Blue Glassy Tiger

The beautiful Blue Glassy Tiger, Ideopsis vulgaris macrina.
The jewel-like chrysalis is pictured below. This is quite a common butterfly.

The Malay Lacewing

These are some shots of the very pretty Malay Lacewing, Cethosia hypsea hypsina feeding and resting on the flowers of Leea indica.


Possibly a newly eclosed individual resting on some leaves in the vicinity of Leea indica.


Another butterfly in the same area. This is a male showing its uppersides.



Underside of the same male.

Family Satyridae

Some common Satyrids. Eyespots. Some of the most whimsical patterns in the butterfly world. Butterflies of the family Satyrinae are known for their prominent eyespots which act as decoys and lures and their seemingly drab colouration. Many of them are, however, intricately marked with delicate streaks and lines which aid in their camouflage.



The Common Three Ring, Ypthima pandocus corticaria.


Common Four Ring, Ypthima huebneri. The smallest, daintiest of the 'Rings'.


The Dark Brand Bush Brown, Mycalesis mineus macromalayana.


The Common Palmfly, Elymnias hypermnestra agina.



Common Five Ring, Ypthima baldus newboldi.


The Malayan Bush Brown, Mycalesis fusca fusca.


The Nigger, Orsotriaena medus cineria. What a name.

More Lycaenids

Some Lycaenids at the AH trail.




The Common Imperial, Cheritra freja frigga.



The Slate Flash, Rapala manea chozeba.


The Ciliate Blue, Anthene emolus goberus.



The Cycad Blue, Chilades pandava pandava.

Common Grass Yellow

A beautiful pair of Common Grass Yellows, Eurema hecabe contubernalis mating.

The Psyche

The dainty, delicate Psyche, Leptosia nina. This little butterfly is quite a nightmare to photograph due to the fact that it hardly ever alights on plants, prefering to 'bob' around weakly practically non-stop. The frailty and ghostlike appearance of this butterfly was probably what gave it its name of 'soul'.

Some Singaporean Skippers

Skippers are so named because of their fast and erratic skipping flight. Many of them are powerful fliers and are very difficult to observe on the wing due to their rapid flight. They have stout, furry bodies and generally small triangular wings, looking more like moths than other butterflies. These endearing little butterflies are usually not difficult to find in parks and nature reserves.

The Common Redeye, Matapa aria.

The Common Dartlet, Oriens gola pseudolus.

The Lesser Dart, Potanthus omaha omaha.

The Paintbrush swift, Baoris oceia.

The Yellow Vein Lancer, Pyroneura latoia latoia.

The Chestnut Bob, Iambrix salsala salsala.

The Chocolate Demon, Ancistroides nigrita maura.

More at the Central Catchment Area

The Grey Sailor, Neptis leucoporos cresina. There is a beautiful shimmering multicoloured patch on the thorax of this otherwise simply marked butterfly.


The Common Faun, Faunis canens arcesilas. Had a hard time photographing this butterfly. Not as common as I expected.


The Colour Seargent, Athyma nefte subrata, female basking.

Pea Blue, Knight

The Pea Blue, Lampides boeticus. A female ovipositing on the hostplant. This butterfly is quite a strong flyer and flies rather rapidly. The uppersides of the female are a pale shining blue with broad brown-black borders.


The Knight, Lebadea martha parkeri, showing its undersides. The Knight is not exactly common and is usually found in forested areas where it frequently perches with outspread wings. This butterfly is also particularly sensitive to camera flashes, making it a challenge to photograph its uppersides, which are beautifully and intricately patterned. The photos below represent some of my attempts to capture this butterfly on film.



The photos were taken at Pasir Ris Park.

The Noblemen

The Malay Viscount, Tanaecia pelea pelea. This is a common forest butterfly, often settling on leaves with wings flat or descending to the forest floor to feed on fallen fruit.


Lexias dirtea merguia, male.


Lexias dirtea merguia, female.


The Archduke, Lexias pardalis dirteana, a male on the forest floor. The only discernible difference between this species and L. dirtea is that the apical topside of the Archduke is orange while that of L. dirtea is black. Both are extremely robust fliers and when disturbed often fly away very rapidly. They are fond of rotting fruit and are frequently found on the ground feeding. The two sexes of both species look very different from each other and may be mistaken for two different species. Common as they are, these butterflies are striking and beautiful, especially the males with their shimmering blues and greens.

Common Rose

Basking in a patch of bright sunlight.


The exquisite Common Rose, Pachliopta aristolochiae asteris. The wings of this butterfly are a wonderful velvety black, and the bright red abdomen and spots on the underside of the hindwings (unfortunately not visible in these shots) present a startlingly beautiful contrast to the otherwise dark butterfly. The Common Rose does not stay still for long, preferring to flutter around smoothly on seemingly trembling wings a few metres above the ground. Its caterpillars feed on Aristolochia tagala and can be found together with those of the Common Birdwing on the same vines.

Those Jewels

These three common species of lycaenids were found at the same patch of yellow creeping daisy in an urban area. Small, common and humble as these butterflies are, they nevertheless possess a delicate beauty seen in their intricate patterns and shimmering colours.


Cycad Blue, Chilades pandava pandava.


A male Lesser Grass Blue, Zizina otis lampa basking in the sunlight. This beautiful male was particularly boisterous, looking for potential mates almost constantly and stopping to rest only for brief periods of time.


Another Lesser Grass Blue.



The Pygmy Grass Blue, Zizula hylax pygmea. This is the smallest butterfly found in the region; it is really tiny, with a forewing length of approximately 5mm or slightly more.

Their scientific names are so colourful