Thursday, September 17, 2009

Butterfly trip to northern Thailand – Part II (Butterflies)

Continue from Part I

Many of the butterflies we saw during this trip look familiar yet different because they are of the continental subspecies e.g. The Clipper, The Common Indian Crow.

At Tham Lot :

Vilma and I taking photo of Symbrenthia lilaea, The Common Jester.
CelinePix-DSC_0087Symbrenthia lilaea luciana-Th_ThamLotCave_20090901_5736-480

Preston and I taking photo of  Penthema darlisa melema -
The Three-colored Kaiser. CelinePix-DSC_0078

P. darlisa is a large butterfly, with wingspan of about 11cm and it is a Satyrid !  When I first saw it I thought it was a Chilasa or Paranticopsis !
Penthema darlisa melema (m)-Th_ThamLotCave_20090901_5677-480 Penthema darlisa melema (m)-Th_ThamLotCave_20090901_5678-640

Other butterflies photographed here include :

Euthalia monina kesava
Euthalia monina kesava (m)-Th_ThamLotCave_20090903_5323-480

A rare underside view of Dophla evelina, the Banded Marquis.Dophla evelina-Th_ThamLotCave_20090903_5337-640
Junonia hierta hierta
– The Yellow Pansy to me is the prettiest of all the Pansy in Malaysia and Thailand. This is the maleJunonia hierta hierta (m)-Th_ThamLotCave_20090901_5642-480

and this is the femaleJunonia hierta hierta-Th_SoppongRiverInn_20090901_5596-480

Junonia lemonias lemonias, Lemon Pansy, is the most common Pansy there.
Junonia lemonias lemonias-Th_SoppongRiverInn_20090901_5584-480

Near our lodge, we saw these :

Elymnias hypermnestra tinctoria – The Common Palmfly.
This subspecies is very common here and is also found in northern part of Peninsula Malaysia.  Elymnias hypermnestra tinctoria (f)-Th_Soppong_20090903_5247-480

In flight, the female can be easily mistaken for Danaus chrysippus and D. genutia !
Elymnias hypermnestra tinctoria (f)-Th_Soppong_20090903_5238-480

Tirumala limniace limniace – The Blue Tiger or Broad Tiger.Tirumala limniace limniace (m)-Th_SoppongRiverInn_20090902_5431-480

Castalius rosimon rosimon – The Common PierrotCastalius rosimon rosimon (f)-Th_Soppong_20090903_5252-640

Orchus subvittatus subvittatus – The Tiger HopperOrchus subvittatus subvittatus-Th_Soppong_20090903_5257-480

On the last day we found an exposed hill top with lots of butterflies.
These are some of the butterflies I photographed :

Tagiades cohaerens cynthia – The Evan’s Snow Flat
Tagiades cohaerens cynthia-Th_SoppongLimeStoneHill_20090904_5116-640

Serangesa dasahara dashara – The Common Small FlatSerangesa dasahara dashara-Th_SoppongLimeStoneHill_20090904_5122-640

Spindasis syama peguanus – The Club SilverlineSpindasis vulcanus tavoyanus (m)-Th_SoppongLimeStoneHill_20090904_5109-480

Rohana tonkiniana siamensis - The Tonkin Black Prince
Rohana tonkiniana xxx-Th_ThamLotCave_20090901_5610-480

That’s me chasing after the Euploea core godartii, the Common Indian Crow.
VilmaPix-gan in butting action

The female godartii can be easily recognized by the a big white patch on the forewing tip.Euploea core gordatii-Th_SoppongLimeStoneHill_20090904_5083-480

Parthenos sylvia apicalis – The Clipper. Again this is different from the Malaysian subspecies lilacinus. Parthenos sylvia apicalis-Th_SoppongLimeStoneHill_20090904_4864-480

Vindula erota erota - The Cruiser Vindula erota erota (m)-Th_Soppong_20090903_5295-480

A mating pair of Lexias pardalis jadeitina – The ArchdukeLexias pardalis jadeitina-Th_SoppongLimeStoneHill_20090904_4843-640

Parantica aglea melanoides – The Glassy TigerParantica aglea melanoides (m)-Th_Soppong_20090902_5495-480

Papilio paris paris -The Paris Peacock. A lovely butterfly with green dusted forewing and abdomen,and shining blue-green sub-apical patch on the hind wing. Unfortunately this one has broken hind wings.
Papilio paris paris-Th_Soppong_20090902_5486-480

Troides aeacus aeacus (f) – Golden Birdwing, feeding on wild Clerodendron flower.Troides aeacus aeacus (f)-Th_SoppongLimeStoneHill_20090904_4876-480

See more butterfly photos from this trip here.

=> Continue to Part III – Moths

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