Sabah, March-April 2019

[Banded Yeoman]

The Crocker Range Endemic Swallowtails

The following species were among our main targets and it was incredible to see them. All are confined to the Crocker Range in Borneo (especially the Kinabalu region) and are recorded from mid to high elevations. These are all incredible species and I'm very happy to have seen them! They truly made the trip worth it.


The Kinabalu Swordtail (Graphium stratiotes)
It's one of the most beautiful butterflies I've ever seen. White in flight, they were difficult to separate from the much more common Appias pandione whiteheadi, which had the annoying habit of chasing the Graphium in circles. The one below was the only pristine individual we encountered, taken on our last day of shooting.





The Bornean Mormon (Papilio acheron)
A huge species. They were seen on all days and often came to puddle in groups amongst Red Helens and Kinabalu Bluebottles.





The Kinabalu Bluebottle (Graphium procles)
A stunning species where the blue spots gradually turn green towards the forewing apex. These were the most often seen swallowtail. I was stunned to see a party of at least 10 Kinabalu Bluebottle and 5 Bornean Mormon puddling near the waterfall. The group dispersed slightly before I could get a shot. (I'll post this later.)

[atronox]

Pretty splendid shots of the endemic swallowtails, Jon! It would be great if anyone shot the female of P. acheron. I've never seen it

[atronox]

I wasn't sure about the Charaxes because bernardus, harmodius and borneensis are sympatric and are all subject to local variation and i haven't seen many photos of the three species from Borneo to make a good comparison.

Would be very surprising if affinis turned up in Borneo

[Banded Yeoman]

Pretty splendid shots of the endemic swallowtails, Jon! It would be great if anyone shot the female of P. acheron. I've never seen it

Thanks Aaron! I worked pretty hard for them. We didn't see any female P. acheron... The impatiens were our only hope at that but still, no luck. There were 2 specimens on ebay. Here's the link:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...bah-top-rarity

[atronox]

Thanks Aaron! I worked pretty hard for them. We didn't see any female P. acheron... The impatiens were our only hope at that but still, no luck. There were 2 specimens on ebay. Here's the link:

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...bah-top-rarity

Interesting that they're not as dimorphic as P. memnon

[Banded Yeoman]

Interesting that they're not as dimorphic as P. memnon

Maybe they are! These are the only images I can find of the female. There's not much mention of it from the books I've been reading after the trip too.

I'll be continuing with more of my favourite sightings from Sabah. These shots are very special to me.

One of the most memorable encounters was the extraordinary Rajah Brooke's Birdwing trogonoptera brookiana brookiana (Wallace, 1855). This is the nominate subspecies, the same one that was first described by Wallace from the forests of Borneo. Above the stream, they would soar along the clearing in the trees, patrolling the forest and flashing brilliant emerald whenever they danced into the sunlight. It's magical to think that this is likely similar to what Wallace saw all those years ago. On the last day, one landed right at my feet. I can still remember the adrenaline rush of watching it, fiery green and velvet-black, with shivering wings so that the colours changed with every wing-beat: a glittering piece of history.



This next species was only encountered once, in the afternoon, on the mossy forest trail. While trying to remove some bees from my frame, it suddenly got frightened and flew off into the treetops. The beautiful Bornean endemic:
The Bornean Sawtooth (Prioneris cornelia)



As with all the species in this post, this was my first time seeing this iconic forest butterfly. The blue bands on the upperside really stood out against the dark forest. This Bornean subspecies seems a bit duller on the underside, with a whiter forewing band.
The Blue Begum (Prothoe frank borneensis)



I didn't see as many lycaenids as I wanted - but this was expected - and the cloudy afternoons didn't help. On the first day, though, it was sunny all the way and this gave me a very rare species at 4pm. A small insect descend from the trees opposite the stream. I unfortunately only have a record shot of the underside (it's gorgeous), which confirms the ID.
The White-Craved Posy (Drupadia estella estella)



The last one is another iconic butterfly which I had previously only seen in the zoo. Seeing them fly in the wild was incredible. Uncle Khew mentioned that this Bornean subspecies is particularly large too, adding to the impressivenes. While naturally brown, their wings became beautiful greenish gradients when taken with flash.
The Bornean Oakleaf (Kallima buxtoni) (*from Dr Seow's post, this matches the description of the species, rather than K. inachus)

[atronox]

I'm not sure if buxtoni is a separate species or a ssp. of one of the others. There seems to be some dispute over this

[Banded Yeoman]

I'm not sure if buxtoni is a separate species or a ssp. of one of the others. There seems to be some dispute over this

Yeah I got quite confused and just decided to leave it as the subspecies.

[Banded Yeoman]

Finally, my favourite shot from Sabah:

Perhaps the most unique butterfly I've ever seen, it is the only representative of its largely Papuan genus in Borneo. I believe it is the only species to cross Wallace's Line - but I'll need confirmation on that. We saw a number of them across the trip, mostly flying loftily and gracefully, well above eye level, rarely ever stopping to rest. Their ashy wings, slow flight and graphic ocelli made them look slightly ghostly (spooky even?) as they wafted in and out of the forest. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon were the best times to see them. On the second day, I was gifted with an experience I'll never forget. After chasing one up a narrow slope along a fence in my pajamas (it was early in the morning and I was just walking around the lodge when I saw one), I finally got the chance to see one up close. It was feeding on residue on leaves, turning in jerky motions and flapping once each time, just as any other Amathusiini would. Halfway through shooting it, I stepped into a hole in the ground and (AARRRGGGG) scared it off. Here is the shot!

Taenaris horsfieldii occulta

[Psyche]

I'm not sure if buxtoni is a separate species or a ssp. of one of the others. There seems to be some dispute over this

In the past the Kallima paralekta complex comprised one species from India to Sundaland.
It is now divided into several species.

Kallima inachus India to Indochina.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5824/...acb83a95_b.jpg

The others in Sundaland are more problematic.
K. paralekta in Java is distinct, the female with a white band.

K. limborgi P.Thailand, Malaya ( Sumatra & Borneo).
Elliot in C&P4 state the range as S. Burma to Neomalaya (Sumatra, Malaya & Borneo)

The taxon buxtoni's type location is Sumatra so it occur in both Sumatra & Borneo.
Treated as a ssp it is Kallima limborgi buxtoni. It can't be a ssp. of K. inachus.
It is often treated as a separate species K. buxtoni.

K. inachus. Thailand.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5824/...acb83a95_b.jpg

K. paralekta Java.
https://a4.pbase.com/o6/81/540581/1/...ta41252846.jpg

K. limborgi P.Malaysia.
http://insecta.pro/images/1024/22678.jpg

K. buxtoni Borneo.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/berniedup/14072138057/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...569327609).jpg
https://www.actias.de/attachment/29150-bild1-jpg/


Moore's descriptions of all the taxa.
https://archive.org/stream/transacti...e/n38/mode/1up


TL Seow: Cheers.