Butterflies in Sabah

The moment I knew that I didn't have to report for work on 25 and 26 May,  I decided to book a flight to Kota Kinabaru (KK), Sabah to attend my wife's nephew wedding dinner on 27 May at Sabah Hilton Hotel. 

After my morning lessons and a quick lunch on 24 May, we headed to the airport for a late afternoon Scoot flight to KK. We spent one night at the Sabah Oriental Hotel.  We checked out around 5:50 am early next morning and headed to Sabah Pine Resort in Kundasan where we joined our friends and relatives who have arrived in Sabah a few days early. We hired a private car and it took almost 1 hour 30 mins to reach the Pine Resort. After we put our luggage in their rooms, we headed out for sightseeing in the small town.

We visited one of the hilltop resorts which has a very large and beautiful private garden. 

I spotted a very skittish orange butterfly hopping around. This is the Kinabalu Bush Orange (Mydosama pitana) which is an endemic species. From this upperside shot,  I am quite sure that this is a male specimen.

However, the undersides of the male and female look rather similar like this.

This should be the Common Evening Brown (Melanitis leda) which looks rather different from what we can find here. 

We went to Kokol Hill on 28 May. At the entrance to a resort, I noticed a fluttering Miletus species, likely to be M.  Symethus. The moment it perched on a leaf, I took a few quick shots. 

While we were having a coffee break in the resort,  I walked around to look at the surroundings. There were a few butterflies fluttering but only this Banded Yeoman (Cirrochroa orissa) presented an opportunity for me to photograph it.

This Common Sailor (Neptis hylas) was another species I could photograph.

I extended my stay in Sabah till 1 June. On 30 May, I chartered a taxi fetching us from our hotel in KK to Mahua Waterfall at Tampunan. The traffic was light in the early morning and it took us about 2 hours to reach the waterfall, arriving there just before 9 am. After paying the entrance fees ($20 ringgit for an adult foreigner), we took a slow walk on a well-paved path to the waterfall, about 500 m away from the entrance.

The first butterfly I encountered was a Yellow Banded Awl (Hasora schoenherr)zipping around a shelter and feeding on the concrete floor or brickwalls - a rather common behaviour of may Awls in the early morning 

There were a few of them - this was another specimen.

Opposite the shelter where I put my bag, there was a group of Hedge Blues puddling on a rock.

When this guy, likely to be a Celastrina algernoni stayed away from the group, I snapped a few shots.

Unfortunately, 30 May was the Harvest Day in Sabah - a public holiday.  Many groups of local visitors started to swarm in after 10 am, making it very difficult for me to shoot at the waterfall areas.

So most of the time, I was wandering along the trail to look out for butterflies  A small lycaenid fluttering amongst some wild flowers along the riverbanks caught my attention.  This is the Quaker (Neopithecops zalmora)

The water level of the ravine was rather low so we could cross the river easily. 

A lonely Singleton (Una usta ) was puddling on a rock - is this its usual behaviour that the common name is assigned to this species?  

There were many Mapwing butterflies flying past us near the ground. This is the Cyrestis maenalis seminigra (Dark Mapwing) 

With lots of patience waiting for it to unfold its wings, I managed to snap a quick shot of its underside. 

Another Mapwing species, the Cyrestis nivea borneensis (Straight-line Mapwing) liked to puddle on the ground with its wings fully open so I was not able to get any underside shots.

Now, they decided to pose for a group photo. 
I was resting in a shelter and saw something different amongst a group of puddling Hedge Blues. When I approached it and took a closer look, they were the Elbowed Pierrot (Caleta elna).

Under the midday direct sun,  the damp areas outside the toilets attracted a few puddling butterflies - 
The Himalayan Jester (Symbrenthia hypselis) was one of them.

I didn't have good chance to take a better upperside shot of this Jester. 

The Orange Gall (Cepora iudith) stayed on the ground for awhile before it scooted off when someone was nearby.

A Plain Hedge Blue (Udara dilecta) was found nearby 

As there were not many different species appearing at the waterfall, we headed out slowly. The carpark area was full of vehicles so decided to hang around the signboard area where I saw two puddling butterflies. This is the Symbrenthia hypatia (The Intricate Jester) 

and a Pointed Line Blue (Ionolyce helicon) I believe.

On 31 May, we took a cab to the foothill of Bukit Perahu (St Veronica's Hill) in the small town called  Tamparuli which is about 40-minute journey from KK city. 

The hiking trail is well-paved and well-marked with many red-and-blue steps. We took about an hour to hike up the hill gradually and along the way we noticed there were numbered wooden crosses.   

The panoramic view of the Tamparuli town is magnificent. 

We spent sometime on the peak, enjoying the breeze and the 360 degrees view of the town. 
I encountered a few species of butterfly along the way when I walked down the hill. This Tanaecia species was the only butterfly that I shot.

This short trip to Sabah did not allow me to explore other butterfly hotspots in Sabah. I would like to visit Sabah again, especially the Mahwah waterfall and other places where I can find many butterflies next year.