Saturday 2 July 2016

The Amazing Skippers of The Forest Edge - June 2016

Watching butterflies can provide the same attraction and challengers as bird watching. Both species have wings, both have the kaleidoscopic assortment of colorful patterns and both have their unique behavior and characters to be observed. Some of them however are quite rare while some can be as common as your house sparrows. Sadly the population of some butterflies if not most of them are rapidly declining. The two major contributing factors should be the loss of their natural habitat arising from deforestation and land cultivation as well as due to the enormous collections amassed by both professional as well as private collectors. The second factor i believe has also significantly (although under-reported) contributed to the decline of a lot of butterfly species in some parts of  the world. This was due to the reason that although some butterflies do migrate but most of them don't travel that far. Hence their zoogeographical distribution are quite limited. In addition and unlike wildlife and birds, there are not many regulations out there (if there are any) which are created to prevent the extinction of certain number of insects particularly butterflies. Henceforth it is equally important to conserve the population of insects such as butterflies as some of them are the main source of diet for insectivores (example flycatchers, bats etc) as well as an agent of pollination. 

Recently while watching birds, me and my naturalist partner came across a patch of grassland which we have not explored. We were amazed to find so many species of skippers in such a small location. More than 10 species of skippers were seen and some of them were so small (about 1.1cm) that they look almost like your common household flies. Most of them were common though and here are some of their photos:

Pseudocoladenia dan (Fulvous Pied Flat)

Like bird watching, it would also be advisable to take photos of butterflies at different angles so that a more positive identification of their subspecies can be determined especially those difficult ones.

Pelopidas conjunctus 

Conjoined Swift





Koruthaialos sindu (Bright Red Velvet Bob)

Here is another bob:
Chestnut Bob (Lambrix salsala)
Hello Bob !

Common Snow Flat (Tagiades japetus)


Taractrocera archias (Yellow Grass Dart)
Apparently members of the "Herperiidae" family were described from their darting flights.




i believe the above two photos depict a "Polytremis lubricans" (Contigous Swift)


Common Banded Demon (Notocrypta paralysos)

Chocolate Demon (Ancistroides nigrita)

Brown Bob (Psolos fuligo)

HAPPY BUTTERFLYING !

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus malayanus)

Here is another butterfly which would require your mental faculties to work overtime. If you have compared the photos in the literature with the photos below, you might probably have some doubts on its identification. The literature described the butterfly as having a black upperside and a creamy ground color underside. Most of the pictures in the field guide as well as in the internet in fact show an almost overall black coloration. 




The reason for this color distortion was probably due to the effect of direct sunlight. There were however several features which i have used to derived my conclusion on this butterfly.

i)  There is a large ocellus spot in between interspace 7 and post discal section of its wing.

ii) large number of irregular spots on forewings in interspaces 5 to 8 towards Apex (M3 - R4).

iii) two orange spots in between the area of 'tornus' and 'postdiscal' on its hindwing.


Here it is again under a shade.


This butterfly was photographed in Northern Peninsular of Malaysia and it was surprising to know that the literature has considered this butterfly a pest !


HAPPY BUTTERFLYING !



Saturday 21 May 2016

Butterflies of Ulu Langat Forest - May 2016

Watching and identifying butterflies can be just as tricky as birding. Some of them can be straight forward while some may need your closer observation. Have a look at the photo of the following skipper:

It has dark brown underside and a creamy white band. Your first thought could be a "Dark Banded Ace" (Halpe ormenes). But it was actually just a "Common Banded Demon" (Notocrypta paralysos).

Here it is again from another angle. In bright light, the all black color description associated with this skipper would have distorted the views of some people.


The other butterflies seen in this forest area are more straightforward:

Banded Yeoman (Cirrochroa orissa)


Small Leopard (Phalanta alcippe alcesta)

This "leopard" surely wont eat humans.


Chestnut Bob (Lambrix salsala salsala)

This skipper is however less confusing on its features.




Chocolate Albatross (Appias lyncida)

One of the most common butterfly which you can find in inland forest.


Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae)

The most common 'swallowtails' which you will encounter. This photo was taken while it was still fluttering.


There are not many butterflies seen around lately. Could it be due to the current hot weather or perhaps i was just not paying much attention.


HAPPY BUTTERFLYING !


Sunday 3 January 2016

Swamp Tiger (Danaus affinis)

Sorry to disappoint you but this is not a real tiger. It was just a 'common' butterfly but it is reportedly a mangrove specialist. Saw this swamp thing at a mangrove area at Kuala Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia recently.

Side view


Front view

Looks quite menacing from the front.


View from the top

Saw at least 5 of them and they can be quite quarrelsome among themselves.


Have a Great Butterflying Year ahead !

Wednesday 30 December 2015

Butterflies of Rice Fields - Dec 2015

Rice Fields are usually open areas with vast flat terrains. From the month of November to December, the rice fields in Peninsular Malaysia are usually ready to be harvested and the scenery can be spectacular. Despite the weather which can be really hot around the rice fields, i have found several butterflies which can withstand such extreme weather.

Common Evening Brown
This 'Evening Brown' is the wet weather morph which coincide with the current monsoon season.


Grey Pansy
Not a very sharp photo but this Great Pansy (Junonia atlites) is reported to have only one morph through out its range.

Tawny Coster
Just like the above Grey Pansy, this Tawny Coster also has no subspecies through out its range as reported by the experts.


After spending some time at the rice fields, i moved to a more shady location near the forest edge. 

Painted Jezebel
Most Jezebels are colorful and can be easily seen.


This could be a common crow or according to Dr Kirton's field guide, it should be a "Spotted Black Crow" (Euploea crameri)



'Common Four Ring' butterflies are quite common and can be easily found in your gardens.



Great Egg Fly
The above 'Great Egg Fly' can be found at your kampung and even your garden at times.


Have a Great Year 2016 !





Wednesday 18 November 2015

Backyard Butterflies - Nov 2015

Sometimes your backyard can also produced many varieties of butterflies. Recently i had a short morning stroll at my 'backyard' and here are some of its butterflies. Most of them were common though.

Psolos fuligo
Its common name is "Brown Bob" and this is how its looks under the bright warm sun. Good morning Bob !

This is how it looks like under the shade.

....and this is how it looks like when sun bathing.

Zeuxidia amethystus
Hiding in the thick foliage was this butterfly which common name is : "Saturn". Apparently it is rarely seen but it certainly does not seem like it came from a faraway star nor has it shown any demonic characteristics.

I believe this butterfly looks more like a "Long Brand Bush Brown" (Mycalesis visala phamis) rather than a "Mottled Bush-Brown" (M. janardana). There were lots of them.


This is how its upper wings would look like. Pretty drab colors but nevertheless it was quite interesting to watch this butterfly as well.


I believe this was one of its friends too - probably a "Orsotriaena medus cinerea" (Dark Grass Brown)?

Commander (Moduza procris)
Everything will look nice under the sun.

Harlequin (Taxila haquinus)
I believe this is a female Harlequin

This is how its upper wing would look like.


Archduke

I believe this butterfly is a female Malayan Viscount

Common Faun (Faunis canens)
It kept itself to the dark forest ground so i decided to have some flashlight on it.


Butterfly watching or what i termed as "Butterflying" is certainly another interesting hobby you can pick up.


Sunday 8 November 2015

Punchinello - Zemeros flegyas

The name "Punchinello" certainly sound a bit spanish but this butterfly apparently are only common in this region - i.e South East Asia. It is described as having dark orange brown color and has a wet and dry season form. I have recently came across an individual which was quite accommodating in having its photos taken. Here are some of its photos:

Zameros emesoides
From the look of the above photo it would appear that this butterfly is displaying its dry season form which is supposedly darker than its wet season color.

This butterfly has apparently many subspecies. You can go a level higher by trying to identify which subspecies it belongs to but for me i will just leave the task to the entomologist or lepidopterist.

On its behavior, this butterfly tends to move quite often when feeding on the nutrients from the flowers. This has allowed an excellent 360 degree view of its entire anatomy.

For whatever reasons it may be, this butterfly was seen been chased around by several Ypthima namely 3 rings and 5 rings. I believe it could have been more of a territorial issue rather than a hunter and prey thingy. 

Although it is quite a small butterfly at just 2.1cm, it can certainly make a strong impression or should i say "punch" if ever you have the chance to see one.


Butterflies are like Jewels of the Forest and Gardens !




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