Butterflying in Malaysia Part 1 - Berembun Rainforest Lodge Villa & Ulu Bendul Forest Eco Park

I took a public bus at the Karanji MRT Station on a Monday morning to cross the borders at Woodlands. The traffic on the Causeway was generally smooth and the jam caused by many returning blue buses from SG was tolerable. With the implementation of the e-gates at the Woodlands checkpoint,  immigration clearance at the JB customs was a breeze - thanks to the Malaysian government.

I followed the signage and waited for SBS Bus 170 which goes to the JB Larkin bus terminal. I bought a bus ticket going to Seremban, scheduled to depart at 09:50 am but I had no idea why the departure was delayed until 10:20 am. The traffic on the highway was generally smooth except at some stretches near Malacca and Seramban. The whole journey to the bus terminal in Seremban. was close to 4 hours (longer than the usual time).  

I must thank the owner of the  Berembun Rainforest Lodge Villa (Pantai) , SC who waited for me at the Bus Terminal 1. I stayed at the villa which is situated at the mid-level of the Berembun mountain in Pantai, Seremban -  about 30-min drive from the Seremban town centre.

The colour theme of the villa is predominantly white which exudes a sense of peacefulness, purity with elegance which blends very well with the surrounding greenery. The architectural design of the whole villar is very practical - the large multi-purpose grass patch in front of the houses not only provides enough parking space for visitors but also allows parents conducting activities for kids while immersing themselves in nature.  The open balconies outside two of the four rooms provide a cozy and private space for us to enjoy fresh air and listening to birdsongs over a cup of coffee.  The small but well-sheltered swimming pool below the balconies is a bonus for us to chill and relax on a hot day. 

We can find a good variety of butterflies within and in the vicinity of the villa - an ideal place for butterfly-photographers. Here are some shots that I managed to take.  

This is a Coon (Psolos fuligo) is quite a large skipper. It was found resting on a foliage in a cool early morning just besides the house.

A Potanthus species opened its wings whenever it perched on a new leaf.

This small Straight Pierrot (Caleta roxus pothus) was found late in the afternoon outside the gates of the villa.

In a late afternoon,  we spotted the Blue Brilliant (Simiskina phalia potina) on a very high perch not far away from the villa. However, it was not cooperative,  refusing to come down for us to take a better shot.

Apart from butterflies, there were some moths perching on the wall of the villa. This is one of them - a silvery interesting moth.

What bug is this ? 

 The owner grows quite a number of host plants and flowering plants such as Snakeweeds to attract butterflies. Indeed, from time to time, the owner did record some rarer butterflies at this location. For example this rare skipper Salanoemia similis.

It has been more than 10 years since my last outing with LC in Chiang Mai.  I was very glad that he was able to travel from KL to the villa to meet us for two days of butterfly-outing. 

The weather was not ideal on 3 June but we still headed out to the Ulu Bendul Forest Eco Park which is not very far by car from the villa. There is no entrance fees to this park and it appeared that the park is quite popular with the locals.

There were quite a few groups of campers along the riverbanks. Dipping into the river seemed to be the favourite activities here for kids and teenagers.

Though the butterfly activities were below my expectation due to the weather condition, I  still managed to shoot a few species.  I saw this Common Pierrot (Castlius rosimon rosimon) fluttering amongst the wild flowers, I chased after it and took a few quick shots.

The Common Tit (Hypolycaena erylus teatus) was looking for sweet spot for puddling on the rocky ground.

I think this is the Small Red Bob (Idmon obliquans) resting in a shade.

A small whitish Lycaenid was found fluttering around. I need to wait patiently before it settled down for me to take a quick shot - this looks like a Lesser Darkwing (Allotinus unicolor).

On our way back to the entrance, we spotted this puddling Red Helen (Papilio helenus helenus).

We noticed that there were a few Awls feeding on a flowering tree but they were rather high up. I managed to take some record shots of a Plain Banded Awl (Hasora vitta) and the Royal Assyrian (Terinos terpander).

                                                                                                                 

 

Near the carpark, we met a Magpie Crow (Euploea radamanthus) and it seems to be common here as we encountered a few of them in the park.

To be continued

A slow hike from Upper Peirce Reservoir to Sime Track

It has been a long time since CH and I went for shooting together. Thanks CH for giving me a lift on a fine Monday (9 June) morning to Upper Peirce Reservoir. We strolled from the carpartk to Jelutong Tower, passing by the reservoir edge and the golf course.

We encountered quite a number of common butterflies along the way.
There were quite a number of Striped Albatross futtering in the morning sun. 

Sun-loving butterflies such as the Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) were spotted feeding on Biden flowers.

Whereas the Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana javana) was bathing under the morning sun.

Another sun-bathing butterfly, a female Common Mormon (Papillio polytes romulus)

Along the way, we encountered quite a few of skippers. This looks like a female Baoris farri.

The presence of a cell-spot suggests that this is a Pelopidas species. This might be a P. agna.

According to Dr Seow from ButterflyCircle, this is a female Potanthus ganda perching on a grass blade.

When we reached the Julontong tower, we noticed that the weather didn't look very promising so we turned back walking towards Upper Peirce Reservoir.

Along the Sime Track, this interesting flower with seeds attracted by attention. I guess this is Sterculia lanceolata.

The Common Flashing (Vestalis amethystina) damselfly is rather common along Sime Track. 

We had a short water break at the Ranger Station before heading back to the Upper Peirce Reservoir.

  

Along the fence separating the golf course and the hiking path, we encountered more butterfly species, This is the Common Line Blue (Prosotas nora superdates) fluttering at the ground level.

This Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa lambi) was also looking for a nice spot to puddle on the ground before resting on a foilage for a short while.

The male Horsfield's Baron (Tanaecia iapis puseda) flew past me and perched on a leaf.

Jewelled Grass Blue (Freveria putli) was first discovered in SG in September 2023. I rarely encountered this smallest butterfly in Hong Kong (wingspan about 12 - 16 mm) when I was stationed there for a few years. It is amazing to me that how this little beauty could mysteriously come to SG and now it seems that it has settled down here permanently.

We encountered a few pristine specimens fluttering around its host plant Indigofera spicata (Creeping Indigo)  (life history here) growing along a short stretch of fence between the reservoir edge and the golf course. Though it is rather small, a prominent row of black spots on the underside hindwing margin is distinctive enough for us to identify it with certainty. 

Another shot when it was sliding its wings.

CH was using a Huawei Pura 7 phone in this outing to shoot butterflies. I must say that the effect and the quality of the images are impressive (sharp with good details and nice bokeh) and comparable with shots taken from a dedicated macro-lens.  With AI technology being widely adopted and the advancement of microchips,  handphone cameras will be as good as many dedicated lens or cameras.  I think very soon more people will use handphones to take pictures of macro subjects.

 
      

Lornie Nature Corridor Part 4

I have not been updating this blog regularly.  Yes, it is a big shame on me that my last blog post here was a long time ago. Though I have not been active writing blog or posting pictures, I did walk around to shoot whenever I was free. Usually I strolled along the Lornie Nature Corridor quite as it is near my home.

Over a longer period, I did encounter and photographed some species that were not featured in my previous three parts.  

This rather tame Pitcher Blue (Virachala kessuma deliochus) was resting on a leaf above my eye level. It stayed there for a while, allowing a few of us to snap some shots.

The Pitcher Blue is not common here as its larval host plant Nepenthes gracilis  is not very common. A detailed write-up on its early stages with a fantastic video can be found at (life history of Pitcher Blue).

This Scarce Silverstreak (Irota rochana boswelliana) is a beautiful lycadenid which is more commonly found in town parks where its larval host plant Ficus microcarpa is abundant.  

A write-up on its life history is here.

The Malayan Jester (Symbrenthia hippoclus) was first discovered by me in year 2012 outside the Nanyang Technologial University entrance . Good to see that this species has been found in quite number of places in recent years.

    

It was rather skittish at first,  always scooting off to the canopy whenever I approached it closer. With patience, finally, it did stay on the ground  long enough for me to snap a few quick shots.

The Quaker (Neopithecops zalmora zalmora) was abundant  a few weeks ago.  They like to fluttering around in the shade.

This is the Indigo Flash (Rapala varuna orseis) feeding on this invasive Mile-a-Minute flowers. 

The Dark Veined Tiger (Danaus melanippus hegesippus) took a short break for me to a quick shot. 

Due to work and family commitments, I have not been going for any overseas shooting for the last 1.5 years. Hope I can make up for it from now onwards.

Lornie Nature Corridor Part 3

I could not remember when I last encountered the Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsia) but on 12 Nov, we saw a couple of them at the Lornie Nature Corridor on a rather overcast morning. When the sunshine is slowly piercing through the clouds, we started to see more butterfly activities.

This is a male Caltoris cormasa. It was quite restless and zipping around before it finally decided to feed on the Latana flowers for us to take some shots.

The Small Branded Swift (Pelopidas mathias mathias) is rather common  

When I spotted a Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsea hypsina) it was actually resting on a leaf surface. Perhaps due to the cool weather, its flight was rather weak and had frequent perches.

From the upperside shots, we can tell that this is a female.

Her male companion was feeding on the Lantana flowers. 

After feeding, he took a short perch.

The Malay Viscount (Tanaecia pelea pelea) was abundant as usual. A male was found feeding on some dry and perhaps fermented fruits of the Singapore Rhododendron (Melastoma malabathricum). 

Elioti Conalian (Deudorix elioti) seemed to be in season in mid November. We found at least 3 or 4 individuals along the nature corridor somewhere between two the bus stops.

Same specimen but a different pose for me.

The more common Deudorix species is the Cornelian (D. epijarbus). At times, we could see at least half a dozen of them flitting around and feeding on the wild flowers.

Yamfly (Loxura atymnus fuconius) also seems to be very common along this nature corridor.  A rather pristine specimen attracted my interest in taking a few shots of it.  

 A skittish Common Lascar (Pantoporia hordonia hordonia) kept visiting the Mile-a-minute flowers but it didn't stay still - I could only get some quick snap shots.

Its underside shots

My first sighting of the Suffused Flash (Rapala suffusa barthema) along the Lornie Nature Corridor - thanks to John who spotted it.

I have spotted the Aberrant Oakblue (Arhopala abseus abseus) from far a few times before but this was my most recent shot.    

This is a male of the Malay Baron (Euthalia monina monina) - an interesting species that the male has three different forms - this is form-decorata.

My last post of the Year 2023, wishing every butterfly-lover a joyful and healthy new year ahead. Let's us find time to explore new hunting grounds for butterfly-photography and don't get trapped in our own comfort zones in Year 2024 !