This Singapore subspecies of the Blue Spotted Crow (Euploea midamus singapura) is uncommon in Singapore, and is rarely seen. Sightings of the slow flying adults includes individuals or small groups visiting flowers and puddling. On rare occasions, several adults could be seen flying around shelter huts built alongside trails in the catchment area, with some even puddling on the cement floor of the shelters. Although mostly confined to the nature reserves, some individuals have also been observed in housing estates.

The caterpillars of Blue Spotted Crow feed on the young and tender leaves of a lactiferous plant in its early instars but move on to the more mature and larger leaves in the later instars.  The host plant has yet to be identified.

Read all about it at the Butterflies of Singapore BLOG.

As part of the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ 150th Anniversary Celebrations, an exhibition to celebrate the works of two reknown intellectuals Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace is being held at the Botany Centre from 1 Aug – 31 Aug 2009.  The exhibition discusses Natural Selection and the Theory of Evolution as first postulated by the two intellectuals after spending a lot of time circumnavigating the globe and observing a profusion and diversity of life forms. The search for an explanation to understand long-term organic change brought them to many parts of the world then unfamiliar with the western civilisation.

Whilst in Singapore, Wallace explored Bukit Timah collected 700 species of beetles. The incredible productivity at Bukit Timah is an illustration that we live in a region with one of the richest biodiversities in the world.  The exhibition lasts until 31 Aug 2009, and for those who have yet to catch this exhibition in tribute to Alfred Russel Wallace, you have about a week more to visit the display at the SBG Botany Centre.

Read all about it at the Butterflies of Singapore BLOG.