Butterflies in April 2022

Butterfly activities have shot up quite a bit due to a few trips which I have managed to conclude including one to a new place in Gopeng, Perak. Also saw a number of new butterflies which added up my tally of butterflies seen and photographed to nearly 300 species.

Here is the first new ones.

Autumn Leaf (Doleschallia bisaltide pratipa)

It is probably an uncommon butterfly.

Aberrant Oakblue (Arhopala abseus abseus)

The underside pattern of this butterfly looks a bit like some "Flos" species but the white spot at space 1a of its hindwing confirmed its ID. Another uncommon species.

Here is another lifer.  Narrow Striped Faun (Faunis gracilia). This species is much rarer than its closer and more common relative - the "Common Faun" (Faunis canens). This butterfly was seen deep in a jungle trail in Hulu Langat. 

Copper Flash (Rapala pheretima sequeira)

This butterfly was said to be quite common in certain locations.

Sumatran Bob (Arnetta verones)

This skipper is reported to be absent in Singapore at the moment.

This looks like a Spotless Bob (Idmon distanti) I think. It is much smaller than the above skipper.

Spotless Bob (Idmon distanti)

Peablue (Lampides boeticus) 

Reportedly to be a migrating butterfly. So when in season, you might find them abundantly in certain locations.

Pale Four Line Blue - Nacaduba hermus swatipa (Corbet)

There are a dozens of Nacaduba species here and a lot of them look alike which make them quite difficult to identify at times.  

Here are the more common butterflies.

Cycad Blue (Luthrodes pandava pandava) - formerly known as Chilades pandava pandava)

Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa lambi)

Ciliate Blue (Anthene emolus goberus)

This is an uncommon butterfly but its ID has yet to be ascertained. Experts however reckoned that it could be a female Curetis regula (Regular Sunbeam).

This one looks like a Small Branded Swift (Pelopidas mathias mathias)

Small Branded Swift (Pelopidas mathias mathias)

Fulvous Pied Flat (Pseudocoladenia dan dhyana) - male

Fulvous Pied Flat (Pseudocoladenia dan dhyana) - female

Unfortunately both the above male and female was seen almost 50 km apart.

I believe this is a Ixias pyrene birdi and not verna (Yellow Orange Tip)

Same butterfly as above with a slightly open upperwings.

Common Snow Flat (Tagiades japetus atticus)

It has a whitish underside as depicted in the above photo.

Same fella but photo was taken under a shady foliage, sampling some 'snakeweed' flowers.

First time seeing a Grass Demon (Udaspes folus) sunning itself and its upperside looks different when in direct contact with the sunlight.

Here it is again under a shade.

Back to the forest. Here is a species of Arhopala which is the most common of them all.

Yellow-disk tailless Oakblue (Arhopala perimuta) 

The Lance Sergeant (Athyma pravara helma)

This Athyma is only common in the forest regions.

Another common butterfly but it is only common in the plains and country side. 

Striped Albatross (Appias olferna olferna) - male

I believe this is a Long Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis visala phamis)

A pristine looking Archduke (Lexias pardalis dirteana) 

A fine looking male Common Posy (Drupadia ravindra moorei)

One of my favourite butterflies besides Nawabs but you don't get to see them so often as well.

Malayan Tailed Judy (Abisara savitri savitri)

If you come across the above Malayan Tailed Judy, you might also come across the following butterfly because their habitat are the same.

                                           
                     Female                                                               Male                          

                                        

                                       Malayan Plum Judy (Abisara saturata kausambiodes)

Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra tinctoria)

The above palmfly photo was taken in a swampy area in Penang mainland.

This could be a moth caterpillar because it looks very hairy.

Finally this butterfly has eluded me several times but this time I have got a good look at it.

Silver Forget-me-not (Catochrysops panormus exiguus)

This butterfly is reported to be an uncommon insect. Here it is seen on top of  some Bandicoot Berry (Leea indica) flowers.

DO STAND BY FOR MY NEXT BUTTERFLY PHOTOS AT GUA TEMPURUNG. UNTIL THEN FORGET ME NOT AS IT SAYS ! 

Butterflies in March 2022

The month of March witnessed only a few butterflies due to less trips into the forest and the occasionally raining episodes which coincide with the tailend of the monsoon season. A few nice inflight shots and some new discoveries were the highlights of the day.

Striped Albatross (Appias libythea olferna)

This female Striped Albatross decided to oviposit on a roadside weed.

Striped Albatross (Appias libythea olferna)

This one is a male which I find it even more difficult to photograph due to its non-stop flying. It did paused occasionally but even that it was only for a few seconds.

Chocolate Albatross (Appias lyncida vasava)

This is another female but from a different species. 

Another female Chocolate Albatross. They are quite fond of getting their nutrients from these flower buds, as I have observed.

Forest Grass Yellow (Eurema simulatrix tecmessa)

They look quite similar to Chocolate Grass Yellow (Eurema sari) to an untrained eyes. 

This is the upperside (Dorsal) view of the Forest Grass Yellow. They are more common in the forest as compared to elsewhere hence their name.

This is an interesting discovery. It is actually a Dophla evelina compta (Red-spot Duke). Its dark coloration is completely out of the textbook. Most likely an aberrant.

Here is another new discovery but a difficult one to identified. It is certainly not a Curetis saronis sumatrana because its legs are not red-banded as the latter. One thing for sure is that it is a female.

Curetis is one of those difficult species of butterfly to identify. You will need to have a clear view of its upper and underside  in order to have a positive ID.

Just for comparison, here is another Curetis which was seen earlier. Could it be the above was a female Curetis santana malayica and the one below here is a male? 

I will leave them with the status of "to be identified".

 

A female Common Blue Bottle (Graphium sarpedon luctatius) sipping from a water puddle.

A slightly off coloured Yellow Flash (Rapala domitia domitia)

A prime looking Rustic (Cupha erymanthis)

Here comes the Commander (Moduza procris milonia)

They can be quite common at times but only around the forested regions.

Peacock Royal (Tajuria cippus maxentius) - female

To me the above Peacock Royal is quite uncommon. Seen here on a lime tree.

Another butterfly species to be identified.

Here are a few comparison of some butterflies which may look alike but they are actually quite different.

       Common Cerulean                            White Cerulean                                                  Jamides celeno celeno                                                 Jamides pura pura              

Some readers say the above is some Nacaduba but I believe it is a Jamides talinga talinga (Lesser cerulean). My prediction was based on its small size and its hindwing stripes.

I shall end this month's post with a sequence of the flight of a Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete metarete)

Here you can see its approach towards a lime tree.

As it flew nearer, it decided to fly further up. 

About to land.

Touch down.

THAT'S ALL FOR THIS MONTH'S POST. 

UNTIL THE NEXT TIME ENJOY YOUR BUTTERFLY ADVENTURES.