It was a relief to get out in the wild yesterday after a week of tiring exams. Strolling and exploring for at least 4 hours through the dense forest then near the seaside, smelling the salty sea breeze and hearing the calming waves as they lapped against the shore was total bliss.
Labrador Nature Reserve (still not very sure why its named after a dog) was where I went to, and overjoyed I was at the number of spiders and butterflies we spotted. If you’re scared of spiders, I don’t suggest you go to this nature reserve- every inch of the forest is filled with spider webs and gigantic spiders, mainly orb weavers spinning their webs or munching on a freshly caught snack. But don’t worry- there are butterflies to give you a dose of reassurance. Yesterday was butterfly galore and it was so fun chasing them around!
A Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina) also known as the Blue moon butterfly (quite appropriately) was the first butterfly to make its appearance, wings open so we could see the stunning white circles with luminous blue outline on its wings.
I was incredibly lucky to see a Malayan Plum Judy (Abisara saturata kausambioides), a rare butterfly usually found singly in the shadier parts of the forest. This isn’t a very good picture-it kept going deeper in the forest before I could get a decent picture.
Here’s how it looks close up and a much better picture that does justice to its beauty:
Photo credits: Sunny Chir
Some commoners that were hovering around included the Chocolate Pansy (Junonia hedonia ida), Short-banded Sailor ( Phaedyma columella singa) and the Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra)
Chocolate Pansy
Short-banded Sailor
Common Palmfly
Butterflies remain one of my most favorite insects, they give me a fluttering feeling of happiness, joy and freedom whenever I look at them. There are numerous butterfly quotes as well that I love, so here’s one that I thought I’d share it in this post (especially for the lovely people who read my post till the very end):
“Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder”- Jessika Nicole
Have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
My Nature Experiences 
Glad you corrected some of the errors that I pointed out. But two errors still remain. The Malayan Plum Judy’s species name is ‘saturata’ and not ‘saturate’. The scientific name of the Short Banded Sailor is Phaedyma columella singa. 🙂
Thanks for the corrections 🙂 Sorry for the mistakes- I’ve changed them now.
Missed another one – our local Chocolate Pansy is Junonia hedonia ida. The species found up north in Malaysia and beyond, Junonia iphita horsfieldi is called the Chocolate Soldier.
Beautiful sightings! Soooo jealous of the Spotted Judy.
Thanks! It’s actually a Malayan Plum Judy- I got mixed up with the species.