Caterpillar Count

We had the first of our ten caterpillar count sessions on the 5^th of January 2013.  The count is a continuation of the butterfly surveys conducted early last year in collaboration with the Nature Society Singapore.

The caterpillar differs from our series of butterfly surveys held from February to April last year in the aim and focus of the research.

The butterfly surveys in their methodology aimed to gauge the relationship between the species of butterflies and their nectar plants.  We were required to observe each plot of each species of plant for visiting butterflies.  The duration of the survey was ten weeks, and restricted to the garden at Dhoby Ghaut Green. 

On the other hand, the caterpillar count aims to keep track of the health of the caterpillar populations of the Autumn Leaf and Plain Tiger butterflies in the Dhoby Ghaut area.  The count is being conducted over a period of ten weeks, and covers the Dhoby Ghaut, Istana Park and Penang Road sections of the Butterfly Trail @Orchard.  In each location there are a number of plots of Crownflower and Bloodflower plants (host plants of the Plain Tiger and Autumn Leaf butterfly respectively) to be surveyed for caterpillars.  The length of each of the caterpillars spotted is also documented to gain a clearer estimate of the population’s overall growth and health.  Any butterfly eggs, pupa, and competition for resources (i.e. snails) are also recorded.

The process of conducting the caterpillar count is more elaborate and requires more attention to detail than the butterfly count, and it is allowing us to broaden our field experience in the area of the maintenance of urban nature projects.  In the spirit of scientific inquiry and discovery, we are also excited for this second, more energy-and-time-consuming foray into the world of documenting-in-order-to-better-understand-and-preserve urban biodiversity.

However in the spirit of waking up early, squatting by the roadside and peering into bushes in search of tiny insects, we are also humbled by the enormous amounts of time and energy professional researchers dedicate to conducting such research; and are better able to appreciate the challenges involved in the documenting-in-order-to-better-understand-and-preserve biodiversity in general.

We are grateful to the Nature Society Singapore and its representative, Mr Anuj, in providing us this opportunity to take this little role in the preservation of urban biodiversity.  

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