AUTUMN LEAF

I am so glad that I am posting again after such a long break.

This was from some time ago too. It was the Autumn Leaf butterfly season then and caterpillars were everywhere on the host plant Pseuderanthemum reticulatum.

an empty pupa case

a pupa waiting to eclose soon

the adult butterfly

a caterpillar that left its old moult behind

PREMNA FOETIDA

I can't explain why I am drawn to this green native Premna foetida (Synonym: P. obtusifolia; Family: Verbenaceae) but I guess one of the reasons is that some butterflies are attracted to the white flowers, like this Autumn Leaf.

NURSERY

I was collecting plants and suddenly saw caterpillars of the Autumn Leaf butterfly on the variegated Asystasia groundcover. I have often seen this butterflies' caterpillars on Pseuderanthemum and Graptophyllum shrubs but this is the first time I am seeing it on this particular cultivar. So it seems it has adapted to feed on this plant species too.

Nearby, the Phyllagathis rotundifolia beckoned me with its beautiful foliage. I simply love the textural veins, leaf shape and purplish leaf bases of this groundcover.


Then, I saw the Pleated Ink Cap Fungus (scientific name: Coprinus plicatilis) on a batch of soil. The semi-transparent umbrella-liked caps look so adorable when viewed close-up. When they occur in clusters, they look even more lovely.

ORCHARD ROAD

Today's weather - sunny

This is part of the NParks and NSS's butterfly trail that leads from the Singapore Botanic Gardens to Fort Canning Park. Planted at this area beside the Penang Road is one of my favourite foliage plants, the Pseuderanthemum 'Golden'.


I walked past the plants and suddenly felt an impulse to check out for caterpillars. I was lucky because barely a metre away, I saw something on the underside of one of the leaves. When I flipped the leaf over, I saw this beautiful 5 cm long caterpillar of the Autumn Leaf butterfly. In the past before I learnt about butterflies and their breeding, I might freak out if I saw this, but now I am totally comfortable to even hold it in my palm. With a smile across my face, I turned back the leaf and left the small creature to continue feasting on the leaf after taking these photos.

BUDDLEIA DAVIDII & AUTUMN LEAF

When I saw a few Autumn Leaf butterflies on the flowers of the Buddleia davidii this afternoon, I was so excited that I told myself I must definitely post about it. Overseas, it was well documented that this flowering plant, which is commonly known as Butterfly Bush or Summer Lilac, is fragrant and is a butterfly nectar plant.

However, I planted this in HortPark but so far, I don't think I have seen it being visited by a butterfly, that is, until today! Anyway, this amazingly beautiful shrub that was propagated by my friend managed to grow so well here. I confirm that the butterflies were visiting it for its nectar because after moving too near to them, they sort of flew off but settled back on the flowers again. And the Autumn Leaf butterflies are a new sighting for me at Bay East. Fortunately, I planted out a lot of its host plants, which means I would likely see its caterpillars soon. It just makes my day!

DISCOVERY

I made 2 discoveries recently when I walked in from Floral Walk. I seldom walk in from that direction because I usually come in through Pasir Panjang Road.

1. The first being that the Autumn Leaf caterpillars feed on the leaves of the yellow flower Ruttya fruticosa that I planted out at Floral Walk.
2. I finally spotted the earlier instars of the caterpillars. Frankly, I have never seen it before with my own eyes.

One of the ways to find caterpillars is to look out for its frass.

Ok, I admit that these were not earth-shattering discoveries. But they were part of my learning journey on butterflies.

CHANGE

When i saw this, the first thought that came to mind was what's that small strange thing trailing behind the Autumn Leaf caterpillar.

Then it suddenly dawned upon me that this cat just shed its own skin, leaving behind a crunched up mess. This was the next instar!

A few post earlier, I showed the adult butterfly photos. In our human world, we sometimes change our skins from time to time as we age, from one person (or personality) to another, in order to take on the challenges we face in our daily lives for the simple reason of survival. So are we any different from a butterfly?

AUTUMN

Autumn was here. Well, at least not literally.

I saw this male Autumn Leaf butterfly sipping nutrients at a gap between granite pavers at the Floral Walk walkway.I am certain it is a male because only males puddle on seepages etc to absorb essential nutrients from these the surfaces.

These Autumn Leaf butterflies are a constant at HortPark since they have so many host plants planted in the area, including the Pseuderanthemum shrubs, Graptophyllum pictum shrubs, Justicia brandegeeana etc.

When it doesn't open up its wings and perch on any surfaces, it does look like a leaf. Most of the time, it stays this way to camouflage itself against the vegetation etc to avoid predation. The caterpillars are very interesting in having a blackish body with blue and orange knob-like protrusions along its length. When it flaps its wings, like when I touched it to get it to open up, you can get a glimpse of how pretty it looks. For this particular male butterfly, the upperside revealed a nice orange that occupied most of its surface with a large black arched patch near the upper wing tip and several black spots on its lower wings. I wonder how the female looks like?