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.

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.