From Lornie Trail to Rifle Range Link Part 3

Continue from my last post.

Apart from some common dragonflies darting and perching along the reservoir edge, no other critters caught my attention and arouse my curiosity.

I had to bear with the hot sun and a muddy dirt path that brought me to the Jelutong Tower via the Gold Link boardwalk. At one point on the boardwalk which is opposite a grass patch (I just wonder why for years there has not been any reforestation done on this rather "eyesore" site in our forest ?) a female Colour Sergeant (Athyma nefte subrata) was seen resting on a wild Cinnamon leaf. I approached closer and took a quick shot just before it scooted off.     

I decided to take a breather at one newly constructed shelter near the tower. I noticed that there was a male Spotted Black Crow (Euploea crameri bremeri) perching and apparently feeding on the signage of the shelter. But this guy was skittish and shy who preferred to stay high up in the shelter.    

While I was trying to tease him and wait for this guy to come down, his female companion appeared. She was flitting around in the shelter for a while until she found my water bottle and got intoxicated by the fluids - yes, who wouldn't  love water on a very hot and humid day.   

Next moment, she found my sweaty bag and seemed to enjoy salt contents in the sipping.

A male Cruiser (Vidula dejone erotella) who also liked the shade and cool provided by the shelter came down to hunt for nice spots for puddling. As usual, I had to fire some quick and rapid shots to capture the moment when his flapping-wings were both flat on the ground.    

I decided to move on to the Rifle Range Link to find out if there were more butterfly species along the stream. What a disappointment as there was not a single species turning up at the location due to the flooding stream. Only a rather worn-out puddling Purple Duke (Eulaceura osteria kumana) on the forest trail gave me little consolation.    

 

I decided to move a bit further until I reached the Rifle Range Link. Along the way, I managed to snap just one skipper - a Common Dartlet (Oriens gola pseudolus) I believe.

I headed back to the Ranger Station - a disappointment again as I used to see many butterflies there in the past. A few shots on a wasp and a beetle were the only rewards from a long rest at the Ranger Station.           

On my way back via the MacRitchie Nature Trail, I walked rather fast and was too tired to hunt for critters except for this unlucky female Common Tit (Hypolycaena erylus teatus ) I presumed, caught my eyes. 

The completion of a more than 4-hour trekking deep into our forest not only gave me a sense of achievement but also allowed me to capture some shots of many fascinating and  beautiful critters especially butterflies in our forest - it was a very rewarding feeling indeed.