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"Steven, Steven, I need your help. The Birdwing has
just hatched but the pest control guys are coming any minute to fog my
garden! " For one blur moment, as I held the phone, I wondered if I
was the victim of an April Fool's joke.
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The Common
Birdwing Butterfly (Male)
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But the desperate tone of Evelyn-Eng Lim's voice sank in and I
recalled that the beautiful Birdwing Butterflies were breeding in her
condo garden. Evelyn gave me no time to think as she screamed, "The
Birdwing is helpless as it is drying its wings and can not fly".
Before I tell you what I did to defuse Evelyn's
anxiety, I should first give you the background to this real life
drama.
Eveyln Eng-Lim lives in a ground floor condo unit in lower Bukit Timah. She has allowed nature to create a lush and
lovely and totally natural eco-garden. Not one pellet of chemical fertiliser or one squirt of pesticide has been used by Evelyn and
naturally it has become a sanctuary for butterflies, bees and other
insects that the ignorant think of as `pests'.
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Note: The Common Birdwing (Troides helena ceberus)
is not so common in Singapore . In fact it is a threatened butterfly
species here because of the loss of its habitat and breeding food
plant. It breeds only on the Aristolochia tagala vine and this
vine can only be found in the Botanics. Nature lovers may wish to help
promote the Birdwing's chances of survival by planting their food
plant in their garden. Evelyn will be most happy to provide the seeds. |
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The Common
Birdwing Caterpillar |
To entice the Birdwing, Evelyn had even erected a
pergola in her garden and planted some vines ( Aristolochia tagala)
which is the food plant of this spectacular butterfly. That was how
this Birdwing was drawn to her garden. But, unhappily, in a condo one
does not have full control over one's garden. It is considered 'common
property' and Evelyn had been fighting a losing battle with the
management who insisted on fumigating the entire grounds, including
Evelyn's eco-garden.
This threatened species of butterfly had been breeding in the garden
before this monthly contract of regular fogging was implemented. Then,
just three weeks before this latest round of fumigation with noxious
insecticides, Evelyn discovered to her relief and delight, that two
caterpillars had pupated on the vines.
Now, as we talked on the phone, time was fast
running out for newly hatched Birdwing. With only minutes left before
the fogging started, I advised Evelyn to cut the vines and bring the
hatched butterfly and the remaining pupa into the house. "Shut all the
doors and windows and wait in there for me," I said tersely.
Half an hour later, when I got to Evelyn's unit, I found it completely
shut. I called out and heard her answer from her (air conditioned)
study. When I opened the front door I took in the sight of a tense
Evelyn standing rigid in the centre of the room. In one hand she held
up the vine with the just-hatched butterfly while in her other hand
she had the vine with the pupa. She was praying that butterfly's wings
would not dry out to flutter in panic.
I suggested that we bring the butterfly to the Botanic Gardens to
allow it to dry and to be released into a chemical free habitat as by
now the whole condo compound was enveloped in a pesticide fog. So we
jumped into the car with our precious "cargo" and headed for the
Botanics.
There is a happy ending to this drama. After a
short warming up at the Botanics the male Birdwing flew off to further
sun itself on a tree where it was later photographed by Tay Eng Pin of
the National Parks Board.
It was only then that the smiles returned to Evelyn's face. I was then
entrusted with the responsibility of the remaining pupa as we were
unable to find a safe place for it to hatch. It ended up in my home!
The next morning this expectant 'single parent'
left for work feeling a little uneasy as the pupa should have hatched.
At lunch-time I returned home to discover that the butterfly had
hatched and was ready to fly off
After taking a few quick shots, I brought it to the Botanic Gardens
and released it
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