4561. WILDLIFE SINGAPORE. A rare sighting of a black butterfly in Yio Chu Kang Cres forest on 20 Jan 2023.

WILDLIFE SINGAPORE. 20 Jan 2023.

The pathway of Yio Chu Kang Crescent forest had been trimmed, sprayed with anti-mosquito insecticide (fogging), tree branches cut so regularly that the habitat for butterflies have had been destroyed and degraded.

Hence, on 20 Jan 2023 which is the eve of the Eve of Chinese New Year, I expected to see no butterflies.
Instead two species in perfect shape fluttered to attract my attention and posed for me to photograph and video for several minutes, at around 10 feet away from my Canon R5.

The 3rd sighting was a big boxy insect which landed on a fern frond and stayed for me to photograph and video for several minutes.

So, there were 3 insects who had been my models unexpectedly. I have not been to this forest path regularly owing to the rarity of butterflies unlike 3 years ago. Fogging is common as there is the staff of Seletar Bus Depot opposite to protect against dengue fever which is surging.

As I was videoing the black butterfly, I saw a cluster of around 8 mosquitoes feasting on the skin of my left hand near the elbow! A very rare sighting too as they don't assemble together on one body part. I hoped I had swatted all of them. They had blood in their bodies. With such frequent foggings, mosquitoes still survive as there is the river nearby. This Seletar Simpang Kiri River leads to the Seletar Reservoir. So all the fogging insecticide just get washed away by the rain into the soil and eventually to the reservoir.

The black butterfly with white spots is the Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus).
Canon R5, Tripod, AV Mode, F/16, ISO 200, >15 shots, breeze swayed insects, 9 am
20 Jan 2023

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Butterflies are usually more colourful than moths. They have rounded clubs at the ends of their antennae while moths have thin, often feathery antennae. Butterflies usually fly by day and moths fly by night, though there are day flying moths too

 

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