I came across this very attractive bumblebee feeding on Fuchsia flowers in the gardens of the King chedi on Doi Inthanon, northern Thailand. It really is a lovely bumblebee; the beautiful, dark brownish black body is offset by hairy golden legs and honey-coloured wings. The scientific name for this bumblebee is ‘Bombus (Melanobombus) eximius formerly in subgenus Rufipedibombus‘! Known…
The bar-throated minla or chestnut-tailed minla (Minla strigula), is a locally common species found in highland areas from northern India to Vietnam (1). It is commonly found on Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand, where I took these photographs. The encounter inspired me to do a painting, using the photos of the birds against…
Any regular readers of this blog – if there are any – may recognise this scene, which is based on a photograph used in one of my previous blogs (Natural Places: Ang Ka Nature Trail – Doi Inthanon). I have heard artists refer to photographs as being ‘reference materials’ (!) – but I make no…
This rhododendron is known as the ‘the thousand year old rose’ in Thailand, and for all I know they really do grow for a millennium. The Latin name is Rhododendron arboreum subsp. delavayi and the plant produces lovely red flowers during the winter (January and February). R. arboreum subsp. delavayi is not unique to Thailand but is also found…
This beautiful plant is a Thailand endemic (only found there) which occurs towards the top of mountains, such as Doi Inthanon and Doi Chiang Dao, in northern Thailand. The plant was first described in western scientific literature by a German botanist called Dr. Carl Curt Hosseus, who led an expedition to northern Siam, as Thailand was…
It was rather cold and misty when I visited Doi Inthanon – the highest mountain in Thailand – in early November (08/11/2013). The mists were swirling around the mountain near the top on the Kew Mae Pan Nature Trail, where these photographs were taken. The mist (clouds!) were moving about and the scene changed from…
The Ang Ka Nature Study trail is a ca. 360 mm wooden boardwalk near the top of Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand (2,565m), which was reportedly designed by a Canadian biologist. It is very popular with bird watchers as well as other visitors wanting to experience a walk through the moist evergreen forest…
Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand with the summit being 2,565 meters above the sea level. It is a beautiful natural park in northern Thailand (Chiang Mai province) with many fine water falls and a mixture of Moist Evergreen Forest, Pine forest and Mixed Deciduous Forest. It is a good place to look…
