Butterflies and moth at Singapore Changi Airport

Copyright © ISRG Publishers. All rights Reserved. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17367625 15 ISRG PUBLISHERS Abbreviated Key Title: ISRG. J. Agri.Vet.Sci. ISSN: 3048-8869 (Online) Journal homepage: https://isrgpublishers.com/gjavs/ Volume – II IssueV (September-October) 2025 Frequency: Bimonthly Butterflies and moth at Singapore Changi Airport Ashraful Kabir Department of Biology, Cantonment Public College, Saidpur Cantonment—5311, Nilphamari, Bangladesh | Received: 09.10.2025 | Accepted: 15.10.2025 | Published: 16.10.2025 *Corresponding author: Ashraful Kabir Department of Biology, Cantonment Public College, Saidpur Cantonment—5311, Nilphamari, Bangladesh Introduction The ‘Changi Airport’ is one of the largest airports in Asia (Plate 1). It has opened in the year 1981 and the butterfly garden in 2008 with 330 square meters. This airport has six terminals where the butterfly garden is located terminal 3 and level 2 and 3. Ms Tamilselvi (Selvi) of the Changi Airport Group’s Horticulture team led this butterfly garden for the past seven years (Jemangin, 2024). Under this airport it has fifteen tourist spots including remarkable butterfly garden. The horticulture sector of this airport is controlling this butterfly garden. They have experts and workers to maintain this garden. Within this garden for foraging and breeding of such butterflies lots of plants that are related to the breeding of butterflies are playing an important role (Table 3; Table 4). Flowering plants and provided fruits especially cut pineapples are their only food. Due to sucking honey from the nectar gland of flowers, butterflies get higher longevity than other insects. Depending on the season, butterflies are emerged. The experts check always the fitness of butterflies as well as their Abstract To pollinate flowers, the significance of butterflies or moth is noteworthy within the other insects. Its longevity is remarkable due to honey sucking from the flowers. In addition, its ornamental wings are perfect to attract someone. Experts of the horticulture sector of the ‘Singapore Changi Airport’ is maintaining their number and breeding all the year round. They use a significant emergence cage for successful outcome of adults of all butterflies and moth. Workers do not maintain specific temperature and humidity for the emergence of butterflies and moth. As usual temperature and humidity of the garden are enough to emerge butterflies and moth from the emergence box. Some papers suggested breeding-related parameters ranges from 27-28 °C temperature, humidity 60-80%, incubation 2-10 days, larval development 11-26 days, and pupation 5-28 days as well. The emergence rate of the butterflies at this garden was found remarkable. Most of the butterflies and moth were seen all the year-round. Collected healthy pupae from this garden or other places put within the emergence cage to avoid natural disasters and adverse climatic condition. The number of butterflies is increasing and now this place is considered a remarkable recreational spot for everybody. Keywords: Butterfly, butterfly garden, moth, availability, breeding, emergence, Changi Airport, Singapore ISRG Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences (ISRGJAVS) Copyright © ISRG Publishers. All rights Reserved. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17367625 16 pupae. They collect healthy pupae from the plants of this garden then attach to the stick inside the emergence box. For proper emergence, they do not maintain specific temperature and humidity. Till now, adults are emerging at the as usual garden’s climatic condition. At the regular interval, this box is opened to release the newly emerged butterflies (Plate 6). Butterflies are important group of model organisms to investigate many areas like pest control, embryology, evolution, genetics, population dynamics, and biodiversity conservation (Afrin et al., 2015). Based on the ecological balance as well as the pollination of many flowers the significance of butterflies can be mentionable. To focus the tropical paradise, educational experience, waterfall feature, species diversity, protective design, and pollinator focus this garden has been established (Butterfly Garden, 2025). The objective of this write-up is to mention the availability and breeding performance of butterflies and moth on the verge of biodiversity conservation. Plate 1. Butterfly Garden at Changi Airport Materials and Methods Butterfly species: There were found 30 species of butterflies and moth with a remarkable number (Plates 3-5). An emergence cage was sufficient to keep pupae for emergence (Plate 6). Some common flower picking appliance and knives for cutting pineapple were used in this garden. There are 1000 butterflies and moth with 25-45 species native to Southeast Asia. Inside this garden, there is a striking six-meter-tall grotto-waterfall. Each Wednesday, about 600 pupae butterfly arrive from overseas (Jemangin, 2024). Table 1. Status of butterflies and moth at Changi Airport Serial Names (numbers) Family Status Family: Papilionidae (6) 1 Common rose, Pachliopta aristolochiae Papilionidae Year-round 2 Common mime, Chilasa clytea Papilionidae Year-round 3 Lime butterfly, Papilio demoleus Papilionidae Year-round 4 Great mormon, Papilio memnon Papilionidae Year-round 5 Common mormon, Papilio polytes Papilionidae Year-round 6 Common birdwing, Troides helena Papilionidae Year-round Family: Nymphalidae (19) 7 Common sergeant, Athyma perius Nymphalidae Year-round 8 New lacewing, Cethosia cnane Nymphalidae Year-round 9 Plain tiger, Danaus chrysippus Nymphalidae Year-round 10 Autumn leaf, Doleschallia bisaltide Nymphalidae Year-round 11 Plain blue-crow, Euploea modesta Nymphalidae Year-round 12 Great egg-fly, Hypotimnas bolina Nymphalidae Year-round 13 Tree nymph, Idea leuconoe Nymphalidae Year-round 14 Indian leaf-butterfly, Kallima paralekta Nymphalidae Year-round 15 Arachduke, Lexias dirtea Nymphalidae Year-round 16 Common sailor, Neptis hylas Nymphalidae Year-round 17 Yellow grassy tiger, Parantica aspasia Nymphalidae Year-round 18 Clipper, Parthenos sylvia Nymphalidae Year-round (rare and opportunistic visitor) 19 Common leopard, Phalanta phalantha Nymphalidae Year-round 20 Peacock pansy, Precis almana Nymphalidae Year-round Copyright © ISRG Publishers. All rights Reserved. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17367625 17 21 Grey pansy, Precis atlites Nymphalidae March, May, June, September (dry season) 22 Chocolate pansy, Precis iphita Nymphalidae Year-round 23 Blue glassy tiger, Rodena vulgaris Nymphalidae Year-round 24 Common earl, Tunaecia julii Nymphalidae Year-round 25 The cruiser, Vindula dejone Nymphalidae April, May Family: Pieridae (4) 26 Common albatross, Appias libythea Pieridae Year-round 27 Chocolate albatross, Appias lyncida Pieridae Year-round 28 Orange emigrant, Catopsilla scylla Pieridae Year-round 29 Common grass yellow, Eurema hecabe Pieridae Year-round Family: Saturniidae (1) 30 Atlas moth, Attacus atlas Saturniidae November-January, but found year-round Figure 1. Number of butterflies and moth on the basis of their corresponding families Table 2. Characteristics of the families of butterflies and moth Families Characteristics of the families Examples Images Nymphalidae Brush-footed butterflies; reduced forelegs (useless for walking); diverse wing pattern; undersides are used for the camouflage; feeding on nectar, sap, or dung Cruiser, sergeant, new lacewing, plain tiger, autumn leaf, plain blue-crow, great egg-fly, tree nymph, Indian leafbutterfly, arachduke, common sailor, yellow glassy tiger, clipper, common leopard, peacock pansy, grey pansy, chocolate pansy, blue glassy tiger, common earl Plate 2. Clipper butterfly Papilionidae Large sized; bright colours; many species have distinctive hindwing tails; well-developed proboscis; caterpillars use scent-emitting organ to repel predators Mime, common rose, lime butterfly, great mormon, common mormon, common birdwing 19 6 4 1 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Nymphalidae Papilionidae Pieridae Saturniidae Copyright © ISRG Publishers. All rights Reserved. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17367625 18 Plate 3. Common birdwing Pieridae Unique forewings have radial vein with 3 or 4 branches; use waste products pigments for their colours; three sets of functional legs; larvae known as ‘cabbage-worm’ and pest for the cruciferous plants Common albatross, chocolate albatross, orange emigrant, common grass yellow Plate 4. Plain tiger Saturniidae Silk moth; reduced mouthparts; prominent eyespots are used for predator defense; life-cycle is large Atlas moth Plate 5. Atlas moth Host plants: There were nine types of remarkable host plants inside this garden. Those plants provided shelter, nectar, and food for the butterflies. When plants brought into this garden are carefully checked to ensure they are pest-free (Jemangin, 2024). The most common colour of larvae was found green and this is important to hide themselves in nature (Cibulkova et al., 2014). Caterpillars are liked to be camouflaged on stems, while adults are camouflaged on the trunks of trees or leaves (Gaitonde et al., 2018). Table 3. Host plants for butterflies Serial Names Family Importance for caterpillars 1 Peacock flower, Caecalpinia pulcherrima Fabaceae Leaves 2 Pink bottlebrush, Calliandra surinamensis Fabaceae Nectar 3 Red bottlebrush, Calliandra emarginata Fabaceae Nectar 4 Indian birthwort, Aristolochia acuminata Aristolochiaceae Leaves 5 Calico plant, Aristolochia elegans Aristolochiaceae Leaves 6 Coral vine, Antigonon leptepus Polygonaceae Nectar 7 Chinese violet, Asystasia gangetica Acanthaceae Leaves 8 Butterfly reest, Calathea lutea Marantaceae Nectar; Protection (for larger leaves) 9 Golden fiddlewood, Citharexylum fruticosum Verbenaceae Nectar Emergence box: A steel emergence box was used to maintain the emergence of such butterflies. Glue was used to attach those pupae inside the bar of the emergence box. At regular interval the emerged adult butterflies came out from this box by the help of the workers of this garden. Workers did not allow weak pupae within this box. The sponge base of the emergence box ensures any falls of the pupae (Jemangin, 2024). Workers do not maintain any specific temperature and humidity for the emergence of butterflies and moth from the emergence cage. As usual temperature and humidity of this garden is enough to emerge of such butterflies and moth. Plate 6. Emergence cage Copyright © ISRG Publishers. All rights Reserved. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17367625 19 Results and Discussion Number of butterflies: Due to proper maintenance all species of butterflies were found adequate (Table 1; Table 2; Figure 1). This garden has two sections. Side by side partition and height of this garden, and waterfall for controlling of moisture of this area allowed to increase the number of butterflies. Actually, the environment of butterflies of this garden is impeccable. Second floor of this garden is perfect to count the number of butterflies at all. Species in Nymphalidae family (Table 2) were found the highest number (19 out of 30 species). A study in Bangladesh focused the highest nymphalid butterflies that were 12 out of 23 species (Kabir, 2024). Feed for them: As butterflies are honey eater, so flowers of this garden and introduced gerbera flowers helped to suck nectar (Plate 2). Additionally, for glucose content, pineapple was perfect. the overall fitness of those butterflies was found significant. Healthy butterflies were seen at the time of this visit. Potted nectar-producing plants are replaced weekly to ensure a varied diet for fresh natural nectar. Supplementary feeding stations, stocked with cut red gerberas and fresh pineapple slices (twice a week). Rock and soil of this garden provide vital nutrient for the butterflies (Jemangin, 2024). Breeding biology: To protect butterflies, these areas are disinfected before each replacement, preventing pests like ants and lizards. Butterflies are only active when it is bright and warm weather (Jemangin, 2024). Clipper butterfly (Parthenos sylvia) (Plate 2) which is extinct in the wild in Singapore, thrives here in a full swing (Jemangin, 2024). Experts and workers are always select and collect healthy butterflies for the breeding. In natural ecosystem, they laid sufficient eggs upper side or underside of the leaves. Caterpillars are used to feed enormously the leaves of plants. At a certain day that are depended on the species, caterpillars stop feeding and transformed into pupae. These pupae are attached to the stems or leaves of plants. Due to unwanted climatic change and for visitors sometimes these pupae can be destroyed, so the gardeners collect such pupae and through the emergence box, they got adult butterflies. Table 4. Breeding biology of some butterflies and moth Common names (family) Temperature and humidity Incubation (days) Larval development (days) Pupation (days) References Common rose (Papilionidae) 28 ± 3 °C 70 ± 5% 5 ± 0.6 11 ± 0.3 12 ± 0.63 Alam et al., 2014 Orange emigrant (Pieridae) 27-30 °C 60-70% 1.5-2 11-13 7 Weei, G. C., 2001; Kumar, D. N. T., 2024 Peacock pansy (Nymphalidae) 28 ± 2 °C 80 ± 10% 3 15-16 5-7 Rayalu, B. M., 2012 Atlas moth (Saturniidae) 27 ± 1 °C 75-80% 10 26.5 28 Sathe and Kavane, 2014 Conclusions The butterfly garden of Singapore Changi Airport is playing a conservation role. Till now, this is just a recreational place for the visitor. If the authority makes it for the research-oriented site, this garden will be more developed. In front of this garden, the information about butterflies (list of species, list of host plants, lifecycle of butterflies, food stations, etc.) were remarkable for the visitors’ preliminary ideas. This garden could collaborate with research intuitions to enhance scientific studies. Due to buildings and roads in urban areas, butterflies face greater risk to their easy movements (Jain et al., 2018; Jain and Chan, 2021). In this sense, this type of protective garden could play a significant role for the ultimate conservation of butterflies and moth. Acknowledgement Author is giving thanks to Christian Sih, Senior Associate, Airport Operations Services/Horticulture, Changi Airport, Singapore for his positive reply about the butterfly garden. He was very co-operative with this write-up. Finally, he reviewed this paper thoroughly in order to publish from any peer-reviewed journals. References 1. Afrin, S., Sharmin, S., Sharmin, S. 2015. Conservation of butterflies in Bangladesh. Asian Journal of Applied Science and Engineering 4(10): 7-16 2. Alam, M. M., Bashar, M. A., Khan, H. R. 2014. Biology of common rose butterfly, Pachliopta aristolochiae Fabricus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) on the host plant, Aristolochia indica L. (Aristolochiaceae). Dhaka University Journal of Biological Science 23(2): 109-117 3. Butterfly Garden. 2025. https://www.changiairport.com/en/experience/attractions -directory/butterfly-garden.html 4. Cibulkova, A., Vasely, P., Fuchs, R. 2014. Importance of conspicuous colours in warning signals: the great tit’s (Parus major) point of view. Ecology and Evolution 28(3): 427-439. 5. Gaitonde, N., Joshi, J., Kunte, K. 2018. Evolution of ontogenic change in color defenses of swallowtail butterflies. Ecology and Evolution 8(19): 9751-9763. 6. Jain, A. and Chan, S. K. M. 2021. Butterfly movements in Singapore. Lepidoptera Jan-Mar 2021: 16-20. Nature Watch, Singapore. 7. Jain, A., Khoon, K. S., Gan, C. W., Webb, E. L. 2018. Butterfly extirpations, discoveries and rediscoveries in Singapore over 28 years. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66: 217-257. 8. Jemangin, J. 2024. How Changi keeps heart a flutter in its butterfly garden. https://www.changiairport.com/en/corporate/our-media- Copyright © ISRG Publishers. All rights Reserved. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17367625 20 hub/publications/changi-journeys.how-changi-keepshearts-a-flutter-in-its-butterfly-garden.2024.changiexperience.html 9. Kabir, A. 2024. Butterflies of Bangladesh: geographical expedition and camouflage. Mathews Journal of Veterinary Science 8(5): 1-4. 10. Kumar, D. N. T., Biradar, A. P., Mallapur, C. P., Kulkarni, S., Venugopal, C. K. 2024. Effect of temperature on the development of citrus butterflies, Papilio demoleus and Papilio polytes on acid lime, Citrus aurantifolia. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 22(1): 163-174. 11. Rayalu, B. M., Rao, E. K., Deepika, S. D., Atluri, J. B. 2012. Life history and larval performance of the Peacock pansy butterfly, Junonia almana Linnaeus (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera: Nymphalidae). Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology 1(2): 17-21. 12. Sathe, T. V. and Kavane, R. P. 2014. Biology of Attacus atlas (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) a wild silk worm of India. Indian Journal of Applied Research 4(10): 4-7. 13. Weei, G. C. 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20120407065026/http://butt erfly.nss.org.sg/expert/Catopsilia-scylla/C-scylla.htm