An Iridescent Dark Blue Butterfly

I have seen this rather large jungle butterfly several times over in the last month but each of my encounter has been without a camera. Today, was the day that I would finally capture this lovely butterfly with my camera as one crossed my path again. Without my trustworthy macro lens side-kick, I shot with a 300mm telephoto lens set to manual focus as I had discovered yielded pretty sharp photos.The Dark Blue Jungle Glory is a forest species that is quite rare. Although it has been observed from time to time in the nature reserves, nothing is known of its life history, or what host plant its caterpillars feed upon.

The undersides of this species bears cryptic patterns of various shades of brown. This camouflage renders the butterfly invisible when feeding on the forest floor amongst the dead leaves and other organic clutter.
This rather unassuming looking butterfly has the most amazing iridescent dark blue upper sides that never seem to take my breath away as it flashes by.
Most of the time, the butterfly prefers the deep forested areas, and keeping close to the ground. It is usually seen early the morning, which is usually the time I spot it or in the later hours of the day.

Can You Spot The Butterflies?

I've been leaving the camera home these past couple of weeks when I go for my morning walks. There hasn't been much wildlife and the forest has been still.
On my way home this morning I walked past this vine and a bunch of tiny butterflies on the tip of the vine caught my eye. Such vines are getting to be scarce as they have been cut back and the butterflies I use to photograph like the Branded Imperial,and the Common Posy. These days I see only a couple of Branded Imperial but the Common Posy have all disappeared.I had to call home to have my help bring my camera to me. I wasn't going to leave the butterflies for fear that someone would come by and scare them away.
These are two of the six butterflies that were feeding on the vine. They were like small flakes amongst the black ants. These little jewels are Logania Marmorata Damis, I've only found one previously, and this is the first time I've seen them feeding.

Common Butterflies Procreating

I've not seen butterflies procreating for sometime now. Partly because I haven't been out walking as often as I use to. I was pretty pleased to find this pair of Common Five Rings joined. Not far from the pair of Common Five Rings were a pair of Long Bush Browns.

Two New Bettas aka Fighting Fish

My cousin gave me two beautiful fighting fish (bettas) for Christmas and I had to get each a nice new container from my friendly flower garden. This brings my pet fighting fish count to four.To ensure that the water that the fish was conditioned, I went out to pick-up ketapang leaves. While on the leaf picking mission, I spotted a small butterfly on the grass. My mind immediately registers that the butterfly is one that I've not see before.
I followed it till it rested on a bush. Then I headed home to deposit the leaves and grab my camera.
My find was an Acacia Blue and it stayed long enough for me to photograph it before heading up towards the tree tops away from me.

The Two Bush Browns

I took my camera out with me this morning as the sun was out and so were some of nature's creatures. I've been watching the Long Bush Browns feeding on the Melastoma for the last couple of days and this morning was no different.However, amongst the Long Bush Brown was this lone butterfly that looked similar but for its lighter color.This lone butterfly I spotted is the Malayan Bush Brown, which is not a very common butterfly and found near the edge of the forest.

This Butterfly Brightened Up My Day

I saw a bright yellow insect fly by me and settle on a leaf, on a hot humid afternoon. By the color of the wings I knew it could be the elusive and solitary Yamfly. I've photographed this butterfly previously and knew that it was one that would come back to its favorite spot if you just patiently waited.

I wanted to photograph this butterfly again as I wanted to see if I could get better photos with my improved photography skills.
After waiting for it to settle down and feel comfortable with having me around, I managed to get it to sit in various positions for me to photograph.However, this Yamfly wouldn't open its wings fully for me. I couldn't go out looking for it today as it rained and rained all day today.

This Is What Keeps Me Interested

I wondered around the edge of the nature reserve this afternoon and it felt good to be out in the sun. The camera was slung on my shoulder and ready for action. I had one and a half hours to find my subjects before I had to head in to start prepping and cooking dinner.
Towards the end of my time window, I chanced upon this tiny butterfly sitting a leaf. I spotted me a new butterfly that I've not seen before. Self discovery is what keeps me interested and coming back for more.

May be it was blinded by my flash but this butterfly didn't move. The butterfly I found is the Logania Marmorata Damis and is found along fringes of the nature reserve in shaded localities. I didn't know that till I researched and identified the butterfly.When it did fly off, I couldn't get close enough again to frame my photo. Sigh..... But I spotted a Yamfly to photograph before I headed home.

What I Did Last Sunday......

I went photowalking, which isn't something I do on a weekend as there are just too many jabbering people around for one to find anything. My running joke is the creatures in the nature reserve scramble away during the weekend to be far, far away from the maddening crowd. However, I also learnt that on occasions when I opt not to pack the camera along is when I will be kicking myself silly.
As expected there wasn't much to spot but I did find some butterflies to photograph and a giant millipede.
My first find was the Saturn.

Next was the Blue Helen.Then the Archduke that was feeding on fallen figs towards the end of my walk.And the one that I missed completely as I was in auto mode heading home..... before a voice goes "what is that?" Then I back tracked to identify the giant millipede.

Painted Wings

I meant to take leisurely drive to the zoo but the speed demon got the better of me as I felt I needed to bust out after three weeks of keeping too many balls in the air.

I ended up in my newest favorite place looking for subjects to photograph. I spotted this butter and I started to photograph it with it's wings closed. When it opened it wings, it was an amazing piece of art by mother nature.This magnificent butterfly is the Malaysian Blue Clipper and it reminded me of paintings I had just finished photographing for my cousin who is a buddy artist.

The Nawabs

I have been looking for the Plain Nawab in Singapore only to find them on a riverbank in Laos. I was of course thrilled as the Nawabs are capable of rapid and swift flight. I found them puddling in a patch of animal dropping but they flew off the minute I tried getting close or moved to get into a better position. The pair didn't show up again and I had to vacate the area for some 15 mins before looping back to see if the butterflies returned.
To my surprise, I found this pair of beautiful butterflies in the place of the the Plain Nawabs that I had photographed earlier. They were simply gorgeous and I've never seen them before. The discovery excited me and I spent a long time photographing these butterflies. I left them alone and headed back to my tent to cool off. When I went back again later these butterflies were joined by the Plain Nawab and an Autum Leaf.Upon return home to Singapore, I researched to find out what these butterflies were the Jewelled Nawabs. I also found out that they are highly prized as framed butterfly collections. I'd rather see them alive than dead.

Common Tit

I found me a Common Tit while out photographing the Stock-billed Kingfisher. This small species is rather common in Singapore. This butterfly can be encountered in the mangrove area like Sungei Buloh to the urban jungle.

Malay Tailed Judy

The Malay Tailed Judy is a small but striking forest butterfly that is rarely seen. I chanced on this one perched on a leaf in a quiet shaded area. The Malay Tailed Judy has a habit of flitting from perch to perch and settling with half-open wings as is shown in the photograph.The butterfly is a beige brown with a slight hint of lilac in some light, and possesses a pair of white transverse stripes on the fore wing. It has black submarginal spots along the hind wing, and has a pair of white-tipped tails, several millimeters long.

The Leopard

The Leopard is usually encountered in urban areas, parks and gardens in Singapore. This is most likely due to the fact that the caterpillar of this butterfly feeds on the Weeping Willow tree, which is an ornamental tree found in many gardens and urban areas. Occasionally, several individuals are encountered flying around a Weeping Willow tree. I photographed this one in the Alexandra Hospital Butterfly Park.
The butterfly is a rich orange brown above and ornamented with black spots and streaks.The underside is a lighter orange with a purplish sheen in side light. The Leopard is found in secondary growth and is fond of Lantana blossoms, on which it is shown feeding here.

The Painted Jezebel

Finally, spotted this Painted Jezebel flying around a plant that was accessible. Often I see this butterfly flying by and never got a chance to photograph it. This time it came to rest on the bread fruit plant it was feeding on. It took a long nap while I photographed it.The Painted Jezebel frequents open wooded, bush and in the gardens. It flies all day and even at dusk that is why I had such a time trying to photograph it.

Its wings are mainly white, hind wing have yellow and red patterns on the underside. Black veins are more conspicuous in females. Their brightly coloured underside serves as a warning pattern to predatory animals. Their weak flight further advertises their unpleasant taste.

The Imperials

These are the Imperials - I started with the very cute Branded Imperials that I found close to home.Then came the Grand Imperial that I stumbled on while rushing home ahead of a storm.The last Imperial is the Common Imperial.

The Common Imperial

It was hospital run on the weekend again and I ended up driving from SGH to Alexandra Hospital for some R&R. I was in search of butterflies in the butterfly park at Alexandra Hospital. The butterflies were there but I couldn't settle down to concentrate on photographing the butterflies around me. I did photograph the Common Imperial and added this species to my growing collection.
Note the difference in the tail lengths of the two butterflies, although they are of the same species.The Common Imperial is a long-tailed Lycaenid and is very rare in Singapore. It frequents the forested areas and flies in the same fashion as its more common relative, the Branded Imperial. The wings above are brownish purple in the male and dark brown in the female. The underside is white, with most of the fore wing and apical area of the hind wing shaded orange. The butterfly has two tails on each hind wing, with the one along vein 2 being the longer - attaining a length of up to 25 mm.

The Grand Imperial

I was rushing home as the weather was starting to get overcast and I didn't want to get caught in a downpour with two lens in tow. As I hastily walked past a tree, a butterfly caught my eye. It was alone and a lot larger than the other Lycaenidae that I have come across.It didn't take me long to flip through my brain to realise that I found another butterfly from the Lycaenidae family.Wuhoo!!!! The butterfly find pushed all thoughts of heading home quickly out of my brain as I switched modes to gotta get my photos no matter what. I must have spent another 10 minutes photographing the butterfly making sure I got all the shots I wanted. From experience I know that I may not come across the rare butterfly again. My little lone beauty is the Grand Imperial.The Grand Imperial (Neocheritra amrita amrita) is rare, and on Singapore island, mostly individuals are observed. The adult butterfly appears to be a tree-top dweller and occasionally descends to feed or lay eggs. It shares the behaviour of a closely-related species, the Great Imperial (Jacoona anasuja anasuja) and resembles it closely. Where encountered, the butterfly is observed to fly rapidly, and stops to rest with its wings folded upright. Very rarely, it can be seen sunbathing with its wings opened.

The Three Confusing Caeruleans

I'm not sure which is which or if they are all of the same butterfly. To me they look like three different Caeruleans.
A Soldier CaeruleanA Dark Caerulean (may be)And a Common Caerulean

What A Gem!

I never regret carrying the camera in a backpack every morning as part of my exercise routine. I know I'm being kiah su (afraid to miss out) but I do see the darndest things during my morning walks and have cussed myself blue for not having the camera with me.
This morning, I spied a butterfly sitting low on some branches and I stooped to have a closer look. Upon a closer look I immediately recognized that this was one I hadn't seen before. Out came the camera in very slow motion least I scare my subject away.I slowly approached it and began to photograph it. It flew off several times but I was lucky to be able to follow it as I had help. I found myself a rare butterfly called the Sumatran Gem.The Sumatran Gem is a rather rare butterfly in Singapore, and it only makes its appearance occasionally. The species usually flies in bright sunshine early in the morning and settles on leaves with its wings closed or semi-open. The underside is reddish brown with striations. The legs of the butterfly are banded.Carrying the extra weight paid off. I have these fantastic shots to share with the world.

Black Veined Tiger

I spotted a beautiful butterfly fluttering around on the edge of the forest and I patiently waited for it to rest on the foliage it was flying over. It was a butterfly that I had not seen before. Later during my research, I located the butterfly in the butterfly checklist. I chanced upon a Black Veined Tiger and the least common of the five tigers found in Singapore.