Friday 8 July 2016

Butterflies of the Enchanted Forest - June 2016

Recently i came across a few amazing butterflies inside some enchanted forests in Peninsular Malaysia. Here is a butterfly which although not rare but you won't often get to see it.

Appias lalassis indroides
                                                         Kingdom:   Animalia
                                                         Phylum:     Arthropoda
                                                         Class:        Insecta
                                                         Order:        Lepidoptera
                                                         Family:      Pieridae
                                                         Subfamily: Pierinae
                                                         Tribe:         Pierini
                                                         Genus:      Appias
                                                         Species:    Appias lalassis
                                                         Sub Species: Appias lalassis indroides




Note: i have initially identified the above butterfly as a "Great Orange Tip" but alas it is not ! Local butterfly expert Liew Nyok Lin was kind enough to correct its identification to "Appias lalassis indroides" (Burmese Puffin) instead. Apparently this pierid which is a member of the genus "albatross" is endemic to Peninsular Malaysia. I can't find many literature on this butterfly so i guess it is also an uncommon butterfly. Here is what Liew Nyok Lin has to say about this butterfly:

"This butterfly is a submontane and montane species but was found quite regularly from May onwards puddling in moist spots by the stream singly and sometimes in small numbers. It has a much more elongated forewings than A.indra, visibly curved at the apex but the uppersides has the same plain black and white coloring. The undersides resemble that of the Great Orange Tip with brown mottling. They sometimes descend to the foothills in deeply wooded vicinities with water"

Here is another butterfly which you would not often see.
Chersonesia rahria (Greater Wavy Maplet)
As compared to the 'Common Mapwing', this Maplet is certainly way much smaller than the former.


Elymnias hypermnestra (Common Palmfly)
This is another uncommon butterfly with its distinctive white costal hindwing spot seen clearly here.


One of the genus "Eurema" butterflies which can make my "kepala pusing".  

This is a toss between an "Anderson's Grass Yellow" (Eurema andersonii andersonii)  and a "Forest Grass Yellow" (Eurema simulatrix tecmessa). However i believe this one should be an "Anderson's Grass Yellow" although i can barely see its single cell spot on the underside of its forewing. Having said that, we should also take note of the following comments from the Singapore's Butterfly Circle Group:

"However, we feel that, as E.andersonii is not the only species amongst the Eurema group to have a single cell spot, and should not lay claim to this common name as it could cause confusion. This is because the cell spots form just part of the diagnostic features of separating the Eurema group of species."

Orsotriaena medus (Dark Grass-Brown)
For reasons of identification, this butterfly (above) should be more straight forward.


Euploea radamanthus (Magpie Crow)
If you can't get minerals from the soil then you can also get it from some socks.

Here it is again (Magpie Crow) flapping away with its wings on a down ward motion.


Common Bluebottle

Zemeros flegyas
What a surprise ! A "Punchinello" seen here in a lowland forest.


Correction: Mycalesis perseoides (Burmese Bush-Brown)

Here it is again showing off all its veins.


Neorina lowii (Malayan Owl)
This butterfly had always posed the facedown way to me!

A rusty looking  Archduke (Lexias pardalis)

Moduza procris 
The "Commander" is seen here with its long proboscis, soaking up whatever remaining minerals available in an abandoned cloth.

It is always nice to conclude with a "Painted Jezebel" (Delias hyparete). The flowers here look like they came from the "mile-a-minute" weed.




2 comments:

NL LIEW said...

Dear Ronnie,
The first pierid is not a Hebomoia but rather an Appias lalassis, a forest butterfly. They differ quite a lot morphologically

Ron Malaysian Butterfly Blogger said...

Thanks for the correction. I wonder whether it has any common name?

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