End of Life for a Fluttering Jewel

A solo visit to the Butterfly Hill at Pulau Ubin. Haven’t been shooting butts for quite a while, am not used to creeping up and doing quick focusing. End result? Not too many butts… haha. Most were out of focus while I was trying larger apertures to smoothen the noisy background.

Highlight of the day goes to a Lemon Emigrant that I was chasing. As it landed on a seemingly innocent flower, it appeared to get sucked in and fluttered desperately to escape. There is no escape as the spider zooms in for the kill and makes sure that its prey would flutter no more.


#1 Top view of a Lesser Grass Blue

#2 Plain Tiger, liked this flower so I waited for awhile before this butt landed here.

#3 Another Plain Tiger

#4 Blue Glassy Tiger under the HOT SUN!

#5 Mottled Emigrant, quite faded with part of the wing missing

#6 Leopard

#7 Faded Peacock Pansy.

#8 I waited.. and waited.. and waited.. now I look like this – molt of a praying mantis


The following documents a series of shots of a Lemon Emigrant that was caught by a crab spider while nectaring. Price of getting a drink… 🙁


#9 Crab spider still no where to be seen, but the butt had made it’s last flight

#10 Trying to get a glimpse of the predator

#11 Yes getting nearer to the crab spider

#12 Yet another angle. I have over a hundred shots of this, so this is just a *small* selection. 😛

#13 The crab spider attacks the butterfly’s “neck” and clings on until it ceases to move

#14 Added a macro-filter for a magnified close up

The complete album can be viewed here.

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