Saturday, October 20, 2012

Late Morning @ Lornie Trail

On an overcast Saturday morning (6 Oct), after having a long breakfast with my friend before he flew  back to Shanghai for work, I dropped by Lornie Trail.

This Yamfly (Loxura atymnus fuconius) "hopped" out from the bushes as I examined some vines growing along  the fence between the golf course and the reservoir. This is one of my favourite spots for butterfly photography. 
It was alert and skittish, settling on high perches most of the time. This was a rare moment when it opened its wings for sunbathing on a blade of grass.
It scooted up again and stayed high up on the leaf for a while.
As usual, the forest trail was devoid of insect activity after that particular spot until I reached the reservoir edge. My first sighting of a larger butterfly was this Malay Viscount (Tanaecia pelea pelea) which was so engrossed in feeding on the dry and fermented Singapore Rhododendron fruits. 
As it was flapping its wings constantly while feeding, I snapped a quick shot of its undersides - Now, I can tell that it was a she.
Can you guess what she did after feeding ?  She rested at this posture for quite a while.
The Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa lambi) is a common lycaenid in our forest. A lonely individual was spotted resting rather tamely on a cool late morning.
Here is another shot taken from a different perch after it was disturbed and flew to another leaf.  
The Yellow Vein Lancer (Pyroneura latoia latoia) is a common forest skipper which loves to feed on all sort of flowers. The ButterflyCircle's blog just posted an excellent write-up of the life history of this species
I am not sure why it was sensitive to the camera flash after two shots - this was how it  reacted.
Usually I don't chase after a Mycalesis species unless it is cooperative. This docile specimen looks like a Dark Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis mineus macromalayana).   
On my way out of Lornie Trail at the same location as the Yanfly, I saw this small orange skipper resembling a Common Dartlet (Oriens gola pseudolus) perching quietly on a leaf surface.  

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