Butterflies and Other Critters Along Ulu Sembawang Park Connector

I have not been shooting for more than 2 months due to personal commitments and a medical problem (no major concern after a series of tests). 

This 1.3 km-long park connector links the Seletar Expressway to Mandai Road.  A large plot of wasteland is situated along the park connector and it was formally the site of a ornamental plants nursery.  This vacant site now is covered with wild vegetation and it has become a popular spot for viewing magnificent sunrise for cyclists and hikers (see https://mothership.sg/2021/06/cyclist-sunri and hikers se-ulu-sembawang/). 

There were quite a number of butterfly species being photographed at this wasteland some weeks again r so I decided to take a look on a cool weekday morning two weeks ago.  I believe the  abundance of the flowers of the Bidens pilosa, the Lantana and Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum) and the fringe of the forested area provide good feeding and and "playing ground" for  butterflies.   

On my first visit to the site, I was very lucky.  The first shot of the morning was this Halpe porus (Moore's Ace) resting on a leaf. Getting a shot of this species in SG is actually my primary objective of the visit - didn't expect I achieved it so fast. But strangely, after this shot it took off and I didn't see it again 

 

According to the record: 

Biodiversity Record: New record of Moore’s ace butterfly, Halpe porus, in Singapore (nus.edu.sg it was discovered by Zick in Feb 2022 in Mandai area. 

Some bees and the Yellow Vein Lancer (Pyroneura latoia latoia) were fighting for nectar -  the larger one seemed to have advantage.  A very common skipper, Yellow Vein Lancer can be found easily feeding on flowers along a forest fringe. 

The Common Snow Flat (Tagiades japetus atticus) showed up to feed on the Bidens flowers on two days when I visited the site. I was hoping to see the Dark Flat as someone had shot it before. 

The Chocolate Sailor  (neptis harita harita ) was sighted on 8 Oct late morning when the sun was high and sky was clear. It sailed along the forest fringe from perch to perch. When the moment was right, I snapped a few shots. 

At a far end  corner of this wasteland, there were a few Singapore Rhododendrton shrubs. A male Colour Sergeant (Athyma nefte subrata) chose one of them to feed on and rested on a leaf.

A female Baron (Euthalia aconthea gurda) was hovering around another shrub and when it settled down for a meal, that is when I could take a few quick shots. 

A few Common Red Flash (Rapala iarbus iarbus) were flitting around but most of them look quite tattered. This one got hooked on this wild and invasive Mile-a-minute (Mikania micrantha) flowers,  climbing around one of the Singapore Rhododendron shrubs.

However, you can see why this unlucky Common Red Flash was unable to enjoy the nectar of the  flowers. 

Another victim of a crab spider.

This Acacia Blue (Surendra vivarna amisena) was sunbathing   

A common species, the Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides) feeding posture did entice me to a take few shots when there were no other species around.

I could see a skipper zipping around at high speed.  When it finally landed on a flower, I noticed that it was a Chequered Lancer (Plastingia naga) - I think this is my first shot of a Chequered Lancer feeding on a flower. 

I usually shoot a Line Blue in the field, hoping that it is something new or rare. However, this is a very common specie, the Tailless  Line Blue (Prosotas dubiosa lumpura)  

This is a male Camacinia gigantea, a rather large dragonfly that can be found in a number of forested areas in Mandai. 

A kind of leaf beetle I believe, there were quite a number of them feeding on the Bidens flowers. 

Zick has compiled a list of butterfly species that have been photographed by butterfly photographers. Here are some not-so-common species recorded in the list
1. Rachana jalindra burbona (Banded Royal) 
2. Horaga syrinx maenala (Ambon Onyx)

3. Everes lacturnus rileyi (Indian Cupid)

4. Abisara geza niya (The Spotted Judy)

5. Drupadia rufotaenia refotaenia (Pygmy Posy)
6. Rapala domitia domitia (Yellow Flash)
7. Athyma pravara helma (Lance Sergeant)

8. Pandita sinope sinope (The Colonel)

9. Tapena thwaitesi bornea (The Dark Flat)
10. Unkana ambasa batara (Hoary Palmer)
11. Zela storeyi (Storey's Palmer) 

12. Halpe ormenes vilasina (Dark Banded Ace)

  

A Hike From Mandai Track 15 to Bukit Panjang

It is the north-east monsoon season during this time of the year.  We are expecting more rainy days and fewer opportunities for outings.

After a very heavy downpour yesterday morning (17 Nov), I could feel the air was fresher; the weather was cool and nice - so I went for a long hike. I decided to have a quick lunch at Bah Soon Pah Road before grabbing my shooting gears and heading to Mandai Track 15.

During the first half an hour, there was nothing interesting for me to shoot except for a diligent carpenter bee.

I just kept walking towards the direction of the expressway (BKE). Finally, I saw something worth taking some shots - a rather uncommon large dragonfly, a male Camacinia gigantean presenting a balanced and elegant perch on a climber.

Walking past underneath a flyover, I came to a shady water-logged spot  where I noticed another dragonfly. This is male Dark-tipped Forest-skimmer (Cratilla  metallica) - the distinctive blue metallic thorax and the black segments on the abdomen make it quite easy for us to identify it.

  A side-view shot.

A common shrub we can easily find along forest fringes is The Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum). I was waiting beside this shrub with many dry and ripen fruits, hopping some butterflies would visit them. Instead, a few wasps came and fed on them. 

When I was about to move on, a fast-flying lycaenid perched and open its wings immediately. Two instinctive shots were what this female Common Imperial (Cheritra freja Frigga) offered to me.

The highlight of  my hike was the encounter with this Common Red Flash (Rapala iarbus iarbus ). It was zipping around and rather skittish at first. Once it got used to my presence, it stayed on a leaf surface for a while.

Turning left into a small short-cut path, I found myself walking on a slippery and long stretch of grass patch running parallel to the highway. I am glad to mention here that a group of foreign workers were clearing the debris of a few fallen trees.

This small blue Halictid bee (Anthophora zonata) was buzzing around and feeding on the flowers.

It was accompanied by a wasp.

A surprise to me, I could see all the four Junonia butterflies at this particular spot. The ground was wet and muddy so I wasn't keen to chase after them. However, I could not resist taking a record shot of this intimate pair of Grey Pansy (J. atlites atlites).

It was almost 4 pm when I reached Zhenghua Nature Park and bumped into a skipper - I believe this is the Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha Omaha) - my last shot from a long hike -  well, it wasn't  a   disappointing hike.

        

Critters at USR and Mandai Areas

The number of  critters and butterflies that I encountered during my weekly outings to nature reserve, in particular at  Upper Seletar Reservoir (USR) Park and Mandai areas have been extremely low since mid August. 

During the past few months, the Plain Lacewing (Cethosia penthesilea methypsea) was sighted more frequently then the Malay Lacewing (C. hypsea) at USR.  On 15 August, a couple of Plain Lacewings were frolicking in the morning sun and feeding on the Leea indica flowers.

While feeding or perching, it had the tendency to flap ts wings to display its uppersides.

About a month later on 12 September at USR, I once again, bumped into a Plain Lacewing feeding and resting on a leaf.

On a cool Saturday morning at a park connector along Mandai road, an orange skipper stood out rather prominently amongst the green vegetation. It was a male Besta Palm Dart (Telicota besta bina) with a nice perch for me to take some shots.

Occasionally, when the morning sunshine pierced through the clouds, it began to spread out its wings.

 The uppersides of the hindwings can be useful for  us to identify which Telicota species it should be.

Feeding furiously on some small white flowers of the Leea indica shrub at USR, this Yellow Vein Lancer (Pyroneura latonia latonia) allowed me to snap a few quick shots.

When there was nothing to photograph, common butterflies such as this Common Five-ring (Ypthima baldus newboldi) became my model when it was cooperative enough. 

It wasn't an in-flight shot - the Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana javana) was in fact feeding on a Biden flower in the hot sun at Mandai.

There were a few critters crossed my path at USR. This looks like a kind of beetle to me.

Is this a plant hopper? I have not seen one which looked like this before.

A large moth larva crawling on a twig at USR.

From Mandai to Bukit Panjang

A long hike from Mandai to Bukit Panjang on 1 Aug after a morning shower was part of my preparation for a mountain-climbing trip to Shangdong Province in late August. Very few butterflies were spotted while I was strolling towards BKE. A row of Snakeweed (Stachytarpheta indica) caught my attention the moment I walked past the expressway beneath it. The purple bloom attracted a few butterflies fluttering around them.

An alert and active brown skipper identified by Dr Seow as the Caltoris philippina phillippina never stayed still on the flowers. 

Once it perched on a leaf, I quickly snapped  a few shots before it scooted off again.

There was another brown skipper flitting around at the same time. I could only focus on the Lancer and lost track of where it had gone. Here is the only shot I had - a female Borbo cinnara.

Strolling along the forest edge, I noticed this male Horsfield's Baron (Tanaecia iapis puseda) making different perches. 

On a patch of shady and moist ground, a Malay Viscount (Tanaecia pelea pelea) appeared to look for a sweet spot for puddling.

This was another specimen which preferred to puddle on a dry leaf.

From Mandai to Bukit Panjang

Singapore's first Prime Minister and the founding father Mr Lee Kuan Yew (1923 - 2015）passed away peacefully in the hospital in the early morning on 23 March. The whole nation was deeply sadden by the loss of a great man and a national treasure.  During the week-long national mourning, more than a million Singaporeans had paid respects and tributes to him.  

Thank you Mr Lee for what you had done for Singapore - your lifelong love for the country, your far-sighted visions for Singapore and the no-nonsense ways of doing the right things right had transformed this city state from a poor nation to an affluent first-world country within a decade.  In particular, thank you Mr Lee for masterminding and making Singapore a nation in a garden - the beauty of the greenery and nature, the clean and sparkling waterways in many parts of the island have made our living environments to be one of the best in the world.  

No words can express the amount of my family's gratitude to Mr Lee. Born in a poor migrant's family, my siblings and I will not be what we are today without the HDB home-ownership scheme,  the education polices and the meritocracy principle that Mr Lee  upheld steadfastly.  

Thank you Mr Lee, we will always remember you. 安息吧，李光耀先生, 我们敬爱的国父。

Let me continue with my account of an outing to Mandai Track 15 on a fine Saturday morning (7 March). Strolling slowly along the quiet biking trail, I could sense that many critters seemed to be still asleep and hiding somewhere out of my sight.

My first shot of the morning was this young male Blue Skimmer (Orthetrum luzonicum) dragonfly perching on a blade of lalang grass. 

I had hiked from Bukit Panjang to Mandai several times without getting lost. However, this was my first time strolling in the opposite direction. Without referring to the GPS location, I made a wrong choice at one of the Y-junctions and ended up at a very peaceful and beautiful reservoir edge - a fruitful wrong turn however. Here, I was presented with a chance to snap some shots of a pristine small lycaenid - the Malayan (Megisba malaya sikkima).

Along a stretch of concrete path running parallel to the expressway, there was a row of blooming Snakeweed (Stachytarpheta indica). A few skippers and butterflies were actively feeding on the flowers. I managed to snap a quick shot of a Chocolate Demon (Ancistroides nigrita maura).

Another skipper, a Detached Dart (Potanthus trachala tytleri) was zipping around and feeding on the flowers. Never remaining still for a little longer, it tested my determination of getting a decent shot. 

There were a lot of Painted Jezebels (Delias hyparete metarete) fluttering at treetop levels at a few locations along the trail. I decided to hang around there, hoping to get a chance shooting this pretty pierid. I was lucky to spot a male resting at a shady corner off the trail. 

I will be featuring most of  my butterflies that I have photographed during the 7-day (15 - 21 March) Butterfly Expedition to Chiang Mai in the next couple of blog posts here.