Butterflies at Gua Tempurung

Thanks Mr Khew for inviting me to go on a 4-day shooting trip to Ipoh in the Perak state of Malaysia.  We departed on a Scoot flight and arrived at the Ipoh International airport on a cloudy noon on 4 September. After checking and signing out of a rented car at the airport, Khew drove straight to downtown Ipoh for a quick lunch before heading straight to Gua Tempurung. However, the weather turned worst and it was not conducive for butterfly-hunting and photographing so we didn't spend much time there.   

After breakfast in our hotel room on 5 September, we headed out to Gua Tempurung again. After about a 40-min journey, we arrived at the carpark. My first shot of the day was this Tufted Jungle King (Thauria aliris pseudaliris) shortly after 9 am - pity that it was not a pristine specimen.

Along the stream, there were only a few Psyches (Leptosia nina malayana) fluttering. These 3 were happily sharing a piece of bird dropping.

I must say the butterfly activity was rather low. After sometime, we noticed this Yellow-banded Flat (Celaenrrhinus aurivittatus cameroni) but it was rather skittish in the morning sun, visiting flowers diligently but didn't stay long enough for me to take more shots.

Jamides philatus (Burmese Caeluean) was quite common, judging from what I saw during the last two visits. 

The butterfly activities were still disappointing as time went by. So when Choi alerted me that there was a beautiful dragonfly along the stream, I went there to look for it. Indeed, what a beautiful Rhyothemis plutonia sun-bathing on a leaf.
Same perch but from an another angle.

The Small Leopard (Phalanta alcippe alcesta) was rather skittish initially. But after sometime, it got used to our presence, allowing us to snap both the upper and underside shots.

At the same location where the Smal Leopard was testing our patience, we could find other lycaenids - but I only managed to get some shots of a rather pristine Malayan (Megisba malaya sikkima) and the Ciliate Blue (Anthene emolus goberus). 

There is a vacant house at the edge of a carpark where I noticed some skippers zipping around - one of them was this Moore's Ace (Halpe porus).

A Straight Peirrot (Caleta roxus) was feeding on a small purple flower behind the house. 

Thanks MY for spotting and alerting us that a Wizard (Rhinopalpa polynice eudoxia) was feeding on a stinkhorn mushroom (Phallus sp) around noon time. I was quite puzzled that why we didn't notice the mushroom in the early morning. I must say shooting the Wizards was the highlight of the day. 

After awhile another Wizard noticed the mushroom too and both of them fed on it for quite sometime.

In the late afternoon when one of them had got enough of the mushroom diet, a Common Palmfly took over. 

We noticed the Wizard started to open and flap its wings when it rested on the foliage occasionally. So we waited patiently for the right moment to snap some shots - this is my best shot amongst many blur and unsatisfactory shots.

In the close vicinity of the Wizard, I spotted a Jamides species resting on a leaf.  The white striae on the forewing being quite broad and it was identified by Dr Seow (from BC) to be the J. alecto.

There were very few puddling butterflies along the stream. However, as usual, the Green Dragontail (Lamprotera megesas) seemed to be abundant only in the late afternoon along the stream.

It is quite common to see them sun-bathing after they had taken sufficient minerals from the sandy moist.

This Bamboo Bush Brown (Lethe europa malaya) was an early puddler at the stream.

The Papilio helenus helenus (Red Helen) was the only large butterfly found puddling on the sandy river bank. 

At the toilet and the reception area, we could also find some butterflies. I spotted this Red Spot Marquis (Bassarona recta monillis) coming down to the ground for a brief time. 

A very cooperative Ancyra Blue (Catopyrops ancyra) got hooked on the damp cement floor. It stayed on the ground for a long time, though changing perches a few times.

I spotted only one Little Mapwing (Cyrestis themire themire) on the river bank 

This underside shot of a very skittish Little Mapwing was taken late in the afternoon.

This female Yellow Glassy Tiger (Parantica aspasia aspasia) was teasing me the whole day - kept seeing her fluttering around, testing the leaf but I just could not snap a good shot. In the late afternoon, I finally saw her ovipositing an egg on a vine on the ground near the vacant house. 

To be continued 

Lung Kwu Tan (龍鼓灘) & Luk Keng (鹿頸), Hong Kong

Continued from last post.
Our HK friends were not free on 5 and 6 July, so we were on our own to explore two butterfly hunting sites.

This small Tagiades species was my first shot on 5 July at Long Ku Tan. However, it always landed underneath a leaf, making it very difficult for me to snap a good shot. I was puzzled by the absence of the white outer margin of a normal T.  menaka that I used to encountered. 

I went up the steps leading to the Emperor rock (didn't reach the peak this time) and bumped into this Club Silverline (Spindasis syama) and a rather large dark brown skipper that looks like a Boaris farri.

The Falcate Oak Blue (Mahathala ameria) seemed to be quite common at Long Ku Tan as I spotted at least three or four individuals. 

This looks like the Transparent Sixline Blue (Nacaduba kurva)

The Common Gull (Cepora nerissa) came to feed late in the afternoon at a wasteland where the Bidens flowers were abundant. 

On 6 July, we took the East Rail Line to the Fenling Station and transferred to the green mini bus 56k (every 30 min interval) bringing us to its terminal station at Luk Keng village. On our way to the village, I bumped into this Chestnut Angle (Odontoptilum angulatum) on the road side.

Our first shot at the village was the  Papilio protenor (Spangle) feeding gracefully on the flowers.

We had to take cover at a corridor of a block of apartment while waiting for the passing-rain to stop.

Shortly after the rain, we were very lucky to spot the Lethe rohria.

The Bamboo Tree Brown (Lethe europa) and a mating pair of the Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra agina) were seen at the vicinity.

The weather turned very hot after our lunch but the number of butterfly species was rather disappointed. Along a forest trail along a slope, we encountered a group of puddling butterflies on a rotten fruit.

We waited awhile, trying to isolate them. The Commo Duffer (Discophora sondaica) refused to go away after the Archdukes were "reset"

A few male and female Archdukes (Lexias pardalis) were flying low and looking for puddling spots .

An underside shot of a female.

In the late afternoon, while walking down the same slope, I bumped into this Chinese Peacock resting on a leaf surface.

This Lethe confusa was surprisingly tame for me to take a few shots.

A few skippers were zipping around. I had to be patient and observant to track them if they had landed.

This should be a Parnara ganga.

Along a cement road leading to the end of the village, a lonely Common Nawab (Polyura athamas) was seen puddling.

The Bidens flowers growing in the grasslands on both sides of the road attracted quite a number of small skippers; they were flitting amongst the flowers. This is the Jhora Scrub Hopper (Aeromachus jhora ).

A Bush Hopper (Ampittia dioscorides) resting on a blade of grass.

Under the hot afternoon sun this Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias) was highly active, visiting different Bidens flowers frequently but without a long perch.

Hong Kong has many butterfly-hunting sites that we did not visit in this trip - we will be back again in the future.