Tropical butterfly - Ptychandra Lorquini

Look like genus Ptychandra Lorquini with "eyes" on its hind wings.



Shot at compound of Sarawak Museum.

Tropical Butterfly - Orange butterfly

Below are cropped photos of orange tropical butterfly. Species is unidentified but look similar Subfamily Satyrinae (such as Cercyonis or Coenonympha or Cyllopsis or Pearly-Eyes or Erebia). The Satyrinae subfamily have one thing in common, that is the "eye" or "eyes" on their wing.










Related topics:
* Moths and Butterflies, Series #1
* Moths and Butterflies, Series #2
* Tropical Moths and Butterflies, Series #3
* Black butterfly, Yellow Ixora

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Photo collection of Tropical caterpillars

This page is reserved for photo collection of Tropical caterpillars. Below are awesome photos of caterpillar in various shapes and sizes, spiky or furry, spotty or camouflaged.

Page may load slow but have patience for the awesome collection. Click the link for more info about the caterpillar which may also include some links to a short video clip hosted at YouTube. Enjoy.



Top: Luminous green spiky caterpillar - Euclea delphinii




Top: Furry black and white tropical caterpillar
Bottom: Spiky caterpillar with black and red spots



Top: Tropical spiky black caterpillar (ground caterpillar)
Bottom: Green, yellowish and horned tropical caterpillar


Top: Gang of tiny baby black tropical caterpillars
Bottom: Nasty camouflaged tropical caterpillar



Top: A pale yellowish and spiky tropical caterpillar (click for more photos)
Bottom: Furry tropical caterpillar



Top: Tropical black caterpillar with white stripes
Bottom: Tropical brown "shoe brush" caterpillar



Top : Tropical green caterpillar with fake eyes
Bottom : Tropical green caterpillar with black spots



Top: Tropical hairy black and white stripped caterpillar
Bottom: Tropical green leave cutter caterpillar

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Proboscis monkey - Nasalis larvatus at Bako National Park

I only have a video clip of Proboscis monkey found at Telok Paku in Bako National Park, Kuching. Since the Proboscis Monkey was perched high up on the tree canopy, I could not get a proper still photo of the monkey. He was obscured by leaves and I was quite a distance from it.

The Proboscis Monkey is endemic to Borneo's low elevation mangrove forests, swamps, and lowland riparian forests. A distinctive trait of this monkey is the male's large protruding nose from which it takes its name.

Anyway, below is a short clip on the Proboscis monkey that you can stumbled upon at Telok Paku beach.


YouTube: Proboscis live

Due to ongoing habitat loss and hunted in some areas, only about 7000 are known to still exist in the wild. In Sarawak, the population of this species has declined from 6500 in 1977 to only 1000 in 2006. The Proboscis Monkey is evaluated as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Other names

While the official Indonesian name for this monkey is Bangkatan, an Indonesian nickname is 'monyet belanda', meaning 'Dutch monkey' or 'Orang Belanda', the Indonesian word for 'Dutchman', as Indonesians noticed the Dutch colonisers often also had a large belly and nose.

Side notes:

If you ever saw a photo of Proboscis monkey that is nicely shoot (like those appeared in National Geographic), I can tell you that it takes time for the photographer to stalk the monkey and take a picture of it. With slight noise, the monkey will move away. In addition, unless you too are perched on another tree, you will not get a clear photo from the ground due to obstruction by branches and leaves.

Special link:
* Proboscis Monkey Project by Kristina Medici

Black butterfly, Yellow Ixora

Photo of an unidentified black butterfly perched on petals of yellow Ixora flowers.



More on Ixora flowers: Ixora coccinea flower, Flame of the Woods, Jungle Flame

More on butterfly:
* Tropical Butterfly - Junonia Orithya Madagascariensis - Eyed Pansy - Blue Pansy
* Moths and Butterflies, Series #1

Sunset photo of Telok Assam, Bako National Park, Sarawak

Here are some shot on sunset at Telok Assam, Bako National Park, Sarawak. For great sunset photos, be at the beach between 6:30pm until dark.

On most days, the beach spread far outward the sea due to low tide.


Zooming toward the mountain with a fishing boat in the foreground.



Normal shot from the beach. Take note of the clouds !



Another sunset photos shot toward Telok Paku.

Related post:
* Telok Assam, Bako National Park, Sarawak

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Telok Assam, Bako National Park, Sarawak

Below are some photos taken at Bako National Park, Sarawak. The spot is midway between Telok Assam and Telok Paku at Bako National Park.

To reach the spot, you need to track around 0.4KM from from Telok Assam towards Telok Paku. Bako National Park is managed by Sarawak Forestry. Visit their site at www.sarawakforestry.com.

Once you reached Telok Paku beach, you might stumble upon Proboscis monkeys near the shore.


Afternoon sun glitter


Dead stumps on the shore line. The mountain peak at the background is Mt. Matang.


Dead stumps on the shore line


Dead stumps on the shore line. Left is Telok Assam and toward the right is Telok Paku (not visible)

Related post:
* Sunset photo ofTelok Assam, Bako National Park, Sarawak

More information on Bako National Park

Tropical Pond Damselfly (Enallagma civile)

The Damselflies below are the same one captured in different posture. The photo was shot at a pond. Another challenging shot because the damselfly are so tiny like no bigger than a match stick.


12x zoom: Damselfly perched on a tiny twig


12x zoom: Damselfly perched on a tiny twig


Sport mode: Damselfly in mid flight

UPDATES:
* Dec 09, 2008: Red cyan tropical damselfly - Series #2

Tropical Gerridae - Water Skaters

The family Gerridae contains insects commonly known as water striders, water bugs, magic bugs, pond skaters, skaters, skimmers, water scooters, water skaters, water skeeters, water skimmers or water skippers.

These are predatory insects which rely on surface tension to walk on top of water. They live on the surface of ponds, slow streams, marshes, and other quiet waters. They can move very quickly, up to 1.5 m/s.