Winged Critters @ Kuala Woh Jungle Park, Perak

It was an overcast Labour Day in Kampar, Perak. After breakfast at the hotel, without much delay we were on an hour-long journey to Kuala Woh Jungle Park situated at the foot of Cameron Highlands. This jungle park is another picnic site for the local families indulging themselves in their very own way of fun-filled outings.

It was my first time seeing so many male RBBs, Rajah Brooke's Birdwings (Troides brookiana albescens) puddling on two spots on the river bank, what a magnificent sight for me.

The river banks were crowded with kids and overnight campers, the ground wasn't ideal for good photography. After taking some record shots, we decided to cross the suspension bridge to explore the forested area along a jungle walk. Here is a video clip shot by Ben Jin, showing how a group of male RBBs was puddling on the river bank.

According to Les this is Appias albina albina , puddling on the damp ground near the suspension bridge which had less picnickers.

We have a look-alike species in Singapore, Lesser Darkie ( Allotinus unicolor unicolor). Due to the difference in size and the hindwing submarginal markings look slightly different to me, I guess what I shot is another Allotinus species . Perhaps due to the cool and cloudy weather, we didn't see many butterfly species. So when BJ and I spotted this Yellow Grassy Tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia), I was rather determined and eager to get a good shot of it despite this guy being super active and alert. I was patiently chasing and stalking it. But, at the end, I still could not get a satisfactory shot - this is why butterfly photography is challenging and full of thrills and excitement.
However, some unique critters did catch my attention. First of all, this gregarious and strikingly coloured red Stainer Bug was rather abundant along the jungle trail.This large Katydid species was resting peacefully in the shade. I think most Katydid species wear a green outfit and feed on plant leaves with a pair of long and powerful hind legs .Another specimen was found on a Hibiscus shrub in an open space next to the park's toilet.

A male Heliocypha perforat perforat damselfly was found in the forested area. Though resting on a twig tamely, the vegetation obstructed me going nearer to take more shots.
Carrying a green grasshopper prey, this wasp was making several stops on the leaves before it was out of my sight. Perhaps John can help me to identify the species. (This is a Liris species in the Crabronidae family according to John. Thanks)
In terms of butterfly diversity and species recorded, Kuala Woh is not as good as Gua Tempurung. However, the magnificent scene of many puddling and free-flying RBBs in Kuala Woh is definitely attractive enough for butterfly photographers to visit the place often.

My last write-up of this series of blog posts will feature some insects that were found around the Lata Kijang waterfall area.

Flying Jewels @ Gua Tempurung Part 3

Continue from previous here.

My very first shot when we arrived at Gua Tempurung on 30 April was this large Long-horned Beetle. My first sighting of this gigantic beetle which was trying to cross the drain.

This rather skittish Moore's Ace (Halpe porus) skipper was found near a shelter behind the ticketing counter. There were two of them zipping around and at times puddling on the cement floor.Some Ginger plants were growing behind the shelter where this Narrow-banded Velvet (Koruthaialos rubecula rubecula) was found perching on. With a prominent forewing orange band, this rather common skipper can be easily spotted in the field. This Banded Blue Pierrot (Discolampa ethion thalimar ) was found in a shelter in the late afternoon. It was fluttering around our sweaty bodies and puddling on the cement floor, so we tried to lure him to rest on our finger but it preferred Yong's watch instead. A small Lycaenid having similar size and markings as the Elbowed Pierrot, Banded Blue Pierriot is not found in Singapore.The ground colour of the uppersides of this Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis septentrionis) is dark brown with some attractive blue streaks of different sizes. A slow and leisure flier with a wingspan of 8-10 cm, Dark Blue Tiger is considered an inedible species by predators because of its toxicity and unpleasant taste.I call this a "black beauty" as the upperside of this male Rohana parisatis siamensis is as black as coal but his underside wings are quite nice. I spotted this rather tethered male specimen flapping its wings on the cement floor.

Late in the afternoon on 1st May, I snapped a sequence of shots of another male and this is the best shot I captured. Libythea myrrha hecura is a Nymphalid butterfly. The most unique characteristic we can notice is its long "beak" formed by the elongated labial palpi, the sensory organ capable for detecting pheromones. The palpi are more prominent in Libythea species than in any other group of butterflies.

The markings on the uppersides of this rather unique butterfly look similar to the Lascar species. I noticed that it loved to perch on the brickwall in the late afternoon.

This Yellow Barred (Xanthotaenia busiris busiris) was spotted on the ground feeding on a dry fruit in the late afternoon further away from the entrance to the cave. This is one of the better shots when it was resting on a leaf after feeding.

While it was flapping its wings, I waited patiently to snap a few shots of its uppersides.

At least three Red Helens (Papilio helenus helenus) were puddling in a drain behind the toilet. This open-winged shot was taken when one of them decided to rest in a shade after it had enough food for the rest of the day.

All of a sudden, a small Lacaenid perched in front me, opened its wings basking in the sun for a very short moment before it disappeared completely. I think this is Drupadia scaeva scaeva judging from my only shot shown here.
This small damselfly perching on a leaf was shot near a stream. Not sure what it is.

The number of butterfly species showing up in this popular and "civilised " place is amazing. Apart from the species that I feature here and in my last two posts, I was unable to photograph at least half a dozen more other species found in the area. Gua Tempurung is truly a paradise for butterfly watching and photographing.

The above shot was taken by BJ.

Flying Jewels @ Gua Tempurung Part 2

Continue from my previous post.

Gua Tempurung is a popular adventure site for caving activities. When we were there on 1 May afternoon, though the weather was overcast with passing showers the place was still crowded with visitors.

In this post, I should feature the butterfly species that can be found in Singapore.

There were two Chocolate Sailors (Neptis harita harita) frolicking along a row of shrubs behind a mountail trail . This brown Sailor butterfly was usually found in the nature reserves and it is not common in Singapore.A rather skittish bugger, it never gave me a good chance to take a shot of its uppersides.
Lance Sergeant ( Athyma pravara helma) can be found in Singapore forest trails or fringes. The unbroken white forewing cell streak, circular at one end is the characteristic that separates this from many other look-a-like species. The life history was very well-documented here.
Fulvous Pied Flat (Pseudocoladenia dan dhyana) is rather uncommon in Singapore. It is found in a few localised spots in our nature reserves. With a rapid flight, the Fulvous Pied Flat likes to feed on flowers.
Another skittish and alert butterfly, this Perak Lascar (Pantoporia paraka paraka) was found visiting a hedge of shrubs behind an open field.
The three submarginal pale orange lines on the forewing above and the broad orange bands are the main features of this species. In Singapore, it can be found in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve and Pulau Ubin.
This lethargic Indian Cupid (Everes lacturnus rileyi ) was spotted outside the toilet in an open area on the last day before we headed back to the hotel. It even opened its wings to bask in the sun for us to admire its beautiful uppersides.
This looks like a Yamfly (Loxura atymnus fuconius) to me. It was found in the late afternoon. Some ants seemed like checking out what this was.


Though there were many visitors streaming past a passage way behind the information counter, this Pointed Ciliate Blue ( Anthene lycaenina miya) was brave enough to stay on the edge of a cement wall, oblivious to human traffic. I took a quick shot so that I didn't obstruct the visitors.
Striped Blue Crow, 端紫斑蝶 (Euploea mulciber mulciber) is another species that we can find in Singapore. This guy likes the brickwall very much. I just wonder what was on the wall that attracted the butterfly.
Most of the species I featured here were found around the area behind the building shown in the picture. In my next post, I will feature some amazing butterfly species found in Malaysia but not in Singapore. Related post :
http://peacockroyal.blogspot.com/2010/05/flying-jewels-gua-tempurung-part-3.html

Flying Jewels @ Gua Tempurung Part 1

It has been almost a year since my last butterfly-watching trip to Malaysia (see here). This year we decided to visit Perak, Malaysia by car. Three of us, BJ, Yong and I set off at dawn on 30 April. Thanks Yong for taking the trouble to be our driver and guide.

We enjoyed the cool morning and the journey very much. We made only two stops along the north-south highway, having our breakfast at Yong Peng in Johor state and lunch at a KFC outlet along the highway near Kuala Lumpur. We reached Kampar around 3 pm, earlier than we had expected.

After checking into the Grand Kampar Hotel, with great excitement we immediately headed out to Gua Tempurung , our first hunting ground, about a 15-minute drive from the hotel. The picture here shows the river bank near the entrance to the cave.

White Dragontail (Lamproptera curius curius) is one of the smallest butterflies in the family Papilionidae. It flies like a dragonfly with its forewings flapping at a high speed. This was a rare moment when one of them took a short nap on a fern.

There were quite a few of them puddling along the river bank most of the time, presenting different postures for us to photograph these black beauties.
Thought it is not a colourful butterfly, its two white-tipped long tails and the rather unique transparent forewings certainly make the White Dragontail butterfly a charm to many macro-photographers.

I accidentally stumbled over this Tufted Jungle King (Thauria aliris pseudaliris) on the side of the river bank under the rocky hill where some wild vegetation rules. A rather huge butterfly whose preferred habitat is the shady forest undergrowth, Tufted Jungle King certainly camouflages well with the leaves litter. The orange upperside was quite prominent when it was in flight.

Common Pierrot (Castalius rosimon rosimon) is a small black-and-white butterfly. A rather common species up north in many parts of Malaysia, but I have not seen one in Singapore yet.

I was rather lucky to see two Bassarona species at the same place where the Tufted Jungle King was resting. This is a Red-spot Marguis (Bassarona recta monilis) taking a shot break in the shade after feeding on a leaf surface.

I took a quick shot of its underside when it was flapping its wings while feeding

There were quite a few Great Marquis (Bassarona dunya dunya ) butterflies flying around. A relatively large and robust Nymphalid which appears to be shade-loving, the Great Marquis very often rests with its wings open fully.

Here is a record shot of the underside of another individual which suddenly landed in front of me from nowhere. In my next post, I will feature some other butterflies and critters which I found at places further away from the river bank - you would be surprised to see the ultra-rich insect diversity around the Gua Tempurung area.

From Dairy Farm Park to Bukit Timah Hill

Perhaps due to torrential rain on quite a number of days in the past two weeks, I noticed many fungi along the forest trails in our nature reserves. All fungi do not have chlorophyll which is found in green plants and therefore cannot produce their food through photosynthesis.

This small orange wild and perhaps poisonous mushroom grew on the shady ground at the peak of the Bukit Timah Hill.
Under the flash light, the dark bluish colour of this fungus was simply magnificent.
Fungi are capable of synthesising many organic compounds and they live either as parasites on other living organisms or as saprophytes drawing nutrients from dead remains. For example, this white fungus was found on a piece of dead fallen branch.
If we are not careful, we may think that this is the common Neurothemis fluctant dragonfly. Besides the slight difference in the red-winged pattern, the size of this rather large male Camacinia gigantea dragonfly differentiates clearly between the two. There were quite a few of them darting in high speed at the summit. Just next to the large dragonfly that I shot, this orange skipper which looks like a Telicota species quietly enjoyed a moment of solitude under a big tree. This tailless Arhopala species (possibly Arhopala major major) appeared along the sunlit trail leading to the carpark when I came down from the peak - a rather unusual behaviour as species in this genus usually prefers shady environment.

This "dragon-head' larva was found on a young leaf of a Saga Tree (Adenanthera pavonina) near one of the entrances to the Wallace Trail.

These two small and brilliantly coloured cute leaf beetles were found on the same Saga tree.
My first sighting of this yellow-and-black leaf beetle. The multi-segmented antennae look rather interesting and unique. Quite a few Lycaenids fluttering and puddling on the ground. However, they were rather skittish, hardly stopping long enough for me to take a shot. This looks like a Pointed Line Blue (Ionolyci helicon merguiana) as its forewing termen is rather straight with a rather pointed apex.

When it was in flight, the metallic blue upperside of this skittish Nacaduba species (may be Nacaduba calauria malayica) was rather prominent. It kept fluttering erratically along the Wallace Trail without stopping. It finally settled on my hand and I managed to take a shot.

The pictures here were shot in two different outings to this convenient hunting ground for me. I plan to go up to the Bukit Timah Hill a few more times as this is part of my preparation for climbing Hunagshang in China in June.