Butterfly Paradise at Chiang Dao (Northern Thailand) Part 3

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There were a few black-and-white butterflies on the ground at different time of the day. This is The Clear Sailor (Neptis clinia susruta) - a rather skittish Sailor which tested my determination of shooting both its undersides and uppersides.

It kept flapping its wings and didn't stay still on the ground. So I was quite happy to get a record shot. 

Another very skittish Neptis species, the Neptis magadha magadha (The Spotted Sailor) also didn't offer me any good opportunity of shooting its uppersides. 

 However, I managed to take a better shot of its undersides.

Along a stretch of the Chiang Dao hill slope, another Neptis species, the Sullied Brown Sailor (Neptis nata adipala) was flitting to-and-fro. It took me a while to snap this shot.

After shooting its uppersides, I found it very tough to get a decent shot of its undersides - this was the best shot I could get as it never stayed still with wings folded fully.

My last shot of a Neptis species was this Yerbury's Sailor (Neptis yerburii pandoces). Flitting close to the ground most of the time, it rested a few seconds - long enough for me to snap a few quick shots.

 It changed its perch often. However, it was just too shy to show me the undersides.

Just like the Sailors (Neptis species), many Athyma butterflies are cladded with black-and-white "outfit". This Studded Sergeant (Athyma asura asura) was alone at one corner when I spotted it.

In the late afternoon on 14 Oct, another I encounter another specimen loitering inside a hut.

With patience, I finally got a chance to capture its underside.

There were at least a couple of the  Athyma selenophora bahula (The Staff Sergeant). This was the more pristine one.

The undersides were exposed when it enjoyed the nutrient from the soil.

I saw Les and Khew stalking this guy quite persistently along a roadside. I thought it was another Athyma species until I had a glimpse of its undersides - it was an Emperor! the Sailor Emperor (Mimathyma chevana chevana). A distant record shot was the only chance I could showcase this skittish guy.    

Just like my last visit in early November, the Indian Purple Emperor (Mimathyma ambica miranda) was abundant. 

The blue colour that we see here was due to the reflection of the light from the structure of its wings.

If I took a shot from a certain angle, the striking blue structural colour would show fully.

I had a hard time shooting this very skittish Symbrenthia hypselis sinis (The Himalayan Jester). This was the only shot I got when it landed on the roadside.

The Common Jester (Symbrenthia lilaea lilaea) was a lot more abundant than The Himalayan Jester.

More butterfly shots will be posted in my next post.

Butterfly Paradise at Chiang Dao (Northern Thailand) Part 2

Continue from last post.

In part 2, let me begin with a picture of a female Grey Baron (Euthalia anosia anosia). I spotted her on the ground peeping at me. As I tried to go around here, she took off and landed a few meters away from me.  She never returned again after we snapped a few quick shots.

A pristine Clipper (Parthenos sylvia apicalis ) was busy feeding on the ground.

It kept flapping its wings. But with patience and determination, I managed to get one upperside shot.

It seemed that this time, the Great Nawab (Polyura eudamippus nigrobasalis) was more abundant than the Shan Nawab (P. nepenthes nepenthes) I was here last November. 

However, the Shan Nawab did appear on 16 Oct. These two friends walked pass each other while enjoying their meals.

There were at least two other Polyura species appeared at different times of the day. This is the Polyura athamas athamas (Common Nawab).

Another Common Nawab.

The common name of this Polyura species is called the Indian Yellow Nawab (Polyura jalysus jalysus)

The undersides of the Leaf Butterfly (Kallima inachus siamensis) varies but they do look like dry leaves.  

It opened and closed its wings very rapidly and irregularly. So I was quite contented that I was able to snap a quick shot. 

The underside markings on this specimen were certainly different from the previous one.

Here is another specimen which was found resting on a leaf in the late afternoon along a hill slope.

The Eastern Courtier (Sephisa chandra chandra ) is a very pretty butterfly. It stayed on the ground for a long period of time.

I always looked for opportunity to take some shots of a butterfly. This cooperative Eastern Courtier presented us with many opportunities of  photographing its undersides.

The ground colour of this Common Duffer (Discophora sondaica zal) blends very well with the surrounding. I would have chased it away if I had not stopped in time.

There are enough pictures for now in this post. I will showcase some smaller butterflies in my next post.

Butterfly Paradise at Chiang Dao (Northern Thailand) Part 1

Many thanks to Antonio who planned, arranged and made  this butterfly outing and photography trip to Chiang Mai possible for three of us from Singapore and Les from Koh Samui. We checked into the Dome Residences at Chiang Mai city upon our arrival in the evening of 13 Oct by SilkAir.

The weather was not too bad in the morning of 14 Oct. After our breakfast at the hotel, we were heading towards the north - our destination is about 75 km away. About 10 am, we arrived at Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary - in fact, a butterfly paradise to me. We immediately sprang into actions, looking closely at the butterflies puddling on the wet gravel ground.

Behind a hut,  there was a cluster of puddling butterflies. The moment I saw an isolated individual, I quickly snapped a few shots but unsure of what I had actually shot. After checking my reference book, I think this is a Adamson's Rose (Atrophaneura adamsoni) which I didn't encounter during my last trip in early November last year. It was a pity that I could not get a clear shot due to the space constraint and the messy sandy ground.

On our second day at Chiang Dao, I managed to take another shot, perhaps of a different specimen.

I saw more large Papilionids puddling compared to my last visit. This is a male Redbreast (Papilio alcmenor alcmenor  f-leucocelis) 

 Here is another specimen exhibiting a similar pose.

My first shot of the morning on 16 Oct was this Burmese Batwing (Atrophaneura varuna zaleucus).

There were at least a couple of the Great Windmills (Atrophaneura dasarada barata) fluttering around and feeding on the ground.

A common, large and beautiful papilionid in Thailand, the Paris Peacocks (Papilio paris paris) is a magnificent butterfly, especially when it is in flights. They stayed on the ground for a long period of time for us to compose our shots.

I feel that the undersides are not as attractive as the uppersides.

There were many Dragontail butterflies on 16 Oct but not on 14 Oct. They usually congregated and puddled together on wet sandy ground.

It seemed that there was only one White Dragontail (Lamprotera curius curius) that morning so I was particularly interested in taking a shot of it.

I considered this was a luck shot for me when a Green Dragontail (Lamproptera meges virescens) opened its wings side-by-side with the White Dragontail.

To be continued.

Two Butterflies at Mandai Track 15

I went to Mandai Track 15 on 4 Oct in the afternoon instead of  my usual morning outing due to a stormy weather.

For a long period of time, there were no cyclists and no critters coming along to greet me while I was heading towards the direction of the highway,  along the forest trail. However cicada songs did accompany me at times and broke the dreadful silence of the forest.

Almost an hour later, I noticed a small lycaenid, Logania marmorata damis resting rather tamely on a leaf surface which was not its usual behaviour. Though it is not a pretty butterfly in terms of colour variations, its wing patterns look rather intricate and artistic to me.

Being rather lethargic on a cool afternoon, it  provided me with more time to compose my shots with different camera settings of this usually active lycaenid always fluttering with erratic flights.

I decided to turn back and walked along a tarred road when I reached the end of the forest trail. At one open patch where some Mikania micrantha  flowers were abundant, another lycaenid was waiting for me. It was believed to be a male Nacaduba berenice icena. Not cooperative as the above Logania, it didn't stay still for me to take some properly-composed shots.

Wild grasses and Bidens flowers along the road and at the shelter had been cleared. I am not sure if this had greatly reduced the number of  skippers and other critters in the area.?

A Quiet Morning at USR

On a fine Saturday morning on On 27 September, I dropped by Upper Seletar Reservoir (USR) Park.  At the entrance to the second trail, a Starry Bob (Iambrix stellifer) was flitting around. 

A small orange skipper, the Common Dartlet (Oriens gola pseudolus ) preferred to hang around sunlit forest fringes. 

A female Common Posy (Drupadia ravindra moorei) changed her perches a few times hastily before I could snap a record shot. 

Something extra on this rather tattered Arhopala major caught my attention. It was rather skittish initially but after a while it succumbed to my persistence. A red parasitic mite was sticking on to its head. More information on mites on butterflies :

http://butterflycircle.blogspot.sg/2009/10/parasitic-mites-on-butterflies.html

http://benthebutterflyguy.blogspot.sg/2009/10/trombidiums-dicrocheles-mites-and-their.html

Interestingly, when I returned to the same location, I noticed the mite had occupied the whole eye.  What a poor butterfly - its vision might have been affected.

There weren't many critters for me to photograph. So when this Dark Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis mineus macromalayana) perched at a nice position, I could not resist taking some shots of it.