Dinner with the Archduke

To be precise, dinner with the ArchdukeS. Figuratively of course;

this is still essentially a nature blog, so do not expect to see me at

a feast with Austrian royals. In the butterfly world, archdukes are 

large and robust species from the genus of lexias. Singapore is 
home to three species. This is the most common, lexias paradalis. 

(In English, The Archduke)

In the late afternoon, most butterflies retire and settle under leaves 

for the night. By 5pm, the forests are usually quiet. Apart from the 

skittish branded imperial hopping around, probably the only 

butterflies that still active are the archdukes. The second species 

is the Black Tipped Archduke, l. dirtea. This species is distinguished 

by sporting entirely black antennae. This is a female.

Archdukes are forest butterflies, and are often seen zigzaging 

through the undergrowth. They tend to land on the leaf litter but 

I have seen startled individuals scoot off into the trees. Males are 

velvety black with a lovely blue marginal band. While the male and 

female differ in the earlier two, they look the same for our last 

species; lexias canescens, the Yellow Archduke. It is the rarest 

of the lot.

They aren't easy to shoot either. Being extremely wary to the 

slightest movements, they often race away before I spot them. 

Of course this might sound like a cheap excuse to explain the 

terrible pictures but I am being honest. In fact, most of my shots 

look like this:

Ugh... Worst still, the dark conditions they frequent need flash to 

illuminate. The result is terrible colour reproduction. The wonderful 

blues of the male that our eyes perceive (and that I have not shown 

you yet) are diluted into a milky colour. Yes, this is the upperside of 

the male.

Sometimes pictures cannot do justice to the butterflies. Therefore I 

present this blogs first video! My hands were shaky in the low light 

but I am really happy with how the colours look. Plus, this is truly 

the next best thing to going out into the dim jungle and seeing it 

yourself. Ladies and gentlemen, the Archduke.

With that I'll end off my little babble about the archdukes.

Uncommon Characters

Some butterflies are always a familiar sight. Others don't show up

quite as often. These uncommon characters are what butterfly

chasers live for (at least me). They are the thrill on a dull and

quiet day. This is an aberrant oakblue. While the name probably

refers to the cryptic markings, it also aptly describes its habits; I was

surprised to see this forest denizen out in the open at the Zoo!

The aberrant oakblue is moderately rare in Singapore but it turns
out, after some reading up, that it can be seen in urban parks from
time to time. The Malay Tailed Judy, on the other hand, is confined
to the forest. It has an almost annoying habit of continuously hopping
from leaf to leaf, turning each time it lands.

Not all butterflies have to be rare in order to qualify as novelties.
Some are plain hard to spot! The saturn, for example, is a perfect
mimic of a dried leaf, complete with blotches of colour here and
there. I was lucky that this male opted for a green perch, otherwise
it would have gone unnoticed amongst the leaf litter.

The last thrill I caught recently was a small, fast flying, almost
inconspicuous lycaenid. It stays in the sanctuary of the nature
reserves, but today I chanced upon one at... the Zoo. (again, yes.)
Cornelian is actually a type of semi-precious stone, the red variety of
chalcedony. The male sports a bright red upperside, reminiscent of a
cornelian stone.

I would love to have one or two more butterflies to ramble about but
rare ones don't come easily. It is always amazing to see a new
species or a rare one, but these encounters are usually just as
uncommon as the insects themselves. No, these four aren't the most
novel that I've shot but they still made my heart thump as my lens
went in and out, trying to focus on the rarity in front.

Fluffy tit

The fluffy tit is a relatively common frequent of the Southern Ridges
and the central catchment forests. It can be observed frolicking 
amongst vegetation and sometimes males are seen in rapid 
'dogfights' with other males, which can also be observed
mudpuddling. In flight, the long and whirling tails trail behind 
elegantly. I shot this male yesterday. It is actually a male sipping 
from a bird dropping on a leaf!

The underside is a beautiful combination of orange and a blueish 
white. On top, the male has black forewings which shine deep
violet in side-light. The hindwings are largely azure. Females are 
brown on top with a white tornal area on the hindwing. They lay 
their eggs on the flowers of the forest plant, cleorodendrum 
laevifolium and the caterpillars feed on all parts of the flowers.

Narrow Spark

Happy National Day to all of my Singaporean readers! (and happy 
48th birthday Singapore too) What better way was there to celebrate
this special day than to go out and hunt for butterflies? While the skies
were clear (yes, only in the morning), the butterflies didn't seem to
want to celebrate with me. However, I finally settled my score
with a certain old friend.

That would be the Narrow Spark. Two years ago, when I first saw 
this butterfly deep in the bowels of the Central Catchment forest, 
I returned every weekend in hopes of getting a shot. Every time I 
ended up with shots like these.

The Narrow Spark was not documented by the early researchers and 
was only recorded i Singapore in 1995. It is a small and fast flying 
lycaenid, found in the heavily shaded forests of the nature reserves. 
Being uncommon and rather local in distribution, it is a novelty to 
see. (well at least for me)

It lands on leaves usually at eye level, and rests with its wings 
folded upright, concealing the upperside; a dark oily blue overlaying
a brownish base colour. The hindwings are metallic indigo. These
colours usually only show up in good light; in the dim conditions they
are seen in, they often appear nondescript and black in flight.

The underside is a silvery grey with rusty shading towards the
apex of the forewing. There is a ochreous band that runs through
both wings, and a yellow-rimmed black spot on the hindwing that
resembles an eye. Not to mention the legs, strikingly banded in
white and black.

Meeting this fellow on National day was a treat. I have finally
settled my score with him! Very often, knowing a certain butterfly's
habits and habitats go a long way if you're trying to find it. So 
putting butterflies aside for a moment, let's put our hands up an
celebrate!