By Andre Yeo

At times darting, at times dancing through the air, they seem like ballerinas in flight.

Like changing direction in a fraction of a second or landing on trees with stealthy silence.

You can spot them at the Changi Exhibition Centre, where the Singapore Airshow is being held.

And no, the stars of aerial acrobatics aren't the fighter jets, attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles at the show.

About 200 butterflies are stealing some of the attention with their debut at the airshow.

They were brought in by Changi Airport Group (CAG) and housed in a 78 sq m glass enclosure.

A bigger butterfly garden, at 330 sq m, can be found at Changi Airport's T3 where about 1,000 butterflies have been fluttering their wings since 2008.

The T3 garden, though, is not open to everyone. It is only accessible to travellers at the departure transit mall after immigration clearance.

A CAG spokesman said they wanted to show what Changi Airport had to offer and felt the butterfly garden would be effective. It seems to be working.

Yesterday, curious exhibitors were drawn into the enclosure, which has two glass doors and hanging wire mesh to prevent the butterflies from escaping.

One visitor was heard asking if they were real. They are. And so are the trees, plants and flowers there.

The spokesman said the two most important ingredients to keeping the butterflies alive are temperature and humidity.

Set at 29 deg C to match our tropical climate, the 4m-high enclosure is made to replicate nature.

CAG said there are 20 species in the garden, mostly from Singapore and Malaysia. Some of the insects prefer fruit while others feed on nectar from plants.

So pineapples and flowers, like ixoras and gerberas, were prominently placed to keep the insects happy.

But they won't have long to enjoy the good life. The CAG spokesman said butterflies typically live for two to three weeks.

Still, the population in the garden is set to grow as cocoons could be seen hanging from some plants. CAG expects them to hatch before the air show ends on Sunday.

The spokesman declined to reveal the cost of the exhibit.

Trade visitors were impressed with the garden saying they felt compelled to walk in after seeing the greenery.

"It's like a little piece of Singapore with all the tropical plants and trees," said Rolls Royce's head of exhibitions, Mrs Linda Johnson, 62, who is responsible for designing and building her company's booths.

Relaxing

"It's wonderful, lovely. Beautifully executed."

She said for an exhibitor's booth to be effective, it would have to draw the visitor in.

Exhibitors dread visitors walking past without looking at their products.

So a booth needs to be open and inviting. And the butterfly garden does just that.

Mr J Gregory Goldhawk, 55, counsellor (commercial) with the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, did a double-take when he saw the greenery amid the grey of hardware and aircraft models.

He said it was unusual for an air show to have such an exhibit and felt compelled to step in.

He said: "Butterflies are aerial artistes in their own right. It's very pleasant, very relaxing. There's a lot of commerce and hustle and bustle going on.

"I am going to tell my friends to come here when they need a break."

"It's like a little piece of Singapore with all the tropical plants and trees."

andrey@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.