The weather may have been dull and overcast, but I have a strict regime to follow, so, not expecting much today, I went to my usual Sunday area of Secondary growth next to Primary Forest. I got a lot more than I bargained for! Just some of the photos taken, not up to your professional standards, but reasonable nevertheless.
1) Unknown dull Skipper - please help ID
2) Pelopidas mathias mathias, pair (Small Branded Swift)
3) Catapaecilma major emas, male (Gray Tinsel)
4) Castalius rosimon rosimon, male (The Common Pierrot)
5) A Euthalia species, male - Can you help ID please
6) Lebadea martha martha (not malayana as previously thought), female (The Knight) Different subspecies to that found in Singapore.
Les
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Last edited by Painted Jezebel; 19-Jun-2007 at 10:10 AM.
Reason: Problems re loading photos
The Catapaecilma is still being sought after, ever since we had a glimpse of it on Pulau Ubin.
The skipper #1 has the wing shape of the Coon (Psolos fuligo) but there a a few lookalikes to this all-brown bugger. One other possibility is the male of the species Quedara monteithii.
The Euthalia looks like the male of the Malay Baron (Euthalia monina monina) that we have down here in Singapore. The male is polymorphic and also variable amongst the different forms.
There is a third subspecies of the Knight. We have ssp. parkeri and ssp. malayana (found on Pulau Tekong) down south. What you've shot is closer to the northern subspecies martha which has brighter orange hindwing markings. This is the subspecies flying in Kedah and Langkawi.
Re the Lebadea martha ssp., I have just found out that in 1989, a new ssp. from Samui was described, L. m. samuina, however, that is now considered a synonym of the nominate ssp, L. m. martha. I must go and change my records first, and then look more closely at this!
I suspected the Euthalia sp. may have been E. monina, of which I've already found the female here, but it was the forewing colouration that confused me. No photos I've seen of E. m. monina have this.
I know that Psolos fuligo is found here as I netted and released one today. This one 'seemed' slightly different, but I could well have been mistaken. I do not think it is Quedara monteithii, the hind wing shape looks wrong to me, and the forewings are more rounded.
The Grey Tinsel, if you ever find one again, should be quite easy to photo. It is very territorial, and keeps returning to the same spot, even when you are standing right next to it, waiting! Best of luck with this one, the undersides are quite a little jewel with their silver markings.
Ah, well, I had hoped one or other of the unknown species might have been something new.
Thanks Richard and SK for the kind comments. I was particularly pleased with the Catapaecilma photo. I was just lucky that his favourite perch was not surrounded by vegetation to clutter up the background.
Dull on Samui - Not!
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