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. :)