Fraser's here I come ... Part I

The butterfly season starts around March but we are all itching for more butterflies so we took a chance and made a trip to Fraser’s Hill in end Feb. FH has so much to offer - even if we don't get any butterfly or moth, we can still enjoy the cool fresh air, lush greenery and great food.

As it turned out, FH did not disappoint us ! Not only did we have great food and lots of fun, we managed to see and photograph many rare moths and butterflies.

I get my first lifer even before we made it to the summit ! This is what greeted us on our way up :

OK, so we have Malayan Zebra, Pendlebury's Zebra, Blue Jay, Five Bar Swordtail. No big deal ! Look again, what is that butterfly that looks like a faded Five Bar Swordtail ? It is a Four Bar Swordtail (4BS)- Pathysa agetes !

I have been looking for 4BS ever since Laurence Leong showed me a photo of 4BS photos taken at FS. I didn't expect to see any exotic butterfly this trip but there it was sitting there waiting for me ! That sighting alone made the trip worth while, but that is not all...

The next morning I took stroll around our bungalow and low and behold I saw not one but 3 Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles) busking on a shrub.

This must be one of the most beautiful Lycaenid in Malaysia. On closer examination, I realised that bush which they are busking on is Polygonum chinesis, the host plant of Purple Sapphire !


On the 2nd day we spotted a flowering tree with lots of Pieridae. Using a 400mm lens I managed to take a few shots of three of the more common Jezebels at FH.

Malayan Jezebel - Delias ninus Red-spot Jezebel - Delias descombesiYellow Jezebel - Delias baracasa
That's it for now...

Butterflies of Fraser's Hill - Part I

I am addicted to Fraser's Hill ! The variety of moths and butteflies there are just amazing. My recent trips there yield quite a number of lifers (Yasoda pita, Amblypodia narada, Cyrestis cocles earli f. earli and formosa, Derca verhuelli ...) and many close up shots of rare buttreflies - Pallid Faun, Wizard, Banded Peacock, Rajah Brooke's birdwing .. !

I will start by showing you some 'die-die must see' butterflies from Fraser' Hill :

1. Melanocyma faunula (Pallid Faun) - This is the one butterfly you must see at Fraser's Hill. It can be found at Jeriau waterfall but rest high up on at canope. Nick Baker found a freshly emerged specimen drying its wing at eye-level near to our bungalow !

2. Kaniska canace (Blue Admiral) - The next butterfly to look out for at Fraser's Hill is the Blue Admiral. It is a fast flier and like to perch at the tip of a leaf. I have seen this butterfly on 5 separate occasions, trice along Telecom loop, once along the road to Jeriau waterfall and another time along Sri Pahang road.

3. Heliophorus epicles (Purple Sapphire) - This is another rare highland gem. We shot this one near the children playground !

4. Delias descombesi (Red Spot Jezebel) - There are many beautiful Pieridae at Fraser's hill and the Red Spot jezebel is the most common Pieridae there. It can be easily recognize by the bright yellow hindwings and red streak along the costal margin.

5. Prioneris thestylis (Spotted Sawtooth) - This is a large and robust butterfly. The underside hindwing is entirely yellow with black veins.

6. Yasoda pita (Branded Yamfly) - This is the highland version of The Yamfly (Loxura atymnus). It is larger and has more rounded wings and is not uncommon at the hill top.