Discovery @ Ubin Butterfly Garden on 1 Dec 2007

Thirty sixth Discovery posting:

(Entry @ 05 Dec 2007: ID of fourth 'discovery' should be Dark Glassy Tiger. Thanks to Commander, the writer of Butterflies of Singapore for the correct ID!)

Was at Ubin on 1 Dec (Sat) with some Semakau Guides and a few of next generation nature guides from TP trained by Ron for their training session.

To read more about that training session, read Samson's entry here.

Anyway, after the lunch treat from Ron. Thanks Ron! We decided to go to the butterfly garden on Ubin to check out some butterflies.

On the way, we stopped by for a toilet break and just outside the male toilet building, we saw some Hoya flowers, first 'discovery' (picture below).
Discovery Note:
1. Hoyas are evergreen climbing vines or shrubs that can grow from 1 to 10 meters (or more with suitable support from trees).
2. Their flowers are sweetly scented and produce abundant nectar.
3. The ones we saw smelled a bit like Jasmine.

After some short stops looking at other flora, we got to the butterfly garden.

My first photo shot0 of a butterfly in the garden, second 'discovery', was a Plain Tiger (picture below).
Side Note:
All the information about the butterflies are from Hexaglider's website.

Discovery Note:
1. The Plain Tiger is rather local in Singapore, where it generally stays around the area where you can find its caterpillar host plants, Asclepias curassavica or Calotropis gigantea, both of which are not commonly cultivated in Singapore.
2. This butterfly is distasteful to birds due to the food they eat when they are caterpillars.

And on the leave of a Calotropis gigantea nearby was a Plain Tiger's caterpillar (picture below)
Third 'discovery' is a Striped Albatross (picture below).
Discovery Note:
1. The Striped Albatross got its name from the appearance of the male butterfly of its species, which is white with prominent black veins on the underside.
2. The female is dark dusted with yellow wing bases.
3. Its food plant is the Wild Cat’s Whisker (Cleome ciliate).
4. It is a common butterfly which can be found in the urban areas of Singapore.

Fourth 'discovery' should be a Blue Glassy Tiger (pictures below)

Entry @ 5 Dec 2007: ID of butterfly should be Dark Glassy Tiger instead.
Discovery Note (Updated!):
1. The Dark Glassy Tiger, like its close relative, the Blue Glassy Tiger is a common butterfly in Singapore.
2. It feeds on the "Milkweed" species like Gymnema and Asclepias.
3. As the butterfly is distasteful to predators, it usually adopts a slow graceful and unhurried flight.

Two 'tigers' in a day! The Common Tiger (picture below), fifth 'discovery'.
Discovery Note:
1. The Common Tiger shares the same colouration as the Plain Tiger.
2. The butterfly is not commonly encountered in Singapore, but is often seen in the urban and sub-urban areas where it may find its host plant, the creeper-weed Raphistemma pulchellum, growing in a patch of undeveloped land.
3. The Common Tiger is attracted to the dried plants of Heliotropium indicum.

Last photo entry, a cat spotted near the pier of Ubin, sixth 'discovery'. Discovery Note:
1. Cats’ night vision is superior to humans although their vision in daylight is inferior.
2. Cats can hear much higher-pitched sounds than us, and hear one octave higher than the hearing range of a dog.
3. Cats’ whiskers are there to aid them with navigation and sensation.
4. More about cats? Click here.

Finally, thanks to Ron for organising this trip and lunch of course! And everyone else who was there on Sat. =)