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  1. #1
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    Thai Butterfly Photos

    I thought I would share a few of the butterfly photos. I wasn't sure exactly where to put them but since I photographed most of them in or around the gardens of my extended family this part of the forum seemed appropriate.

    I am only a keen amateur when it comes to butterflies so there may be a mistake or two in identification. Feel free to make corrections if you spot any mistakes, All the photos are taken hand-held, as in no tripod, for the purposes of identifying the butterfly rather than pretty pictures but I think I managed both in a few cases.

    All the pictures were taken in the Sakon Nakhon 47120 area unless otherwise stated and I have noted wet or dry season where appropriate. Feel free to add your photos to the thread, adding a rough area and month if you can...so I know where to go looking for them

    I decided not to post them in any particular order as additions would muck that up anyway. So without further ado, here is a very common starter for ten:



    The Common Rose (Pachliopta aristolochiae) is pretty much inedible and the crimson body and spots forewarns potential predators. This one and the one below were taken in the dry season (January) but they are far more common during the monsoon season as I found out during my visit a couple of weeks ago (August)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachliopta_aristolochiae



    If possible I will try and show the upper and undersides of the different species since it makes them easier to identify but it is not often easy since, with many, you need to snap them in flight to get the upper side.

    Next up is the Common Mormon (Papilio polytes) and in this case it is the sub-species romulus as can be seen by the red spot on the hindwing of the male (below the white band)....
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_polytes


    However, the distinction is with the female, which mimics the Common Rose in appearance and flight so predators don't bother it. Fooled me as well to begin with, not with the Common Rose, because the body is black rather than crimson, but with the Red Helen (
    Papilio helenus) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_helenus



    These were taken in August. I saw something similar flying in the woods during the dry season but they never settled long enough to take a picture. These were taken after a day and night of heavy rain and they came down to ground level.

    Next up is the Lime Butterfly (
    Papilio demoleus), which is pretty common in both the dry and wet seasons.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_demoleus

    Upperside taken as it dried itself out following a downpour in August ...



    ...and the underside of one taking a drink next to the house in January. They fly fast and a jolly long way as I found out when trying to follow a few during the early stages of my butterfly stalking. In the end I simply got lucky a few days later.


    The last of the swallowtails that I managed to snap is the Tailed Jay (Graphium agamemnon) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphium_agamemnon. This was taken in January and I didn't see it during the wet season at all. It may just be that the plants I found it on before were not in flower and, unlike in the dry season, I was not prepared to venture into the woods during August.

  2. #2
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    Another very common butterfly (wet and dry season) that I see daily is the Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina). There are a couple of different sub-species and they interbreed so I could say whether these are jacintha or bolina with any certainty:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypolimnas_bolina


    This is the male upperside ...



    ...and this is the male underside



    .. and a female for them to track down...


    The above were taken in January and I wasn't too bothered about taking any more in August until I found this one...



    The upperside looks pretty similar but the underside has a tell-tale marking of a black spot on the hind wing...



    ....which means it is a Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypolimnas_misippus

    Now I can hear you all saying to yourselves: "So what?". Well the big difference is in the female, which like the Common Mormon mimics another species of butterfly in order to stay alive.

    The species it mimics is the Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus). I spotted a couple of these near our pond and took this picture in the hope it was a female Eggfly:



    But on closer inspection I think it is actually a Plain Tiger. I haven't seen one in the village before although I did take the photo below in December '14 on wasteground in BKK



    Plain Tiger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danaus_chrysippus

    I was going to post a blue tiger at this stage but I forgot to upload it so it will have to wait. Meanwhile, the bit of wasteground in BKK also harboured another butterfly I haven't seen in the village...the Tawny Coster:



    Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acraea_terpsicore



  3. #3
    R.I.P. Luigi's Avatar
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    Nice.

    Cheers Troy.

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    Yes, very nice indeed...

    I wish the real Butterfly hadn't flounced...I bet he has some wacked-out pics!...

    His tool kit was featured on another thread...

  5. #5
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    Next up are some Pansies...



    Peacock Pansy (Junonia almana) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junonia_almana

    This was taken in August and the upperside looks pretty much the same in the dry season however there is a marked difference in the underside between the dry season and wet season form:



    This is the underside of the same butterfly ...



    ...and this is of one I took in January, showing the very different dry season form. It confused the hell out of me when I first tried to identify it until I read up on the different forms.



    Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites) Taken in January https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junonia_atlites



    Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias) Upperside Taken in August....



    ...
    and the underside. The wet season form shown here is much brighter than the dry season form, as with the Peacock Pansy, but I haven't uploaded the January version...I'm sure you all get the idea...



    Blue Pansy (
    Junonia orithya) Upperside ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junonia_orithya



    ...and underside, taken in January. Although Blue, when you catch a glimpse of them appear black and it takes a little time to adjust and see the blue in the brightness of the day.

    I still haven't managed to find a yellow pansy, let alone photograph one so if anyone has a picture it would be great to know where you took it.




  6. #6
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    Great photos troy real quality

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    Yeah, great photos, Troy. Thanks.

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    Nice pics with excellent detail, takes a lot of patience to get those shots.

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    A few more....



    Rustic (Cupha erymanthis) taken in January https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupha_erymanthis



    Common Sailer (Neptis hylas)...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptis_hylas



    Clipper (Parthenos sylvia) ... came out of the woods that I was knocking down back in January and flew straight at me...most upset at having his home removed from under him. plenty of room on the other side of the road to move into...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenos_sylvia



    Commander (
    Moduza procris) Upperside ...



    ...and underside. Taken in January and one of my favourite photos ... incidentally, these are all taken on a Nikon 5300d. The ones in January were taken with a Sigma 105mm macro lens and the August ones with a 70-300mm telephoto.



    Common Lascar (Pantoporia hordonia) ...Dry season form taken in January. I didn't get the opportunity to go to the same area, just outside the village on the way to the rice farm, to snap the wet season form. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantoporia_hordonia



    Plain Nawab (Polyura hebe) ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyura_hebe




    Grey Count (Tanaecia lepidea) ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanaecia_lepidea




    This is another one of those odd ones...It looks like a Yellow Archduke (Lexias canescens) but on closer inspection I think it is a female Common Archduke (Lexias pardalis) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexias_pardalis

    Another species where the female looks completely different to the male...

  10. #10
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    Extremely beautiful photos, thanks. Nature is so beautiful. Thanks for the commentary too.

  11. #11
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    Some smaller butterflies...



    Yamfly (Loxura atymnus) sheltering from the rain on the wife's vegetables in August. I didn't notice them in January but then again we only planted the veg in March.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loxura_atymnus



    This is a partial view of the upper wing. There were three of four males playing around, opening their wings and then closing them as soon as I focussed...It was early morning and raining so I think I had to set a pretty high ISO setting (1600 or 3200) as well...



    Plains Cupid (Chilades pandava) taken in January : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilades_pandava



    Psyche (Leptosia nina) .. I found this one at around 8am about 20m into the woodland in Dec/Jan and he looked to be still asleep...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptosia_nina



    Plum Judy (Abisara echerius)...There are several different species of Plum Judys of which this is one. They are common in the woods during the dry and wet season and this one was taken in Jan. It may seem strange, but this species just looked happy and playful whenever I saw it..always brought a smile...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abisara_echerius



    Acacia Blue (Surendra quercetorum) spotted with the yamfly in the wife's vegetables...I have a photo of the underside as well but forgot to upload it...no worries here is the wiki page...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surendra_quercetorum



    Common Pierrot (Castalius rosimon)..If ever there was a butterfly flying under the influence, this has to be the one...tracking it closely for more than a few seconds is impossible without going dizzy...it didn't take long to identify this butterfly immediately from its flight behaviour. This one was taken in Jan
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castalius_rosimon



    Angled Pierrot (Caleta caleta) is similar to above and it wasn't until I had the photo on the screen that I realised it was a different species. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caleta_caleta



    Biggs Browning (Miletus biggsii)...taken in Jan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miletus_biggsii



    Ciliate Blue (Anthene emolus) taken in August but common when I was there in Jan as well. The colour is quite striking when they open their wings...but it takes a lot of patience waiting for them to do so...



    I followed the same butterfly around until I snapped it with the wings closed for identification purposes...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthene_emolus



    The Common Cerulean (Jamides celeno) has an underside that is similar to above...but lacks a black dot...

    I have quite a few more to add but it's getting late so they will have to wait until I have some more time on my hands (which has not be very often lately I'm sorry to say).

    I will leave you with a couple of photos of fluffy tits...(who names these butterflies??)



    Fluffy Tit (Zeltus etolus) Taken in March during the dry season...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeltus_etolus



    Another photo ... because we all know fluffy tits come in pairs...

  12. #12
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    Really great stuff right there mate.

    Show us your camera please.

  13. #13
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    Good work. Difficult to snap as they are always on the move.

    I managed to get one in my garden.


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    Hi Troy

    Fantastic Troy
    I was thinking I was the only one on here who was interested in taking photos.

    My main interest is birds and wild animals in the forests but when I dont see anything new a butterfly can always be relied on to pose.

    My first contribution.



    Andaman Rustic taken on the 5/7/2015 at Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary



    Giant Fivering taken on the same day at the same place



    Intermediate Bush Brown, outer taken 2/7/15 HKK again.



    Intermediate Bush Brown, inside taken 19/11/14 at Phu Toei National Park



    Five Bar Swordtail Taken at Hellfire Pass 19/11/14

  15. #15
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    Some great pics there, thanks for sharing.

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    I like that Five Bar Swordtail, Birding. A nice colour mix (love the green). Great shot too.

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    Charleyboy where are you roughly ... post code or province will do ... that's a Common Birdwing (Troides helena) in your garden. I haven't managed to spot one yet.

    Nice photos Birding...I have another reason to make a trip to Hellfire Pass now.



    Common Red Flash (Rapala iarbus) taken in woodlands next to our house.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapala_iarbus



    and the underside, giving a good view of the false head provided by the tail.



    Common wanderer (Pareronia valeria) Male...These fly pretty swiftly at around eye level but don't settle for very long. They appear as just a flash of blue and although pretty common in both the wet and dry season I have only a couple of photos of them.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareronia_valeria



    This is the female, which looks similar to the blue tigers except for the lack of white spots on the body.



    Dark Grass Brown (Orsotriaena medus) ...pretty common throughout the year with this one taken in Jan.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orsotriaena_medus



    Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra) taken in March, not in the village, but in a local garden centre on the main drag just south of Wanon (same postcode).
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elymnias_hypermnestra

    If you are wandering how I identified it from that wiki page (or any of the others) ... I didn't. I have some reference books and other sites for identifying them. I just thought it would be easier to put a link to a wiki page for each for tose who want more information.



    Striped Albatross (Appias libythea) Taken December on wasteland in BKK, not far from Makkasan station.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appias_libythea



    Red-spot Duke (Dophla evelina) taken Jan in woodland just outside the village. I saw a couple of these but only once and this is the best shot I managed. I only had the macro with me at the time and was one reason for buying the telephoto (the main reason was actually to take photos of birds rather than butterflies...but I digress)

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by terry57
    Show us your camera please.
    The camera is an intermediate level DSLR...Nikon D5300, which although I like does lack a couple of features that I never thought I'd want but now wish I had. These are for flash photography though and I had to get an SB-700 to use as a controller.

    Nikon D5300 Review: Digital Photography Review

    My favourite lens is this one...



    The Sigma 105mm Macro...I bought it to photo wild flowers and insects and it is a lovely bit of kit. Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro Lens Review (Nikon mount) - DigitalCameraReview
    The wife knocked my camera off the table last year and there was an almighty crash but only the UV lens (put on for protection) shattered ... lens survived thank goodness.



    This is the Nikon 70-300mm telephoto I recently purchased and used for the pics taken in August. The camera is a DX format so that is an equivalent 450mm zoom. I was managing to get some decent full zoom shots hand held but I needed to increase the ISO to 1600/3200 to get a fast enough speed because of the lack of light...but the pro lenses are way too expensive for me. I had to remove the circular polariser for all shots due to the lack of light while I was there. Even with strong sunshine the woodlands are not bright enough to get good photos.

  19. #19
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    Beautiful serie of butterflies, Troy! You photograph only butterflies or also caterpillars and moths; some weird shapes and colors there as well?



    Delias Hyparete metarete, aka Painted jezebel, I believe. Photographed somewhere around Chiang Mai.

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    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    ^

    Nice bit of kit mate,

    Cheers.

    I use a Nikon for my picture threads but it ain't quite like that.

  21. #21
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    Troy your comment that you have a lens for bird photos has given me the incentive to start a thread on bird photos on the Farming & Gardening page.
    Hope you and others can join me on there.

    Meanwhile 3 more butterflies.




    Dark Blue Tiger, taken 7/11/14 swamp in Singburi.



    Forget me not 4/12/14 Singburi



    Golden Birdwing 4/7/15 HKK wildlife Sanctuary.

  22. #22
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    Probably the best flyers I encountered were the crows. They are pretty big butterflies and can go from ground level to the tree tops in just a few wing beats and no time at all.



    Common Indian Crow (Euploea core) upperside showing the tell-tale white streak on the wing
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euploea_core



    ..and the underside from very close range....



    Striped Blue Crow (Euploea mulciber) underside taken in Jan on the side of the road opposite our house. I have a picture of the upperside as it flew away but it in the top right hand corner of the picture so need to get a better one to post.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euploea_mulciber



    Long branded blue Crow (Euploea algea) seen in the same location a couple of days later
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euploea_algea



    and a partial view of the upperside showing the blue leading edge and I think this gives a better idea of the size and power of the butterfly.



    Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia pomona) is very common and seen pretty much all year round. They congregate around our water pipes on hot days. this one was taken in August
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catopsilia_pomona



    As was this one of a male and female.



    Mottled Emigrant (Catopsilia pyranthe) is very similar. This one was taken on that same piece of waste ground in BKK. I was walking up to the station from the hotel we were staying in and spent about and hour in this bit of land taking shots. Had a few locals puzzled at the crazy farang jumping around the vegetation...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catopsilia_pyranthe



    Common Five Ring (Ypthima baldu) upperside taken in August but seen scuttling around in the dry season as well.



    This is the underside taken of one in Jan

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ypthima_baldus



    Leopard Lacewing (Cethosia cyane) seen during the dry season and this one was taken in Jan. It is a Leopard lacewing rather than Malasian because it has a much lighter hind wing and the female is closer to white.





    Another couple of shots of the same species all taken around the same time. I spotted a male and female together but couldn't get the camera focussed in time before the male took off with female hanging below.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cethosia_cyane

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gipsy
    You photograph only butterflies or also caterpillars and moths;
    Caterpillars and eggs in Europe but I don't have a good reference for ones in SE Asia. Too many moths for the time I have available and it takes a lot of time to look up the references but I do have some photos of the larger ones.

    I also have a collection of damsel flies and dragon flies but again don't have a good reference for the ones from SE Asia. If anyone knows of a good solid reference then I might try and catalogue the photos I have.

    I only bother with interesting looking insects or ones that are eaten up in Isaan. Is there already a thread for edible insects? I might find and add to the list, especially the ones I have taken in their natural habitat before they get to market.

    I will have more time to take and cross reference once I retire...but that date keeps extending for one reason or another.

    Oh...I forgot, my real passion is wild flowers of which I have hundreds of UK and European species and have now started to catalogue the ones from Thailand. It is a very slow process I'm afraid and it will be a while before I can create a similar thread for them...

  24. #24
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    Some more blues all looking similar and requiring the underside spots to be seen in order to identify:



    Dark Grass Blue (Zizeeria karsandra) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizeeria_karsandra

    Upperside and ...



    ... the upperside of the same species taken in Dec/Jan



    Lesser Grass Blue (Zizina otis) :
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizina_otis



    Tiny Grass Blue (Zizula hylax) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zizula_hylax



    Forget-me-not (Catochrysops strabo) : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catochrysops_strabo

    All are pretty common where we are, seen flying in the grassy areas alongside pathways in and around the village. Not easy to identify by sight, which is why the camera comes in handy.

    Here are a few skippers that I managed to find...



    Common Redeye (Matapa aria) taken in Jan on the edge of a woodland footpath.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matapa_aria



    Conjoined Swift (Pelopidas conjuncta) taken at around the same place and time
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelopidas_conjuncta



    Common Dart (Potanthus pseudomaesa), which is a lot smaller than that name suggests, again roughly the same place and time as the ones above
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potanthus_pseudomaesa



    Banana Skipper (Erionota thrax) snapped in BILs house in Dec. I spotted it on the way to the bathroom one evening and had to get the flasj out to take his portrait. These are the ones whose caterpillars are found inside the banana leaves in white powder....as the wiki page describes:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erionota_thrax



    Small Banded Swift (Pelopidas mathias) I spotted during Jan while waiting for the tailed jay to appear. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelopidas_mathias



    White Spot Palmer (Eetion elia) ... I think rather than a Grass Deamon (which I have a photo of somewhere for a comparison) because of the shape of the wing and size of the butterfly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eetion_elia



    Tree Flitter (Hyarotis adrastus) Dec/Jan on the side of the road again
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyarotis_adrastus



    Spotted Angle (Caprona alida). This was taken in August outside the BILs house
    Wiki page needs expanding a little on this one...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprona_alida

  25. #25
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    Just been reading the truth about the invasion of Lybia and need something to balance against the horror of mans greed and inhumanity to his own kind so I will post some butterflies to get the beauty of nature back in my head. The sooner I can get back into the forests and the quiet of nature the better.



    Banded Tree Brown 2/6 15 Taksin Maharat National Park



    Intracate Jester 11/2/15 Phu Toei National Park.



    Eastern Five Ring 12/2/15 Phu Toei National Park, flash used on that one.



    Black Rajah 6/7/15 HKK wildlife Sanctuary

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