Butterflies in September 2026 - 5 lifers and many photos of other rare species

I am surprised that I have got FIVE lifers this month despite the rainy spell over in this region. Here are the five lifers:

Lifer # 1

Golden Oakblue 

Arhopala phanda phanda

I have always been fascinated with Arhopala species and there are many more subspecies to be discovered from this genus.

Lifer # 2

Distant's Silverstreak 

Iraota distanti distanti

I noticed that some literature have also named it as a Malayan Silverstreak !

Distant's Silverstreak 

Iraota distanti distanti

The above photo was borrowed from Simon who has managed to get its underside while I missed it. With the above sighting, I have now managed to photograph all the three Iraota subspecies which have been recorded in the Peninsular Malaysia ! 😋🙌

Lifer # 3

Yellow-chequered Lancer 

Plastingia pellonia 

I rushed this shot as it was skittish. Hopefully I will get a better of it the next time.

Lifer # 4

Overlapped Ace 

Halpe arcuata 

Happy to get this rare skipper. It was shot in Bukit Tinggi.

Lifer # 5

Purplish-gray Darter 

Salanoemia fuscicornis

I didn't see any purplish colour but the markings are there to confirmed this subspecies.

Purplish-gray Darter 

Salanoemia fuscicornis

Same individual but this photo was taken with a flash light. It is actually quite small (the size of the tip of your little finger)

After seeing the above lifers, now we moved to other "common" butterflies.

Lesser Harlequin 

Laxita thuisto thuisto

C&P 5 book has described its upperside wings as black but they should probably need to add / amend it as purplish-black as you can see from the above photo.

 

Lesser Harlequin 

Laxita thuisto thuisto

This is one of those prettiest 'Metalmarks' species which you can find in this region.

Glorious Begum

Agatasa calydonia calydonia

Always happy to see this rare and most colourful Begum over here. 

Intricate Jester 

Symbrenthia hypatia chersonesia

Although it's not rare but its quite localised hence it can be difficult to find in many places.

Tree-Nymph

Idea lynceus lynceus

I think this Nymph is more common in the lowlands while the Smaller-Wood Nymph (Ideopsis gaura) occupies the higher locations such as Fraser's, Genting and Bukit Tinggi (i.e from my own observations).

Branded Yamfly 

Yasoda pitane laruta

This is another highland species.

Tiger Palmfly

Elymnias nesaea lioneli  

I have not seen this Palmfly for many years until now.

Tiger Palmfly

Elymnias nesaea lioneli  

This one was seen in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang.

Here are a few more common Oakblues seen.

Dark Bushblue

Arhopala ammonides chunsu

Funny they don't call it an Oakblue somehow.😬

Arhopala stinga

No common name as yet.

Broad Yellow Oakblue 

Arhopala amphimuta amphimuta 

One of the butterfly spotters over here is developing an app just to ID the various Oakblue species in the field. Hopefully it can be ready soon.

Tail Disc Oakblue

Arhopala atosia jahara

Small Tailess Oakblue 

Arhopala antimuta antimuta

I can only named the above as a Rapala species for time being.

Note: My hunch is that it could just be a female Rapala pheretima. It can also perhaps be a Slate Flash (Rapala manea chozeba).

Nowadays there are AI assisted technology everywhere. So I decided to try it.

Four-bar Swordtail

Graphium agetes iponus (Westwood).

Bifid Plush Blue 

Flos diardi capeta

Happy to see this Flos again.

Bamboo Tree Brown

Lethe europa malaya

It was seen at its favourite place - a bamboo scrub. Note: this is a female.

Tawny Rajah 

Charaxes bernadus crepax 

This is also a female and she looked gorgeous with those bold markings. Note her extended cilia / tail.

Dark Blue Tiger

Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis 

It appears like a studio shot but it was actually taken in the forest.

I have received many "likes" from many people for the butterfly photos I have presented but this is the first time I got a thumbs up (👍) from the butterfly itself. 😊

SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT MONTH !

👋

Butterflies in August 2026

Here are some of the butterflies seen this month. There were some long time no-see ones and a surprise lifer 😊💜💜

Lesser Cruiser 

Vindula dejone erotella

This female Lesser Cruiser is not common over here.

Lesser Cruiser 

Vindula dejone erotella

Here's the surprise lifer ! 💓💓

Biggs Brownie 

Miletus biggsii biggsii

Reportedly to be the most common Brownie over here but I somehow only managed to see it for the first time.

Dark Bushblue 

Arhopala ammonides chunsu

Initially I thought it might be an A. ammon ammon but the more experienced spotters say it's not. 

Dark Bushblue 

Arhopala ammonides chunsu

Nevertheless this is only my 2nd time seeing this Arhopala. Funny, it's not call an Oakblue.😬

Quedara singularis ?

No common name for this one at the moment. Could be my lifer if its ID is correct. It's a rare one.

Great Swift 

Pelopidas assamensis

All the spots are there to see and to confirm its ID.

Rusty Palmking 

Amathusia masina malaya

A very skittish Palmking. Have to shoot it from a distance hence this blurry photo but I think it is what it is.

Red Spot Duke 

Dophla evelina compta

Once awhile I would come across this butterfly but its difficult to get a good shot of this skittish Duke.

 Arhopala achelous achelous 

Not too difficult to ID this Arhopala. No common name for time being.

Scarce Slate Flash 

Rapala scintilla scintilla

An uncommon species.

Finally, here's something interesting for you to see.

This "strange" looking fungi is called a Bridal Veil Stinkhorn (Phallus indusiastus). It's quite common in some areas but it's the first record at my local place. Wonder why I post this mushroom photo? - Have a look at the photo below 😋

There were seven butterflies trying to get the best nutrients from it's smelly cap. However, there were actually only two species of butterflies over there. They are namely Dried Leaf Palmfly (Elymnias saueri) and Tawny Palmfly (Elymnias panthera).

THAT'S ALL FOR THIS MONTH. CHOW ! 👐

Lepidoptera in July 2026 - 3 lifers and a few exciting ones

I got only three (3) lifers in July 2026 but the one from the lowland is significantly interesting because it is more commonly found up in the higher hills. Also there are lots of better photos of some uncommon ones this time. Enjoy the show 😸

Lifer # 1

Golden Spotted Oakblue

Arhopala kinabala

I think this Oakblue is not really a super rare one but you will seldom find it in the lowlands.

Golden Spotted Oakblue

Arhopala kinabala

Quite skittish as well but glad to get some shots of it.

Golden Spotted Oakblue

Arhopala kinabala

Hope to get a better shot of it the next time.

Lifer # 2

Baby Lascar 

Pantoporia aurelia aurelia

Finally got the baby one 😛

Lifer #3

Angle Red Forester 

Lethe chandica namura 

This "Forester" ssp is reportedly more common up on the higher hills but I saw this one at a lowland forest area. 

Angle Red Forester 

Lethe chandica namura 

This is my #615 species of butterflies seen so far.

Now we go to the more uncommon ones which were seen before but this time with better photos.

Rounded Plushblue

Flos morphina morphina

It's a better shot than last time. Very skittish fella. Once it has seen us, it will fly around and hardly stop for any nicer photos.

Common Batwing

Atrophaneura varuna varuna (old taxon)

Atrophaneura astorion varuna (White) (New taxon)

This is a rare species despite been named as "common". Bet not many people have this open wing profile. It was seen in one of the forest areas in Hulu Langat, Selangor. Note: after further research and comparison, I found that the above Batwing appears to look more like an Atrophaneura astorion astorion (Westwood, 1842) - as per Yutaka website. Note: I have just found out that the new nomenclature for the above ssp (A. astorion varuna) was actually only founded in 2023 by Hu, S.J,. et al. 

Malayan Batwing

Atrophaneura nox erebus

This is another type of 'Batwing" but this one is more common and it's a female.

Here's my favourite butterfly 😊

Popinjay 

Stibochiona nicea subucula

This is only my third time seeing it and all my sightings are in just one state so far i.e in Pahang.

Bamboo Tree Brown

Lethe europa malaya

Puddling on a patch of mud which was probably 'excavated' by wild boars. As mentioned by a local entomologist, butterflies including moths sense minerals in the soil with their feet and antennae. He also informed me that the diet of moths and butterflies are almost similar.

Great Duffer

Discophora timora perakensis

It was seen together with the above two Lethe species.

Blue Dandy 

Laringa castelnaui

A localised species and probably very uncommon elsewhere.

Margined Line Blue

Prosotas pia pia

I believe this Prosotas is more of a highland species and it was actually seen in Bukit Tinggi.

Here's another highland specialist.

Forest Pierrot

Taraka hamada mendesia

Niceville Dull Oakblue

Arhopala avatha

This was also seen in Bukit Tinggi.

Bandless Bushbrown

Mydosoma maianeas maianeas (as per CP5)

With a bit of flash light, you can see its colours been accentuated. I believe this is a localised highland species. So far I have frequently encounter this Bushbrown at this high hill.

Darkie Plushblue

Flos anniella anniella

Hard to tell its gender.

Now we move to the lower land species. 

Note: Butterflies do traverse from the lowland to higher regions and vice versa although some are highly localised at a specific altitude.

Narrow Spark

Sinthusa nasaka amba

So far this is the best photo I have taken for this species.

Red Imperial

Suasa lisides ssp suessa

This is an uncommon species in the Lycaenidae family.

Here's an ugly looking 'witch'.

The Witch

Araotes lapithis uruwela

Initially I can't recognise it until a more seasoned butterfly spotter pointed out the above mark/white patch.

Red Vein Lancer 

Pyroneura niasana burmana (Evans)

This Lancer is slightly smaller than P. klanga and P. latoia.

Malayan Knight

Lebadea martha malayana

Nice patterns it has.

Some Halpe sp are quite easy to be identified. Here are some of them.

Amber Ace

Halpe veluvana brevicornis

Dark Banded Ace

Halpe ormenes vilasina

Full Stop Swift

Caltoris cormasa

This swift can be identified from its rusty looking colours.

Dwarf Banded Demon

Notocrypta pria

ID confirmed by a more knowledgeable butterfly spotter. 

Dwarf Banded Demon

Notocrypta pria

If you have noticed, these flowers which are abundant all over the forest here are mostly frequented by only one species of butterfly i.e the Notocrypta species. I believe the plant's name is Chassalia curviflora and the flowers would turned pink when mature.

Malayan Tailed Judy

Archigenes savitri

This Judy appeared almost the same time over here and across the Straits.

Malayan Gem

Looks like a Poritia philota philota f lugubris holotype (just maybe)

This Gem is easier to ID.

Common Gem

Poritia hewitsoni taleva

First time seeing a Poritia pair.

Malayan Gem

Poritia philota philota

Malayan Gem

Poritia philota philota

It would have been much more difficult to ID this pair if I have not seen its upperside.

Dusky Faun

Faunis kirata

Actually I am not sure but the more seasoned butterfly spotters say it is one. 😐

Cyclop Bush-brown

Cupala mnacides perna

I believe you don't often see this Bushbrown with its open wings.

Cornelian

Deodorix epijarbas cinnabarus

Is this species really common? There are hundreds of its photos out there but somehow I have only seen it three times so far!

White Club Yellow Palmer

Zela excellens

Very happy to see this skipper again. A not so common Hesperiinae.

Malay Rajah

Charaxes distanti distanti

A moderately common species.

Pale-haired Palm King

Amathusia ochraceofusca ochraceofusca 

You can easily recognise this Palm King.

There were quite a number of Barons appearing in July. Let me start with this pretty one first.

Green Baron

Euthalia adonia pinwilli

Female

Apparently the male of this Baron is rarer (as per CP5).

Green Baron

Euthalia adonia pinwilli

There were two of them at the same location.

White-tipped Baron

Euthalia merta merta

Male

From far, it looks like Rohana parisatis (Black Prince).

White-tipped Baron

Euthalia merta merta

Female

She was seen at a different location though.

The Baron

Euthalia aconthea gurda

This Baron is more common I think.

Malayan Baron

Euthalia monina monina

Male

You will often come across the female rather than the male.

I shall finally end this month's post with a Flash. Most of them can be quite difficult to ID but with the help from the experts we can narrow down the species.

First up is this one.

According to an expert from SG, if the HW speckled patch occupying 80% and its FW postdiscal line band strongly bent in towards the costa, then it's a Malayan Red Flash.

Rapala damona

This is only my 2nd time seeing it. First time was at the northern border - Padang Besar !

Here is a slightly more common Flash.

Suffused Flash

Rapala suffusa barthema

Suffused Flash

Rapala suffusa barthema

You can clearly see the differences from the above Rapala damona.

Suffused Flash

Rapala suffusa barthema

It's quite a fast flyer too.

HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED GOING THRU THE POST !

CHOW!