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Trip Reports
Butterfly-watching Holidays
West Malaysia
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May 2009
a private small
group trip organised and led by
Adrian Hoskins
trip report by
Adrian Hoskins
From the massive Petronas twin towers of sophisticated Kuala
Lumpur to the wooden huts-on-stilts of the Orang Asli aboriginal
villages, Malaysia is a country of great contrast and amazing variety.
Much of it is dominated by an unrelenting panorama of oil palm,
rubber and tea plantations, yet here also is the vast primeval
rainforest of Taman Negara, which was unaffected by the Ice Ages,
and has remained virtually unchanged
for 130 million years. More tree species can be found in
a single hectare of the Taman Negara than in the entire United States.
It is one of the few lowland areas of Malaysia that has so far
escaped the ravages of logging.
In the dry season the days are sunny and sweltering, but by
late afternoon there are often torrential downpours, accompanied by incredibly
loud cracks of thunder that have you jumping out of your skin. In
the wet season the rains can continue for weeks at a time, and
river levels can rise by 20 feet.
At all times the forest is alive with sound - melodious birds,
chirping frogs, and the all pervading wail of huge cicadas. Wild
pigs
scuffle through the undergrowth, snakes and lizards slither from
the sides of the trails as you approach. Leeches attach themselves
to your arms and legs, gorging themselves on your blood. Mosquito
bites have you itching like crazy, and you constantly trip over
tree roots as you negotiate the steep slippery trails.
Finding butterflies can be difficult, but visiting Taman Negara is
all about challenge, and the rewards are great for those willing
to make the effort. Along the dark trails, elusive glittering blue
Caeruleans zip acrobatically through the undergrowth. Every now
and then you glimpse a huge black and golden-yellow Birdwing high
in the trees. Dazzling orange multi-tailed Lycaenids appear out of
nowhere only to disappear just as quickly. The sheer variety of
the butterflies is nothing short of incredible - you can expect to
see everything from tiny Grass Blues to the huge dazzling 8" Rajah
Brooke, and just about every shape, colour and pattern imaginable.
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Sungai Woh
river, Bukit Tapah |
On the first week of our tour we visited several sites at various
altitudes on the
western slopes of the hills in Perak. The second week was spent
entirely at Taman Negara. You could easily spend a lifetime in Malaysia and still
only scratch the surface, but we had just 2 weeks to sample the
fauna. We began by visiting Tapah. Cloudy conditions reduced
butterfly sightings on the first day but we were thrilled to see
the stunning orange and white multi-tailed Branded Imperial
Eooxylides tharis, the Great Orange
tip Hebomoia glaucippe, and the
magnificent Common Birdwing Troides helena
- a huge species with jet black forewings and vivid metallic
yellow hindwings. By the end of the day our species list had hit
the 50 mark, and rose by an additional 10-15 species per day as we
explored nearby Bukit Tapah on the following 2 days.
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Orang Asli
village, Bukit Tapah |
In the vicinity of the Orang Asli settlements we encountered
several groups of mud-puddling Eurema Grass
Yellows, amongst which were usually one or two Red-spot Sawtooths
Prioneris philonome and various other
Pierids. Swallowtails
also gathered to drink at damp patches of ground, and included several
Graphium species and the gorgeous Red
Helen Papilio helena. Other species
seen included the pretty orange Yamfly
Loxura atymnus, the intricately patterned Mapwing
Cyrestis maenalis, and the Autumn
Leaf Doleschallia bisaltide, which as
it's name suggests has an underside which bears a remarkable
resemblance to a fallen dead leaf.
Although butterflies were our primary interest there was much else
to see, including many brightly coloured dragonflies, beetles and bees. We also
found a huge metallic green jewel bug, several pink-winged stick
insects, and impressive reptiles which included large bright green
lizards and a heavily armoured 18" iguana.
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Sungai Woh river,
Bukit Tapah |
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