Operation Ipoh - Day 1 (Gua Tempurung)

[Commander]

Sorry, SK, got to disagree with you here. It is Appias albina albina (Common Albatross). I see that Seow has already corrected the Bassarona species.

I took record shots of the upperside of both species, but at quite a distance. I'll post the uppersides later on to re-confirm both species. The Bassarona that I shot was obviously a different individual from Chng's. There were a few around, so it's quite possible that both species were found there too.

As for the Appias, there was a distinct black border on the upperside forewing that led me to conclude that it was the Saletaria. Shots to follow later tonight.

[Common Mime]

Very fruitful outing for you guys! Enjoy the series very much! Thank you!

[Commander]

Very fruitful outing for you guys! Enjoy the series very much! Thank you!

So when you going back to your hometown again? There may be other members here who may want to tag along with you to visit these places.

[Psyche]

Going through the Chersonesia key brought back memory when the grey cells get scrambled and the brain turned to mush. The key is very confusing to say the least.

It is better to follow standard convention and called the four bands thus from the outermost to the innermost.
Postdiscal ( with the spots ) Discal (single in rahria/intermedia ) Subdiscal and Postbasal ( or Sub-basal ).

Chersonesia rahria
Forewing postdiscal band with a single black dash/spot near the upper end (occasionally an additional small dot ).
Hindwing postdiscal band almost always wider than the inner two bands (occasionally equal).
Hindwing postdiscal band not connected to tornal margin by a black mark.

Chersonesia intermedia
Forewing postdiscal band with two black dashes/spots near the upper end.
Hindwing postdiscal band no wider than the inner two bands.
Hindwing postdiscal band continued to the tornal margin by a black mark.

All the maplets are C. rahria.

TL Seow

[The Plane]

Seow, Thanks for helping with the ID for Bassarona teuta and Jamides philatus.

[Commander]

Sorry, SK, got to disagree with you here. It is Appias albina albina (Common Albatross). I see that Seow has already corrected the Bassarona species.

Ok, here goes some shots for further discussion on these two.

Appias albina albina - in C&P4 page 90, A. albina is described as not common and prefers well-wooded localities at elevations of about 2,000 ft. The male is white above and is unmarked except for the very narrow black costal shading on the forewing.

Saletara liberia distanti - C&P4 describes the male as "varies from creamy white to pale yellow, and is unmarked save for a rather narrow black border along the costal and distal margins of the forewing. The under surface is of a deeper yellow tint. S. liberia is rarely found above 2,000 ft the males are often common locally and may be taken congregated at moist spots on forest roads.

I'm aware that the shots in Pisuth's book may show that A. albina to have a dark border like that shown in the upperside shot here, but what we shot here is still a Malaysian subspecies shot in Malaysia, so I would be more inclined to favour C&P4 as my reference. Also, Gua Tempurung is nowhere near 2,000ft above sea level.


As for the Bassarona, what would your conclusion be, after taking a look at these two heavily-cropped shots of the upperside?

[Bluebottle]

Thanks Khew, Les and Seow for the id.

Does anyone have a better upperside shot of #2? I have one lousy cropped shot, and it looks like the Red Spot Marquis (Bassarona recta monilis) with its forewing band's costal spot in alignment with the band.

I only managed to shoot the underside.

Not sure whether you are referring to this guy...

[Leopard Lacewing]

Very nice series and fruitful trip! Well done guys! :thumbsup

Cheers!

[Painted Jezebel]

As for the Bassarona, what would your conclusion be, after taking a look at these two heavily-cropped shots of the upperside?

These are definitely Bassarona recta monilis (the tornal red spot clinches it). It does appear that you came across both species.

As for the Appias/Saletara species. C&P4 says that the male upperside of Saletara liberia is creamy white to pale yellow. This, to me anyway, is not creamy. Personally, I would stick with my original decision, Appias albina. I know my experience with this species is from Thailand, but I find it at sea level as well.

[Commander]

These are definitely Bassarona recta monilis (the tornal red spot clinches it). It does appear that you came across both species.

Do you have any specimens of both to cross check? From those that I encountered that day at Gua Tempurung, I noticed that on the underside, the diffused spots towards the costa of the forewing seem to move out of alignment as compared to the upperside. That near-pristine specimen that I posted an underside shot of, was actually the same individual as the two blurred upperside shots!

As for the Appias/Saletara species. C&P4 says that the male upperside of Saletara liberia is creamy white to pale yellow. This, to me anyway, is not creamy. Personally, I would stick with my original decision, Appias albina. I know my experience with this species is from Thailand, but I find it at sea level as well.

Ok. But the plates in C&P4 show an unmarked upperside male whilst the seasonal form is totally different in appearance. The shots taken from your website also show A. albina as unmarked on the upperside, unlike this one that we shot. And your description says "The male of this common species is easily identifiable, it has hardly any markings whatsoever!", which I also agree with.

On the Saletara however, the Yutaka website shows a closer match to what we shot. Photos attached below.

The other site that shows A. albina in more detail also indicate a featureless upperside in the male. This is from Wikipedia. Picture also attached.

Other searches on the internet also turned up confusing pictures of both, so there is room for debate on these two lookalikes.

#1 & #2 : from Butterflies of Koh Samui (Appias albina)
#3 & #4 : from Yutaka website (Saletara panda syn. liberia)
#5 : from Wikipedia (Appias albina male & female forms)