Peruvian Amazon

[Painted Jezebel]

Thank you for these wonderful photos. I, too, love the Heliconiids.

David, you may not be aware, but Dryas iulia has recently been accidentally introduced onto the Malay Peninsular, it is doing well, and is quite common here on Samui. Your photos have shown that this Peruvian subspecies is not the one we have here. One down, only another 15, I think, to go!

[Elbowed Pierrot]

wow wow, one of the places on my must go places to go

[Glorious Begum]

I was waiting for anaconda picture.


Great and must visit place.

[Common Mime]

i feel so relax seeing these photos. Thank you, David.

[atronox]

Thx for sharing these superb shots David. The view of the forest canopy must've been breathtaking!
I suspect the 5th and 6th shots in ur Heliconiine/ Ithomiine series might actually be an Eresia sp., probably Eresia eunice.

[moloch]

Thanks, all. I am glad that the photos are enjoyed.

Les,
I saw the Dryas info before. It is really surprising. I wonder how they got there? What do they eat? I had the impression the the Heliconiids were quite specific about their dietary requirements.

Thanks, Simon.

LC,
haha! I missed Anacondas but I have shots of plenty of others. Here are a few cousins of the Anacondas.
Boa Constrictor:


Rainbow Boa


Amazon Tree Boa


Thanks, Chee Ming.


Thanks, Aaron. You could well be right and it may be a little Nymphalid.


Here is the Uraniid from Peru. These are day flying moths unlike the Lyssa that I saw at Fraser's Hill.




Callicore sp. Callicore are incredible butterflies. Many seem to have numbers on their outer, lower wings. The inner wings of this species were red with deep purple stripes.





Nessaea sp. -- I only saw one of these pretty Nymphalids at Madre Selva



Eunica sp. maybe E. eurota or E. sophonisba -- It had dark lower wings but it fortunately flicked these open when I took the photo. The inner wings are beautiful. It was sipping at a freshly washed clothes.

[moloch]

Morpho sp. -- These giant, gorgeous butterflies were common. Unfortunately, I almost always saw them in flight. They really were a dazzling sight as they flew low along the trails. We found a few asleep at night on branches that overhung creeks. The outer surface of the wings had many spots and they vaguely resembled the Owl Butterflies. One of the guides caught this one and held it briefly for photos before releasing it again.



I occasionally saw Owl Butterflies (Calligo sp.). They were active mainly at dusk and I usually saw them flying across the Rio Orosa. Owl Butterflies are enormus and they remind me a little of a gigantic version of Dark Blue Jungle Glory. The inner wings of Owls were irridescent purple with patches of orange.



These pretty day-flying moths were fairly common:



This day-flying moth had bright blue lower wings and abdomen and was a fantastic sight in flight:



I saw a few riodinids here.
Orange-stitched Metalmark (Chalodeta chaonitis or Charis cleonus)?


Adelotypa huebneri?. Like many of this tribe, it would land beneath a leaf where photography was awkward



Black-patched Blue Metalmark (Lasaia agesilas) Sipping at drying clothes:

[moloch]

Hairstreak:



Olynthus sp.



Adelpha sp.






Pierella sp. -- The Satyrinae subfamily of Nymphalids was well represented in the forest interior. Many were fairly large and the most spectacular has transparent or translucent wings. The following species was a frequent sight along the trails at Madre Selva.

[Painted Jezebel]

Les,
I saw the Dryas info before. It is really surprising. I wonder how they got there? What do they eat? I had the impression the the Heliconiids were quite specific about their dietary requirements.

We do not know for sure, but it is thought most likely that some escaped from a butterfly farm in southern Thailand. They are feeding, we believe, on Passiflora foetida, which is a very common weed arround here. It is spreading, and has been recently seen at Chumphon, north of here, and also in Langkawi in Malaysia to the south.

These Peruvian butterflies are absolutely gorgeous, having only seen set specimens before.

[moloch]

I spent hours every night walking along forest trails and searching for reptiles. Snakes were there but they were so hard to find. While looking for herps, I bumped into all sorts of other interesting creatures. Invertebrates were so diverse and many so strange. Here are photos of some of these.

Banana Spiders (Phoenutria sp.) -- These big spiders were common. I was told that these have a toxic bite but all those that I saw were well behaved. They just sat on the tops of shrubs and awaiting tasty morsels to come along.





... a colourful huntsman:




This was the largest tarantula that I have ever seen. It was big enough to actually hear as it ran across the wooden floor of our photo lab.




Whipscorpions were a frequent sight. I usually found them on the trunks of trees.


... pretty face?



These were not as big as the black scorpions that I saw at Taman Negara.