Butterflies Galore! : Common Birdwing

Butterflies Galore!
The Common Birdwing (Troides helena cerberus)

The Common Birdwing is one of the Troides spp that is a CITES-protected species (the genus Troides is listed in Appendix II of protected species). Although it is not rare in South East Asia, and in locations where its caterpillar host plants are cultivated, the species can actually be common, the CITES protection is probably to protect this large and showy butterfly from being traded to extinction.

The Common Birdwing is a large and beautiful butterfly with its black and yellow wings. It is believed that the aposematic colouration is a display to predators that it is distasteful and should be avoided. Its caterpillar host plant is Aristolochia acuminata which this species shares with the Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris). Here, a male Common Birdwing is feeding on the nectar of the Hibiscus flower.

Butterflies Galore! : Common Tiger

Butterflies Galore!
The Common Tiger (Danaus genutia genutia)

The flowers, stems and pods of the Rattlebox Pea (Crotalaria retusa) often attract species of the Danainae sub-family to feed on them. Whilst there are no apparent "food source" for the butterflies to feed on, these Danainae actually use their sharp tarsal "claws" on their legs to scratch the surface of the plant, flower or pod which then exudes a fluid that the butterflies feed upon. There must be some chemical compound that the butterflies are attracted to. At times, several butterflies can be found feeding on the same plant.

This male Common Tiger is feeding on the secretions of the Rattlebox Pea flower bud after scratching the surface of the bud. This shot was taken by ButterflyCircle member Simon Sng at Pulau Ubin's Butterfly Hill, where the Rattlebox Pea plants are cultivated along the roadside.

Butterflies Galore! : Branded Imperial

Butterflies Galore! 
The Branded Imperial (Eooxylides tharis distanti)

This pretty long-tailed Lycaenid is relatively common in Singapore's forested areas, usually in the vicinity of its caterpillar host plant, Smilax bracteata, an invasive forest weed. The butterfly is bright orange on the underside, with a black-and-white tornal area on the hindwing, and a long white tail at vein 2. It flies with a short, hopping flight, and prefers the shady forest understorey. Quite often, several individuals are observed together.

This Branded Imperial was shot by ButterflyCircle member Mark Wong last weekend. It shows the butterfly perched on the top of a leaf, resting in the shade.

Life History of the Malayan Five Ring

Life History of Malayan Five Ring (Ypthima horsfieldi humei )

Butterfly Biodata:
Genus: Ypthima Hübner, 1818
Species: horsfieldi Moore, 1884
Subspecies: humei Elwes & Edwards, 1893
Wingspan of Adult Butterfly: 30-40mm
Caterpillar Local Host Plant: Axonopus compressus (Poaceae, common names: Wide-leaved Carpet Grass, Cow Grass), Ottochloa nodosa (Poaceae), Kyllinga nemoralis (Cyperaceae, common name: White Kyllinga).

Physical Description of Adult Butterfly:
On the upperside, the wings are dull brown in the female and greyish brown in the male. Both sexes have a large yellow-ringed ocellus in space 2 of the forewing, and two smaller yellow-ringed ocelli in spaces 2 and 3 of the hindwing. The male has a broad strip of greyish black brand in the forewing. On the underside, both wings are pale greyish to bluff brown against a whitish background, and are traversed by numerous fine dark brown striae. The forewing has a large, bi-pupilled, yellow-ringed subapical ocellus. The hindwing has five yellow-ringed ocelli in spaces 1b, 2, 3, 5 and 6. The pair of ocelli in spaces 2 and 3 are well separated, and the one in space 1b consists of two conjoined spots.

Upperside view of a female Malayan Five Ring.

Upperside view of a male Malayan Five Ring.

Field Observations of Butterfly Behaviour:
The Malayan Five Ring is common in the nature reserves and surrounding vegetated areas. Adults are typically sighted flying low among vegetation in and around grassy patches. As with other Satyrinae members, the adults fly in an erratic and jerky manner. The adults visits flowers for nectar and sun-bathe with fully opened wings in sunny conditions.

Early Stages:
Thus far, three common grass species have been recorded as larval hosts for the Malayan Five Ring. The caterpillars feed on leaves of the host plant, and have been observed to forcefully ejecting their frass pellets, a larval habit rarely seen outside the skipper/flat families. They tend to rest lengthwise on the underside of a leaf during pauses between feeds.

Host plant #1: Axonopus compressus.

Local host plant #2: Ottochloa nodosa.

Host plant #3: Kyllinga nemoralis.

A mating pair of Malayan Five Ring.

The eggs are laid singly on the underside of a grass blade of the host plant or on other small plants or objects in the vicinity of the host plants. Each egg is nearly globular (about 0.9mm in height, 0.8-0.85mm in diameter) and pale translucent with a light bluish tinge. It appears to be smooth to the naked eyes, but faintly sculptured with a very fine polygonal grid when viewed with a macro lens.

A mother Malayan Five Ring laying an egg on a dry plant part among leaf litter.

Two views of an egg of the Malayan Five Ring.

Two views of a mature egg with the head faintly visible through the egg shell.

The egg takes about 4.5 days to mature. The young caterpillar nibbles away a portion of the egg shell to exit and then proceeds to devour the rest of the egg shell. It has a whitish, cylindrical body with small pink patches occurring dorsally and laterally. The initial body length is about 2mm. The body is covered with dorso-lateral and lateral rows of long setae. At the posterior end, there is a short pair of backward-pointing processes. Its pale brownish head features a few setae, a pair of short and rounded "horns" and a few lateral protuberances.

Two views of a newly hatched caterpillar, length: XX.mm

As a result of its leaf diet, the 1st instar caterpillar soon takes on a strong greenish undertone. The first instar lasts about 4 days with the body length increases to about 4-4.5mm.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 2.8mm.

Two views of a 1st instar caterpillar, length: 4mm.

Two views of a late 1st instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 4.3mm.

In the 2nd instar, the cephalic "horns" are less distinct and the two anal processes proportionately longer and pointed. The head is now pale translucent green and featuring a number of small, whitish tubercles. The body color is pale yellowish green and adorned with rows of numerous, whitish, minute tubercles, each with a single seta emanating from it. The 2nd instar lasts about 4-4.5 days with the body length reaches about 6.5mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, early in this stage, 4.3mm.

Two views of a 2nd instar caterpillar, length: 6mm.

Two views of a late 2nd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 6.5mm.

The 3rd instar caterpillar mostly resembles its former self in the 2nd instar. This stage takes 4.5-5 days to complete with body length reaching about 10mm.

Two views of a newly moulted 3nd instar caterpillar.

Two views of a 3nd instar caterpillar, length: 9.5mm.

Two views of a late 3nd instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 9mm.

Again, there is no obvious change in the appearance of the caterpillar from the 3rd to the 4th instar. This penultimate instar lasts about 6-7 days with body length reaching 15-16mm.

Two views of a newly moulted 4th instar caterpillar, length: 8.5mm.

Two views of a 4th instar caterpillar, length: 13mm.

Two views of a late 4th instar caterpillar, dormant prior to its moult, length: 14.5mm.

Malayan Five Ring caterpillars in the act of catapulting frass pellets.

The next moult brings the caterpillar to its 5th and final instar. Now the caterpillar has a strongly banded appearance with a number of narrow whitish bands running lengthwise. There is a distinct whitish sub-spiracular band and the spiracles are black. Pairs of small black patches appear on the dorsum of several mid-body segments. The head capsule has additional small brown to black patches occurring on the front and laterally. As growth progresses, some specimens change from a greenish appearance (green form) to a pinky brown appearance (brown form). In a period of 8-9 days, the body grows to a maximum length of about 32-35mm.

Two views of a newly moulted 5th instar caterpillar, length: 13.5mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, green form, length: 17mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, brown form, length: 22.5mm.

Two views of a 5th instar caterpillar, green form, length: 24mm.

Toward the end of the 5th instar, the body gradually shrinks in length. Finally the caterpillar finds a spot on the underside of a leaf blade or a stem to spin a silk pad. It then secures itself there via its anal end, and assumes its upside-down pre-pupatory pose.

Two prep-pupae of Malayan Five Ring. Left: green form; Right: brown form.

After one day as a pre-pupa, pupation takes place. The slender pupa has a beige brown ground colour with numerous small brown/black patches. There are two low transverse dorsal ridge on abdominal segments 3 and 4, and a longitudinal dorsal ridge on the thorax. Length of pupae: 11.5-12mm.

A Malayan Five Ring caterpillar moults to its pupal stage.

Three views of a pupa of Malayan Five Ring.

After 7 days of development, the pupa becomes darkened in color, and the ringed-spot on the forewings can now be seen through the pupal skin in the wing pads. The next day the eclosion event takes place with the adult butterfly emerges to start the next phase of its life cycle.

Three views of a mature pupa of Malayan Five Ring.

A Malayan Five Ring butterfly emerges from its pupal case.

A newly eclosed Malayan Five Ring.

References:

• [C&P4] The Butterflies of The Malay Peninsula, A.S. Corbet and H.M. Pendlebury, 4th Edition, Malayan Nature Society, 1992.
• Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012.
• A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Singapore, Khew S.K., Ink On Paper Communications, 2010.

Text by Horace Tan, Photos by Benedict Tay, Jayne Kok, Simon Sng, Federick Ho, Khew SK and Horace Tan

Butterflies Galore! : Cruiser

Butterflies Galore!
The Cruiser (Vindula dejone erotella)

The Cruiser is a good example of sexual dimorphism in butterflies. This is phenomenon where the male and female of a species appear distinctly different from each other. Males of the Cruiser are more common, and often encountered puddling at sandy streambanks and forest footpaths. Their bright orange colour and large size make them conspicuous in the forested areas of the nature reserves. More pictures of the Cruiser can be found here.

The female, however, is a pale greenish-grey with a prominent white post-discal band edged with a dark zig-zag pattern, running across both wings. The orange ocelli on the hindwings are large and prominent. The females rarely puddle, and prefer feeding on flowers, like in this shot by ButterflyCircle member Nelson Ong, where the butterfly is feeding on the flowers of the Mile-A-Minute creeper.

Butterflies Galore! : Tailed Jay

Butterflies Galore!
The Tailed Jay (Graphium agamemnon agamemnon)

This "Swallowtail" of the genus Graphium is relatively common in urban areas where its host plants are cultivated. Its polyphagous caterpillars feed on a variety of road side trees like the Chempaca and Ashoka trees, as well as the Soursop which is sometimes cultivated in urban gardens. The upperside of the butterfly is an attractive black with emerald green spots on both wings. See more photos of this species here.

The Tailed Jay is a fast flyer with an erratic flight. But occasionally, it can be encountered when resting in the shade with its wings folded upright, as was shot here by young ButterflyCircle member Jonathan Soong, or sunbathing with its wings opened flat to show its impressive upperside. Females have longer tails than the males.

A Chiangmai Expedition

A Chiangmai Expedition
Mark Wong shares his Thai adventure

In recent years, many ButterflyCircle members have made forays further afield to shoot butterflies. After many years of recording the butterfly activity in Singapore, it is always exciting to see and photograph butterflies that we cannot find on our tiny little island. From Malaysia to Thailand and Taiwan to Korea, such destinations begin to beckon to the photographers of ButterflyCircle. This is one story by ButterflyCircle member Mark Wong, who made a recent trip to Chiangmai, Thailand, with friends from the Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society (HKLS).

Left to right: Dr Lee Ping Chung, Gigi Lai, Lai Kwai Yin, Mark Wong, Mason Chan, Arex Li

"After a quick discussion with HKLS member Mason Chan, during his brief visit to Singapore in October, I decided to join their forthcoming trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand. On our first day on 21 Dec 2013, I rendezvoused at the Chiangmai Airport with five other members of the HKLS. After a good dinner, Dr Lee and Arex Li, briefed us on the locations that we will visit over our 6-day stay in Chiangmai.

Each day started at 5:45am, with the standard routine of meeting at the hotel cafeteria for breakfast and chats before setting out to the nature reserves. It was good fun catching up with our HKLS friends that I have not seen in a while.

Day 2 – Chiang Dao National Park

The cold weather left most butts very lethargic in the morning until the warm rays of the sun “woke” them up. Most were resting on the foliage which made them easy to shoot, provided we could find them.

There were plenty of Leptosia nina nina (The Psyche), and this individual was perched nicely on a flower for a nice portrait.

Along the same trail where we were exploring, a cooperative Pithecops corvus corvus (Forest Quaker) was spotted in the undergrowth. It allowed each of us to take a couple of shots before it took off into the treetop canopy.

Amongst the undergrowth, I found an Eurema hecabe hecabe(Common Grass Yellow) resting under a leaf.

Clockwise from top left : Junonia lemonias lemonias (Lemon Pansy), Tagiades gana meetana (Large Snow Flat), Castalius rosimon rosimon (Common Pierrot), Catochrysops strabo strabo (Forget Me Not) 

Clockwise from top left : Jamides celeno DSF (Common Caerulean), Pseudergolis wedah wedah (Tabby), Lethe sinorix sinorix (Red Tailed Forester). Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe (Mottled Emigrant) 

When the sun came out and started warming up the place, the activity of the butterflies was greatly increased. Most of the butterflies started basking in the sun to warm up their wings. This Notocrypta feisthamelii (Spotted Demon) came down to perch on a leaf.

Later that morning, we headed towards the caves. Even though he was driving, the eagle-eyed Dr Lee managed to spot this Hestinalis nama nama (The Circe) fluttering around amongst the shrubbery, and we all leaped out of the car to take some shots before continuing on.

We wandered around the area outside the Chiang Dao Cave, behind a temple with 5 snake heads, there was a small colony of Psedocoladenia dan fabia (Fulvous Pied Flat) that were dogfighting around the bushes. I managed to shoot a more pristine individual which was sun bathing.

Clockwise from top left : Polyura athamas athamas (Common Nawab), Udara sp., Cyrestis thyodamas thyodamas (Common Map), Leptotes plinius (Zebra Blue), 

After awhile, we realised that there wasn’t much activity so we headed back to the park entrance to check for puddling butterflies. We are pleased to find a number of individuals that came down to puddle.

We spotted a pair of Delias belladonna hedybia (Hill Jezebel) that were flying around non-stop amongst the vegetation. After some time, they seemed to sense that they has teased us enough and became more cooperative, allowing us to take plenty of shots, and made our day!

Appias nero galba (Orange Albatross)


Symbrenthia lilaea lilaea (Common Jester)

Towards the late afternoon, many of the butterflies took the opportunity to feed on the flowers and absorb the last rays of the sun before settling in for the night. For us butterfly shooters, it was an extremely fun day with many butterflies to keep us busy throughout.

Day 3 – Doi Inthanon National Park

The day started rather foggy at first as we drove out to Doi Inthanon, Thailand’s tallest mountain. Fortunately, the weather started to clear up as we headed higher up. The small patch of wild flowers along the driveway seemed quite productive, as many butterflies zipped down for a quick feed before heading up towards the treelines.

Clockwise from top left : Heliophorus ila nolus (Restricted Purple Sapphire) - upperside and underside, Eurema hecabe hecabe (Common Grass Yellow), Zemeros flegyas allica (Punchinello)

We then headed into the forest trails to have a look. The cool moist air made our hike a breeze. Accompanied by the sound of the gushing water from the nearby waterfalls and streams, the area had its own serene character that was very calming to the mind.

It was rather dark along the forest paths, as the sun could not penetrate through the think forest canopy. I managed to spot a puddling Caleta elna noliteia (Elbowed Pierrot) on our way out.

After lunch, we drove to another spot were very pleased to chance on a Sumalia daraxa daraxa (The Green Commodore) puddling on the damp path. It was very skittish, but fortunately it returned repeatly to a few favoured spots around the same area. After countless time having to prone down and getting up, I managed to get a few shots (very good exercise I must say). After having its fill, it also took off to a nearby fern to bask in the sun, allowing us some good shots of its upper side.

Day 4 - Mae Sa (Suthep/Near Queen's Botanical Garden)



The next morning, we headed to the north of Doi Suthep, near the Queen’s Botanical Garden. We visited Mae Sa waterfalls, and the scenery was breath-taking! The waterfall has ten cascades, each with a unique mini-waterfall. The walk up and down was a bit tiring but there were many butterflies along the trail that made up for the exercise.


Clockwise from top left : Surendra quercetorum quercetorum (Common Acacia Blue), Loxura atymnus continentalis (Yamfly), Lebadea martha martha (Knight), Neptis hylas kamarupa (Common Sailor)



We were very fortunate to encounter the Thaduka multicaudata multicaudata (Many-Tailed Oakblue). The butterfly has many short tails on its hind wing.


Graphium agamemnon agamemnon (Tailed Jay)

We ended the day by visiting the Siam Insect Zoo. There was a little butterfly enclosure inside, most of the species are what we have in typical enclosures though.  This Insect Zoo was set up the by author of the Butterflies of Thailand 2nd Edition, Mr Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, who is also an Adjunct Professor in Entomology at the Graduate School of Kasetsart University in Bangkok.


Day 5 - Mae Takri (Doi Saket District) / Monthatarn Waterfall (Suthep South)



It was Christmas Day, and also our last day to find butterflies. We headed to Mt Suthep, and our first stop was a coffee plantation. There was some butterfly activity in the sun lit spots along the trail. We then moved to an area around the Anti-Gravity Yoga Sanctuary. There were quite a number of skippers in the area and a bunch of Delias fluttering up at the tree tops. We waited a while for them to come down to a lower perch but they seemed to enjoy themselves better up at the top.



We then headed to the Monthatarn Waterfall, but weather seemed to be a bit too cold so there were no puddling butterflies. We explored the surrounding campsite to find other butterflies. There was a very cooperative Castalius rosimon (Common Pierrot) that was hanging around a small wild flower feeding. All of us took turns to shoot it on the lovely perch.


Ypthima sp.

Despite the cold season, we were very glad to have observed a good number of species during the trip. The incredible landscape and scenery in Chiang Mai is breath-taking, and that alone is already worth the trip!  I cannot wait for my next trip to Chiangmai again.


Nacaduba bochus bochus (Dark Caerulean)

I’d also like to express my gratitude to the HKLS members for planning and making this trip possible.  For those of you who are keen to visit Chiangmai, I understand from Arex that the information available online was a bit jumbled up and he had to cross reference a few maps to pinpoint the locations that we went to.

Potanthus sp.

Here is a video that is made by HKLS member Arex Li that summarizes the trip."
http://youtu.be/d4tVbU8BISA

Text and Photos by Mark Wong; Video by Arex Li
References : Butterflies of Thailand, Pisuth Ek-Amnuay, 2nd Edition, 2012