Wonderful Company @ Mount Faber Park

Getting life back to its normalcy after a traumatic experience can be a long and painful process. I am very glad to see one of our BC veteran members initiated an outing to reignite his past passion for butterfly photography - how can I miss this meaningful outing ! We gathered at Seah Im Street food centre for a quick breakfast before we went up to the hill in Chng's car - thanks Chng.

My first shot of the morning was this well-camouflaged baby praying mantis.
A rather colourful and robust-looking fly with a metallic green sheen on its body attracted my attention. It stayed quite tamely on the edge of a leaf, oblivious of my presence.

This brown skipper was the first butterfly that welcomed us to its territory. Looking at this shot, I would not be able to tell what it is.

But with this shot, I could confidently say that this is a Palm Bob (Suastus gremius gremius).
This moth was found "sleeping" on a cement column next to the copper sculpture murals which showcase some historical events in Singapore.
This uniquely patterned skipper is a Hieroglyphic Flat (Odina hieroglyphica ortina) which was found along a sunlit path. It came down to feed on bird dropping in a typical habit that most Flat species would demonstrate - opening its wings flat on the ground while puddling.
Occasionally, it decided to warm itself on various sunlit spots, enticing us to take more shots. It rested on a plank of wood.
Next moment it was on a leaf.
When it perched on a high leaf, it gave me a good opportunity to take a shot of its undersides which look similar to its uppersides.

This small tailless lycaenid butterfly was fluttering along a shady path a few meters away from the Hieroglyphic Flat. I guess this is Tailless Line Blue (Prosotas dubiosa lumpura). (Correction, Seow TL has identified this a male Nacaduba berenice without his usual tails)

Another tailless lycaenid with light yellow antennae was spotted along a hedge of shrubs near the Merlion sculpture - once again Seow has identified this a male Nacaduba kurava without his tails.

Finally, a very strikingly beautiful red pupa perhaps a moth pupa (note : this is an Orange Awlet (Burara harisa consobrina) pupa) was found hanging on a fern.

The exceptionally low butterfly activity was a huge contrast with the tourist activities up on Mount Faber. However, I still enjoyed this outing very much.