Big Durian

Call me ignorant, but I didn’t know that durian trees (Durio zibethinus) can grow so big! This one was about 25m tall!

 
Thanks to Hazel for the photo of me with the durian tree taken in Punggol.

Ixora and Butts

Honestly, I didn’t know that our cultivated Ixora attracted so many butterflies. Perhaps it is because I never really take note of butts till recently.

Here are some pictures of them taken around the same time and place in Punggol.

Peacock Pansy.

The more common Chocolate Pansy stuffing its proboscis on the opening of the coralla tube.

Ciliate Blue.

 
Common Tit.

  
A skipper, possibly a Great Swift.

Another of the same species.

 
This Lemon Emigrant was the most difficult to take, fluttering away whenever I came close. Luckily, after awhile it seemed to get used to me and I was able to get some decent shots.

Probably a Short-Banded Sailor. It even tried to drink from the flower buds.

I wonder what this fly is doing. It obviously can’t reach the nectar deep in the flower without a long proboscis like the butterflies.

Besides butterflies and flies, there were also a lot of wasp-like insects flying around. Perhaps they prey on the butts?

Thanks to Mr Peacock Royal for his help in ID. :)

Fruit eating larvae in Elaeocarpus

This is a continuation from my previous trip to CCNR.

I couldn’t managed to ID this presumably a fruiting Elaeocarpus tree.

Here are the leaves.

Underside.

A developing fruit with bumps. I initially thought that this is Elaeocarpus nitidus, but can’t confirm it since the fruit size is too small to what Corner described.
 
KY and WF harvested the fruit again on the weekend. The fruits have grown much larger and seem to fit E. nitidus. However, it is supposed to have 5 seeds and this, one, appeared to have 3 chambers. The seeds are not yet developed to make a confirmation. Hmm, what could this be? Help?

While slicing open one of the fruits, KY (and me) jumped away in shock when he saw a big larvae inside.

 
Apparnetly most of the fruits were infested with this caterpillar? which ate a chamber that fits almost exactly to their size. Wonder what it will grow up to be?