Moving to the Moo Ban - Permanently????

[El Gibbon]

I mentioned a post or so ago about the air being THICK with butterflies, well today is even more of a kaleidiscope (sp?) of colors.

I've seen several varieties that have not been seen here yet. Of course the usual suspects that I've photoed earlier are around too.

This guy showed up today and wow what a color scheme he has. He was kind enough to allow time to get a couple of interesting shots.



Even though this is just slightly blurry it shows the tail detail very well. This long pointed tail is unusual even in the swallowtail family. Can't find a photo of this color variety in any of the sources available to me. But what a georgous creature.



Again you can see the unusual detail in the tail area along with the variety of colors and patterns on the underwings.



Again the tail detail is readily visible and you can see the probiscus in the ground getting whatever it is they like. The color pattern is truly outstanding, sadly a photo just doesn't do it justice. BTW these are not manipulated images.

Shape says its similar to a 'Scarce Swallowtail' or to a 'Zebra Swallowtail'. Maybe Curious George will have better luck with his "library"...


BTW C. G. your interest in the natural sciences should make you a happy camper here in the right section of Thailand. Lots of critters, birds and plants for you to spend your time with.

E. G.

[Curious George]

^ You've got some great photos of the butterflies, and my references on them are pretty sparse. Sometimes I get lucky in identifying one, but it seems to me you're doing just fine.

You're right about my being happily entertained by natural surroundings. As a young lad, I would spend hours in mid-US prairies soaking up whatever nature had to offer.

[El Gibbon]

The fruit harvest is in full swing, tons of fruit have passed by the "ban" in the last couple of days. Mangosteen primarily but also some longan and something I have no idea of the name. Looks like Longan but not the same.

Here is some longan that will be ready in a few days. Apparently when the butterflies start to eat or drink from the fruit its ready. The sugar levels are correct.



Ever wonder where all that "plastic" string goes? I've always been kinda curious about it? Well, now I know where some of it ends up. It is used to support branches heavy with fruit as shown below.



These are durian that are really heavy, so the branches are supported by a branch above with the line near the trunk. Pretty ingenious I figured. In Malaysia they use long poles to suppor the branches.



These are one kind of lychee, apparently there are several, when ripe they are red in color. These are not ready yet.



The above shot shows a mangosteen tree loaded with fruit. May be a little hard to see the difference between the leaves and fruit but the next shot is of the same tree.



This image shows part of the problem when harvesting mangosteen. I mentioned earlier that each fruit has to be looked at on a specific tree. They are not like apples or such that the whole tree or orchard ripens at the same time or rate. In the foreground you can see the green fruits not yet ready to pick. In the center of the shot you can make out a fruit that is ready. Imagine harvesting 500 - 600 kg. a day... whew need decent eyesight.



A durian that is not yet ready. None of his are ready for a few weeks. These are the big ones. You really should have a hard hat working around these devils. You can see how sharp the spines are and they are HARD as rocks. Would really do some damage falling from any distance and landing on your noggin.

Leaving his orchard I came across the Stuppa that his mom is resting in. All cleaned up for the new year.



Of course I pilphered a couple of snacks on the way out of the orchard.



Easier than stealing apples as a kid in Vermont

I've mentioned pricing a couple of times, well yesterday the market price was 6 Baht per kg.. Makes for tough going when the price is so ridiculous. Its expected to go to 5 Baht within a day or so.

Yep, just imagine all the lazy Thai's working their orchard all year, cleaning, watering, fertilizing, picking like crazy and ending up with this pricing. The farmers of this country really do have it tough.

E. G.

[Anonymous Coward]

Its expected to go to 5 Baht within a day or so.

And, they're selling for 30 baht a kilo on the street.

[lom]

And, they're selling for 30 baht a kilo on the street.

500% profit !
And some people here has problem with where to invest their savings..

[El Gibbon]

Well, returned from Bangers yesterday to find the place basically water logged. We have had 3 - 4 inches of rain ( at least my improvised rain gauge says so.) between Wed. morning at 10 AM when I left and yesterday at 3:30 when I arrived back. No damage other than flooded veggies that are OK.

With the sun out today it was hot and humid as hell as you can imagine. But, the local wildlife was most accomodating to be sure.

I've been trying to get a shot of this fella for months, but he never seems to sit in one place long enough to get a shot. I'll have to look him up later.



A bit blurry but its max tele and quite aways away with a lot of stuff cropped out.

This next guy is one of two that like to sit on my tomato stakes in the afternoon sunning them selves. I was quite taken with the closeness that I got and the detail, especially of the wing veins and scales.



Another visitor today is an old friend that I've shot before. This time he came the same spot as some of the others and stayed around long enough for me to record his visit.



The common rose butterfly a member of the Papilionidae family.



This is a male indicated by the red stripe along the side of the main body. A pretty neat creature. The red signals poision to predators.



Remember this guy from a couple of posts ago? Well, I bought a book in Bangers that I've been lookin for for some time. The Butterflies of Thailand, a damn good reference for the local species. Turns out this is a Five Bar Sword Tail, another member of the Papilionidae family only found here in Chantaburi it appears. Nice critter this one.

E. G.

[Marmite the Dog]

Lovely pic.

[El Gibbon]

Thanks. I've noted these guys have this specific stance when sitting on the sticks. Nowhere else do they sit like this. I think they might be 'in disguise' mimicking the continuation of the stick for any bugs/food located farther down the plant.

E. G.

[klongmaster]

^given all these nasties: why do we keep our shoes outside?

I never do...

A durian that is not yet ready. None of his are ready for a few weeks. These are the big ones. You really should have a hard hat working around these devils. You can see how sharp the spines are and they are HARD as rocks. Would really do some damage falling from any distance and landing on your noggin.

during never drop during the day so you're quite safe to walk around under them...they only drop when they are ripe and then only at night...


your great thread continues EG...ta very much...

[dirtydog]

they only drop when they are ripe and then only at night

That sounds like an old wives tale to me klongy.

[El Gibbon]

Don't know about the dropping at night bit but have seen them on the ground where I'd not noticed them... just a couple so probably they do drop at night. In K.L. I recall them climbing trees outside my office to harvest them... hmmm

********

I mentioned I was in Bangers for a day, thought I would tell you of a couple of places that used to be favorites. Tha Absolute 7 bar on Soi 7/1 is still a nice aircon bar with pool tables and nice eyecandy but the burgers have turned to shite.

We went to the Bus Stop on Soi 4 for dinner and was severely disappointed again. Used to be a great place for Thai food and nice surroundings. Had the worst Kai Yat Sai I've ever had here, totally bland and shit meat to boot. They've dressed the place up lately but looks don't make for good food, never again.

Soi 7/1 continues to grow slowly and still provides the requisite beer bars and other 'entertainment'.

E. G.

[El Gibbon]

Quick note on the local fruit market. Seems this is a bumper crop of mangosteen this year. The price has finallly stabilized at 9 baht per kilo, on sale at lotus (real small) at 22 baht.

Also a large crop of rambutan, same basic prices noted. Apparently the durian crop is off slightly so the prices will be higher this year, particularly in the "good" variety, of which there are two. Longan is also not as plentiful this year so those prices will also be up slightly over last year. No firm numbers yet but will have some next week when full harvest gets rolling.

[El Gibbon]

Heavy downpours to continue: Meteorological Department

The Meteorological Department warned Friday that heavy rains would continue in several northern and central provinces because of influence of a depression storm.

At of 4 am Friday, the storm was in Andaman Sea about 700 kilometres southwest of Tak and was moving westwards to Burma, the department said in a statement.

The department said heavy rains would continue in Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Tak, Sukhothai, Khamphaeng Phet, Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Suphan Buri, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Chumphon.

Residents of these provinces should also brace themselves against flash floods, the department warned.

*****

They don't even mention this area so the rest of Thailand must be even worse. Its been raining like " a cow pissing on a flat rock" for days here. My homemade rain gauge says more than 7 inches in the last week.

*****

As for falling durian, the man (BiL) says they can fall anytime but normally during the night or early morning. Makes sense to me, they fall when full or heavy or ripe. Fruits and vegetables grow during the night as the leaves are not requiring energy caused by transpiration (?), the energy goes to the fruit when the sun goes down.

Current pricing for longan is now between 22 and 29 baht depending on grade.

Mangosteen is now 9.5 baht, don't know how one would survive if you had to pay labor to harvest.

Spent a couple of days helping with the harvest of mangosteen, what a pain in the ass. Got some pix I think but will have to check. Basically you wander around the tree with a big stick with a loop and a bag attached. When you find one ripe (that's another whole deal.... takes some practice to determine which are ready and those that need another day), you snatch it with the loop and bag. Lengthy process and can be difficult in bad lighting.

E. G.

[El Gibbon]

Well, kinda been doggin it as far as updates go. Today I had full intentions on getting caught up with some butterfly photos, mangosteen harvesting etc. etc.

As I was organizing myself the Ms. started hollering, come, come look at this. Now, as both she and her daughter know I'm a curious naturalist they are always giving me the come, come thing for the littlest new bug they find.

Today was a little different. As I came out of the house the Ms is leaving the orchid shelter rather gingerly pointing to the top of the frame. What was there? This beauty.



Its a Golden Tree Snake. This guy is one of those flyers that you read about, loves to attack its prey from above. I mentioned in one of the first posts that we had seen one but failed to get a pic. This time I sat and we watched each other for a couple of hours. Finally he had enough and decided to take a wander.



This guy just slithered along the bamboo, keeping his balance like a tight-rop walker. A beauty to watch in action.



He came down the hanger on one of my Vanda orchids and proceeded to meander across a couple of others on his way to the end piece.



He easily moved across a couple of other hanging plants to a brace for the corner post. Slithered up the brace 'till the post and came down the post to the ground.



There was quite a breeze blowing, as normal here, and the netting flopping around just pissed him off, you could tell. Once he hit the ground it was a couple of seconds till he was into a lime tree and I lost sight of him. The coloring makes it almost impossible to see him in foliage of any type.

Once the girls had calmed down I explained that this is NOT a poisonous snake but rather a constricter. They have a small mouth, prolly dirty as hell and requiring a tetnas shot but not harmful otherwise. Thier man food source is chink choks and other small lizards and bugs, so, NO, E. G. was not about to assinate him.

As I'm finishing this post its pissing down rain AGAIN.. .whewww, didn't realize that the 'wet' season starts early here in the South East. More on this and my homemade rain gauge tomorrow.

E. G.

[El Gibbon]

Finally stopped raining for a few minutes at least. Just to show you the fruit stuff I see every day, here are a couple of pix.



Its no wonder all Thai pickup trucks have helper springs! This sucker is really loaded with durian.



Have seen quite a few more heavily loaded than this one. But you get the idea. These two trucks were in a convoy of three, missed the first one getting the camera turned on. That one was REALLY loaded.



Its a little hard to see but the water level is just above 2 inches in my home made rain gauge. I took a rubber pan and placed it in the middle of the yard away from trees etc. I empty it every day around noon time. This is yesterday at noon. After emptying it, today it is overflowing. That says to me we've had about 4 inches of rain since last night.

The average rainfall here in Chantaburi is 13.5 inches in the month of May, so I guess we'll not be getting anymore. yeah, right! All the ponds, including the two next to the house have risen over 1.5 meters since two weeks ago. Rainy season is here.........

What to do on a rainy, cold, drizzly morning? Why make pea soup of course.



The basic ingredients, a package of split green peas - soaked overnight drained this morning and then resoaked for 2 hours - some garlic, some fresh cured ham, and a splat of butter/margarine.



chop some garlic real coarse and add a splat of shortening (can use oil, butter, margarine)



Sautee the garlic lightly, don't let it cook, you just want to tenderize it, when its soft its done.



Toss in the ham and stir it a little just to get some coating on it, don't cook.



Add just enough of the water from the soaking peas to cover the ham and bring to a rapid boil for 1 minute.

After that add the rest of the water and peas and bring to a slow simmer for an hour or until you get the consistency you like. I like mine almost mush. Make sure you keep the water level above the ham and peas.



Once I get the water simmering where I want it I add these. A sprig of sweet basil ( horapah ) and a bay leaf ( grawan ).

As with any basic soup you can add what you like. Some like some carrot, some like celery, who knows but go ahead and add your favorite to it... You really can't screw it up!

Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.....

E. G.

[klongmaster]

That sounds like an old wives tale to me klongy.

this from the durian website

durians are only ready to eat when they fall from trees, which they only ever do at night, and no-one knows why.

[Curious George]

I've been trying to get a shot of this fella for months, but he never seems to sit in one place long enough to get a shot. I'll have to look him up later.



A bit blurry but its max tele and quite aways away with a lot of stuff cropped out.

Thought I'd add some info about your photo of the Great Coucal (นกกระปูดใหญ่). It is a terrestial bird, walking through grass and scrub, in search for invertebrates and insects. They build round or globular grass nests with a side entrance, in low bushes. Two very distinct characteristics are their red eyes, and a very unique haunting voice.

There are a few nice pictures on Puttipong's Site.

[dirtydog]

Are there underwings a really deep blue?

[Speakeasy]

Love the post, going back a little, if you are looking for a Thai Ridgeback (great dogs), you are in the right place, the best ones come from Chan. More general info on TRD
Creative Thai Dog Club Bangkok
Keep posting

[El Gibbon]

C G
Thanks for the info. You nailed it as far as I'm concerned. The 'voice' is unique for sure. I'm not absolutely sure but there seems to be a pal or mate hanging around the same area, same size and tail pattern, spread in flight. The overall coloring is the same as the Cougal wings, a steady shade of brown overall. Don't know if females of the breed are different or not, no mention on the few sites I checked.

E. G.

[Curious George]

Are there underwings a really deep blue?

According to my literature, the underwing of the Greater Coucal is black, as compared to some chestnut coloring on the wing linnings of the Lesser Coucal. What surprised me is that the tail is not black, as it may appear in some photos. The tail is a very deep green.

[El Gibbon]

George

The colorings are difficult to discern when its on the fly, and its so shy that you hardly every get more than a moment to see it when its still.

I had thought that the neck and tail were the same color, a deep dark blue. Which ever color the neck-breast, tail, they are dark enough to make the "color" damn near whatever the brain is computing.

Green tail? I can go with that, black/grey neck-breast? can go with that too. Would love to get a decent photo within a reasonable distance.

E. G.

[El Gibbon]

We went and helped the BiL with the mangosteen harves the other day. As I mentioned prior, this is not just picking but you need to assess the quality and ripeness at the same time.



First you gotta find the ripe ones, if you can reach it you stuff it in your home-made plastic bag. If not?



You get the young-un to either climb the tree or you get one of these long poles with the loop and net to "pick" it.

After we got about 500 kilo it was time for a beer and some eats. When we got back to the BiL's house he HAD to show me the butterfly tree!



This tree has quite a few 'butterflies' running around the top. Then the young-ub kicked the trunk and all hell broke loose.



The sound was wild, just like being in a swarm of bees. The wings beating like hell raised quite a buzz.



I have no idea what this tree is but its loaded with tiny tiny flowers that all the beasts were after.



From directly below the swarm this shot.



Had to give the bad news to the BiL, not a butterfly but rather a moth. A day flying moth at that, quite unusual. As you can see the wings fold back over the body not upright like a butterfly which holds its wings vertically.

To reward his 'crew' for the day the usual repast was put in place with a few bottle of Leo.



Pork bits, fried chicken skin, isaan beef, pla duc and beer.

I did get a shot of why butterflies need camo, otherwise they get whacked. I'll post some more tomorrow.

E. G.

[Lily]

The flowering tree looks little a species of wattle.

Are the flowers kind of fluffy with a honey kind of smell?

[Curious George]

^ I think Lil is spot on.

The Acaia (Wattle) is grown in Thailand commercially as a pulpwood tree. The Acacia leucophloea (แฉลบแดง) seems to be fairly common.

Here's the interesting part, the Acacia species are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genus Aenetus including A. ligniveren. These burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down. Other Lepidoptera larvae which have been recorded feeding on Acacia include Brown-tail, Endoclita malabaricus and Turnip Moth.

Now EG, besides Lil's great questions, was the bark also thorny? If it was, that's an ID for the tree, but not the moth.