Female Golden Birdwing (troides amphrysus) at rest. Kipandi Butterfly Park.

Female Golden Birdwing (troides amphrysus) hanging out in the shade of a leafy branch. I saw a few of them doing this, forelegs and middle legs hooked on the branch, proboscis wrapped around it. Perhaps resting after their morning feed of nectar. They like the lantanas.

These large butterflies have a wingspan of up to 15 centimetres, and are usually the last butterflies to retire before dusk. They have a set of distinctive hindwings. The female has much more of the markings near the edge of the wings. The male has very little of the markings on the hindwings. Both male and female are yellow on the underside of the abdomen.

A nepenthes at Kipandi Butterfly Park. This one hasn't had its first meal of insect.

A young pitcher, probably a lower pitcher rafflesiana species which is characteristically round and squat, with distinct hairy ‘winged’ fringe. The peristome and lid are not yet formed. This one hasn’t had its first meal of insect! Photographed in the garden next to the office / canteen at Kipandi Butterfly Park.

Nepenthes platychila at Kipandi Butterfly Park.

Nepenthes are seldom given common names. The species platychila is endemic to the Hose Mountains of central Sarawak. This one was photographed in a conservation nursery at Kipandi Butterfly Park. {Name taken from ID tag on the plant.}

Generally, nepenthes is a genus of passive carnivorous tropical pitcher plant. The pitcher is a bizarrely modified part of a leaf. There are no movable parts. Insects are attracted by sweet-tasting nectar on the peristomes. Once inside, they are unable to climb the slippery wall of the pitcher. The insect drowns and its body is digested by juices secreted into the water held in the pitcher.

There are 82 known species of nepenthes worldwide. They can be found in the moist tropics. The Island of Borneo is the centre of the nepenthes diversity with more than 30 species.

raffles' pitcher plant {nepenthes rafflesiana} at Kipandi Butterfly Park.

Old Nepenthes Rafflesiana at Kipandi Butterfly Park. {Name taken from ID tag on the plant.}

The N. Rafflesiana is a widespread lowland species common in Borneo but has a restricted distribution in Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. It likes open, sandy wet areas. It can be found at sea level and also at elevations up to 1,500 metres. It produces two distinct types of pitchers (modified leaves). The lower pitchers are generally round and squat, with ‘winged’ fringes. The upper pitchers are narrow at their base.

The species is extremely variable in form and colours. In Borneo alone, there are three varieties; upper pitchers, lower pitchers and the giant pitchers. This specimen above, a lower pitcher, is drying up, but the distinctive ‘winged’ fringe and elongated neck of the peristome is clearly seen. It is a scrambling vine with stems that can climb to 15 metres high. Unlike the Venus flytrap, all nepenthes do no have movable parts and are passive carnivores.

Wikipedia: Nepenthes rafflesiana
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepenthes_rafflesiana

Dendrobium rosellum, the pink spotted dendrobium, at Kipandi Butterfly Park.

An orchid with very small flowers of about 1cm (0.4 inch). It is found in Sabah, Borneo, Penninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, at elevations of 800 metres to 1,100 metres. It is an epiphyte with branched stems carrying many leaves. The inflorescence grow from the leafless sections of the stem and bears a flower each.

Dendrobium rosellum - The pink spotted dendrobium at Kipandi Butterfly Park.

An orchid with very small flowers of about 1cm (0.4 inch). It is found in Sabah, Borneo, Penninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, at elevations of 800 metres to 1,100 metres. It is an epiphyte with branched stems carrying many leaves. The inflorescence grow from the leafless sections of the stem and bears a flower each.

Trogonoptera brookiana (Rajah Brooke's Birdwing) at Kipandi Butterfly Park.

Dedicated to Rajah Sir James Brooke (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), the first white rajah of Sarawak.

Rajah Brooke's Birdwing {trogonoptera brookiana}

Filed under: butterflies and insects Tagged: Borneo, butterflies, Kipandi Butterfly Park, Rajah Brooke's Birdwing, Sabah, Trogonoptera brookiana ]]> http://sabahnature.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/trogonoptera-brookiana-rajah-brookes-birdwing/feed/ 1 sabahnature Trogonoptera brookiana (Rajah Brooke's Birdwing) Rajah Brooke's Birdwing {trogonoptera brookiana} http://sabahnature.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/nothing-is-better-than-original-h2o/ http://sabahnature.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/nothing-is-better-than-original-h2o/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 05:24:12 +0000 1davidstella http://sabahnature.wordpress.com/?p=672 ]]>

Orang utan sits in heavy rain and sips rain water in her hand. Lok Kawi wildlife Park.

Orang utan – “.. the nicest people of Borneo..”  

~Lightbox~ My orang utan set.

Mosquitoes hang out on a thread of spider silk strung between potted houseplants.

~Lightbox~   My set for butterflies and other insects.

Mosquitoes hanging out in the garden, from a single thread of spider silk strung between pots of houseplants.

This was a squadron of about 30 mosquitoes (I don’t think they were Crane flies). The body is about 1 cm, the legs about 3 cm. They wear distintive white ‘socks’ {how fashionable!} and are green just behind the thorax {they had happy hour on my plants?}.

I read that the male mosquitoes are ‘vegetarian’, feeding on plant sap and juices. Some of the female ones feed on blood, for the protein, before they breed. Male or female, I brought down this squadron after photographing them.. with a single spray of aerosal insecticide. {yep.. the top guns all crashed.}

Bulbophyllum gracillimum (The Graceful Bulbophyllum or The Wispy Umbrella Orchid) at Kipandi Butterfly Park.

~Lightbox~ My wild orchids set .

The bulbophyllum gracillimum is a small sized epiphyte that likes cool to hot growing conditions. It is found in Thailand, Myanmar, Peninsula Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Moluccas, New Guinea, Sulawesi, Solomon islands, Australia, Fiji and New Caledonia. It grows on the trunks of trees in rainforests at elevations of up to 150 metres.

The small flowers with purple eyes and long tails are 2.5cm to 3cm across, and grow at the apex of the inflorescence. A unique and fragrant orchid. The Internet Orchid Species Photo Encyclopedia has more info here.