Guinea [5]

Atlasville, 21 Feb 2010

I am back in South Africa after a fifth work trip to Guinea. If you have been wondering what that work entails here is a shot of one of the drill rigs in action and two of the general scenery taken from that drill site.

If I thought the butterflies on the previous trip had been spectacular, I wasn’t prepared for the new species on the wing this trip.

First though, some of the other species I managed to photograph, birds, reptiles and other insects.

Birds are still problematic as most choose not to sit out in the open, so I was limited to Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Naked-faced Barbet (Gymnobucco calvus), Grey-headed Kingfisher (Halcyon leucocephala), Speckled Tinkerbird (Pogoniulus scolopaceus), West African Pied Hornbill (Lophoceros semifasciatus), Standard-winged Nightjar (Caprimulgus longipennis), Common Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus) and Bronze Mannikin (Spermestes cucullata).

Reptiles and ‘other insects’ included Peter’s Rock Agama (Agama picticauda), Variegated Grasshopper (Zonocerus variegatus), Dysdercus sp. red fruit bugs, Yellow Emperor (Nudaurelia dione), Rose Hawk Sphinx (Rufoclanis rosea) and Pallid Grey (Ascotis reciprocaria) moths, and Broad Scarlet (Crocothemis erythraea) and Portia Widow (Palpopleura portia) dragonflies.

As for the butterflies, there are sailers, pansies, gliders, foresters, commodores and many others.

some Lycaenidae and Hesperidae

Nymphalidae

Nymphalidae