Autumn market at Besançon

Autumn for me is always synonymous with bright fruits, strong aroma of the market place and lots and lots of pumpkin and late summer flowers on sale. Of course, it is also time to sniff out the freshly picked mushrooms and oysters if you live near the sea...
 It is interesting to see that up in the hills at Franche-Comte, there isn't that much of difference except maybe for the cheese, bit of bread (almost like German bread) and sausages...

A visit to FRIM

For the uninitiated, FRIM is the acronym of Forest Research Institute  Malaysia, situated in Kepong, Selangor. It is the oldest forest research institute in Malaysia and was created in 1925 with a concession of land from the Regent of Selangor.

Visit FRIM at this link: http://www.frim.gov.my/about-us/history-of-frim/

Well, I visited a friend in FRIM to discuss some entomolgical issues  and was lucky to be allowed to see the extensive butterfly collection housed in Block D:

Impressive tall trees and well grown forest make up the compound of FRIM and is a welcome change for KLites...

A great rarity: a female Meandrusa payeni or Kite Swallowtail (some call it Yellow Gorgon)

 The orange-tailed butterfly in the middle reminds me of my childhood chasing butterflies around my village: a now extremely rare Pintara pinwilli (a skipper or a flat because they always settle under leaves with wings outspread)

The butterfly with two white bands on the forewing is Lethe verna robinsonii, an endemic highland species in Malaysia named after the Robinson falls in the Cameron Highlands