Koh Phangan 2012

Following the wave, an with a month of delay, because of my work, I'm going to start a thread about my photo exits on my island. February here on the island is a month a little stingy about butterflies, but this is a start!

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The Malayan Bush Brown
A not so common species and more handsome than the other browns.

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The Forget-Me-Not
A very common species, but with a strange second black spot on the forewing :thinking:

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The Common Caerulean
Very common almost everywhere

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The Forget-Me-Not
Another Forget-Me-Not, this with all the regular spots

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The Chocolate Sailor
Not so common, not so rare

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The Lime Blue
Not so common here, puddling on a sand bank of a creek

Great stuff, Antonio! Post more! :cheers:

Nice and beautiful shots. :cheers:

Beautiful shots, Antonio. :cheers:

Great stuff, Antonio. The colour of the bush brown came out very nicely.

Regards,
David

Great shots Antonio, and you got the Bush Brown again. I still haven't found it here!:cry:

Thanks everybody, I'll try to get out today too ;-)

Nice shooting! Keep up the good work! William

Today, rainy and still not the right season:

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The Purple Leaf Blue

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A Caerulean

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The Striped Albatross - male

First sight (mine) in Koh Phangan:

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The Copper Flash

Very low butterflies....:-(

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The Leopard

Another Caerulean...
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A Caerulean

Enjoyed seeing your work. Nicely shot and nicely composed. Interesting, informative, and attractive. William

Thank you, William, I hope to improve my skills and find more butterflies to photograph in this early season.

Today just one:

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The Common Brownie Lycaenidae, Miletinae: Miletus chinensis learchus

Still a poor season :-( :cry:

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The Blue Glassy Tiger

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2 Lesser Grass Blue

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The Chocolate Albatross

Today first time after a month back on the field! (in KPG) The situation has a little improvement, but my hand is still a bit rusty, just 2 shots, but I promise tomorrow back with some more ;-)

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The Purple Broken-band Oakblue

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The Aberrant Oakblue

Hi Antonio, they are beautiful!
I like the Purple Broken-Band Oakblue ;P

Beautiful shot !!!:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Things should be hotting up , normally they do from April onwards.

:cheers:

Nice, Antonio. I particularly like the lovely shot of the Purple Broken-band Oakblue.

Regards,

Today only one, but rare!

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The Harlequin - ผีเสื้อใต้ปีกพราวใหญ่ - Taxila haquinus haquinus

Today, at the edge of a forest area in the central hills of KPG, I got my first Swordtail! (in my island)

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The Fivebar Swordtail - ผีเสื้อหางดาบ - Pathysa antiphates itamputi

And a common, but pristine and sharp Lemon Pansy

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The Lemon Pansy - ผีเสื้อแพนซีสีตาล - Junonia lemonias lemonias

Nice shots, Antonio. I really like to colour, texture and setting of the Lemon Pansy. I have not yet seen that species. Is it common in Thailand?


Regards,
David

Nice shots, Antonio. Now to look for the Chain Swordtail (Pathysa aristeus), however you will only have a short window of opportunity, as it only has a single brood each year, and will have disappeared by the end of April!

David, the five Pansies we have, Chocolate, Gray, Peacock, Lemon and Blue, are all common throughout Thailand, except montane areas. The one species missing from these Islands is the Yellow Pansy (Junonia hierta), which is odd, as it is common on the mainland.

Hi Antonio, nice shot of the Lemon Pansy:thumbsup:

Nicely done on the Five Bar Swordtail, Antonio! :thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by moloch

Nice shots, Antonio. I really like to colour, texture and setting of the Lemon Pansy. I have not yet seen that species. Is it common in Thailand?

---

The Lemon Pansy seems to be more common in the northern part of Malaysia, although I believe they've been spotted as far south as KL once in a while. They are common at times at the Penang Botanic Gardens. When I shot this one some time back, there were at least half a dozen of them frolicking in the sunshine, in the same behaviour as their other relatives - chasing each other in a spiralling dogfight.

We also encountered them on our earlier trip to Langkawi, so it would suggest that the species is common in the northern part of Malaysia. Now we wait patiently for them to slowly move southwards towards Singapore. :)

Thanks for the info, Les and Khew. That was another excellent photo, Khew. Sometime, I hope to visit Langkawi and view some of those northern species.

Regards,

Today, despite the very hot season and the 6 kg more (of fat) I'm carrying, i did a nice 2 hours walking up on 2 hills with a small dry forest.

For Les: I've seen several Cheritra freja and again one beautiful, pristine bur very shy Neocheritra amrita :-)

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The Common Imperial - ผีเสื้อขาวหางริ้ว - Cheritra freja freja

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The Forest Hopper - ผีเสื้อนิลป่า - Astictopterus jama jama

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Prosotas sp.

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The Long Banded Silverline - ผีเสื้อลายขีดเงินลายขอ - Cigaritis lohita senama

The Prosotas looks like P. pia because of the blurry submarginal markings, but thankfully this male have its forewing raised up high.
In P. pia the band below the central cell spot/band is reduced & narrow.

So this is correctly P. nora male.
I think in pia at least the submarginal spots on the hindwing should be rather vague & washedout.

TL Seow:cheers:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Painted Jezebel

Nice shots, Antonio. Now to look for the Chain Swordtail (Pathysa aristeus), however you will only have a short window of opportunity, as it only has a single brood each year, and will have disappeared by the end of April!

---

I am wondering what you meant by only a single brood a year, since this will be quite extraordinary for a tropical species.

I gather the species is migratory, the butterflies settled in a area to lay their eggs. The progeny of these migrants after they emerged then fly to another area and repeat the process.

Pathysa aristeus is wide-ranging, from India to Australia, but strangely enough is restricted to the far north of Malaya. Perhaps its favoured hostplant is one that only thrives in a strongly seasonal climate.

TL Seow:cheers:

It's so hot these weeks that I don't go out easily... But I notice a greater traffic and I guess the season is starting! Yesterday only one shot that deserves to be posted, but it's the first record for KPG (I know, I know, in Samui is common):
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The Gray Tinsel - ผีเสื้อแวววาวเทา - Catapaecilma major emas

Glorious photo of this wonderfully hairy species. It must have just eclosed, I have never seen one with such ochraceous colouring, mine all seem to be much greyer unfortunately. I even had to do a quick check to make sure it was not C. subochrea, which it isn't, and it is a northern Thai species.

Not common here, but still seen on a quite regular basis.

Antonio: What a truly wonderful butterfly. I've never seen anything like this. Not only a beautiful butterfly, but captured perfectly. Great on all counts! William

Thanks Williams, and as you can see, the butt is very small, staying on a grass blade

Those Tinsels are great looking little butterflies. That was a very nice shot, Antonio.

How hot does it get on your island?

Regards,

Delicious shot of that Tinsel, Antonio. :thumbsup: Its hairy legs remind me of the leg-warmers that aerobics buffs use. :grin2:

Just a 20 minutes walk around my land, missing Sulawesi...
I think the 2 shots are of the same species (dama? aida?)

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Arhopala sp.

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Arhopala sp.2

Both are A. aida, female above, & male below with the sharper apex & straighter margin.
There is a faint slatey wash to the ground colour, giving a better contrast of the markings.(Difference from A. ariana & elopura dama.)

TL Seow:cheers:

Thanks Seow for the always kind and accurate identification.

Today a nice and profitable 3 hours walk on a 400 mt. hill not so far from my house. I think a couple of species should be of interest to Les:

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The Plain Pushblue

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The Centaur Oakblue - ผีเสื้อฟ้าไม้ก่อมดเลี้ยง

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7240/7...9b1f4f3c_z.jpg
The Lavender Count - ผีเสื้อเคาท์ขอบม่วง

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7...a62305cb_z.jpg
The Grand Imperial - ผีเสื้อหางริ้วใหญ่

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7227/7...dd5ffd5d_z.jpg
The Red-base Jezebel - ผีเสื้อหนอนกาฝากใต้ปีกแดง

How on earth did you manage to get out today! It has been so windy here for the last three days, I was almost blown off my bike when doing the shopping!

Lovely shots, as always, and yet again you taunt me with the Neocheritra amrita. Lovely shot of the Delias pasithoe ssp. Should be ssp. beata, but can not be sure without seeing the upperside.

This is such a fabulous shot!!


Dying to have this in my bag...

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Thank you, Sunny, and said by you make me more proud too :grin2: