A short visit at Kaeng Krachan NP - TH

[Angiud]

During a holiday with my7 family. I managed to get a short visit to KK again, short in time and with my family with me.
Anyway I got some, but not so much respect the last month.

For who was with me: the Swordtails at the puddling areas are completely disappeared. Less species an less quantity.

A visit at Pala-u waterfall, very long trip from KK, has been not so profitable too :cry:

Sorry but not so many species so I'll mix with other animals and landscapes pics.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/8744123230_abd3268847_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8744123230/)
Pala-u Waterfall area (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8744123230/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7284/8737230897_efb4896e10_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8737230897/)
Wild Elephant at Kaeng Krachan (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8737230897/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7282/8737944805_8740ef6840_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8737944805/)
Agama (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8737944805/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7282/8743875700_7b608453c9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743875700/)
The White-fronted Scops Owl (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743875700/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7283/8742760981_642478bd43_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742760981/)
Giant Dung Beetle (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742760981/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7292/8740980328_165ce802dc_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8740980328/)
The Siamese Rhinoceros Beetle (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8740980328/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7287/8743981090_0ef1d34825_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743981090/)
Dorysthenes sp. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743981090/)

[Angiud]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7282/8742757389_4ea05e4de6_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742757389/)
Unidentified Insect (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742757389/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7293/8742756785_76ac143d20_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742756785/)
Unidentified Spider (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742756785/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7291/8741288134_2cdb9fc1de_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741288134/)
4 Great Orange Tip puddling (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741288134/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/8743007963_5c00659269_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743007963/)
5 Cruisers puddling (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743007963/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7294/8740945690_83f755908a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8740945690/)
The Common Rose - Pachliopta aristolochiae (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8740945690/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/8741284994_aa63f4b6f9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741284994/)
The Great Orange Tip - Hebemoia glaucippe glaucippe (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741284994/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/8741282990_ba6dba1c04_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741282990/)
The Red-spot Sawtooth - Prioneris philonome (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741282990/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7287/8740164491_f4be557efb_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8740164491/)
The Tailed Jay - Graphium agamennon agamennon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8740164491/)

[Great Mormon]

The lighting for the elephant looks amazing! Great shot!

[Angiud]

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7291/8741284374_8761e45198_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741284374/)
The Siamese Raven - Papilio castor mahadeva (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8741284374/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7286/8742760107_b8e694d3a7_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742760107/)
The Spot Swordtail - Graphium nomius swinhoei (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742760107/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/8743979898_39667276b0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743979898/)
The Adanson's Rose - Atrophaneura adamsoni adamsoni (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8743979898/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/8742861393_22954667fb_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742861393/)
The Autumn Leaf - Doleschallia bisaltide ssp. ?? (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742861393/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7286/8742992665_1cea9a3721_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742992665/)
The Wizard - Rhinopalpa polynice ssp. ?? (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742992665/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7283/8742990513_17ed1a81b0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742990513/)
The Dark-Horned Lanternfly (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742990513/) (For Nelson: it was on the same tree...)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7282/8742994729_45767c21cc_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742994729/)
Sunset on Kaeng Krachan basin (http://www.flickr.com/photos/angiud/8742994729/)

[Alfa]

Wow! Very nice series.... crisp!

[Bluebottle]

I guess sometime it is timing and luck.
But never mind, nice buggy and elephant photos!

[Wanderer]

great shots! totally enjoyed.

[The Plane]

Besides all the nice photos, I like your new logo too :D

[bluefin]

The Elephant encounter already make this a special trip. Nice series of butty pictures and wonderful sunset colors.
You only found 1 Lantern Bug, did you go to the campsite to look for them?

Ya I also shot the same one on that tree. :)

:cheers:

[Mountain Goat]

I love your photos! They are ALL really really good shots! O: And I love the The Adanson's Rose - Atrophaneura adamsoni adamsoni! Do you use wide angle lenses? The red spot saw tooth resembles the painted jezebel a little bit. The sunset is beautiful... It's so inspirational!

[Angiud]

No, I use a Sigma Macro 150/2.8 and for a few landscape a Canon 24-105/4.

Mountain Goat, thanks for the nice words.

Nelson, on the base camp only the usual Gibbon and a nasi goreng

CHNG, Wanderer, Loke, EC, thank you for the compliments and for the logo, I like it too.

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/21305_10201302202900287_1156248816_n.jpg

[WillFolsom]

Antonio: A very nice series of images. I think you live in a beautiful world. I like your new logo. Quite nice. William

[Painted Jezebel]

Great shots, Antonio.

Congratulations in getting a Graphium nomius alone. When we were there before, they were about but always surrounded by the Chain Swordtail, so could not be isolated. These two species are thought to be single (or double) brooded, unusual for the tropics, but there are a few Papilionidae that do this. That is why there were not the huge conglomerations this time.

It is difficult to get an upperside of the Great Orange-Tip, so well done. I love the elephant too, still to meet one in the wild.

[Psyche]

Great shots, Antonio.

Congratulations in getting a Graphium nomius alone. When we were there before, they were about but always surrounded by the Chain Swordtail, so could not be isolated. These two species are thought to be single (or double) brooded, unusual for the tropics, but there are a few Papilionidae that do this. That is why there were not the huge conglomerations this time.

It is difficult to get an upperside of the Great Orange-Tip, so well done. I love the elephant too, still to meet one in the wild.


I don't understand when you say they are single or doubled brooded in the tropics.
Does this means the several possibilities below.

1. The larvae live & eat fir 6 months or so before pupating.
2. The adults live for 6 months at least.
3. The larvae or pupae hibernate for several months .

All 3 scenarios appear implausible.

TL Seow:cheers:

[Painted Jezebel]

Seow, I'm leaving for a 4 day trip in an hour. I will reply on my return and I have found where I read about these single/double brooded species. Please do not think I am ignoring your question.

[Painted Jezebel]

I found one record in my papers, from 'A Preliminary annotated checklist of the Papilionidae of Laos with notes on Taxonomy, Phenology, Distribution and Variation' by Adam Cotton and Tommaso Racheli, published in Fragmenta entomologica, Roma, 38 (2):279-378 (2006).

On page 297 they say of Graphium aristeus, nomius, macareus and megarus that they are normally single brooded and only found in the dry season, February to May.

I appreciate that this relates to Laos, where there are distinct dry and wet seasons, not so prominent the further south you go, but their observations agree with my own on Samui, though I can not confirm for G. nomius as I have never seen it on Samui, only at Kaeng Krachan in March. I have seen the three others between March and May only, with the exception of G. macareus, which I also have seen, once, in September, hence the possibility of it being 'double' brooded.

Igarishi (Volume 2) also mentions that G. nomius is single brooded, and G. megarus is double brooded. He does not appear to have bred the other two species.

[Psyche]

What I fail to understand is how do they survive the long intervals, as ?egg, larva , pupa or adult.

Graphium delesserti & ramaceus also appear seasonally at around this time of the year.

Part of the reason for the dry season appearance is of course thirst.

For example C&P4 states Troides species are never observed at seepages, but this not true, as they, helena & aeacus are regularly shot puddling in Thailand.

TL Seow:cheers:

[Painted Jezebel]

What I fail to understand is how do they survive the long intervals, as ?egg, larva , pupa or adult.

Graphium delesserti & ramaceus also appear seasonally at around this time of the year.

Part of the reason for the dry season appearance is of course thirst.

For example C&P4 states Troides species are never observed at seepages, but this not true, as they, helena & aeacus are regularly shot puddling in Thailand.

TL Seow:cheers:

Different species hibernate (aestivate in the tropics?) in different stages of their lifespan. In the UK there are species which hibernate as eggs, others as pupae, a few, some Fritillaries (Nymphalidae), as larvae, and also some as imagos.

Regarding the Troides puddling, this never happens where I live in southern Thailand. It is obvious that there is something (minerals?) in the soil, because I have, also, seen them extensively puddle in the North.