Rapala iarbus iarbus (Common Red Flash)

Name : Rapala iarbus iarbus
Common Name : Common Red Flash

Larva Host Plant
Name : Urena lobata
Common Name : Pink Mallow
Family : Malvacea (Hibiscus family)

Note : This is also the larva host plant for Neptis hylas papaja (Common Sailor)

Life History Record

Date : 22 Feb 2009
Location : Johor, along highway 3 after Kota Tinggi

Host plant : Urena lobata

Larva :

Pupa :

Adult :

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...

January caterpillars

These are some of the caterpillars I have reared recently :

1. Eupanacra elegantulus - I received an sms sometime in Jan from a member from a local gardening forum asking if I want a caterpillar that is feeding on her Philodendron.

Caterpillar

Adult moth

2. Cethosia cyane euanthes (Leopard Lacewing) - I received a note from a Zhonghua Primary School parent volunteer asking if I would like to have some Leopard Lacewing cats. It seems the passiflora vine at the school is 'attacked' by the Leopard Lacewing cats. Leopard Lacewing is a new migrant from Malaysia/Thailand and is now the most common Lacewing in Singapore. The other two lacewings, namely the Malay and Plain Lacewing are cofined to more forested area.

Caterpillar

Adult butterfly

Dec Fraser's Hill trip - Part 2

One of the reasons we go to Fraser's Hill is for the moths. Moths are so abundant there that even though Decemeber is not a good time for mothing, the condition was not ideal and the place we stayed did not have a clear view of the forest, we still get very decent catch.

On the first night, the air was dry and windy and we did not get many moths.

As you can see in the photo above, there were very few moths on the screen. However, we did get a few big ones - the beautiful Owl Moth -Brahmaea hearseyi which Vilma was admiring and stealth bomber like Acosmeryx shervillii which Celine was trying to photograph.

While we were looking at the moths, Gloria and Tim came over and showed us photo of a moth they shot at Sri Peninjau. From the photo, it looks like an Erebus but not something I have seen before.
Vilma and I went over to Sri Peninjau and we found this moth perching high up on the wall along the stairs. I had to stand on the handrail to get a good shot of the moth.

and this is the mystery moth !

Later I found out this is Erebus albicinctus Kollar, occurring in India, Nepal, China, Taiwan, Thailand and Sumatra but not Malaysia, according to the Kononenko & Pinratana book on Noctuids of Thailand. As such this would be a new record for Malaysia ! This explains why I can't find this moth in my Malaysian and Borneo moth references.
Later in the night, we got another VIP, an Eupterote which we have seen in our prvious trips but which I had not been able to ID.

As it turns out, this is an undescribed Eupterote species which is not uncommon at Fraser's Hill.

The 2nd and 3rd night were better as it rained in the evening and the wind was not as strong.

We had a female Antheraea lampei (f)
A few sphingidaes. Clockwise from top right : Theretra nessus, Amplypterus panopus, Cechenena subangustata and Acherontia lachesis.

and many colourful and interesting moths. Clockwise from top right : Pachynoa purpuralis, Teldenia specca, Mixochlora vittata and Callidrepana gelidata .

All in all we have 1 new Erebus record for Malaysia, 1 undescribed Eupterote species, 1 saturnid, 14 sphingids !

Dec Fraser's Hill trip - Part 1

I just came back from our year-end retreat at Fraser's Hill. It is another fantastic trip - nice accommodation, good food, great companion and better than expected butterfly and moth sightings.

This time we stayed at the Buona Vista Bungalow, which is located at Girdle Road, more widely known as the Telecom Loop.

The bungalow has a lovely garden. I could see sunrise right from my room on the 2nd floor.


Even though this is the raining season, the weather was pretty good, it drizzles only in the evening so we get to do birding and look for butterfly during the day and moth during the night. Not bad considering this is the monsoon season !
We managed to spot some rare butterflies just from the road around Fraser's Hill !

1. Enispe intermedia - The Red Caliph

This is a lifer for me ! We were walking towards a bungalow when I spotted this butterfly. It is the size and shape of a Saturn (Zuexidia amethystus) but with dull reddish brown on the underside. I knew immediately I have a gem ! According to C&P4, this species is confined to heavy forest and has been taken on fruit bait at altitudes up to 4500 ft (~1370m). This one is spotted at 1500m.

2. Elymnias patna - The Blue Striped Palmfly

All Elymnias other than E. hypermnestra and E. panthera are rare and confined to heavy forest. E. patna is usually confined to the hills and can be mistaken for a Euploea. The only give away is the typical Elymnias striations at the tornal area of the hindwings. In fact it was Celine and Bee Choo who alerted me to this 'Crow' resting below a bridge along the new road leading to Fraser's Hill. It was exactly 1 year ago when I first came across this butterfly also at Fraser's Hill !



3. Kaniska canace - The Blue Admiral

We were very fortunate to chance upon this friendly Admiral along the Richmond road. The Blue Admiral is usually a very shy and skittish butterfly and rarely stays long enough to be photographed. This individual was flying up and down the Richmond road and allowed me to get close with my 105mm lens for a few shots.

3. Taneacia godartii - The Malay Count

We were at walking towards the Jeriau waterfall when Jasmine spotted a bunch of red berries. I noticed a butterfly with a broad bright blue marginal border on the hindwing feeding on the berries. If this were in Singapore, it will be the Horsfield Baron. In Malaysia however, there are at least 4 butterflies with similar blue border ! Fortunately, we were able to see the underside which shows it is the male of The Malay Count.

4. Cyrestis maenalis

This is the mapwing that you will see at Frase's Hill (1500m). It can be seen along roads, at Jeriau waterfall and even in the garden of bungalows at Fraser's Hill ! This one is photographed at the garden of the Sri Intan apartment (using the LiveView of my D90). According to C&P4, 'C. nivea may be taken at moderate elevations, and probably does not occur much above 2000ft (~600m). Above this altitude it is replaced by C. maenalis."

Three hawkmoth caterpillars

I am very happy today because I have acquired 2 new hawkmoth caterpillars.

1. Macroglossum sitiene on Paederia foetida
I found an egg and an early instar caterpillar on a Paederia foetida growing on a railing along a pedestrian walkway. The is the caterpillar of the 'HummingBird' hawkmoth that we usually see during dusk. It has visited my garden many times but I still have not managed to photograph it :-(

2nd instar caterpillar and egg

P. foetida growing on railing

2. Pergesa acteus hawkmoth caterpillar feeding on Caladium bicolor
A friend sms me today asking if I want a caterpillar which is defoliating her Caladium. I went over and saw this lovely caterpillar finishing up the last leaf of my friends red Caladium.
I took the caterpillar back and both of us are very happy - a win-win situation !

3. Enpinanga borneensis feeding on Dillenia suffruticosa aka Simpoh Air
This is a very common hawkmoth around where I stay. The three caterpillars below are at different stages. The brownish one is about to transform into a pupa, the green one on the top right is most likely in the 4th or 5th instar while the thin and long one at the bottom is most likely in the 2nd or 3rd instar.

More caterpillars

Here are a few of the caterpillars I am rearing ..

1. Arhopala pseudocentaurus - Centaur Oakblue

I found this caterpillar on a Eugenia grandis (aka Jambu Laut or See Apple) tree along a road. The caterpillar was tended by a colony of "Kerengga" ants (Oecophylla smaragdina).

The adult emerged 8 days after the caterpillar pupated

2. I found this moth caterpillar on my Eugenia jambos ! Unfortunately it didn't make it so I have no idea what moth it is :-( I am going to keep a look out for this caterpillar on my Jambu Air tree.
3. Moth caterpillar on Ricinus communis - Castor Oil plant.

I have seen similar looking caterpillars in the past but I always ignored them because they do very little harm to my plants. Now that I am into moths, I decided to rear it to find its identity. The caterpillar builds a long narrow cone like structure and take refuge in it. Like a snail, it moves around in it and extends its body out when feeding. I managed to take a shot of it when it was feeding.

4. Drepana fulvata
I am saving the best for last. I found this interesting looking caterpillar hanging on a thread from a Rambutan tree (Nephelium lappaceum) along Neo Tiew road. This is the exact same caterpillar Simon and I found on a rmabutan tree around Upper Pierce area many years ago.

At that time we had had no idea what it was and thought it was a butterfly caterpillar.

If you think the caterpillar looks weird, wait till you see the pupa ! Read more about it here .