The Forested Path (and Beyond): BUTTERFLIES of RAUB: April 2015

Monday, April 27, 2015

The Formosan Swift, Borbo cinnara (Wallace)

Locally common on wastelands, parks and gardens as well as verges of the secondary growth and forests up to mid-elevation.

Some keys to its ID:
- HW underside has spots on space 2, 3 and 6 (pix above)
- body (especially head and thorax) has greenish tinged hairs

Habitat indicator

RSP	WV	PG	VF	FTR	SC	LWDF	LWPF	LMEF	UMN	MN
	x	x			x	x		x

Frequency observation chart: (S marks the usual occurence, H marks an unusually high occurence, F for first record)

2013		2014
Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct

2014

2015

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mac

Apr

May

June

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

S6 S7

21 Sept 2013 @ 13:29 (S5)

19 Dec 2014 @ 11:54

21 Dec 2014 @ 14:27

Above photos 31 Jan 2015 @ 11:49-54

Above pictures of a female visiting Lantana at 1200M above sea level: 07 June 2015 @ 12:04

Above 2 specimens next to each other on short grasses: 12 June 2015 @ 11:34

Consult a female voucher specimen from S5: http://nlliew66butterflies2.blogspot.com/2015/07/borbo-cinnara-wallace-1866.html

Saturday, April 11, 2015

The Yellow Gorgon, Meandrusa payeni ciminius (Fruhstorfer)

Fast-flying canopy dweller of pristine lowland dipterocarp forests up to mid-elevation. It is an unmistakable butterfly with its falcate forewing and a narrow tail giving it a sickle kite-like appearance, hence its other common name "kite swallowtail". The undersides are of a rich ferruginous ochre brown with a few small white spots on the HW post-discal area. The upperside post-discal area is marked with a series of darker brown spots on both wings. There is only one species in Malaysia.

Habitat indicator

RSP	WV	PG	VF	FTR	SC	LWDF	LWPF	LMEF	UMN	MN
						x	x	x

Frequency observation chart: (S marks the usual occurences, H marks an unusually high occurence, F for first record)

2014
Jan	Feb	Mac	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct
					S2(F)	S2

2014

2015

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mac

Apr

May

June

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

S1(H)

Above photos of a newly eclosed male on an open seepage: 11 Apr 2015 @ 12:15

12:55

12:56

Newly eclosed males have a tendency to puddle on the water's edge much like a Lamproptera where they can become quite oblivious to human presence. Their cryptic undersides protect them from view as they tend to look like a dead leaf on the water's edge. Older specimens are canopy dwellers and do not visit seepages to puddle but can be sporadically observed to make quick downward swoops on exposed seepages perhaps for a quick drink. Above photos 05 June 2015