a collection of ramblings
We can learn a lot from spiders. For example: how to escape gravity. That is not to say we are all trapeze artists, capable of dancing through the air on silken cords. But rather to understand how to balance on a knife's edge, to find a home and comfort millimeters from falling. How to resist… Continue reading Spider on Sky
A Tawny Coster (Acraea violae) feeds on a flower. Its bright orange-and-black is tiger-like, though, of course, another section of butterflies altogether has been given that name. Previously a migrant in Singapore, since then it has established on the island, becoming increasingly common in urban areas and wastelands. This year marks its decade of residence,… Continue reading A Long Decade’s Flight
A cicada at sunset.
The Blues are a subgroup of the family Lycaenidae, which comprise some 30% of butterflies species worldwide. They are a pain in the butt. The first problem: they're tiny. They hold the smallest butterfly in the world - the grass jewel - and often the difference between species comes to one spot on the hindwing… Continue reading Blue
Painted Ladies are the most widely distributed butterfly: found on every continent except for Antarctica and Australia, they're so ubiquitous even halfway across the world, in a continent I was totally unfamiliar with, they were the sole butterfly I managed to identify in Jordan. This individual was spotted at the other end of the continental… Continue reading Lady of the Flowers
I first saw a blue pansy in the butterfly field guide I picked up on a whim at a stall from our local nature society. It captivated me: I found the brilliance of its colors, elegance in its wings immensely attractive, and vowed to see it in Singapore. It would be years (well, two) before… Continue reading The Pansy’s Pose
Pulau Ubin is the last rustic island in Singapore. Of course, here, the definition of rustic is flexible - but Ubin is about as rustic as you can get. There's no highway connecting it to the mainland: instead, you take a bumboat to get there. People still go fishing for their food. The coconuts grow… Continue reading Reed Life
An insect (unidentified) that I spotted at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve a few months ago. What do you think it's trying to say? Note: this post is scheduled, and all following posts till the 29th of December will be too. Where will I be? Wait till I get back to find out!
An as yet unidentified butterfly feeds on a flower in Kullu, India, its delicate proboscis just barely visible. It probably a member of Lycaenidae, otherwise known as the Blues - so named not because of their rather drab outside but rather the brilliant blue that hides in their folded-up inner wings. The largest family of… Continue reading White and Blue
A female Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina), also known as the Blue Moon butterfly if you're a Kiwi, puddles on the ground in Coorg, India. Butterflies are some of the best examples of sexual dimorphism in the wild. The male of this species has iridescent blue spots on his wings; while the flecks of cyan on… Continue reading Female Felicity
somewhere up a tree 