Butterflies of Tampines Eco Green

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 many 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 and is wedged between the

Sungei Tampines Canal, the Tampines Expressway and the

Tampines ave 12. There are plenty of ways to get there but there

is no car park.

It is definitely worth a visit

The Oh' Farms Butterfly Lodge V 2.0

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

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

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

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 !!!

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

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

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!