At nearly 400 species of butterflies been photographed I thought the number of rare butterflies seen will dwindled but somehow I still managed the record of seeing a rare butterfly each month. So for the month of February 2023 there were at least three rare ones seen and all of them were skippers.
The first rare/uncommon one seen is this skipper.
Ceylon Dartlet (Orions goloides).
Its ID was confirmed by a more experienced entomologist from Singapore.
It landed just a few feet away from me.
I am glad that I took some of its photos as initially I thought it might be just some Potanthus or other common Orions. It was busy feeding on the Bidens Pilosa flowers hence I had the opportunity to take photos of it from a few angles.
There were two of them actually. They were seen just by the forest trail.
The next rare one is also a skipper. It's a Demon Flitter (Oerane microthyrus neaera). If you look at the previous post I might have actually seen it earlier but was not really sure of its ID. So the following week, I went back to the same location to try to look for it again. Initially I was unable to locate it but after walking for about 100 meters away I bumped into this one. It might be the same one I have seen earlier but this one was seen even closer.
This was seen at a different location then the above skipper.
The only thing which differentiate it from other skippers are the whitish bands at its antenna.
I wish I could show photos of it from different angles but it kept flying off and returning with the same pose and position.
It was also seen near the forest trail but slightly deeper inside.
The third rare skipper, however, was photographed from quite a distance away but it is still unmistakable and it has a very peculiar scientific name.
Grass Bob (Suada swerga suava)
Grass Bob (Suada swerga suava)
I went back to the same spot to look for it the following day but unfortunately it did not appear again.
After seeing all those rare ones, these are a few not so common ones.
Indian Cupid / Tailed Cupid (Everes lacturnus rileyi)
According to the CP field guide, this species can only be seen sporadically.
Common Sergeant (Athyma perius perius) is finally back.
I believe this Athyma could be a localised species as some butterfly spotters have reported seeing it quite often at their sites. The last time I saw this species was in Penang - sometime back in July 2022.
Here is another uncommon one I think.
Dusky Cerulean (Jamides cunilda nisanca)
This is a male because I saw its deep blue upperside but was unable to photograph its magnificent colours.
Here comes the more common ones.
Common Tit (Hypolycaena crylus teatus)
A partially open dorsal view was good enough to confirmed that it's a male.
It takes lots of luck to photograph a BiF (Butterfly in Flight).
This should be a Common Sailor (Neptis hylas papaja)
Here it is again after flying a short distance and landed on a leaf to rest.
A farewell shot.
Elbowed Pierrot (Caleta elna elvira)
It's a small butterfly which has an erratic flight pattern.
THAT'S ALL FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2023.
