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It felt like another one of those cloudy Sundays where the real threat
of rain was evident and all you ever wanted to do was to stay in bed.
Black clouds were already forming at a distance and humidity hung high in
the atmosphere as we congregated at the designated car park of Telok
Blangah Hill. Literally translated from Malay, 'Telok' means bay and 'Blangah',
a clay cooking pot. How this name came about is a mystery to me. My theory
is that most likely archeologists found antique earthen ware around this
site which is not far from the sea. Your guess is as good as mine...
By 9.30am there were already 12 people waiting patiently for the
commencement of the walk. After the usual round of introductions from me
about BWR, we started our walk by turning left up the gentle slope towards
Alkaff Mansion. We walked past the second car park on our left and the
mansion on our right with nary a butterfly in sight. It was the same case
as we rounded the bend where ixora bushes abound and where more than a
year ago we spotted at least 6 species up to this point. At this juncture,
I was beginning to sense the group's disappointment and the nagging
thought about the impending failure of the walk started to bug me. But
fortunately we did press on..
High up the canopy of a sea almond tree just a stone's throw away from
the bend was our first sighting of the day, a Chocolate Pansy. Its
presence would not have been detected by us if it remained motionless.
This particular specimen had chosen a vantage point to look out for
passing females. And it was one of these sorties that we were able to spot
it flying out from its cover to investigate a passing bee before hurrying
back to whence it came from. Being dark brown, almost black on the
underside with just a small white spot in the middle, it was well
camouflaged against the leaves of the mighty tree.
Looking very much like a smaller version of the
Palm Dart, three male
Lesser Dart skippers were found chasing each other above a trimmed
hedgerow of the weeping fig (Ficus benjamina). Located just around the
corner, this hedgerow is part of a well maintained open area. With a
wingspan of slightly more than 1 cm, these little aggressive creatures
will protect their favourite patch from would-be intruders, anything from
a flying insect to even birds will suffice. If and when a male flies into
the air space of another, these harmless 'dogfights' will go on until one
of them gives up and retreats or both of them are too tired to pursue each
other returning back to their perches. All we could see from these aerial
maneuvers were two, sometimes even three minute orangey things buzzing
around at break-neck speeds. Between bouts of mid-air acrobatics, we could
see them resting and sunning themselves with their forewings vertical and
their hindwings flat, showing us their orange wings with thick brown
markings.
Further down the road laid hedgerows on our left with a ravine just
beyond that and a sparsely forested hill side on our right. A dainty
Painted Jezebel was seen gliding above our heads towards the ravine. Its
white wings coupled with the colours of red and yellow on its hindwings
make it one of the most beautiful and graceful butterflies to be found
even in the urban areas.
Coming from a family of butterflies renown for their drab colours and
their dislike of the sun, a Common Four Ring was spotted skipping along in
a relaxed manner above the hedgerow. Just then it decided to take a rest
on one of the leaves, giving us a rare and an unobtrusive view of its
heavily striated light grey underside. Its common name is derived from the
number of rings or ocelli on its underside hindwing, the last pair nearest
the tip of its abdomen being counted as one.
Suddenly a member from our group shouted and pointed at the sky. All
eyes were now scanning the heavens. We were just in time to see a
Neptis
leucoporus cresina sailing across. Allied to the
Common Sailor, this
species differ in that its underside is basically grey with white markings
while the former has an ochreous yellow underside with similar white
patterns. Almost identical on the upperside, both sport similar black and
white markings, thus making identification difficult for the average
onlooker.
Nearing a row of Ixora bushes directly opposite the bend we passed
sometime back, we came across a medium-sized insect that was fluttering
amongst the red blooms. Quite easily distinguishable from the male
Peacock
Royal by the absence of the luscious blue of its uppersides, this female
was trying to get at the rich nectar. Visibly less stunning, it could only
muster dull light blue flashes that merely drew soft gasps from the crowd.
Once settled, we could make out its two faint broken lines bisecting its
grey underside and two flimsy tails with a shiny eyespot. Our journey thus
far had taken us a full circle, round the hillock.
Passing by Alkaff Mansion once more, we were now heading for the garden
towards our right down at the foothills. On our way there we managed to
spot one more Chocolate Pansy and a
Common Grass Yellow flying among the
lush vegetation. As its name implies, the latter is totally yellow in colour save for thin black wing margins on its upperside and some
insignificant brown spots on the underside. Particularly unique is the
flight pattern of this species which some entomologist refer to as
'wriggling'.
Just before entering the garden we saw a clump of palm and golden
shower trees on our left next to a hut housing electricity transformers.
Beside this structure was a little drain descending a slope and all along
its gradient on the far side, heliconias were growing profusely. Wild
peppers were growing on the side where we were standing. Someone spotted a
slight movement in the palm fronds. Under the cool shade, it was still
possible to discern the outline of a Common Palmfly. Walking gingerly on
an individual spray of a palm leaf, it reminded us of the cautious motion
of a high-wire performer. Nearing the tip of the spray which by now
dangled lower due to the weight of the insect, it spread its wings and
glided towards the small pond located in the middle of the garden. With
purplish brown wings and some luminous blue spots on its upperside
forewings, it showed its true colours to good effect under the diminishing
rays of the sun.
Our attention was then diverted back to the drain. Some small grey
butterfly flew from the far side and alighted on the wild peppers. With
that many ocelli and a thin white band, one would never mistake it for any
other butterfly. Scientifically known as Mycalesis spp. or more commonly
Bush Brown, this species flourish in the vicinity of long grasses.
Next to the pond were bushes of flowering wrightia (Su-mei). About 5
Common Grass Yellows were seen visiting the white strongly-scented
flowers. Wings closed and focused on feeding, they looked like withered
leaves with their totally yellow undersides. Like soldiers marching to the
same tune, these winged beauties were acting in precise unison. When one
was resting on a flower, the rest did the same. Equally, when an
individual was flying, the rest were up and about. Butterflies from the Pieridae family to which this species belong to occasionally use this
tactic to confuse predators.
Once a very common denizen, a
Peacock Pansy was seen flitting hurriedly
up the slope towards the pond. It then decided to do an about turn before
ending up near the drain. Sensing the presence of our group, it decided to
rest on a heliconia leaf just out of our reach. Opening its wings to
sunbathe, it revealed the richly orange upperside with two of its big
round peacock eyespots looking at us. A quick shadow cast by a swift
flying overhead caused it to hastily shut its wings, showing its lighter
underside filled with faint ocelli and patterns.
Guess who dropped in unannounced while I was explaining that the golden
showers (Cassia fistula) is one of the few officially recorded caterpillar
foodplant of the Lemon Emigrant? Yep, speaking of the devil! Light lemon
on the upperside with just barely a hint of black forewing tips, this male
was seen flying up and about nervously with a 'jumping' movement. Finally
finding a safe spot to settle amongst the variegated leaves of a
bougainvillea bush, it landed in a flash eliciting queries from the
members as to its whereabouts. Uniformly light lemon, its underside
blended with its surrounding so perfectly that it seemed invisible to the
untrained eye.
Above the slope from the bougainvillea corner were more wrightia
bushes. Sitting atop one of its leaves with fully extended purplish wings
was a male Ciliate Blue trying to catch the warmth of the passing
sunshine. Digressing, I enlightened the members that the life history of
this species closely resembled the Large Blue hairstreak from UK. But
unlike the latter whose caterpillars are taken into nests by the ants
themselves in its second larval stage, the female of this species lays its
eggs directly or very close to the ants nests. Sensing another male
close-by, it snapped its wings shut in readiness to take off and engage in
combat with the unwanted trespasser. In that split second, we could see
its grey underside with many faint broken lines and a small black spot
near its tiny tail.
Farther afield on our left was the steep side of a grassy hill with a
Saraca tree in full bloom. In the shade of this tree we encountered 3
Chestnut Bob skippers frolicking about, only stopping long enough for a
breather or two before going at it again. One of them landed on a blade of
grass close to my feet displaying its rich chestnut underside dotted with
white spots. It was as if they knew how short their life was, so that
every minute was considered precious.
Making our way back to the starting point, we glimpsed a wildly
swinging Common Mormon zig-zagging in and out of the foliage. Even at that
speed, one could still see the ivory white band on its ebony black wings.
Reaching the car park where we first started, we spotted what looked
like a Common Grass Yellow about 400 meters away. Fluttering very close to
the ground attracted by the mineral-rich moisture from the soil, it
eventually settled and began feasting. Upon closer inspection, we
discovered that it was actually a Chocolate Grass Yellow. Distinct from
its commoner relative largely because of the rectangular chocolate patch
at the tip of its underside forewing, this is one of 4 very similar
looking butterflies here. Another species also mistaken for the former
while in flight is Eurema simulatrix tecmessa. Here the difference is that
the above-mentioned patch has a cleft mark.
After more than one and a half hours stroll, it was time to say a
reluctant 'adieu'. Most of us would like to have stayed around longer but
the weather god had other plans. Large black clouds were now seen looming
dangerously close by. Considering that we managed to spot 15 species in
this climate was remarkable to say the least. As one member who hails from
UK together with his wife succinctly put it, 'It is quite good for us to
have seen so many in our first butterfly walk!' I fully agree, after all
there are only about 15 species of butterflies in the UK. Singapore
definitely has more butterflies to offer than all the countries in Europe.
Let us hope she can stay that way for many more years to come..
Written by : Simon Chan Kee Mun. Dated : 16th August 1999.
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