DFNP 18/12/2010

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

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 !!!

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 female, which is somehow more often
observed than the male 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

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

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

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

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 !!!

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

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

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

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.