Friday, October 08, 2010

Story Of Butterflies In Langkawi Malaysia



Herona marathus angustata



Take a stroll anywhere in Langkawi, chances are that you
might be lucky enough to come across a butterfly.
It can be seen in any location, be it along a forest trail,
by a stream at the foot of a hill or circling around a typical
kampong garden. As a young child growing up in the
Cameron Highlands, I had the pleasure and opportunity
 to observe butterflies in their own environment,
truly the darlings of the insect world. I watched them in awe,
blinded by the magic of the meek and at the same time
powerful butterflies, in various stages of their lives.
I then realized that I have inherited a legacy that I feel was
a responsibility for me to carry and safeguard, rather than
a mere passing of knowledge that I believed some of us
might undervalue



Now as an adult, I have made it my personal crusade to educate
our society on the significance and importance of these graceful
creatures. I am doing my very best to study and gather information
on them, however small that the details might be. I am sad to say
that with only a handful of us and the lack of time, we are
racing neck to neck against deforestation, made in the name of
development. Butterflies thrive in the cradle of Mother Nature
but mankind has been very much instrumental in, how shall I put it,
 ensuring that it is “survival of the fittest”, as the saying goes...

We should be educated and enlightened on what the impact
that this full scale assault on nature could bring. The message
that I am stressing on also goes out to all aspects of nature
in general. I am glad to say that there are still some people
out there who are dedicating their whole life for a worthy
cause, to ensure that the preservation of different parts
of nature goes on, to counter the effects of deforestation.
We hope to be able to gain more friends in the future,
who will see that the beauty of nature is actually
a God-given gift to all of earth’s residents, regardless
of species. The age-old question of whether humans can
live side by side with nature can actually be answered,
if only we can keep within our hearts some
space for the environment.
All the knowledge that I have gained will be essential in ensuring
that the future generation might have a more solid foundation to
latch on to, when it comes to the appreciation and understanding
of this species. I will be very happy, if I am able to leave
a small mark in this world and remembered by others who share
the same dreams and passion as me.This thought is also dedicated to those who will come to love butterflies.
As a very old saying goes, ”we did not inherit the earth from our
ancestors but we only borrowed it from our children”.
We must ensure that the future generation might have the
same opportunity to enjoy butterflies and nature,
just as their forefathers did. I might not know much
of anything else but at least I have found a few
good reasons to make my precious life a bit more
colourful, like the wings of the fragile but
rainbow-hued butterfly, flying in a scene of serenity, waiting to be discovered by you and me.





Let us all spread our wings and fly without any reason or doubt,
for then we might be able to know and feel what it is like
to be in that similar dream-like existence.

From a child of nature…
Selvam Raman










Friday, March 03, 2006

Butterflies of Langkawi - written and researched by Dr. Katsutoshi Kato and Selvam Raman


We took quite some time to compile this book, a decade to be exact. The book contains more than 300 good-quality coloured photos and general information with regards to Langkawi’s butterflies. Most of the information is based on butterflies that could be found around Langkawi. An added point is the fact that the book is bilingual, using both the English and Japanese languages.

We have plans to continue our research for the next 5 years, with more efforts being concentrated on the island, since no one else has yet to pioneer the project. We might have a lot more unrecorded butterflies waiting to be discovered on the island and maybe we might find new species that will put this island on the tourism and scientific map.

You may purchase this book at US$ 109.99 (excluding delivery charges, which will be subjected to the country of delivery and calculated into the final receipt). All payments will be transacted to the company’s bank account. Books sold are not refundable!

P.S. If you are interested in buying this book or should you like to get more details pertaining to this matter, please do not hesitate to drop me a line, anytime at your discretion at langkawibutterflies@gmail.com I assure you that I will get back to your e-mail as soon as possible.

Langkawi's Butterflies