ButterflyCircle : Conservation and Education

ButterflyCircle : Conservation and Education 
Part 2 : Educational and Interpretative Signages


Main signboard at Butterfly Hill on Pulau Ubin. Featuring the works of Bob Cheong, Khew SK, Loke PF, Jonathan Soong and Mark Wong.

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed ButterflyCircle's contributions to publications and other media formats. Some material and photos have also made it to research papers and scientific publications, including documentation of survey findings. Well-taken photos of butterflies always add that 'spice' to any publication, and over and above being just aesthetic outcomes of a photographer's work, good photos are always in demand to support well-written articles about our butterfly biodiversity.

ButterflyCircle's display panel at Festival of Biodiversity 2015 (in conjuction with Singapore's 50th birthday!) The annotations show ButterflyCircle's objectives and focus.

ButterflyCircle members Anthony Wong, Horace Tan and Loke PF volunteering at the Festival of Biodiversity 2014

This weekend's blog article showcases some of ButterflyCircle's community engagement activities over the past decade or so. In ButterflyCircle's objectives and areas of focus, which have appeared regularly on our display boards since the first Festival of Biodiversity in 2012, one area of contribution is to provide write-ups and photos for interpretative signages in public parks and gardens projects in Singapore. This is where ButterflyCircle has successfully partnered the National Parks Board of Singapore to provide educational signages to create awareness and appreciation of our local butterfly fauna.


Three of the five ButterflyCircle contributors to the main sign at Butterfly Hill on Pulau Ubin

Examples of such interpretative signages can be found at several public parks and gardens in Singapore. The largest number of signages and write-ups can be found at Pulau Ubin's Butterfly Hill - a project that ButterflyCircle members had collaborated with NParks to create. There is a total of 15 small signages and one large board depicting some of the butterflies that may be spotted at Butterfly Hill.


Small sign at Butterfly Hill featuring the Custard Apple, a host plant for the Tailed Jay. ButterflyCircle member Mark Wong contributed his photo


Small sign at Butterfly Hill featuring Bamboo, a host plant for the Bamboo Tree Brown (by Jonathan Soong) and Common Redeye. (by Khew SK)


Small sign at Butterfly Hill featuring the Batoko Plum, a host plant for the Rustic (by Khew SK) and Leopard (by Chng CK)

The signages depict the close relationship between plants and the butterfly species found on Butterfly Hill. NParks has also judiciously selected the appropriate plants to correspond with the signages as far as possible, so that visitors can read the signages and then see the plants that are described. It would also be a bonus if the butterflies are also feeding on the plants!




As with free-ranging butterfly trails, there are no guarantees that a visitor can see butterflies. It depends on the weather and seasonal appearance of some species of butterflies, unlike an artificial enclosure where the captive butterflies can be seen 'on demand'. However, it is always more environmentally-friendly and exciting to spot butterflies in the wild and observe their behaviour in their natural environment.


Interpretative signage at Hort Park's Butterfly Garden

Over at Hort Park, ButterflyCircle collaborated with NParks for an experimental enclosure for breeding butterflies back in 2009. This enclosure has since been removed for a more environmentally-friendly open Butterfly Garden today. Again, ButterflyCircle was involved in the interpretative signage and providing some educational write up contributions to the signages around the Butterfly Garden.


Temporary display of butterfly species at Hort Park featuring ButterflyCircle members' photos

ButterflyCircle members' works were also displayed at the temporary display panels at Hort Park for some time. Species of butterflies selected for the display panels are those that have been seen flying freely at Hort Park, and these are more relevant in that visitors who spot these butterflies flying around can associate them with the signages that they have seen.





The newly-launched Learning Forest at the Singapore Botanic Gardens feature a series of interpretative signages to educate visitors about the flora and fauna of the 6 hectare rain forest that has been integrated with the SBG. The Learning Forest features themed collections showcasing trees with interesting forms and bark, a bambusetum, and an arboretum of wild fruit trees.




Interpretative signs featuring butterfly species that can be found in the vicinity of the Learning Forest at Singapore Botanic Gardens

Signages also depict the wildlife that can be spotted in the Learning Forest, of which butterflies are also featured. Photos of butterfly species that are likely to be spotted in the forest and along the walkways and footpaths are depicted on signage located at the Canopy Web area. The Canopy Web allows visitors to experience being in the canopy of a forest from a height of about 8 m.




Interpretative signage at Tampines Eco Green

Over at our suburban park, Tampines Eco Green, the interpretative signage designs are more understated and are crafted to blend in with the environment. Small signages depicting some examples of butterflies spotted at Tampines Eco Green are placed discreetly at low level to educate visitors about the flora and fauna of this suburban park on the east of Singapore island.


A play mobile interpretative display at Yishun Park

In the northern part of Singapore, the 13.9 hectare Yishun park is a suburban neighbourhood park that is popular with the residents in the public housing apartments around the park. Over here, the photos used for the signages take a more interactive play format, where the biodiversity found at the park is placed on a 'tic-tac-toe' mobile sign.




Butterfly photos featured at Toilet Block 2, Yishun Park

There are 3 rest room blocks at the large park, and the designers have chosen to creatively distinguish the male and female toilets by putting photos of sexually-dimorphic species of birds, dragonflies and butterflies. The common urban butterfly species, Blue Pansy (Junonia orithiya wallacei) was selected for one of the toilet blocks. The designers were also careful to add in the universally-accepted male/female graphics for visitors who are less knowledgeable about male/female butterflies, birds or dragonflies, just in case they have people who wander into the wrong toilets!




Butterfly interpretative signage at the Jelutong Tower at Central Catchment Nature Reserves

If you are in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve for a nature walk and come across Jelutong Tower, a 7-deck observation tower that allows visitors an unimpeded overview of the forest in MacRitchie area, you will also see some older signs that used our photos of butterflies to share some educational information about butterflies in the nature reserves.




Flight of Fancy Exhibition, featuring the biodiversity of Gardens by the Bay and ButterflyCircle members standing proudly next to their work

ButterflyCircle members also had the privilege of conducting butterfly surveys at Gardens by the Bay and exhibiting their photographs of butterflies that were specifically taken at Gardens by the Bay. The exhibition held in 2013, entitled "Flight of Fancy", featured flying creatures found at Gardens by the Bay, showcasing the increasing biodiversity of the area after the project was completed and opened to the public.


ButterflyCircle members work featured on the educational display boards at Oh Farm Butterfly Lodge

Once again, there may be other signages and display boards that have used the generous contributions of ButterflyCircle members' work that have not been featured here. And to those members who have responded to the call for contributions of their photos for the various interpretative signages all around Singapore's parks and gardens, a big thank you to all of you!

Text by Khew SK : Photos courtesy of various authors and photographers

ButterflyCircle : Conservation and Education

ButterflyCircle: Conservation and Education
Part 1 : Publications


Resplendent Rainbows - pages from Private Lives : An Expose of Singapore's Freshwaters published by the National University of Singapore, 2010

A nature enthusiast friend recently asked me, "so what do you hope to achieve out of photographing butterflies?" An innocent and simple question, but one which triggered off some profound soul-searching. My friend wondered why some ButterflyCircle members kept photographing the same species of butterflies, albeit in different natural environmental settings and over different weeks, months and years. So why do we do it? Yes, one cannot deny the aesthetic value of a pretty butterfly perched on a colourful flower, or a majestic species with intricate patterns that awe our senses, or a rare species that was previously seen only a handful of times.

ButterflyCircle members' photos populate at least 75% of the book by Dr Laurence Kirton launched in 2014

But is that it? What do we do with the 'tons' of butterfly photos on our computer hard disks? Do we just post the photos on social media sites to garner lots of 'likes' with nods of approval and shouts of admiration? Or are there deeper and more meaningful reasons for the continued outings and adventures in and out of Singapore to accumulate more photos of butterflies? Is there something more significant that our photographs and write-ups can be used for - to create awareness, and promote butterfly conservation and education?

ButterflyCircle's contribution to the online edition of the AsiaMag in 2010. Photo shown here by Mark Wong

Looking back over the years and the archives of photos that number in the tens of thousands (not every shot is a stunner, of course, but they still get saved somewhere for future reference), I reminisced at how some of these photos got into newsletters, magazines and various other publications. Having the opportunity to write for some of these publications from the mid 1990's onwards, I had a good platform to share and feature Singapore's butterfly biodiversity in various publications.

Gardens Bulletin Vol 49 (Part 2) : 1997

The first article that I penned way back in 1997 with my butterfly-veteran friend, Steven Neo, was a refereed journal article in the Gardens Bulletin entitled "Butterfly biodiversity in Singapore with particular reference to the Central Catchment Nature Reserve" Gardens Bulletin pp 273-296. That research article, written some 20 years ago, formed the first baseline study of butterflies of CCNR. Back then, information on butterfly diversity was patchy and data was based on different sources furnished by collectors between 1960's to 2000.

Wetlands : Sg Buloh Wetland Reserve magazine. Article appeared in Vol 7 No 2 : 2000

One of my first articles that appeared in a magazine was the 2000 issue of Wetlands (Vol 7 No 2), a publication of the Sg Buloh Wetland Reserve, outlining the butterfly-plant relationship at the wetlands park in Singapore. On the cover of the magazine was a picture of a pupa of the Common Palmfly, that was about to eclose. That marked my first foray into sharing some information about butterflies in Singapore in a less formal or scientific format.


Colours in the Breeze : Article in Gardenwise magazine of the Singapore Botanic Gardens in 2001

Shortly after, my friends at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the then-Director Dr Chin See Chung and Dy Director Ms Wong Wei Har invited me to contribute an article about butterflies at SBG. This initial attempt yielded the article entitled "Colours in the Breeze : Butterflies of Singapore Botanic Gardens" in the SBG magazine, Gardenwise 2001 : Vol 17.



More butterfly articles in Gardenwise in 2006 and 2009

This was followed up several years later with two more articles, "Butterflies Thru' the Lens" featuring some of ButterflyCircle members' work in Gardenwise 2006 : Vol 27 and "Butterflies of the Singapore Botanic Gardens" Gardenwise 2009 : Vol 32. ButterflyCircle members also had the opportunity to showcase their work at a photographic exhibition at the SBG in early 2002.


Article in Photovideoi, a photography magazine in 2006

Then in 2006, a photography magazine, Photovideoi, featured some of my butterfly work in the magazine in their February issue. The following year, the Singapore Zoological Gardens (Mandai Zoo) invited me to write an article for their in-house magazine, Wildlife Wonders. This resulted in an article titled "Nature's Jewels - Butterflies" in Vol 16 of Wildlife Wonders.


Wildlife Wonders Vol 16 : 2007 - in house magazine of the Singapore Zoological Gardens at Mandai


Singapore Red Data Book 2008 : Section on Butterflies featured ButterflyCircle members' photos

In 2008, when the National University of Singapore and the Nature Society (S) decided to update the Singapore Red Data Book, which featured the threatened plants and animals of Singapore, ButterflyCircle members contributed their photographs in the butterfly section of the book. The write-ups described some of Singapore's threatened butterflies and provided some suggestions on how to conserve them.


Habitats in Harmony 2009 : Butterfly photos by ButterflyCircle member Tan Ben Jin


Habitats in Harmony 2nd Edition : Photo of Dark Tit by ButterflyCircle member Federick Ho

The following year, the National Environment Agency's book, Habitats in Harmony : The Story of Semakau Landfill, published in 2009, featured a 3-page spread of ButterflyCircle members' work, featuring butterflies of Pulau Semakau, and following a number of surveys that ButterflyCircle conducted on the island off the southern shores of Singapore. A second edition of the book followed in 2012, which also featured ButterflyCircle members' photographs.






Pages from Private Lives : An Expose of Singapore's Freshwaters published by the National University of Singapore - featuring Singapore's butterflies

In 2010, I was invited to write various sections about butterflies in the book, Private Lives : An Expose of Singapore's Freshwaters published by the National University of Singapore. The sections discussed the ecology and behaviour of butterflies in Singapore's freshwater forests and featured a section on the butterfly species that have gone extinct in Singapore and have not been seen for many years after they were recorded by the early researchers.


Dr Chua Ee Kiam's Rainforest In A City 2015

Then fellow-nature photographer and author, Dr Ray Chua invited me to contribute some photos to his award-winning books, Wetlands in A City (2010) and Rainforest in A City (2015).  No book about Singapore's biodiversity would be complete without photos of butterflies found in our local habitats.



ButterflyCircle was featured in a special box article in NUS' An Encyclopaedia of Singapore's Biodiversity as a major citizen science contributor to Singapore's biodiversity conservation and education initiatives. The special section highlighted ButterflyCircle's discoveries, projects and contribution to the local butterfly research, education and conservation efforts.


A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore (2010) and 2nd Edition (2015) featured ButterflyCircle members photos in one of the most comprehensive works on Singapore's butterfly diversity

It was during the work on the NEA's Pulau Semakau book that I got to know the publishers, Ink On Paper Publishing, and that association culminated in the first book on the Butterflies of Singapore in 2010. The book was the first comprehensive work on butterflies of Singapore, and was a compilation of the best works of ButterflyCircle members. This was followed by a 2nd Edition of the Butterflies of Singapore in 2015 when we added 29 more species to the book and updated information that was not covered in the 1st edition.



Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterflies (2012) by ButterflyCircle member Horace Tan

In between the two butterfly books, Caterpillars of Singapore's Butterfly was launched in 2012. This unique book featuring caterpillars, plants, landscape design for butterfly gardens and conservation was published by the National Parks Board. This book was co-written with Horace Tan, ButterflyCircle's early stages expert, with a print run of 2,000 copies.


50 Plants and Animals native to Singapore : Temasekia, featuring the Singapore subspecies of the Shining Plushblue

There are probably many more Singapore-centric publications here and there, where ButterflyCircle members' work can be found. The photos serve part of a larger purpose to create awareness of Singapore's butterfly diversity, educate the local community about butterflies so as to further the conservation cause sustainably for generations to come.  So it may be a very lengthy answer to the question asked at the beginning of this article, but it demonstrates ButterflyCircle members' significant contribution to citizen science, education and conservation efforts over the years.

Text by Khew SK : Photos and copyrights attributed to the various authors and publishers of the books, magazines and other publications as described in the article.

Butterfly of the Month - June 2017

Butterfly of the Month - June 2017
The Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra beatrice)

2017 edges towards the mid-way mark of the year, as some of us may be pondering what we have achieved over the first half of the year. Or how much of our new year resolutions have we accomplished? Time and tide wait for no man, and each of us should just focus on pursuing our own dreams and aspirations, and not judge what goals others chase by our own irrelevant yardsticks. To each his own, and as long as it brings that person happiness, who are we to judge?

The summer months are upon us, and temperatures are hitting uncomfortable highs again. It would not be a surprise if ambient temperatures around the world hit records again this year. It is therefore lamentable when the world's largest economy has decided not to collaborate with the rest of the world on climate change mitigation strategies. Choosing that path will probably set back efforts made in the last few decades, and we can only face the consequences with the rest of the world, as we share the same old mother earth.

The local economy continues to appear weak, as far as the industry that I work with, is concerned. As many companies struggle with costs and business sustainability, governmental agencies are pushing for more collaborative business models and the increased use of technology. For many companies, it is a time for contemplation about the future of the business and how to remain competitive and yet profitable. Change is certainly in the air, and time is of the essence.

In Singapore, it would be difficult for any coffee shop talk to avoid making reference to the current dispute amongst the siblings of a most prominent family. A personal take on this, is that the matter that is being debated heatedly across all portals of social and mainstream media, is a private matter that should be settled amongst themselves and not dragged out in the open as a free show. And like most things on social media, everyone would have their own theories and opinions, whether welcome or not.

Hence back to our world of butterflies where life is probably still more innocent and simpler. This month, we feature a common urban butterfly, the Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra beatrice). This species is rather widespread across Singapore, where it can be seen in urban gardens, parks as well as the forest fringes. As its caterpillars feed on many varieties of ornamental palms this 'boring' looking butterfly is very much a part of our urban biodiversity in Singapore.

A mating pair of Common Palmfly. Male on the left, female on the right.

The Common Palmfly belongs to the subfamily Satyrinae, often referred to by the common English name of "Browns and Arguses". They are typically drab-coloured butterflies, usually ornamented with cryptic patterns and ocelli on the undersides of their wings. Satyrinaes prefer shaded habitats under the tree canopy and normally fly at low level amongst the shrubbery. For a large number of species in this family, their caterpillar host plants tend to be monocotyledons like grasses and palms.

On the upperside, the Common Palmfly has bluish-black forewings with light blue submarginal spots. The hindwing is reddish brown. The underside is speckled with reddish-brown striae that is very variable. The general appearance on the underside of the Common Palmfly can vary quite a bit in terms of the physical features and also the colour. Females tend to be lighter coloured with the submarginal areas on both wings lighter.

The males can be much darker and appears almost a dark purple-blue in some examples. In most examples, there is a white spot on the costa of the hindwing. However, there are some individuals where this white spot is significantly reduced or even totally absent (causing some observers to assume that they are looking at a different species of butterfly).

A Common Palmfly showing a peek at the upperside of the forewing

In my early years of collecting butterflies as a kid, we referred to this species as the "Thumb Print Butterfly". This is because the apical area on the underside of the forewing has a lighter patch with reminds one of a thumb print on the butterfly's wing.

The Common Palmfly is skittish and is difficult to approach when it is alert. It takes short 'hops' amongst the shaded undergrowth and stops with its wings folded upright, all ready to take off again should an intruder enter its circle of fear. A unique behaviour of this species from field observations is how the butterfly occasionally stops on the surface of a leaf, walks on the leaf using its legs, then then flies off to another leaf and repeats this behaviour.

Some local examples of its caterpillar host plants are : Ptychosperma macarthurii (MacArthur Palm), Cocos nucifera (Coconut), Dypsis lutescens (Yellow Cane Palm), Caryota mitis (Fish Tail Palm). Undoubtedly there will be more species of palms that its caterpillars feed on. Many of these species of palms are used in urban landscape design, and this explains why the Common Palmfly can be seen in urban residential gardens, particularly where pesticides are not used regularly.


Cat-like look of the Common Palmfly caterpillar

The caterpillar feeds in a very neat way of making a straight cut across the leaf of the palm making it appear as though someone had cut the leaf with a pair of scissors. The caterpillar has an interesting appearance with 'horns' on its head, giving it a cat-like appearance. The full life history of the Common Palmfly has been successfully recorded here.

Text by Khew SK : Photos by Chng CK, Jerome Chua, Federick Ho, Khew SK, Henry Koh, Loke PF, Bobby Mun, Horace Tan and Benjamin Yam.