Butterfly Chase

The first week of May was a self-declared holiday for me. I joined a group of Butterfly Watchers in the country called Philippine Lepidoptera. It was an informal Facebook Group of butterfly hobbyists trying to formally document all the Lepitoptera, meaning butterflies and moths, in the Philippines. The three administrative members invited me to join them to three locations, The Makiling Botanical Gardens in Laguna; Bangkong Kahoy in Dolores, Quezon; and Subic Bay in Zambales. All the three sites are also resort areas visited by local and foreign tourists. They also include protected forest domains.

This is the first time i personally met them, so photographing butterflies and moths in the wild also served as our bonding moments. We also have a guest member, whom we consider as the most professional entomologist in the group. His Masters and PhD degrees are on butterflies of the country, done in the US. In one of the places, another groups of enthusiasts joined us, the native trees group and some birders. I will be showing you some of my finds.

PART I: Makiling Botanical Gardens, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna

 Common Five Ring

 a moth found in the grasses

a skipper is considered a butterfly

LUZON GRASS DART

Taractrocera luzonensis luzonensis Stadnger 1889

Hesperiidae; Hesperiinae

ORANGE GULL 
Cepora aspasia olga Eschoscholtz 1821
Pieridae; Pierinae

BROWN PANSY or BROWN SOLDIER
Junonia hedonia ida Cramer 1775
Nymphalidae; Nymphalinae; Nymphaliini

TINY GRASS BLUE or GAIKA BLUE
Zizula hylax pygmaea Snellen 1876
Lycaenidae; Lycaeninae; Polyommatin

COMMON INE BLUE
Prosotas nora semperi Fruhstorfer 1916
Lycaenidae; Lycaeninae; Polyommatini

   COUNT♀

Tanaecia calliphorus calliphorus C.; R. Felder 1863

Nymphalidae; Nymphalinae; Limenitidini

 ABERRANT BUSHBLUE
Arhopala abseus amphea C. & R. Felder 1865
Lycaenidae; Lycaeninae; Theclini

FOREST QUAKER
Pithecops corvus corax Fruhstorfer 19919
Lycaenidae; Lycaeninae; Polyommatini

COMMON MAPWING
Cyrestis maenalis maenalis Erichson 1834
Nymphalidae; Nymphalinae; Cyrestini

GREEN DRAGONTAIL

Lamproptera meges decius C.; R. Felder 1862

Papilionidae; Papilioninae; Leptocirchini

We were all thrilled spotting the green dragontail, it is seen only mostly when there are brooks or creeks as they love to puddle in mud.  Some of my companions went down the creek, but i opted to stay in higher grounds. Fortunately, the dragontail privileged me to take its photo. It alighted near me on the bushes. 

I hope the butterfly enthusiasts will appreciate my posts. There are other finds that i was not able to photograph. I will continue the other finds from other areas in the next posts. 

Thank you so much!

Outdoor Wednesday

Wednesday Around The World

Camera Critters

Saturday Critters

Nature Notes

May 2017 Sunsets

When time is not sufficient to make a full blogpost about more escapades, post the most handy, the sunsets from my 5th Floor Window. These are just some afternoons i was here at home to document my sunsets. But that is definitely not this week, as i was out of town since Tuesday, just came in this afternoon. Sunset is not visible today, clouds fully cover my horizon, a sign that the rainy season is already warning us. I am excited as the heat will dissipate in a few more days or a couple of weeks. Some afternoons are already having rains in some areas of the metropolis. In a little while, we will all receive the rains. 

Meanwhile, i want to share with you the developing clouds in my horizon. 

 Who says my horizons are all clouds and sunsets! I have some birds too.

 They like lingering around simultaneously while the horizon still has colors.

They are not wild birds though, they are pets from a house nearby. I guess they are pigeons. But they definitely make my horizon more beautiful. 

Skywatch Friday

Morning Moon Skywatch

I woke up last Tuesday before 4:00 am, 9 March 2017. I was still very sleepy, almost walking to the bathroom with closed eyes. But the very bright lights entering the little slits on the window seem to really be trying to fully wake me up . With still half-closed eyes I opened the window, mount the camera on the already at stand-by tripod and shoot without even checking the camera settings. Now i am posting them here SOOC, straight out of the camera! This is the morning moon about to set at the west, and the next afternoon the full moon was seen at the East in full splendor. The world watched full moon at the East, while i might be one of the very few who watched the moon at the West at dawn.

 3:58a.m.

 4:04 a.m. 

 4:11 a.m. 

4:13 a.m. 

Then i went back to sleep! 

Skywatch Friday