A Quiet Morning @ Mount Faber and Telok Blangah Hill Park

My last visit to Mount Faber was about one year ago (see here). On 14 Feb, after a quick breakfast at the Seah Im Road hawker centre, I walked leisurely up to the Mount Faber Park along the Marang Trail.

My first shot of the morning was a female Malayan Eggfly (Hypolimnas anomala anaomala) basking in the morning sun at a distance away from me.  This is the only shot I took at Mount Faber Park despite 

I decided to walk over to the Telok Blangah Hill Park (TBHP). After crossing the Henderson Waves bridge, I was presented with a chance to snap this Ciliate Blue (Anthene emolus goberus).

While there were no critters to photograph, I looked out for caterpillars. This is a 5th instar of the Plain Nawab (Polyura hebe platus) resting on the Red Saga leaves (Adenanthera pavonina).

On the same plant, an early instar Plain Nawab caterpillar was wriggling slowly.

Wandering aimlessly at TBHP, I just could not find any critters I wanted to photograph. At a shady corner, I decided to take a few shots of a pair of mating Micropezid Fly (Mimegralla albimana) and called it a day. 

Visiting Mount Faber Park Again - After A Long Time

It has been more than 2 years since my last visit to Mount Faber Park. On 18 Jan, after an early lunch at Seam Im Food Centre, it was only sensible for me to walk leisurely up to the Mount Faber Park via Marang Trail.

Only some hikers walked past me on a rather quiet morning along the trail. For a long period of time, I was alone hunting for critters. At last, a small orange skipper rested on a leaf of the Hairy Clidemia. It looks like a Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha omaha).

I was loitering around the Merlion statue amongst many tourists, not shooting anything but enjoying the cold breeze, the panoramic view of the sea and the southern islands afar. Finally, this male Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina bolina) succumbed to the cooling effect of the breeze and  hid beneath a leaf.

Along my way to a rather secluded high ground where some of us liked to station there during our many past outings, I bumped into this skittish female Malayan Plum Judy (Abisara saturata kausambiodes).   

I spent more than 30 minutes resting and waiting for butterflies to appear at this particular spot. My first visitor was this Large Dart (Potanthus sarina) which landed on some ferns.

A female Scarlet Flash (Rapala dieneces dieneces)  was changing her perch frequently. With some luck and patience, I finally managed to snap a few instinctive shots.

It seems that the Transparent Six-line Blue (Nacaduba kurava nemana) is a permanent resident of the Mount Faber Park.

Luck and being observant usually play a big part in spotting small butterflies especially skippers in the Coeliadinae subfamily as they have the habit of hiding under foliage. This cute and chubby-looking Orange Awlet (Burara harisa consobrina) was spotted taking a short nap along the Marang Trail while I came down from the hill top.  

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.

Mount Faber Park On 22 Jan 2011

Thanks Cher Hern for giving me a ride to Mount Faber Park (MF) on 22 Jan. Once the car was parked, we headed straight to the Merlion sculpture which was just a few minutes of walking distance away.

I spotted this rather tame and small lycaenid butterfly The Malayan (Megisba malaya sikkima) . We had to be very patient waiting the wind to subside before we could take a few shots.

Below the Merlion Sculpture, I spotted this mating Common Line Blue (Prosotas nora superdates). Again we had to overcome the windy condition to take some shots - luckily, there were oblivious to our presence.

Along the way to a hilltop, this male Colour Sergeant (Athyma nefte subrata) was teasing me, perching here and there but always beyond our eye level. At last, I managed to get a record shot of his underside wing.

It was around 11 am at the hilltop, we surveyed the spots where we usually found our butterfly models. Perhaps due to the windy and cool weather, our "models" didn't turn up to show their beauty. So we decided to head back to the Merlion Sculpture. While shooting a group of red ants attending to some mealybugs (?) we met Sunny and Ellen who were on their way to the hilltop.

While we were walking back to the hilltop again, there were at least two Chequered Lancer (Plastingia naga) zipping around us. This was shot at a slope along a shady trail leading us to the hilltop.

On our way back to the Merlion area, we noticed this lovely cicada resting quietly on a tree trunk.

Along a hedge of shrubs near a beverage outlet, there was this rather common skipper at MF - a Zographetus doxus "sleeping" peacefully on a leaf at my knee level - but the constant wind and the poor ambient light made it tough for us to photograph this cooperative guy.

Sunny spotted a pair of "ugly-looking" lycaenid Logania marmorata damis. They were rather tame and unafraid of our intrusion into their intimate life.

There were at least two different Nacaduba species fluttering around the area. Here is a shot on one of them which TL Seow has identified it as Nacaduba kurava nemana in the BC forum here . He explained that with the broad submarginal band and its scalloped or evenly stepped inner margin this is unmistakable a N. kurava nermana.

No Surprise @ Mount Faber Park

It has been almost a year since I last visited Mount Faber Park (MF). After collecting a free gift from Cannon Singapore on a late Friday morning, I dropped by the park which is just across the road. Same as before, I took a leisure stroll along Marang Trail, reaching the peak in less than 30 minutes.

My first shot of the afternoon was this small and drab moth resting on Saga (Adenanthera pavonina) leaves near the entrance of the trail.This plant looks like an Ardisia species to me. My curiosity was aroused when I noticed that there were many leaves with holes, a definite sign of insects eating the leaves.

I flipped over some leaves and found at least four larvae. The picture shows two of them , one early and one late instar. I guess these are larvae of an Abisara species (Thanks BJ).

The pupa looks quite cute and nice.This red beauty belongs to the Riodinidae family of butterfly. This should be a male Abisara species that I am not very confident of identifying it. Read this ButterflyCircle's blog article for an insightful and detailed discussion on its possible identity. I saw three individuals engaging in "dog-fighting " activity on a windy afternoon.

Due to its shady habitat and the usual persistent breeze at the location, getting a good shot of this species is always a challenge for us. This shot reveals the upperside of a male when he perched on a leaf very high up.These shots appear to be a Pointed Line Blue (Ionolyce helicon merguiana) perching on a leaf near the "playground" of the above Abisara species.The undersides of Ambon Onyx (Horaga syrinx maenala ) is predominantly ochreous brown with a prominent white band across both wings. I encountered three individuals chasing each other whenever an "intruder" came close to one's territory. This is one of my best instinctive snapshot as I hardly had any time to think and compose my shots on this guy. Colour Sergent (Athyma nefte subrata) seems to be a permanent resident at MF. This male was found along a row of hedges when he was sunbathing. I often encountered the male but not female.

It was a rare moment when I saw a half-opened wing Apefly (Spalgis epius epius), warming itself under the afternoon sun. This is my very first shot of the uppersides of this species. I am not sure if this tiny and cute critter is a froghopper. It was moving aimlessly on a stem but I had to follow it and aim hard to get this shot. No new species spotted but I was quite pleased to see and shoot quite a few butterfly species on a rather short weekday afternoon outing. Let's hope that one or two Vanessa species will visit us again this year.

From Telok Blangah Hill Park to MF Park

On the second last day of the Year of the Rat, a sunny Saturday (24 Jan 09), I went on a solo outing trip to Telok Blangah Hill Park (TBHP).

Telok Blangah Hill Park was once a very quiet urban park even on weekends. However with the completion of the Southern Ridges Project in May 2008, there are a lot people passing by the park these days.

This Park has always been one of my important hunting grounds for butterflies. ButterflyCircle members have found and shot quite a few rare butterflies here.

My first quick shot of the day was this Potanthus species . It looks like a Potanthus omaha omaha (Lesser Dart), just before opening its wings for sunbathing. My focus today was to look out for rare butterflies so I didn't bother much about the common species. However, this shade-loving Spalgis epius epius (Apefly) kept teasing me so I decided to get a few shots when it was resting at a low level A Caltoris like species zipped past me a few times. On one occasion, it landed in a shade offering me a few seconds to snap a quick shot. Most of the time I was walking up and down, looking high and low but shooting nothing - a very quiet day especially in terms of butterfly activities. Anyway I am quite used to this situation these days.

Some insects were visiting these Mikania micrantha (mile-a-minute) flowers. Is this a fly or bee ?
Is this a wasp or a bee ? (Ok, John has identified it as a Scoliid wasp, possibly a Campsomeris species, thanks). Today, I didn't have much patience to chase these insects for better shots.
This long-legged insect looks like an assassin bug. Not very satisfied with what I have seen and shot at TBHP, I decided trying my luck at Mount Faber Park. It was just a short walk via the Handerson Waves bridge.

The moment I reached the other end of the bridge, some flowering Leea indica trees caught my attention. The small white flowers attracted some butterflies.

There were quite a few of this Megisba malaya sikkima (The Malayan). This small Lycanide is about the size of a 5-cent coin. Usually I spotted this species in shady bushes. This Yellow looks like a Eurema sari sodalis (Chocolate Grass Yellow). It must have gone through some hard time as the markings on the wings were so faded.
The highlight of the day must be this Burara harisa consobrina (Orange Awlet) belonging to the Coeliadinae subfamily). Very "chubby" looking orange skipper that loves to rest underneath the leaf. It was a long outing but I didn't see and shoot much. Hope I have better luck next time when I visit TBHP again.