Butterfly Garden at Hortpark (Singapore)

Hortpark has launched a Butterfly Garden at Hortpark on May 22, 2009. The Butterfly Garden enables National Parks Board (NParks) to do research on butterfly as part of the species recovery programme and develop new trails in Singapore.

The enclosed Butterfly Garden also enables visitors to learn about the different stages of metamorphosis from caterpillar into butterfly. It showcases some species like Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane), Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae), Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus), Tawny Coster (Acraea violae) and Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya), including locally extinct species such as Clipper (Parthenos sylvia), Common Sergeant (Athyma perius)...etc.



Sharing some of the extinct species taken in the Butterfly Garden:













Then 105sqm Butterfly Garden Enclosure

Hortpark staff, Gary conducting a guided tour to visitors. Behind are Mr. Kong Yit San, Director of Parks, NParks, and Mr. Khew Sin Khoon of ButterflyCircle who lent his technical expertise on the development.

May - Butterflies of the month

Some pictures I took in month of May.

Butterflies Season is Back!!!

Butterflies season is back :) Shot all the pictures last weekend in the morning.

Butterflies in Java, Indonesia

Visited Java, Indonesia on 26-Jan-09 and took some pictures of butterflies there.

Nacaduba angusta kerriana (White Four-Line Blue)

Took some pictures of this Nacaduba angusta kerriana (White Four-Line Blue) species on Jan-2009. This new species was rediscovered on 27-Dec-2008 by Sunny, our members of ButterflyCircle.

Butterflies - Puddling

Have you ever seen butterflies on moist soil, dung, puddles of water or mud on the ground? The butterflies sip water rich in mineral salts and other essential nutrients (mostly sodium chloride and nitrogen-rich solutions) using their straw-like proboscis. It will uncoil to sip food and coils up again into a spiral when not in use. This little process is called Puddling.


A Common Bluebottle butterfly flying in from behind joining in with the Five Bar Swordtail butterfly for puddling.






Females are known to puddle, but not the norm. Male butterflies do more puddling than females. The dissolved salts and minerals may be used to make pheromones (that the male uses to attract females) and sperm. Many male species are more active and faster in flight than females. The males have a need of sodium to sustain their high-energy activities level to search for their mating female.







When the males found their mating partners, they transfer this sodium to them during the mating process. Males can mate with many females and after each process, their sodium levels are exhausted and have to puddle again. Females do not puddle and they sustain their energies in obtaining other sources of nutrients, searching for better locations and laying fertile eggs.