A Field Guide To The Butterflies of Singapore by Khew Sin Khoon

On the tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the 21st Century…at 10a.m., the compilation of 40 years of research, effort and collaboration finally birthed Singapore’s second book on butterflies in Singapore after Steven Neo’s 1996 booklet series titled “A Guide To The Common Butterflies of Singapore”.

Khew Sin Khoon and most of the members of Butterfly Circle congregated at the Botany Centre in the Botanic Gardens to witness its inaugeral launch on this special day,  graced by Ms Ho Ching.

Members from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity and Research (Wang Luan Keng, below-left) as well as families and friends of Nature came together to celebrate the great milestone in Mr Khew’s life and the work of Butterflycircle members, great explorer Sunny Chir, Life history expert Horace Tan, butterfly host plant farmers and researchers from Oh’s Farm, and enthusiastic contributing members such as Bobby Mun, Chng Chuen Kiong, Loke Peng Fai, Koh Cher Hern, Nelson Ong (jungle basher), Bob Cheong, James Chia, Leslie Day (Thai butterfly expert), Goh Lai Chong (Malaysian butterfly expert), Federick Ho, Janet Hong, Henry Koh (becoming a bird expert.. lol), Lim Wei Ying, Neo Chee Beng, Jason Ng, Simon Sng, Jonathan Soong (and loving family), Sum Chee Ming, Benedict Tay, Tan Chung Pheng, Tan Ben Jin, Wong Chee Ming, Anthony and Mark Wong (the twins), Benjamin Yam, Zhuang Yaoyang, Ms Liyana Zolpakar and other contributing and supporting members in Butterflycircle.

Where does the road take us now?  What happens to all the knowledge and information that goes into one small green book held in the hands of each and every reader?  It’s the winning of hearts and the sharing of minds that hopefully lead butterfly and Nature conservation to achieve more in our lifetimes if possible. 

And we hoped that every beauty and wonder shared in that room this morning planted small seeds of love in every mind and heart.  A love that reaches past one’s own self interests and immediate concerns to meanings greater than our everyday lives can perceive.

Congratulations Mr Khew Sin Khoon and Butterflycircle.  May your work make a deeper impact in the minds and hearts of people than you could have ever hoped.