Wherever possible, I am trying to provide photographs of live specimens, and also give further information which may be useful to the visitor. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS REMAIN THE COPYRIGHT © OF LES DAY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. If anyone has any missing information and/or photographs, please let me know. All contributions will be duly recognised on the site. At this point, I must thank both John Moore and the members of The Butterfly Circle of Singapore for their kind permission to use some of their photos from their own web sites (see links)

There has been little work done on the butterflies of the Island. This is a shame because it's position, near the meeting point of two large separate faunal areas is interesting. The Island lies near the Isthmus of Kra, where, 20,000 years ago, there used to be a sea connection between the Indian Ocean in the West, to the Gulf of Thailand in the East. The butterflies north of this divide were of Indo/Chinese origin, whilst those to the south belonged to the huge area known as Sundaland, which today comprises of Peninsular Thailand (below 11°North), Malaysia, Borneo, Indonesia, east to Bali, and the Philippine island of Palawan. Since the sea gap was closed, there has been the opportunity for the two species groups to mix.

I would divide the butterfly habitats for the Island into four separate areas. Please note that this applies solely to Koh Samui:

1. Flowering Gardens.

2. Grassland scrub.

3. Secondary lowland woodland

4. Hillside Forests.

Different species prefer each area, though the most will be found in the hillside forests and close to forest streams.

A short note about Koh Samui

The Island is to be found off the East coast of Peninsular Thailand at about 9°N. It is approximately 21x25KM in size and is a major tourist destination. However, the tourist hotspots are mainly located in one area on the East coast of the Island, where the best beaches are (from Chaweng to Lamai). The rest of the Island, whilst being developed to a certain degree, close to the shore, remains relatively quiet, and the inland hills remain undeveloped.

The weather is remarkably constant throughout the year, between 28° and 35°C. The hottest months are March and April. The rainy season is usually from late October to December, though storms can be expected at anytime throughout the year. Sea temperatures remain at a constant 28°C.

The Thais are a wonderfully welcoming people, and Thailand is correctly known as the Land of Smiles.

PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTRIBUTORS - With my eternal gratitude

John Moore - The Butterflies of Chiang Mai

The Butterfly Circle (www.butterflycircle.com/home/index.php ):(in no particular order) Khew SK, Frederick Ho, Sunny Chir, Anthony Wong, Soon Chye, Simon Sng, Ben Jin Tan, L C Goh, Horace Tan, Sum Chee Ming.