Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society Events & Activities

  2006年5月Palawan影蝶之旅
A brief report on a Palawan trip in May 2006
by Dr. P.C. Lee

(Chinese Version)

今次影蝶之旅,因為一週刊要報導鱗翅目學會之點滴,所以派了兩位記者同行. 詳情已經刊於846期.

            Palawan 是一個位於菲律賓西南部的長型小島.只有106平方公里.距離馬尼拉306海里. 它的位置特殊,因為它跟馬來西亞,婆羅洲,蘇門答臘和爪哇等被劃入 Sundaland. 而菲律賓其它地方則屬於 Oriental. 所以它的動植物都有別於人,既有獨特的品種和亞種,同時亦兼有兩地域之品種.十一月至四月是旱季.

            因為去Palawan只有早機,所以我們早一晚到馬尼拉,我們在菲律賓的朋友Lydia接機後會合詹士一起共進晚餐.

            五月五日

            一宿無話,早上一早就到機場.大約一小時就到Palawan的首府公主港.在酒店放下行李之後,時間尚早,立刻坐車去Irawan.幸好預早租了四驅車,要過十三條小溪,司機又合作,否則想唔濕腳都好難.沿途已開始見蝴蝶.最漂亮是一隻花灰蝶 Flos apidamus palawanaus. 可惜只停了一會,拍唔倒好相. 另外一隻雌裳鳳蝶 Troides rhadamandus plateni 就連相都影唔倒. 一隻跟香港好唔同的地圖蝶,一隻酥灰蝶.到了最後一條溪,有一個小山坡,上面有幾株腰果樹,剛好腰果熟透,發出強烈的氣味,引來不少蝴蝶,有Iraota rochana ottonis, Bassorona teuta eson, 和Charaxes solon.在溪旁的沙灘亦有不少環蛺蝶,波灰蝶.在香港十分罕見的畸紋紫斑蛺蝶在這裹有不少.Symbrenthia hippoclus dissolute 一隻白紋的盛蛺蝶,可惜影唔倒翅面.麗蛺蝶雖然常見,但好少停留.好早就開始天黑,四點之後已經很少蝴蝶,惟有走回頭.在酒店沐浴之後,去了一間不錯的餐廳,晚餐有劍魚,魔鬼魚,龍蝦仔等美食,回酒店時已經飽滿.

            五月六日

            今日去Iwahig.其實是在一個監獄之內.幸好憑Lydia之關係,我們方可進入.沿路見不少蝴蝶.兩種長尾灰蝶.大的是Drupadia ravindra,翅面是黑和寶藍色,細的是Drupadia rufotaenia,翅面是深啡色.我們還找到後者的寄主和幼虫.兩種Charaxes, harnonodius harpagon和 bupalus.弄蝶包括幾種袖弄蝶.都幾難分辨.有隻蠹葉蛺蝶在產卵,可惜找不到.Junonia iphitia adelaida鈎翅眼蛺蝶,亞種不像香港的和Pantoporia hordonia doronia 都很常見. 青粉蝶Pareronia nishiyanai亦很常見,不過就好少停下來.還有一些其它品種.天如常好早就黑,又是回去的時候.

            五月七日

            因為第一天遲到,所以今天再去Irawan.去到溪邊己見到一群黃粉蝶和波灰蝶.一隻天狗蝶出現了,翅底平平無奇,翅面就不得了,是閃淺紫色.Libythea geoffroyi philippina. 最大的驚喜突然出現,Taenaris horsfieldii plateni,眼環蝶.我從未見過這類蝴蝶.一閃就入了樹林,幾經辛苦,弄至片體鱗傷才影倒,不過都值得. 林中還有一隻Cretis tagalica palawaninea. 我見過最大的弄蝶,棷弄蝶在小徑旁彈來彈去.幸好它會停低. 我蹲在沙灘上老半天等隻旖灰蝶Hypolycaenia ethna開翼,得倒的是一個曬燶了的後頸,痛足一星期.其它還有坎蛺蝶Chersonesia rahria rahria, 兩種燕鳳蝶,等如玉帶鳳蝶,不過菲律賓種是無尾的.一隻 Menelaidus mennon lowii等如香港的美鳳蝶,不過有尾和三隻Menelaidus helenus palawaneus一同吸水.還有一些Palawan獨有的環蛺蝶,穆蛺蝶.下午三點半左右,天上有黑雲,係時候回去.晚上去了一間中國飯店,味道還不錯,又食到好飽才上床.

            五月八日

            今天去Salacot山,先去Napsan村,因為以前在此見過Tregonoptera trojana.今次的目標.可惜空手而回.在上山途中的確遇上,雌雄都有,亦是今次旅途惟一看到的地方.有隻雌蝶在產卵,不過寄主幾十尺高,影都影唔倒. 整天都見lowii.我們放的餌引倒一隻Papilio demolion delostrus. Abisara geza litaricus,好似香港的蛇目蚱褐蜆蝶多了個白斑.Loxura cassiopera yilnia鹿灰蝶.

            五月九日

            再去Iwahig.無令我們失望.一隻好新鮮的Erites argentina ochreana 等待我們.另外一隻翅面橙色的眉眼蝶,可惜只能在飛時才看到.一隻巨型鳳眼蝶Neorina lowii princesa,似乎都很常見.

            五月十日

            送了兩位記者去機場我們才出發.今天想唔倒去邊,再去Irawan碰運氣.見到此行惟一的嬈灰蝶Arthopala abseus.銼灰蝶產卵,不過分唔出是那種.其它都是先幾日見的.不過在酒店門見一隻巨型Amathusia phidippus,雖然爛了,仍然好吸引.

            五月十一日

            今天去Sabang,那裡有著名的景點,地下河.我們嘗試去能達到地下河的山徑.去到一看,原來是又上又落的木梯.我們太累,加上木梯難行,結果去了附近一個村Kayasan.雇了一個村民帶路.因為早前下過大雨,十分難行.沿途很多律蛺蝶Lexias pardalis.還有雪白絲蛺蝶Cyrestis nivea, Bassarona dunya monana, 和Neorina lowii, Symbrenthia hyselis.到無路可行惟有回頭

            五月十二日

            颱風直掃菲律賓,我一早就搭第一班機回馬尼拉,好在赶下一班回港之飛機而提早結束今次旅程.

(English Version)

We were accompanied by Journalists from the Next Magazine in this trip. They wanted to do an assay for our Society. It was already posted on issue no.846.

Palawan is a long thin island at the South East side of the Philippine Islands. It is only 106 kilometers big and about 306 nautical miles from Manila. Actually it is closer to Borneo than to the Philippine Islands. The dry season is November to April. We had to take the flight to Manila on the 4th May because the flight to Palawan is early in the morning. We were received by Lydia, our friend in Manila, and went to dinner with James who had arrived earlier.
 

5th May
It took us only about one hour to get to Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan where we will be staying the rest of journey. We arrived early. After we checked in our hotel, we went straight to Irawan. We rented a 4WD van for transportation. It served our purpose perfectly on the first day cause we had to cross 13 streams. If we did not have the car, we would get our feet wet. It would be very uncomfortable to have wet feet all day round. We saw some butterflies on our way. A very fresh Flos apidanus palawanaus with beautiful red edge to the front of its wing was seen, it stayed only long enough for a few poor shots. A female Troides rhadamantus plateni, so fast that no one had time to take a good picture of it; a map wing quite different from the one we had in Hong Kong and a Surendra vivarna palowna. At the end of the last stream, there were a few big cashew nuts trees. The fruits were beginning to rot and emitting a strong smell. Butterflies were attracted by the smell. A very beautiful Iraota rochana ottonis, a large Bassarona teuta eson  and a Charaxes solon were seen. Along the stream, on the sand bank, there were sorties of others, many Prosotas and Neptis. Hypolimnas anomala, though extremely rare in Hong Kong, is very common here. A female Symbrenthia hippoclus dissoluta  with white markings instead of the yellow markings we had in Hong Kong. Parthenos sylvia is very common here, we saw them many times each day but they seldom stopped. The sky got dark quite early; there were very few butterflies after 4:00p.m., so we turned back. After a shower in the hotel, we had dinner in a fine restaurant. We had small crayfish, Marlin steak and stingray, all wonderfully cooked and we retired with a full stomach.

6th May
We went to Iwahig, in fact we went inside a prison. Thanks to Lydia who had arranged everything, we managed to get inside. The path was easy to walk and we saw many butterflies. The most abundant were two kinds of long tailed lycaenids, the larger Drupadia ravindra  and the smaller Drupadia rufotaenia. A short glimpse of their upper side betrayed their identities. We discovered the food plant of the D. rufotaenia with caterpillars associated with ants. A pair of Charaxes was seen. Several different types of Notocrypta and other skippers were difficult to differentiate. A Doleschallia bisaltide was laying eggs, but we could not find the eggs. Junonia iphita adelaida and Pantoporia hordonia doronia  were very common and could be seen all the time. The Pareronia valeria /  Pareronia nishiyamai were also very common, but they never stayed long enough for a good photo. A few other pierids, nymphs and lycaenids were seen. As usual, we went back to our hotel early because the sun was setting fast.

7th May
We decided to go to Irawan again because we arrived late the first day. Once we reached the last stream, we saw a gathering of Eurema spp. Another surprise was a Libythea geoffroy philippina. The underside was unremarkable, but the upper side was light purplish sheen, which glitter in the sun. Then came the biggest surprise, a Taenaris horsfieldii plateni  which I had never seen before. It went straight into the bush and we had to climb in to get a good photo. It was worth all the effort though we had a few scratches here and there. A Curetis tagalica palawaninca was hidden well inside the bush. A huge skipper, the Gangara thyrsis thyrsis, was dashing around. This is the largest skipper I ever see. A Hypolycaena ithna that kept me waiting for an hour to see whether it would open its wings, the paid back was a burnt nape that hurts for the rest of the journey. A Chersonesia rahria rahira, both Lamproptera meges pessimus and L. curius curius  were seen. An endemic skipper was seen; but sadly I got only the underside photo. The tailless equivalent of our polytes were quite common. A Menelaides memnon lowii, the equivalent of our memnon, was seen drinking water with three Menelaides helenus palawanicus. Other Neptis and Moduza were seen, they were mostly endemic to Palawan. There was a black cloud overhead at 3:30p.m. and we decided to call the day off. We tried a Chinese restaurant tonight. The dishes were not too bad and the price was cheap. We went to bed again with a full stomach.

8th May
We decided to go to Mt. Salakot. Before we started uphill, we went to Napsan Beach to bet our luck because Lydia had very good photos of the Trogonoptera trojana here. We found nothing except a huge snake coiling on a branch over our head. This was the only place that we saw the Trogonoptera trojana in this trip. Both male and female were seen, but not long enough for any photos. We found a female laying eggs both high up on the tree canopy and inside the undergrowth. But the undergrowth was too thick to go inside, so we gave up. We saw the Menelaides memnon lowii again many times hovering over our heads. Our bite attracted only one Papilio demolion delostenus. An Abisara geza litavicus was seen. It looked like ours except for a white marking on its forewing. A very fresh and beautiful Loxura cassiopeia yilma  ended today’s trip.

9th May
We went to Iwahig again. This time we got a beautiful Erites argentina ochreana, fresh and in very good shape. A Mycalesis with bright orange upper wings though the underside was unremarkable, but we did not have a chance to photo the upper side. A huge Neorina lowii princesa  was seen; actually they seemed to be quite common.

10th May
After dropping the journalists at the airport, we could not decide where to go. So we went to Irawan again to bet our luck. An Arhopala abseus was the only Arhopala we seen during this trip. An Allotinus was seen laying egg. A Halpe was an endemic species of Palawan. Others were things we meet the days before. The weather was turning bad and we had to go back early. But we got a huge Amathusia phidippus at the entrance of our hotel. Though badly torn, it was still a magnificent sight.

11th May
We went to Sabang where the famous underground river was the main attraction. We did not go to the river but we went to the forest trail leading to it. When we arrived, we discovered that it was a whole series of wooden staircases, up and down and up and down again. We were too tired for this, so we chose to go a mountain trail in a village call Kayasan. A local villager leaded us. Since it was raining the night before, the path was both muddy and filled with pools. Lexias pardalis, a lot of them, were seen. Other butterflies seen were Achillides karna irauana, Bassarona dunya monara, Cyrestis nivea, Neorina lowii and a Symbrenthia hypselis. We had to go back after a while because the path was impassible.

12th May
The typhoon was sweeping across Philippine, so I left in the earliest flight to Manila. I managed to catch the first flight from Manila to Hong Kong.
 

PHOTO ALBUMS :-

5th May Irawan

Athyma godmani godmani ♂	Neptis sunica ♂	Ypthima stella galeria
Cyrestis maenalis  obscurior ♂	Pantoporia hordonia doronia ♂	Flos apidanus palawanaus
Symbrenthia hippoclus dissoluta ♀	Bassarona teuta eson ♀	Charaxes solon orchomenus
Neptis mindorana harpasa	Surendra vivarna palowna	Iraota rochana ottonis ♂
Neptis mindorana harpasa ♀	Athyma godmani godmani ♀	Iraota rochana ottonis ♂
Moduza procris pausanias	Hypolimnas anomala anomala ♂	Paduca fasciata palloris

6th May Iwahig

Mycalesis perseus acarya	Charaxes harmonodius harpagon ♂	Lethe europa alaca
Notocrypta clavata clavata	Charaxes bupalus ♂	Mycalesis mineus philippina
Pareronia nishiyamai ♂	Lebadea martha palina	Leptosia nina terentia
Koruthaialos sindu sindu	Drupadia rufotaenia torquata ♀	Doleschallia bisaltida philippensis
Symbrenthia hippoclus dissoluta ♀	Jamides pura eordaea	Cepora aspasia olgina ♀
Neptis duryodana emesa	Paduca fasciata palloris	Cirrochroa tyche laudabilis ♂

7th May Irawan

Orsotriaena medus medus	Libythea geoffroy philippina	Eurema hecabe tamiathis ♀
Cyrestis maenalis  obscurior ♂	Taenaris horsfieldii plateni ♂	Pantoporia hordonia doronia ♀
Curetis tagalica palawaninca ♂	Hypolimnas anomala anomala ♂	Oriens gola pseudolus
Chersonesia rahria rahira	Athyma venata	Ypthima sempera aquillius
Gangara thyrsis thyrsis	Symbrenthia hippoclus dissoluta ♂	Menelaides polytes ledebouria ♂
Catopsilla pomona pomona ♂	Charaxes solon orchomenus	Hypolycaena ithna

8th May Mt. Salakot

Ypthima sempera aquillius	Abisara geza litavicus ♀	Lethe chandica ratnapandi

9th May Iwahig

Basahan, Iwahig	Eurema spp.

Troides rhadamantus plateni ♂	Menelaides memnon lowii ♂	Orsotriaena medus medus
Erites argentina ochreana	Salanoemia similis	Salanoemia similis
Mycalesis tagala palawana	Neorina lowii princesa	Lebadea martha palina

10th May Irawan

Euploea tulliolus palawana ♂	Eurema alitha jalendra	Notocrypta feisthamelii alinkara
Tanaecia aruna palawana ♀	Tagiades japetus titus	Halpe palawea ?
Anosia melanippus abigar ♂	Pantoporia paraka olanguana	Menelaides polytes ledebouria ♀
Menelaides polytes ledebouria	Euthalia djata ludonia ♀	Arhopala abseus abseus
Euthalia aconthea palawana ♀	Junonia iphita adelaida	Allotinus spp.?

11th May Kayasan

Lexias pardalis tethys ♀	Euthalia tanagra ♀

Amathusia phidippus pollicaris	Cupha erymanthis erymanthis	Cyrestis nivea superbus ♂
Symbrenthia hypselis niphandina	Neorina lowii princesa	Bassarona dunya monara

  Prepared by J J Young

This page was created on 2nd June 2006.