By Gloria Seow, Education Committee
Vice-Chairperson
Photos by Gloria Seow, KC Tsang & Suressh
CleanTech Park and the next door Jurong Eco
Garden serve as a fine example of sustainable development in Singapore – harmoniously
marrying green building (ie. eco-friendly built features) with manicured and
wild greenery rich in biodiversity. Impressively, the eco garden conserves a
hodge podge of habitats including a hill forest, secondary forest, freshwater
swamp vegetation and rocky stream. It also offers a landscaped butterfly garden
and artificial ponds.
Sailing out to meet us at the start was Singapore’s largest butterfly, the
Common Birdwing.
We visited Jurong Eco Garden on 16 July 2017
to experience the myriad of colourful butterflies and insects within its five-hectare
grounds. At the start of the walk, our group of kids and their caregivers encountered Singapore’s
largest butterfly, the Common Birdwing (Troides
helena cerberus). Several majestic specimens sailed
effortlessly by, buoyed by wings as big as a tiny bird. Traipsing into the butterfly
garden proper, Auntie Amy pointed out its flighty denizens in quick succession:
Orange Emigrant (Catopsilia scylla
cornelia), Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia
pomona pomona), Common Mormon (Papilio polytes romulus), Peacock
Pansy (Junonia almana jacana), Tawny
Palmfly (Elymnias panthera panthera)
and many more.
We
learnt that the Indian Prune (Flacourtia Rukam), a small tree with
attractive red and green leaves, is the host plant for the Leopard butterfly (Phalanta phalantha
phalantha) and saw a good many Leopards flitting about. Next, we were
introduced to the distinctive Dutchman’s Pipe (Aristolochia acuminata),
a creeper with flowers that resemble a smoking pipe. Auntie Amy revealed that
this important vine is the host plant for the caterpillars of both the Common
Birdwing and Singapore’s National Butterfly, the Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae
asteris). Poking
around the vegetation, Auntie Lena spotted a Bagworm Moth caterpillar. It had a
conical shell on its back as a protective mechanism, made mainly of plant
detritus spun together with silk.
The Saint
Andrew’s Cross Spider arranges its legs in pairs to form the letter X, also resembling a cross.
Fortuitously,
a child participant noticed a most curious sight – a good number of long-legged
Craneflies (Tipulidae family) massing together as if holding hands.
They were strung across two plants in a rhythmic dance. This was likely a
mating ritual where males perform in unison to attract females. As we crossed a
rocky stream to enter the hill forest, Auntie Lena highlighted a variety
of dragon- and damselflies. She taught us how to identify the Common
Parasol (Neurothemis fluctuans) – the only dragonfly with both maroon
body and wings for the male, and yellowish body
and clear wings for the female. In comparison, most reddish
dragonflies have transparent wings and can be told apart by specific markings
on their wings, thoraxes or abdomens. We observed the behaviour of the bluish Indigo
Dropwing (Trithemis festiva), so called because it folds down (ie.
drops) its wings upon landing. It was amazing to discover that a single
dragonfly can eat 30 to hundreds of mosquitoes a day. Likewise, its larvae consume
mosquito larvae. This makes dragonflies valuable allies in our fight against
mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue.
The Horsfield’s Baron is only encountered in forested areas.
Meandering
along the forested path, we were pleased to see two attractive forest
butterflies, the Horsfield’s Baron (Tanaecia iapis puseda) and
the Ciliate Blue (Anthene emolus goberus). Auntie
Gloria found us a Saint Andrew’s Cross Spider (Argiope spp) on its web,
a classic arachnid that arranges its legs in pairs to form the letter X. We
also came across several frog egg clusters suspended in clear puddles, and
admired the fallen blooms of the Passion Fruit (Passiflora laurifolia)
and African Tulip (Spathodea campanulate). Uncle Suressh pointed out
the black-and-red-striped Grenadier (Agrionoptera insignis), a
large forest dragonfly that taunted us with its fly-and-perch routine. As we
neared the end of the trail, a Laced Woodpecker (Picus vittatus) made its
appearance as if to bid us adieu. In all, it was a fulfilling morning of
wildlife spotting right next to an industrial park.
An attractive Laced Woodpecker bidding us adieu.
Our Highlights at Jurong Eco Garden
By 14-year-old
Alastair Liew, Photos by 12-year-old Jake Liew
Jake in
front of a vertical garden of ferns and other plants.
Jurong
Eco Garden is the green lungs of CleanTech Park, tucked away in a little corner
next to Nanyang Technological University. It is located opposite the Thow Kwang
Dragon Kiln devoted to the craft of hand-made wood-fired pottery. Before we
embarked on our walk, we spent time admiring the vertical wall of plants just
outside the toilet at the entrance. We were lucky as it was a cool day with large
fluffy clouds offering a measure of shade.
A tree with many holey leaves, the handiwork
of voracious caterpillars.
We
followed a paved path into the garden and came across a poor tree with leaves riddled
with holes eaten by caterpillars. Sadly, we did not manage to see the caterpillars.
In contrast, butterflies could be observed flying about everywhere.
Crossing
a small stream proved a challenge for some little ones.
Our
advance was halted by a small stream. Thankfully, there were little stepping
stones to aid our crossing. A number of the younger children with over-active
imagination were afraid that frogs would suddenly leap across their paths,
while others were scared of the many dragonflies zipping around. Still, we all made
it across unscathed.
The path led
to a section with many trees that towered over us. We kept our eyes peeled. Jake
was rewarded with a small yellow-and-black bug crawling on top of a leaf.
Auntie Gloria pointed out a St Andrew’s Cross Spider in the middle of an
intricately-weaved web. This is a species of orb web spider that holds its legs
in pairs into a characteristic X-shape. Upon catching its prey, it will rotate the
victim with binding silk until it forms a neat package before drawing it closer
to administer the fatal kiss of death. Closer examination of a puddle of water produced
a clutch of frog’s eggs that reminded us of yummy basil seeds (biji selasih) in ice jelly dessert.
A clutch
of frog’s eggs, resembling basil seeds (biji
selasih) in ice jelly dessert.
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