Un-id Lycaenid, Sarawak

[MinuteMaid]

Can anyone help with this ID of this Lycaenid?

My brother is at Sarawak shooting carnivorous plants and stumbled upon this lycaenid. according to him, quite skittish and liked hiding under leaves so he couldn't get a parallel shot. He sent me a picture of the picture using his mobile phone, so it isn't quite clear.

would appreciate if anyone can ID this.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/IMG_0735.jpg

[Glorious Begum]

Wow... what is this ? I have not seen it before. Great find :redbounce

[MinuteMaid]

Wow... what is this ? I have not seen it before. Great find :redbounce

i too have not seen it, but unfortunately I do not have a book to reference from and can't seem to find anything online.

My brother is up in Sarawak now shooting carnivorous plants. I've asked him to shoot some butterflies too, whatever he may chance upon.

i'll upload the original picture here when he gets back. maybe it will be easier to ID then.

[Psyche]

Strange one.
The pattern does'nt match anything.
The head suggests it is not a butterfly.

TL Seow:cheers:

[MinuteMaid]

Strange one.
The pattern does'nt match anything.
The head suggests it is not a butterfly.

TL Seow:cheers:

thanks for the reply Dr Seow.

If it is a moth, it's a pretty one, like those orange day flying lycaenid looking types perhaps.

here's another pic that is back lit. it's quite blur. will have to wait for my brother to come back before we can have a better look.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/IMG_0734.jpg

[atronox]

It is a lycaenid, Hypochrysops coelisparsus.:)

The underside markings of this genus are so quirky, no moth would look like that.

This genus is mostly found in New Guinea and the Moluccas; this is the only species on Borneo.

[Psyche]

It is a lycaenid, Hypochrysops coelisparsus.:)

The underside markings of this genus are so quirky, no moth would look like that.

This genus is mostly found in New Guinea and the Moluccas; this is the only species on Borneo.

Well done Aaron.:thumbsup:

This one really stumped me.:hmmm:

TL Seow:cheers:

[Painted Jezebel]

I 'ditto' that. Great work, Aaron. MinuteMaid (sorry, I don't know your real name), please send congrats to your brother. I had been unable to find a live photo of this species on the net.

[Psyche]

Aaron, does the underside of the Bornean ssp. in the book have a postdiscal band on the forewing?

Fleming shows an underside (from Great Karimon Is.) in which the forewing does not have a postdiscal band.

This species is so rare that very few are seen on the mainland.

TL Seow:cheers:

[moloch]

Very interesting. We have many species of "Jewels" (Hypochrysops sp.) here in Australia but they seem to be difficult to locate. I have never yet seen any of these even though I am out often and travel a fair bit. Most of the Oz Jewels have bands on the lower wing that are similar to one included in this post.

Regards,

[MinuteMaid]

could they be local in distribution? or appear only in certain hours of the day etc?

my brother said he saw two of these, but were quite difficult to shoot as it was skittish and flew up into the trees after a few shots.

[Psyche]

could they be local in distribution? or appear only in certain hours of the day etc?

my brother said he saw two of these, but were quite difficult to shoot as it was skittish and flew up into the trees after a few shots.

I think your brother was lucky enough to chance on a courting couple that had descended from the canopy.

Many rare species are only unexpectedly encountered.
I remembered an instance long ago although it was not a rare species.
I was walking along the trail of a small stream valley, one side of which was steep & covered with bracken-like Resam fern (Dicranopteris linearis).
It was past 6pm. & getting dark when looking up I realised half a dozen small butterflies had appeared & takened stations on the ferns.
From there they rush out at great speed to dogfight before returning to their perches.
From their half-cocked open wing stances, I realised they were Riodinids, specifically Zemeros (Punchinello) species, with their pointed forewings.
I could not make out the colour to determine their IDs, and they were still active even as darkness sets in.

TL Seow:cheers:

[MinuteMaid]

I think your brother was lucky enough to chance on a courting couple that had descended from the canopy.

Many rare species are only unexpectedly encountered.
I remembered an instance long ago although it was not a rare species.
I was walking along the trail of a small stream valley, one side of which was steep & covered with bracken-like Resam fern (Dicranopteris linearis).
It was past 6pm. & getting dark when looking up I realised half a dozen small butterflies had appeared & takened stations on the ferns.
From there they rush out at great speed to dogfight before returning to their perches.
From their half-cocked open wing stances, I realised they were Riodinids, specifically Zemeros (Punchinello) species, with their pointed forewings.
I could not make out the colour to determine their IDs, and they were still active even as darkness sets in.

TL Seow:cheers:
interesting story!

i can only imagine that many lycaenids dwell on top of trees. finding the right time when they descend is not easy.

[MinuteMaid]

Here's a few pics of it. unfortunately none at good parallels as it was supposedly very uncooperative.

Dr. Seow, this was shot at Bako national park at the cliff vegetation habitat where nepenthes gracilis and rafflesiana run wild. I have been there before and Bako is quite interesting, with a combination of cliff, forest and swampy habitats. there are no tall trees and main vegetation at this part, and are mainly shrubs, nepenthes and tall grasses growing in clay soil.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/Screenshot2012-10-06atPM074547.png
http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/Screenshot2012-10-06atPM074603.png
http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/Screenshot2012-10-06atPM074611.png

[Angiud]

It's wonderful! I leave the final ID to the many experts.

:cheers:

[MinuteMaid]

It's wonderful! I leave the final ID to the many experts.

:cheers:

it is beautiful, and i wished i could have seen it in person!

i have no idea the exact ID, but have tentatively labelled it as per Aaron's initial ID.

here are two more species that my brother found at the same habitat. i believe it is the club silverline, although this appears to have more ferruginous coloration than black, as well as a dark posy feeding on smilax with a lycaenid caterpillar next to it. i do not know the local races or sub species there.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/Screenshot2012-10-06atPM080604.png

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/Screenshot2012-10-06atPM080552.png

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab169/rustysocute123/Screenshot2012-10-06atPM080713.png

[atronox]

Aaron, does the underside of the Bornean ssp. in the book have a postdiscal band on the forewing?

Fleming shows an underside (from Great Karimon Is.) in which the forewing does not have a postdiscal band.

TL Seow:cheers:
Yes, D' Abrera figures one that has a prominent post-discal band.

[atronox]

Silverline could be Spindasis vixinga

[atronox]

Sry, it is not vixinga, just the local ssp of syama

[Psyche]

i have no idea the exact ID, but have tentatively labelled it as per Aaron's initial ID.


Aaron is right. It is Hypochrysops coelisparsus kerri, the only Hypochrysops in Sundaland.

TL Seow:cheers:

[MinuteMaid]

Aaron is right. It is Hypochrysops coelisparsus kerri, the only Hypochrysops in Sundaland.

TL Seow:cheers:

thanks!

no pictures on internet for me to refer, except that wikipedia image of the set specimen.

[Painted Jezebel]

I think your brother was lucky enough to chance on a courting couple that had descended from the canopy.

TL Seow:cheers:

This is a possibility. It may be just the angle the photos were taken at, but the top photo appears to have the forewing apical area more rounded than the other two. I must admit that apart from that, I can see no differences between the undersides of all 3 photos.

[Psyche]

Lemon mentioned her brother saw two of them.

In Post 14, pic 1 & 2 represent two different individuals.
They both shows the underside of the right wings.
On the forewing, the shape of the apical silver spot & the cellend bar are different.

Pic 3 is male(wingshape), & based on the pointed lower end of the cellend bar of the forewing & the hindwing shape, is the left side of pic 2.

Pic 1 is that of a female, the hindwing is not so elongate; forewing is also noticeably rounded.

Lemon, there is no image of this species on the web except yours.

TL Seow:cheers:

[MinuteMaid]

thanks everyone for the info on this sp!

yes my brother saw 2 individuals in the same proximity. but fleetingly each time, and only just enough for a couple of bad angled pictures