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Sunday 20th May 2001 proved to be an exciting day for BWR and its members
as we ventured into the stronghold of the Cabbage White butterfly for the
very first time. The weather was superb. Fifteen members turned up ready
for a workout. Some had low expectations due to the less than ideal survey
in the last urban butterfly walk they had at Kembangan. From the station
control where we gathered, it was a mere five-minute walk to the park.
 Kallang Riverside Park, our destination, located near the Kallang MRT
station, home of the Kallang Water Sports Centre and Kallang Sea Sports
Club boasts of the three 'S', mainly Sun, Surf and Sand due to its
proximity to the sea. What we didn't expect was an added 'S', which turned
out to be its Splendid butterflies!
Crossing Sims Avenue, we passed an island of green which is part of the
Kallang Park Connector. That was where we spotted the first butterfly of
the day, a female Painted Jezebel. Drifting gracefully at canopy level
among the purple flowers of the Trumpet Flower tree, it looked fresher
than most, leading us to believe it could have emerged only hours earlier.
Duskier than the male, this species is very common in urban areas and
extremely colourful. With splashes of red and yellow on its undersides as
warning coloration, it went about its business with an air of
indifference.
Fluttering very slowly close to the ground virtually touching the grass
was a male Cabbage White. One could easily make out the black spots and
borders with every downbeat of its wings. Seasonally common in other
parts of Singapore, this is one species which resides here throughout the
year and the one we came here especially to see.
Venturing out of the underpass that links the park connector to Geylang
Road, we were immediately greeted by a few lofty flying Lemon Emigrants.
As the name implies, this species has an overall lemon hue. However, this
applies only to the males. The females, being polymorphic, come in at
least six different forms from a whitish ground colour to some very yellow
individuals. Known strong flyers, thousands have been recorded in
migratory flights to faraway lands. Identifying an Emigrant is easy
on account of its tell-tale strong and quick jumping movements when it
flies. Only problem is that to the uninitiated eye the female yellow form
can be easily confused with the Orange Emigrant.
A small grassy patch at the side of Sir Arthur's Bridge was where one
member spotted the movements of some tiny bluish brown butterflies. On
closer inspection, we could identify them as Lesser Grass Blue
butterflies. Often overlooked due to its size, it is by no means the
smallest butterfly in Singapore. That title goes to the similar looking
Pygmy Blue.
After the bridge to the left was the site of Courts Mammoth Superstore. At
the side of its main gate was an infested Cycad Palm (Cycas revoluta) and
on one of its leaf blades was a male Cycad Blue. It made a dash for the
trees when we crowded around the palm trying to admire it. In the compound
of the superstore, we spotted a Leopard visiting a flowering Eugenia tree.
By now we could see the expanse of grassland bordering the park. In the
foreground we could see some small yellow butterflies. These were Common
Grass Yellows 'wriggling' their way above the long grass. Further afield,
we could see many white coloured butterflies. Some were flying very
slowly and low while others were fast and much higher above ground.
Compared to the slow Cabbage White, the Striped Albatross has an air of
urgency to their flight.
Suddenly, a greyish haze flashed past us. It was a female Striped
Albatross. Heavily laden with eggs and oblivious to our prying eyes, it
went about nonchalantly ovipositing on its caterpillar hostplant, the
Purple Cleome (Cleome rubrostigma).
Jumping over a narrow drain, we were now in the vicinity of the grassland.
With what looked like parts of a tarmac road overgrown with weeds and long
grasses on either side, it is a forlorn picture of a once busy road.
 Out
of the blue, something fast flitted out from the long grass into the
tarmac area and settled head down on a blade of lallang. Brown all over
with some black and yellow patterns and eyespots was a female Blue Pansy.
As if to dispel the disappointment of some members who found this specimen
a wee bit drab, a stunning male Blue Pansy made a hurried appearance. It
was only then that we realised the whole place was buzzing with life,
especially of this species flirting and cavorting in the bright sun.
Further on, we spotted a faded Chocolate Pansy sunning itself. Although
not as brilliantly coloured as its close relative, the Blue Pansy, this
species when freshly emerged has an overall dark reddish brown with a
series of prominent reddish ocelli on the hindwing.
Right smack in the middle of this grassland were trees that provide
respite from the sweltering heat for a family of shade-loving butterflies.
Sheltered, a few Mycalesis spp. were seen playing hide and seek with each
other. The task of identifying this particular species in the field proved
difficult due to the close similarity from one to another in the genus
Mycalesis.
Approaching a small pond, we seemed to have frightened a flock of Little
Herons, which wasted no time in escaping to the tall trees nearby. All
this activity attracted the attention of a Peacock Pansy so much that it
flew nearer to investigate and settled itself amidst a Touch-me-not weed
(Mimosa pudica). Of the four Pansy species in Singapore, this is the
second rarest. The commonest must be the Chocolate Pansy, followed by the
Blue Pansy. The title of rarest Pansy has to belong to the Grey Pansy.
We were now at the end of the grassland. Only a drain and metal barricade
separated us from the park proper. On either side of the drain were slopes
full of the widespread weed, the Common Asystasia and it was here that we
spotted the very rare female Hypolimnas bolina jacintha. Preoccupied with
laying eggs, it was in mortal danger of being someone's dinner. In fact,
one of us got close enough to take a macro shot of it.
Crossing over, we chanced upon a Su-mei bush (Wrightia) which attracted a
Chocolate Pansy, some Lemon Emigrants, a Cabbage White, a Lesser Dart
skipper and a lone Orange Emigrant. The latter's name is a misnomer as the
butterfly is more yellow than orange. Closely allied to the Lemon
Emigrant, this species flies with the same quick jumping movement. If you
have the opportunity to look at its upperside you could see the clean
separation of the colours white of the forewing and yellow of the hindwing.
My impression when I first saw it was that someone took two butterflies,
cut them into halves and glued the front half of one to the other.
Taking a rest under a Rain tree, we spotted many minute butterflies
fluttering close to its spiky pinkish flowers. These are the Nacaduba spp.
or Prosotas spp. which are very difficult to identify in a collection much
less in the field. Both these genus have one black dot on the underside
hindwing near the abdomen.
Turning right in the direction of Beach Road, we spotted some Common
Palmfly butterflies amongst the palm trees. They were in pairs and
chasing each other round and round. What seemed to be flirtatious
behaviour to the beginner is actually a fierce territorial fight for
supremacy.
Dotted along the path were shelters for people to rest and to get out of
the hot sun. At the side of one of these shelters was a Su-mei bush.
Perched on one of the multitude of white flowers was a male Blue Glassy
Tiger. Before the excitement had a chance to die down, out flew a male
Common Tiger from nowhere towards some Heliconia flowers. As suddenly as
it appeared, it disappeared into the grassland.
From about ten feet away in the grassy area, a medium-sized butterfly was
flying towards us. Looking like a poisonous Blue Glassy Tiger, it was
really a Common Mime, a somewhat poor mimic. Although not an excellent
impersonator of the former, its disguise is good enough to fool predators.
After almost two hours, we could see Beach Road from where we were. Lining
the side road were more Trumpet Flower trees in bloom. Against the
backdrop of purple flowers, we spotted a Short Banded Sailor making a
combination of gliding and flitting movements. Just as a moth finds it
hard to tear itself away from the seductive flame, we were so mesmerised
by its slow yet graceful flight that we followed it wherever it went. It
finally flew down towards us and promptly disappeared behind some low
shrubs.
Some members decided to end their walk there and proceeded to walk over to
Beach Road. The remainder followed me towards the direction of Kallang MRT.
Nearing Geylang Road, trees gave way to bougainvillea bushes and that was
where we spotted a truly urban insect, a Lime Butterfly coasting by.
With that ended what was the best urban butterfly walk ever. It is the
fervent hope of BWR that such places be preserved not only for the
survival of our urban fauna but also for the enjoyment of nature lovers.
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