Life Cycle of the Leopard

The Leopard, Phalanta phalantha phalantha, is quite a common butterfly in Singapore. It is often found in parks and gardens on sunny days where its host plant, the Weeping Willow(Salix), is planted. The Leopard is usually spotted flying around weeping willows and nectaring on lantana and ixora.

Young caterpillar. Note the numerous black branching spines.

Last instar caterpillar.

Pre-pupa. The caterpillar has taken the colour of the chrysalis.

The chrysalis. Coloured a beautiful pale green and edged with silver and shining red, it looks like an exquisite piece of jewellery. It can be surprisingly difficult to spot on the undersides of willow leaves where it is usually attached. The chrysalis becomes transparent to show the butterfly within just before its emergence.

Freshly hatched Leopard. The butterfly is coloured a rich orange brown above with many black spots and lines. The undersides of fresh specimens are particularly beautiful, shaded delicately with rosy purple.

Pieridae

Tree Yellow, Gandaca harina distanti. This butterfly can sometimes be confused with the grass yellows. However, the shade of its yellow is slightly different from the Eurema yellow. Its style of flight is also different. The Tree Yellow is found in forests and is often seen drinking from the ground.


Lemon Emigrant, Catopsilia pomona pomona. This common butterfly can be found in urban areas feeding on bouganvillea and ixora blooms. It has a very rapid and robust flight and is prominent in flight with its beautifully bright greenish-lemon yellow wings.

Eupanacra elegantulus Life History

The life history of the hawkmoth Eupanacra elegantulus. This hawkmoth is quite commonly found in urban gardens. The caterpillar host plants appear to be species from the aroid family like varieties of Dieffenbachia, Syngonium and Monstera deliciosa which are all commonly cultivated in Singapore gardens.

Very young Eupanacra elegantulus caterpillars on the underside of a leaf from their host plant. The caterpillars probably stay on the underside of the leaves to boost their chances of escaping predation.



A second-instar caterpillar.


The young caterpillars are slender, pale green with a straight pale pink spine at the end of their bodies.They have poorly developed false eyespots at this stage. They feed while on the underside of leaves to conceal themselves from predators. When they are not feeding the caterpillars rest near the base of the stems of the hostplant, blending in well as can be seen above.


A freshly molted last instar caterpillar. the straight spine has been replaced with a shorter hook. The false eyespots are now prominent and there are scale-like markings on the head, possibly to imitate a snake to fool potential predators.


There are both green and brown forms of the final instar caterpillars.


The caterpillars feed voraciously and grow rapidly. And they become really fat.


Pre-pupae. The caterpillar usually spins a loose cocoon of silk, including some debris for added protection.


Final molt to become a pupa.


Fresh pupa. It looks rather like a giant maggot. It soon darkens to brown.


Pupae. The pupae are quite mobile and are invariably curved at the end.


Freshly emerged moth. Eupanacra elegantulus is not brightly coloured but nonetheless is intricately marked in lovely shades of brown.


Upperside


Underside. The underside is quite beautiful, particularly the shimmering coppery scales adorning the sides of the body.

Leopard Lacewing

Life stages of the Leopard Lacewing, Cethosia cyane. The Leopard Lacewing has only been recently established in Singapore and has become one of the commoner lacewing butterflies here. The foodplant is Passiflora foetida.



The caterpillar is marked with alternate bands of a beautiful wine red and creamy yellow. Many long, black spines run down the entire length of its body. The caterpillars have been observed feeding in small groups.


Pre-pupa



The cryptically coloured and shaped chrysalis. There are two pairs of shining gold spots on the pupa's dorsal surface, probably to convey the impression of holes in a decaying leaf.


Freshly emerged butterfly. The Leopard Lacewing is strikingly marked with orange, black, white and red both on the uppersides and undersides. It flutters around relatively slowly, possibly to exhibit its bright colours to warn would-be predators of its unpalatable nature.

Lime Butterfly, revisited

A female Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus, perched on a plant in my garden. The Lime Butterfly, after all these years, still occupies a very warm spot in my lepidoptera universe. It still manages to induce a sort of warm glow in me whenever I see it fluttering among lime plants or feeding on Ixora.

Orange Emigrant life cycle

The life cycle of the Orange Emigrant, Catopsilia scylla cornelia. This common urban butterfly can often be found in close proximity to its host plant, Cassia biflora.


The egg, laid on a leaf of Cassia biflora.


The caterpillar. Hard to differentiate from the caterpillars of other 'emigrants'.


The caterpillar often positions itself along the stem of the leaf as part of its camouflage.


Pre-pupa.


Two pupae. The adult butterfly is about to emerge from the one on the left, as can be seen from the visible wing patterns and features through the pupal case.


The adult Orange Emigrant. These butterflies fly rather rapidly though possibly less robustly than the Lemon and Mottled Emigrants and are fond of lantana blossoms. On the upperside the forewings are white with a black border and the hindwings a uniform deep yellow.

Painted Jezebel

Chrysalis and adult, Painted Jezebel, Delias hyparete metarete. This beautiful butterfly is very common, but often flies high up in trees making it difficult to photograph. The caterpillar feeds on a parasitic mistletoe which grows on trees.