pitta.

This time, the treat is about butterflies. I was

chasing a chocolate pansy, one of S'pore's most

common butterflies, and got this lovely image

of the pansy. ( sunbathing, below )

The butterfly did come to puddle on my foot,

it felt kind of ticklish. Then not long after, this

skink came into view. ( below )

Okay, all the action starts now. Drawn by a male

common birdwing, the rare and elusive common

rose caught my eye. I looked again, could it just

be the very common common mormon? No! Its

body was orange. I did not manage to get its picture

taken but at least I saw it. Then a common palmfly

fluttered beside me. Well, palmflies are common, but

I have never gotten so close to one. Snap! ( below )

Then, a butterfly distracted me. As I was rather

sweaty it landed near me probably thinking if it

should come and puddle on my head. ( below perching )

The photo was taken from below, and now, again,

a butterfly distracted me. No. It was not only one, it

was a pair of mating grass yellows. I couldn't

identify them as they were quite far away. My

image ( below ) is not sharp coz' of the distance.

Now, time to go. As my sister was evaporating,

yes, she was parched. So, we went home.

If only everyday was like this.......

Life History of the Common Mormon Interrupted

2009-04-30T17:10:00.025+08:00

Think about it, a life history of a butterfly,

eclosure ( the butterfly emerging from it

pupa ), a wild specimen, is is simply

wonderful. I have always dreamed of

making a life history, and now here's the

story of a peculiar happening to my dream.

It all started after a party at my Aunt's house.

( already home ) I was just looking out of my

house when I spotted a female common mormon

butterfly flying around some plants. I was eager

to get its photo taken so I rushed down to where

it was. When I came, it was still there, gliding around.

Then I noticed it sort of landing one of the plants

( curry plant ) and trying to oviposit, as below.

Sorry, but you might have to click the image to

actually see the butterfly, as my camera had very

little battery by then, not even enough to zoom in.

Well then, getting excited? Let the life history begin!

This is the egg.( sorry that you have to click it, my camera

can't do super macro )

The egg is 1mm. Below: 1st instar caterpillar.

Below: 2nd instar caterpillar?

Later in stage? Sorry that this may not be accurate, as

I have not seen post on the common mormon

Then,.

Getting bigger......

And then,.

Finally! The final instar! It's gonna pupate!!!

I was all agitated, excited, as the caterpillar was

already at its final instar! It did move back to the plant

later on. I know, everyone is excited, all the action comes,

but sorry, something awfully terrible happened......

The next day it was there moving its head. Was it saying

goodbye to me? I am very superstitious, so I was sad

( coz' I thought it would die )

It rained when I was having lunch out. When I came back,

I wanted to check if the caterpillar had pupated. It was not there...

I looked everywhere, as it could be a pupa. Nope... No sign...

I was so sad that I went back home sitting on the sofa

and nothing could make me happy. There was no more

eclosure.................

Dark Brand Bush Brown

2009-04-19T09:30:00.004+08:00

We ( me and my family ) had just come back home
when I noticed a dark butterfly resting high on
a wall in the car park. The car park holds quite
an amount of wildlife, and I often see carpenter bees,
honey bees, mynas and sometimes, butterflies. I
rushed home with my camera, hoping the insect
won't fly away. When I came back down, it was still
there. upon closer observation, I found out that it was
a dark brand bush brown. The dark brand bush brown
is the most common Mycalesis butterfly in S'pore,
and very often mistaken for other Mycalesis bush
browns. The butterfly did not flee by my appearance,
and I was only about 15cm away from it! Here is my best
photo of the dark brand bush brown ( below )

Although it was my best, it is still not very sharp.
This is because the brown was behind a plastic
partition and plastic wasn't very clean. After a
few more shots, I ran back home as my mother was
waiting.

Oriental-Pied Hornbill !

2009-04-11T18:22:00.008+08:00

It's been so long since I last went to the Changi Beach

park, so, I decided to pay the lovely place a visit. Wow! It was

really hot there!( I wanted it to be like that ) The first bird I saw was

the rock/common pigeon.( obviously ) Then, I walked on. There was

a quite a number of common mynas hopping along the beach. A male

striped albatross( the butterfly ) was fluttering around, and stopping to

puddle. I then started on the board walk. I could hear common ioras( a bird )

singing, and lime butterflies flying above me. The rest of the walk wasn't that

interesting. Until...... The white-bellied sea eagle swooped by over the water

and grabbed a large fish for a meal. Okay, the walk went back to being

uninteresting. So, I headed back to square one. On the way, a

common sandpiper showed up.

( the image is not very clear as the bird was not very close to me and I had to zoom a lot )

Asian-glossy starlings flying from bush to bush, there was no

sign of a single plover. Back to the main stretch! I started running down the

beach, just having fun...... It started to drizzle...... Well, that did not stop me.

When I was walking back, I found this dazzling beetle( sadly, head chopped off )

Its wing cover was emerald green. The photo below shows the underside.

Now, all the excitement begins! Prepare! ......

There was a large dark area in one of the trees. What could it

be? After I got closer to it, I found out that it was a ORIENTAL-PIED HORNBILL!

Were my eyes playing a trick on me? I could hardly believe myself. The bird

has re-colonised in Singapore, recently last year. A small population breeds

in Singapore. Good thing I came to Changi to record it! Here are two images( below )

Well, it was time to go. My head was still spinning around,

coz of that hornbill.