Singapore Expats

Ok not 'latest' new as the season for this, or whatever it is, seems to be waning.

I don't remember seeing so many before, so much so that I'll hazard the guess that everyone knows what I'm talking about. I'm sure it's in the local news, which I never read, except the Saturday Today as it has a NYT section.

What the heck are they, and why are there so many?

Brah wrote:Ok not 'latest' new as the season for this, or whatever it is, seems to be waning.

I don't remember seeing so many before, so much so that I'll hazard the guess that everyone knows what I'm talking about. I'm sure it's in the local news, which I never read, except the Saturday Today as it has a NYT section.

What the heck are they, and why are there so many?

You mean this one?



Tropical swallowtail moth

Similar to the kupu kupu barong from Indonesia, very beautiful looking moths though.
I've seen them flying around at the stadium in serangoon of late

Yes, that's it. Saw more last week than this, but there were still 4 in range of where I was standing next to a large office building downtown today.

OK - this is from Stomp, but I believe it's true….(we saw one that we thought was a bird, it was that big)!!

Also known as Lyssa zampa, this is a species that can be found throughout Southeast Asia and visits Singapore between May and July each year.

Despite being an annual occurrence, some years see many more visitors than others.

2014 seems to be a particularly good year for the swallowtail, with several sightings reported around Singapore.

They are one of the largest moths found in Singapore, with wingspans averaging between 10 to 16 cm.

While they tend to fly around at night, they usually remain still during the day hidden by camouflage, unless disturbed.

I was seeing my wife off one morning last week, at the front door, and one flew right in over my head into the apartment, across the lounge and right out the sliding doors to the balcony where it seemed to settle and rest. Bloody enormous, almost jumped out of my skin as 'this huge thing' flew at me

I've also noticed some biiiiig lepidoptera flying past my study window recently (quite high), and thought it might be butterflies going for plants/food on upper balconies, and it was perhaps just the angle that presented no colours. Was considering it in a rather 'isn't evolution amazing' kind of way, but now, if it's moths I'm not so sure. All of these were 'swallow-tailed' too, and likely these moths.

There is one more moth found in Singapore that is even bigger than those grey ones. That is the Atlas Moth. I have one mounted that I caught many years ago in Seletar Camp. They make the grey ones seem normal. Actually the Atlas moth is the largest moth in the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&v ... f4hc&gl=SG

Love how it's wing-tips look like a bird's head. Ah, evolution.

The mounted one here in my home office I was never able to decide on whether it was a bird's head or as I like, a Golden Burmese Python's head.

sundaymorningstaple wrote:The mounted one here in my home office I was never able to decide on whether it was a bird's head or as I like, a Golden Burmese Python's head.

Good heavens! I (now) see what you mean!

The illusion of there being eyes in the patterning it not that unusual, but that is taking it to extremes (IME). Yes, I imagine if you were a hungry predator you'd be having 2nd thoughts...

Those moths have been all over the CBD for months. At first they were plqacid, but over the last month they have become more ferocious and have now started attacking people (foreigners). Must be a government experiment.....