Butterfly of the Month - February 2010

Butterfly of the Month - February 2010
Celebrating the Year of the Tiger

Based on the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Tiger begins on 4 Feb 2010 at 6:42am. The Tiger is the third out of twelve animals according to the Chinese Animal Zodiac signs. However, based on the Julian calendar, Chinese New Year is celebrated on 14 Feb 2010 and this is the date for which most people would associate with the dawn of the Year of the Tiger. On the Chinese elemental sign format, 2010 will be the Year of the Metal Tiger.

According to fengshui masters' predictions, drama, intensity, change and travel will be the keywords for 2010. Unfortunately, world conflicts and disasters tend to feature during Tiger years also, so it won’t be a dull 12 months for anyone. The Year of the Tiger will bring far reaching changes for everyone. New inventions and incredible technological advances have a good chance of occurring. For all of the Chinese horoscope signs, this year is one to be active – seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and very individual talents. Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Tiger year – blink and you could miss an important chance of a lifetime!

So it is not unexpected that we feature one of our butterfly Tigers as this month's Butterfly of the Month - The Common Tiger (Danaus genutia genutia). The Common Tiger has deep orange forewings and hindwings, with the veins strongly marked with black. There are rows of white submarginal spots on both wings and a series of larger elongated sub-apical spots on the forewings. The apical area of the forewing is black on the upperside but ranges between dark orange to a greyish orange on the underside.

A rare shot showing two forms of the Common Tiger

There are two forms of the Common Tiger. The first is form-genutia where the hindwings are unicolourous with the forewings, but usually with a slight tinge of white along the black veins. This form is usually the commoner of the two forms found in Singapore.

The orange-hindwinged form-genutia of the Common Tiger

The white-hindwinged form, or form-intermedius has the hindwings coloured white, but usually with some tinge of orange along the wing veins and also along the submarginal border. This form, which is rarer and less often seen can sometimes be mistaken for the Black Veined Tiger (Danaus melanippus hegesippus) when in flight.

A white-hindwinged form-intermedius of the Common Tiger

Males of the Common Tiger possess an oval brand containing scent scales on vein 2 of the hindwing. This is usually very obvious and can easily differentiate males from females of the species.

A male Common Tiger (top) showing the oval brand on the hindwing, whilst the female (bottom) lacks the brand

The Common Tiger is a member of the Danainae subfamily, usually called collectively as "Tigers and Crows" and which feature aposematic colouration. Due to their caterpillar host plants being predominantly lactiferous vines and shrubs, the majority of the species of this subfamily is unpalatable to predators.

The caterpillar of the Common Tiger is black and banded with white and yellow spots along its body. The IInd thoracic segment has a pair of long black-tipped crimson filaments whilst there are shorter filaments on the 2nd and 8th abdominal segments.

A photo of a Common Tiger 'cub'

The host plant in Singapore has been identified as Cynanchum tunicatum a creeper weed that is found in secondary forests, mangrove/coastal areas and even on fences in urban areas. The widespread occurrence of the host plant may be due to the way the seeds are distributed by wind.

A recently-eclosed female Common Tiger still hanging on to her pupal shell

The Common Tiger is a common butterfly species in Singapore, and is one of several "Flying Tigers" that feature prominently in many of our butterfly-friendly parks and gardens. Where the host plant is aboundant, one can often see many individuals of this species flying around. The butterfly is partial to plants like Crotalaria spp. and the Indian Heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum), Adult butterflies are also fond of stopping and resting on twigs and vines in shaded areas after a morning of feeding.

And as we herald the Year of the Tiger this coming weekend and enjoy the holidays over the Chinese New Year period, we hope that the Year of the Tiger will also bring new finds and discoveries for the Butterflies of Singapore!

ButterflyCircle takes this opportunity to wish all our Chinese readers a "Happy and Properous Year of the Tiger" and "Gong Xi Fa Cai".

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, Khew SK, Kerwin Sum, Johnny Wee, Wong CM

Life History of the Two-Spotted Line-Blue

Life History of the Two-Spotted Line Blue (Nacaduba biocellata)



Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Nacaduba Moore, 1881
Species: biocellata C. & R. Felder, 1865
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 17 mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plants: Acacia auriculiformis (Leguminosae, common name: Earleaf Acacia, Black Wattle), Acacia mangium (Leguminosae, common name: Silver Wattle).


A Two-Spotted Line Blue checking out flowers of mile-a-minute in a hill park.


Another Two-Spotted Line Blue on a perch under the midday sun.

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:

Upperside, the male is lilac with dark blue basal area while the female is dull brown with varying degree of blue in the basal area. Both sexes have two brown-black subtornal spots on the hindwing. Underside, both sexes are similarly marked. The forewing is pale orange-brown in base colour with a short band at cell-end, and a longer post-discal band, both of which are narrowly edged with brown and white. The hindwing is pale brown in base colour with a series of brown spots and bands narrowly edged with darker brown and white, and two black subtornal spots with a few iridescent green scales and ringed with pale yellow-brown.

A Two-Spotted Line Blue perching on flower buds of Acacia mangium.


A Two-Spotted Line Blue visiting flowers.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:

This species is Indo-Australian in origin, and was recently discovered in Singapore (see this BC blog article for details). Sightings of the tiny but usually restless adults have typically been in the vicinity of its local host plants, visiting flowers on nearby flowering shrubs or herbs. Both sexes have also been sighted, at times in large numbers, flying around or perched on inflorescence or foliage of the flowering host plants. In flight, they can easily be mistaken as other similarly-sized line blues. A definite identification can only be made when the butterfly comes to rest and allows its two trademark hindwing subtornal spots to be observed.

A Two-Spotted Line Blue perching on flower buds of Acacia auriculiformis.


A Two-Spotted Line Blue resting on a perch.

Early Stages:

In its homeland, Australia, Two-Spotted Line Blue (TSLB) is known to be utilizing a wide range of Wattles as larval food plant. In Singapore, an invasive and naturalized Wattle, Acacia auriculiformis (the Black Wattle), is thus far the only recorded host plant. The following account of the life history of this recent addition to our checklist is based on observations made of 20 plus specimens, in varying stages of development, taken from one local host plant in two visits within a week. Another local Acacia plant, A. mangium, is listed as a host plant for TSLB in Australian literature. Hence our bred caterpillars had no problem consuming its flower buds when introduced. Caterpillars of TSLB feed on both flower buds and blossoming flowers of the host plants.

Host plant: Acacia auriculiformis.


Host plant: Acacia mangium.

Eggs of Two-Spotted Line Blue are laid singly near a flower bud on an inflorescence of the host plant. Each egg is disc-like (about 0.4mm in diameter) with a depressed micropylar. The surface is covered with a reticulated pattern of intersecting ridges and pits of varying sizes. When freshly laid, the egg is pale green. The color turns to white as the egg matures.

A mating pair of the Two-Spotted Line Blue.


Two views of an egg of the Two-Spotted Line Blue. Diameter: 0.4mm.

Each egg takes 2-2.5 days to hatch. The young caterpillar emerges after nibbling away sufficiently large portion of the egg shell. Measured at a length of about 0.7mm to 0.8mm, its pale yellow body is cylindrical in shape, wider at the anterior, and sporting two rows of long dorsal setae, and moderately long sub-spiracular setae. The head capsule is dark brown or black in color.

Two views of a new hatched caterpillar, length: 0.7-0.8mm.

The newly hatched makes its way to a nearby flower bud and starts to munch on it. After about 2 days of growth, it reaches about 1.2mm in length and looks rather fattened. Its tiny size, matching coloration and its resting posture on the small flower buds makes it difficult for any casual observer to notice its presence.

A late 1st instar caterpillar on a flower bud, dormant prior to its moult to the next instar.
Length: about 1mm.

Still sporting the two rows of dorsal setae and sub-spiracular setae, the 2nd instar caterpillar now has numerous and very short setae covering its body surface. Its body colour is pale yellow with a green undertone. Dorsally, the body features a hump, wider at the anterior, and the two rows of dorsal setae essentially line the edges of this hump. The head capsule is still dark brown to black in colour. The growth in this stage brings the caterpillar to a length of about 2.5mm, and after about 2 days in this stage, it moults again.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, length: 2mm.

The 3rd instar caterpillar does not have the two rows of long dorsal setae as in the previous two instars. The sub-spiracular setae are still present but rather short. The dorsal hump is now marked with paler patches along the two side edges, giving the impression of a green dorsal band on the ridge of the hump. Both the dorsal nectary organ and the tentacular organs are discernible in this instar. The 3rd instar takes 2.5-3 days to complete with the body length reaching about 4-4.5mm before the next moult. In the hours leading up to the moult, a number of brown markings, which will be featured strongly in the early part of the next instar, become visible on the body surface.

Two views of a 3rd instar caterpillar, length: 4mm.


3rd instar caterpillars. late in this stage, prior to moulting, length: 4mm.
Note the appearance of brown markings.

The 4th (and final) instar caterpillar has a number of brown markings on the whitish patches marking the two side edges of the dorsal hump, and more such brown markings in the sub-spiracular white patches. Brown lateral patches are found on the 1st abdominal segment. There is also a dorsal brown patch on 8th abdominal segment. The diamond-shaped prothoracic shield is white in color and embedded within a brown patch covering the entire dorsum of the prothorax. The head capsule is brown in colour. The nectary organs are rather prominent in this instar and the everted tentacular organs can be rather long (up to 1.5mm) and spectacular. See the attached youtube video (near the end of this article) of such a display.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, length: 5.5mm.

As it eats and grows to a length of up to about 9.5mm (majority has a maximum length of about 8.5mm) within 3-4 days, the dorsal and sub-spiracular brown markings fade gradually, and the white dorsal and sub-spiracular patches becomes more intense in coloration and take on a pale yellowish tone.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, late in this stage, length: 9.5mm.

On the last day of the 4th instar, the caterpillar ceases its feeding activity. Its body colour changes drastically to two extreme colour forms. In the red form, the body is mostly iridescent red while the green form mostly iridescent green. Some individuals take on an intermediate form between the red and green forms. Of the batch of 20-odd caterpillars bred, the red forms dominates and account for about 80% of all pre-pupae. At this point, the movement of the caterpillar is rather rapid as it wanders around in search of a pupation site.

Three different examples lf very late final instar caterpillars, showing colour variations.

In the breeding environment, the caterpillar typically chooses the tight space in a curled up leaf or the space between two leaves in a pile of leaf litter. At the chosen site, the caterpillar readies itself for pupation by spinning silk threads to secure itself and partially sealing off access point to the pupation site.

Two views of an immobile pre-pupa of the Two-Spotted Line Blue, Red form.


Two views of an immobile pre-pupa of the Two-Spotted Line Blue, Green form.

Pupation takes place after one day of the pre-pupal stage. The pupa has the typical lycaenid shape, pale brown in base colour with darker brown spots and blotches which are highly variable in numbers and sizes. Unlike most other lycaenid pupae, the pupa of Two-Spotted Line Blue does not secure itself with cremastral hooks to any silk pad, and its posterier end does not angle downwards. Length of pupae: 5-7mm.

Two views of a pupa of the Two-Spotted Line Blue, length: 6mm

Four days later, the pupa becomes darkened in color signaling the imminent emergence of the adult. The next day the adult butterfly emerges from the mature pupa.

Two views of a mature pupa of the Two-Spotted Line Blue.


A newly eclosed Two-Spotted Line Blue near its empty pupa case, waiting for its wings to be firmed up.

Life History of the Two-Spotted Line Blue.

References:

• The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, The Malayan Nature Society.
• Butterflies of Australia: Their Identification, Biology and Distribution, Volume Two, Michael F. Brady, CSIRO Publishing.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by James Chia, Tan Ben Jin, Sunny Chir, Khew S K and Horace Tan

An Aussie Skipperoo Comes to Town

An Aussie Skipperoo Comes to Town
Introducing the Yellow Palm Dart (Cephrenes trichopepla)

It took quite some time of careful research and breeding the entire life history of this species before ButterflyCircle members finally confirmed that this Hesperiidae, which is usually found in Northern Australia, is now a permanent resident of Singapore (and also Malaysia!)

This skipper, which superficially resembles the local Telicota species, escaped notice for many years. It all started (now that I've had time to dig out my notes and emails from various people) with an email from a butterfly expert from Australia who was on holiday in Singapore. This was back in 1999! Kelvyn Dunn, who wrote me an email later in 2003, said this :

"Recently in Singapore (1999) I observed and examined in the hand (incl photographed) an example of Cephrenes trichopepla (an Australian sp.) in Fort Canning Park. I have video images.

Have you found any evidence of this skipper species as yet? I presume mine was not athe only one. (I can send pics if you want to see them to examine it for yourself).

In Australia my claim has met some scepticism because I did not preserve the adult."

At that point in time, ButterflyCircle hadn't even re-discovered the Plain Palm Dart (Cephrenes acalle niasicus) yet, so I was rather skeptical at Kelvyn's find too. The many lookalikes amongst the Telicota and larger Potanthus spp. didn't help either, so I assumed that Kelvyn's find was probably another one of the Telicota and left it at that.

Some time later, more individuals of this rather large skipper turned out in various locations in Singapore - public parks, gardens, flower nurseries and so on. By then, we had confirmation of the existence of the Plain Palm Dart after a few shots of the more distinctive females were validated. Hence I assumed that what Kelvyn observed in 1999 was probably a male Cephrenes acalle.

Although the males of the Plain Palm Dart had more angular apical forewing area, the markings on the undersides are less distinct than this other strange skipper that had clean orange colours and crisp markings on the undersides. The physical appearance of this butterfly didn't really match the markings of any of the Telicota spp shown in the reference books on Malaysian, Singaporean and even Thai butterflies.

So we continued with the belief that this skipper could be just be displaying variations of the markings of the extant species of Telicota or the solitary Cephrenes sp in Singapore.

More shots turned up of this species, which we incorrectly identified as one of the Telicota spp. But the larger size of many of the individuals sighted continued to intrigue me, although I put it down to variations in the sizes of the Hesperiidae, which occurs quite often amongst some other species. Even after managing to capture a mating pair of this species, I left it that it was one of the Telicota.

A mating pair of the Yellow Palm Dart observed near a reservoir park

By good fortune and chance, ButterflyCircle member Anthony Wong discovered a caterpillar feeding on coconut leaf (Cocos nucifera) during a survey of the offshore island of Pulau Semakau. Left in the good hands of our expert caterpillar farmer, Horace Tan, photos of the caterpillar indicated a physical difference from the Telicota caterpillars as shown in various reference books. This caterpillar had unique orange-yellow "cheeks" on both sides of its mandibles.

Close up of the Yellow Palm Dart's caterpillar, showing its orange-yellow "cheeks"

A quick research on Internet resources found a closely-matched early stages of the Australian skipper, Yellow Palm Dart (Cephrenes trichopepla). Shortly before this find on Pulau Semakau, our ButterflyCircle member in Kuala Lumpur, LC Goh, had also recorded complete life history of a an unidentified species of skipper in March 2009. Comparing the photos with more of the caterpillars that were eventually bred in Singapore, it was confirmed that what LC Goh bred, was also a Yellow Palm Dart!

Caterpillar of the Yellow Palm Dart, bred by LC Goh in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Further consultations with Kelvyn Dunn, who generously provided photos and research papers that he had written on two resident Cephrenes in Australia, and also our Malaysian expert lepidopterist, Dr Laurence Kirton, it is now established beyond doubt, that the Hesperiidae species, the Yellow Palm Dart (Cephrenes trichopepla) is now part of the butterfly fauna in Malaysia and Singapore.

Male and Female Yellow Palm Darts - freshly eclosed specimens from caterpillars bred on Cocos nucifera

Both sexes of the Yellow Palm Dart are almost identical in appearance. The uppersides of the wings are dark brown to black, with orange bands on the forewings, and a wide discal band on the hindwings. The undersides are ochreous yellow with the markings distinctly marked in black. The hindwings beneath has a large black spot in the anal fold which separates it from all other species.

Males are exceedingly fast flyers but often stop to perch with its forewings held at an angle with the hindwings opened flat in the typical Hesperiidae fashion.

A male Yellow Palm Dart perches in the usual skipper fashion

The caterpillar host plant on which the species was bred in Singapore is the Coconut Palm. However, the species is known to also feed on various other Palmae in Australia.

So, as we wish "G'day, mate" to this Australian "foreign talent" and new addition to the Singapore (and Malaysian) checklists - the Yellow Palm Dart, we also hope to one day see another similar Australian species the Orange Palm Dart (Cephrenes augiades) reaching the shores of Singapore.

Specimens shots of the Yellow Palm Dart, courtesy of the James Cook University, Australia

In conclusion, Kelvyn, if you are reading this article, you can now assure your skeptics that you indeed saw a Yellow Palm Dart here in Singapore in 1999. Your valued discussions over emails and articles and photos that you sent me are very much appreciated.

Text by Khew SK ; Photos by Sunny Chir, LC Goh, Khew SK & Horace Tan

Further Reading :

• South Australian Butterflies Data Sheet by R. Grund 2004