Special thanks to Mr Foo Jit Leang that let me know about this relationship, he showed me this moment while I met hi during my nature walk with my son at Bukit Panjang Garden.

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The first time I contacted Mr Khew was on May 2008 for his help to identify a butterfly that I photographed at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It’s Hieroglyphic Flat.
He told me about the blog ButterflyCircle that he has maintained since 2006 until now.
That’s the complete guide for anyone who want to know and learn about butterfly.

Here is our ‘nature talk’ about Butterfly

Mr Khew, we know your passion and your dedication for butterflies. How did it started?
It started a long time ago when I was a 10-year old schoolboy.  Back in those days, we didn’t have all the digital devices and computer games that kids today are so fortunate to have.  After school, we found our own entertainment in the environment around us – catching longkang fishes, dragonflies, beetles and of course, butterflies.  I had a very encouraging Biology teacher in school and she encouraged me to learn more about butterflies.  A neighbour bought me the 1st Edition of “Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula” by Corbet & Pendlebury, and that started me off on a lifelong journey of learning more about butterflies.  

How did you start the ButterflyCircle Blog?
Originally, I had a website way back in the late 1990s.  But I was inspired by a few nature bloggers who kept the community updated through their interesting blogposts.  Examples of these bloggers are Ms Ria Tan (Wild Singapore Blog) and Dr Wee Yeow Chin (Bird Ecology Study Group).  I also visited quite a few local blogs and decided to start on my own blog in Aug 2007.  I started regular weekend blogging later that year, and kept up a minimum of an article per week for 14 years!  Time flies.  These days, I don’t post so often, perhaps one or two articles a month.  Time for younger generation to take on sharing the knowledge in the nature community!

Is there values which you have learnt from butterflies that you can use in your life or work?
My interest in butterflies brought me to understand the plants that are associated with them.  As the knowledge increased, the information was used in conservation and recommending butterfly-attracting nectaring and host plants to landscaping and building projects to promote better butterfly diversity in these projects.  After years of photographing butterflies, it also allowed me to get my weekly exercise and appreciate the nature around us.  It also taught me a lot of patience and to expect the unexpected, as nature can never really be controlled by man.

Any unforgettable experience that you have during your trip to find butterfly?
Each butterflying trip is special, whether local or overseas.  There is always so many new things to observe and learn about butterflies.  

What’s your favourite butterfly?
My Avatar on social media and my websites is the Commander (Moduza procris milonia).  This species holds a special place in my memory when I first encountered it back in the 1970’s.  It was the first time I had seen one, and it took me several days after that first encounter to hunt it down again and chasing it in the forests. That was an unforgettable experience.

What’s your view for Singapore to maintain butterfly population?
Singapore is a good place to cultivate and maintain a good butterfly population.  With the correct plants in our urban landscape, NParks and other community gardeners have brought more butterflies into our city’s green spaces.  Whilst our nature reserves and parks are also important sanctuaries for the forest-dependent species, our urban species have been able to thrive as Singapore’s City in a Garden, and now, City In Nature, strategies have helped in enhancing our biodiversity.

Any tips for us to take butterfly photos, as we know some butterflies are really fast and any guidance not to disturb the nature?
Take some time to observe butterflies and how they behave.  Those that are “distracted” whilst feeding, resting or mating, for example, are easier to approach and photograph.  When you approach a butterfly, do not make sudden movements as they are sensitive to even the slightest movements. They need to be alert to predators and any attempts to move in close too quickly will scare them off.  When out in the field, wear drab or dull coloured clothing so that you do not stand out too much and spotted by the butterflies long before you even see them! 

I heard about your butterfly book. Can you tell a bit about that book?

The two field guides that I wrote was primarily to share a greater awareness of Singapore’s butterfly diversity to the community.  I purposely made sure that it was supported by photos of butterflies in the field, and no dead butterflies were featured as the book was not intended to be a serious scientific taxonomic work.  I hope that through the book, Singaporeans and residents will be able to identify the butterflies that they encounter when out in our parks and gardens, and hopefully appreciate them and to be able to help in their conservation for our future generations to enjoy.


For younger generations who want to follow their nature passion, what’s your advice for them?
Just keep your eyes and ears open, and enjoy Mother Nature’s creations all around us.  Learn as much as you can about all the flora and fauna that share our planet with us, and participate in the conservation efforts to help nature co-exist harmoniously with us! 

Khew Sin Khoon
https://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/

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Ladybugs, or ladybird beetles, got their name about 500 years ago in Europe. It seems that farmers were having big trouble with insects called aphids. The aphids were sucking the juices from the farmers’ grape vines. So the farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. (People of some religions believe that Mary is the Mother of God.)

Later, lots of little red beetles showed up and ate the aphids. The farmers thought their prayers had been answered. So they named the helpful beetles in honor of Mary, who is also known as “Our Lady.”

In Europe, during the Middle Ages, insects were destroying the crops, so the Catholic farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon the Ladybugs came, ate the plant-destroying pests and saved the crops! The farmers began calling the ladybugs “The Beetles of Our Lady”, and they eventually became known as “Lady Beetles”! The red wings represented the Virgin’s cloak and the black spots represented her joys and sorrows. They didn’t differentiate between males and females.

Source: John Costa Researcher

Some facts of ladybugs:

• Ladybugs are a type of beetle
• There are about 5,000 species 
• Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in aphid colonies, and as soon as they hatch, the larvae immediately start feeding
• One ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its lifetime
• Female lady bugs are larger than male lady bugs
• They flap their wings 85 times per second
• To help defend themselves, ladybugs play dead
• A ladybug can live up to a year long
• There are two sets of wings. The outer set is the hard shell for protection, and the inner set are what it uses to fly

All the ladybugs photos was taken in Singapore

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Spittlebugs feed on watery sap from plants and then excrete bubbly foam to create a protective fortress around themselves. Later, they emerge as adult froghoppers.

Bubbly Foam on plant that usually I spotted it, but I don’t know what’s that and how it was formed.

The froghoppers, or the superfamily Cercopoidea, are a group of hemipteran insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length, giving the group their common name, but they are best known for their plant-sucking nymphs which encase themselves in foam in springtime. Wikipedia

Luckily I spotted this view, I saw adult froghopper inside the bubbly foam, I think it’s ready to emerge.

Close up view of froghopper inside the bubbly foam.

Here is the Adult Froghopper – Ptyelinellus praefractus

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