Gray Pansy Butterfly

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Gray Pansy
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Junonia
Species:	J. atlites
Binomial name
Junonia atlites (Linnaeus, 1763)
Synonyms
Papilio atlites Linnaeus, 1763 Papilio laomedia Linnaeus, 1767 Precis atlites acera Fruhstorfer, 1912

The Gray Pansy or Grey Pansy (Junonia atlites) is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia.

Upperside of both sexes pale lavender-brown, apical half of wings paler. Fore wing: cell with, three transverse, short, sinuous black bands, the outermost defining the discocellulars; a similar short, somewhat broader band beyond apex of cell; two transverse discal dusky black fasciae, the inner highly sinuous and outward, angulate above vein 4, the outer straighter, somewhat lunular, bordered by a series of whitish ovals with dusky or black centres. The black-centred spots in the ovals in interspaces 2, 5, and 6 margined posteriorly with rich ochraceous yellow. Beyond this series of ovals is a lunular, narrow, transverse dark band, followed by sinuous subterminal and terminal broad dark lines. Apex of wing slightly fuliginous. Hind wing: a short slender black loop from veins 6 to 4 at apex of cell-area ; two discal sinuous transverse dark, fasciae in continuation of those on the fore wing: followed by a series of dark-centred ovals in interspaces 2–6, the ovals in interspaces 2, 5, and 6 with the dark centres inwardly broadly bordered with ochreous yellow; postdiscal, subterminal and terminal dark lunular lines as on the fore wing.
Underside lilacine white markings as on the upperside but very delicate, slender and somewhat obsolescent. In the dry-season forms of the males the rows of oval ocelli are only indicated by the yellow-centred ovals. The most prominent marking is the inner discal fascia crossing the wings; this is much less sinuous than on the upperside and not angulated on the fore wing. In the females the markings are all heavier and more distinct, the space between the various transverse fasciae tinged with ochraceous.^[1]
Larvae feed on Asteracantha longifolia, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Barleria, Hygrophila lancea, and Hygrophila salicifolia.^[2]

Malay Lacewing

 Malay Lacewing (Cethosea hypsea palawana)

The Malay Lacewing (Cethosia hypsea) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is found in from Burma to Indonesia and the Philippines.
The wingspan is about 80 mm. Adults are bright orange-red above with broad black borders, warning predators of their toxicity. The underside is orange-red with white fasciae and is spotted with black. The wings are scalloped.
The larvae feed on Adenia species. They are wine red and have long spines. They are also poisonous.

Drag Tail Spider

                                                  Drag Tail Spider

(Arachnura melanura), also known as black tail spider and drag tail spider is a species of spider in the family Araneidae. It ranges from India to Japan to Sulawesi. It camouflages itself by mimicking dead leaves and twigs to lure its prey.


 Specimen origin: Pueblo de Panay Wild Reserve.

 The yellow colored spider of this species are quite normal or  common.

 My daughter and I discovered two more morphs of this species. An albino and a reddish brown with red bands on both sides of its body. We think they are special and rare morphs so we brought home some to introduce to our garden for further observations.

Atlas Moth (Attacus lorquini)

Atlas Moth  

Family : Attacus lorquini

    The world's largest moth in overall size. Distinctively shaped, its wings are richly patterned with various  shades of brown and transparent white. The sexes are similar but the male is smaller than the female.
     

      Mating Atlas Moth. The smaller one (foreground) is a male.

As soon as they get out of the cocoon, they have to mate immediately to fertilize the eggs. The next day the female lays a couple of dozens of eggs then dies after 3 to 5 days as it has no mouthpiece .

The underside

The upperside

The Eggs hatches after 8 days

 A day old caterpillar 

It feeds on various hostplants such as Sugar apple, Guyabano, Santol etc. This caterpillars feeds on a tree planted  along the roadside going up to the Pueblo de Panay Shrine.

An 11 days old caterpillar

 A fully matured caterpillar on its last instar. This photo was featured as the spotting of the last December 20, 2012 on Project noah - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/17073222

Introduction

  It's been more than a year now that I'm working as a sculptor on the Pueblo de Panay Shrine of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Dinginan, Roxas City.  Ever since, I've spent most of my time on the site from sunup to sundown everyday, seven days a week. The project site is a 20 - 25 minutes hike uphill on a steep rugged road.

   It's quit a tiring walk but at the end you'll be rewarded with a  breathtaking view of the city at the North and a lush green mountains at the south. From the east pivoting to the West is a nirvanah, where the sky meets the sea on the horizon - such is the idiom of Pueblo de Panay. 

               The heart of the City as viewed from the 10th storey of the Pueblo de Panay Shrine.                                                          

   I usually go to work as early as 6:00 o'clock in the morning to avoid the hot sunlight as I walk up to the job site. I pass through the Cagay-Sibaguan highway entrance of PdP since it is the nearest route.

   Along the way I can't help but notice these beautiful wild flowers and interesting animals around. Sometimes I would even bring my daughter with me whenever she don't have a class and we take  pictures of these beautiful creatures.

 Everyday is a different day and I've gathered a lot of different stories along the way as I walk. Everyday is a serendipity walk.

A Dog-faced water snake ( Vis.- Tangkig).Early in the morning

some of this snakes bask under the sun on rock boulders along

the side of the creek near the Cagay-Sibaguan entrance road of 

 Pueblo de Panay.

Sign of Life

   

    Poop of an Asian Civet Cat. Apology to those who are taking their meals. This picture is a solid proof that an Asian Civet Cat  ( Vis. - Singarong) inhabits the place. They have a habit of disposing their excreta in one and the same place and whenever they are far from this place and they feel the urge to do so they would plug their anal vent with a grass pellet until they reach their toilet. This Cat chooses the center of the road.The orange color indicates that its last meal is a wild papaya fruit.

            

      Looking back at our photo collections, it gives me a thought that many of us in our everyday
life see these things but fail to look at them. Sometimes we don't even care for them and worst we don't even know that we don't knew that they exist. My daughter and I want to share  these photographs so we can all see how beautiful they are up close and creates in us a sense of appreciation in a much deeper way that would evolve a philosophy of respect and protection for these wildlife and their habitat.

   How utterly astounding then is the way the whole Pueblo de Panay Community's landscape is carefully planned to provide every element its own slice of the pie. How great is the amount of energies, money and massive machines are employed to move and remove earth and rocks and yet isolate (which may not be logical to some wealthy people) a fragile piece of land  - the Wild Reserve.

The Pueblo de Panay Pine tree forest

   In my own opinion ( not imposing), one of the ultimate barometers of Pueblo de Panay's success or failure is its commitment and dedication to the unbiased implementation of its corporate philosophy through a true Godly Spirit of service to mankind and the environment alike.

Devine Mercy Retreat House

Barangay Sibaguan, Roxas City

Viewed from the 10th storey of the Pueblo de Panay Shrine

    A community has two major players: man and the ecosystem. Among these two, the ecosystems role is absolute and precise:  to provide for man's needs . Whatever resources it has and how much it can provide, these are for the service of mankind. Even if at the end of division, the greater benifits goes to mankind.