NSS Kids’ Fun with Butterflies at Ubin Butterfly Hill

By Gloria Seow, Education Committee Vice Chairperson

On the fine morning of 14 July 2019, Auntie Lena Chow led us on a butterfly and insect walk at Pulau Ubin's Butterfly Hill. Our first find was the nymph of the Tortoise Beetle looking all prickly. There were a number of these larvae but no sign of any adults.

Kids and parents were equally thrilled to see a Ladybug/Ladybird (species unidentified) hiding under a leaf. There are about 5,000 species of ladybugs in the world.  

We were fortunate to see the rare Bamboo Tree Brown (Lethe europa malaya), spotted by Auntie Gloria who happened to have just read about it on a nearby information board. Its host plant is the bamboo that is cultivated in lowland areas. This butterfly is usually seen during the rainy season. According to www.butterflycircle.com, only a handful of sightings have been recorded in the past decade, including at Khatib Bongsu, Sime Forest and the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Butterfly Hill is planted with the host and nectar plants of many butterfly species. We found three Blue Glassy Tigers (Ideopsis vulgaris macrina) and a Dark Glassy Tiger (Parantica agleoides agleoides - 3rd from left) actively feeding. 

We came across this striking Spider Wasp from the Pompilidae family.

Common Tiger (Danaus genutia genutia) feeding on the nectar of the Blue Snakeweed (Stachytarpheta indica (L.) Vahl). 

The Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) is a common butterfly that can be seen all over Singapore. This butterfly's southward expansion to Singapore from India took place over a span of 30 odd years. It was first recorded here in 2006. Due to the commonness of its host plant and weed Passiflora foetida, it is now widespread across the island and of course has arrived in Pulau Ubin. Here, it is seen feeding on the Bidens pilosa.

Some of us stayed back after the walk and explored a nearby area of Ubin where we found the Wild Cape Gooseberry/Bladder Cherry (Physalis minima) looking like an elaborate lantern. It is a most attractive weed, and its orange berry is edible when ripe. 

We also found the Castor Oil Plant (Ricinus communis) growing wild. Its seed is used to produce castor oil.