Great Orange Tip (Hebomoia glaucippe, 鶴頂粉蝶) is the largest Pieridae in Hong Kong. It has a strong and swift flight, always flies high above the ground and rarely stops. Its distinctive feature is the large orange patches on the forewings. I spotted this Great Orange Tip in the Hong Kong Park on 28 April and took a few shots of it.
This Purple and Gold Flitter (Zographetus satwa, 黃裳腫脈弄蝶) was spotted in the Hong Kong Park on 20 April.
It is assessed as a rare species in Hong Kong according to the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department. They occur from July to October.
The Parathyma sulpitia, commonly known as the Five-dot Sergeant Butterfly (殘鍔線蛺蝶), is of the Nymphalidae Family.
This Five-dot Sergeant was spotted in the Hong Kong Park on 11 April this year.
They are Widely distributed in woodland area throughout Hong Kong from February to December.
This beautiful Shan Nawab (Polyura nepenthes, 忘憂尾蛺蝶) was spotted in the Hong Kong Park last Thursday (22 April). It was found sipping water from a crack on the ground. It was relatively large in size with white creamy colour and black margins on the forewings.
This uncommon species is a new record in Hong Kong and are distributed in Cloudy Hill, Shing Mun, Tai Po Kau, Lai Chi Wo, Pak Sha O and Lantau Island. They can usually found near streams and prefer rotten fruits, sap from trees and animal dungs.
This Common Archduke (Lexias pardalis, 小豹律蛺蝶) was spotted fluttering swiftly around the Rose Garden in the Shing Mun Valley Park this afternoon. I was lucky to have taken a few pictures of it when it was puddling on the grass before it flew away. This female Archduke’ dorsal wing surfaces are drab brown in color, with small yellowish white spots and its antennae tips are yellow orange.
This is said to be a rare butterfly species in Hong Kong which can sometimes be sighted on shaded trails such as Tai O, Shui Hau and Sha Lo Wan in Lantau Island.
Chinese daffodil (水仙花), also known as Chinese sacred lilies, narcissi, are one of the most auspicious flowers around that symbolize good luck and fortune according to Chinese culture. They have a well-formed flower with a tidy white perianth and a deep yellow cup. Five to ten flowers open on each stem. They have a subtle honey fragrance when blossoming at New Years’ time. They are a traditional part of the celebration of the Chinese New Year.
If you happen to be in the Hong Kong Park this week, you probably can spot Red-base Jezebels fluttering around these Chinese daffodils that are potted in the water pond. Though this medium size species can be seen all year round in Hong Kong, Red-base Jezebel are more often seen in the winter.
The Papilio protenor (Papilio protenor, 藍鳳蝶) is commonly known as the Spangle, a swallowtail butterfly of the Papilionidae Family.
The male Spangle is a velvety indigo-blue black, duller on the fore wing than on the hind wing. The female is similar in color, however slightly lighter in shade with no indigo on the fore wing. These large size butterflies are very common in Hong Kong and can be seen all year round. They are similar to male Great Mormon, but Spangle has more elongated hindwings.
This Spangle was spotted in the Hong Kong Park today.
It was said that honey bees are disappearing not only in Hong Kong, but also around the globe, at an alarming rate, for overuse of pesticides, diseases and habitat losses. May be it is true as I walked up the Hong Kong Park this morning, I could only found one or two bees buzzing around the flowers. We should do more to protect our environment before it is too late. Here are a few pictures I took this morning in the Hong Kong Park.
Indian Fritillary (Argyreus hyperbius, 斐豹蛺蝶) is a common butterfly in the nymphalid family. It has an orange body and distinctively marked orange wings with black spots (hyomonmeans “panther pattern”). The white and black patterns on the underside are subtle and beautiful and the aerodynamic shape of the wings is quite special. This Indian Fritillary was spotted in the Wetland Park, Hong Kong on 29 June 2019.
Pale Grass Blue (Pseudozizeeria mah, 酢漿灰蝶) is one of the most common butterflies in the Hong Kong parks. It is a small butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. It usually stays close to the ground. Its larval food plant, Lavender Sorrel (Oxalis debilis. 紅花酢漿草), is also a common herb in Hong Kong. This Pale Grass Blue was spotted yesterday morning in the Hong Kong Park.
White Dragontail (Lamproptera curius 燕鳳蝶) is the smallest swallowtail in the whole Papilionidae family. The wings are black with white median band coupled with a large transparent area towards the margin of the forewings. It has a very long tail on each of its hindwing, which give the butterfly its highly distinctive appearance.
It flies swiftly and restlessly like a tiny dragonfly in flight surrounding its host plants.
It was the first time I came across such a gorgeous creature a few weeks ago when I visited the Fung Yuen, which is a forested ravine behind the village of Fung Yuen Tai Po. Fung Yuen (鳳園) was listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1980, as an important breeding site for some butterflies of conservation value.
The Common Sergeant Butterfly (Athyma perius 玄洙帶蛺蝶) is a medium-sized insect in the Nymphalidae family.
The male Common Sergeant Butterfly has black wings with white markings. The undersides of its wings are yellow with white markings edged with black.
This Common Sergeant was spotted in the Hong Kong Park on 2 June 2019.
The lemon pansy (Junonia lemonias 蛇眼蛺蝶) is a common nymphalid butterfly found in Hong Kong.
It is brown with numerous eyespots as well as black and lemon-yellow spots and lines on the upperside of the wings. The underside is a dull brown, with a number of wavy lines and spots in varying shades of brown and black. There is also an eyespot on the lower side of the forewing.
This Lemon Pansy was spotted in the Hong Kong Park on 2 June 2019.
The Common Jay (Graphium doson 木蘭青鳳蝶 ) is medium in size. It can be seen in spring, summer and autumn and is common and widely distributed in Hong Kong. The wings are black with a broad bluish-green macular band, making it comparatively easy to be observed.
Markings on its wings, which look similar to Common Bluebottle, are however more numerous and fragmented.
This Common Jay was encountered yesterday morning in the Hong Kong Park.
The Gram Blue (Euchrysops cnejus 棕灰蝶又名白尾小灰蝶、白尾灰蝶、雞豆蝶) is a small butterfly that belongs to the Blues family.
On the upperside, the male is pale purple and with tornal spots in the hindwing crowned in orange. The female has a brown border on both wings and is pale shining blue in the basal area, and its hindwing has spots. On the underside, both sexes are pale buff with a series of spots, all pale brown and white-bordered. In the hindwing, there are three black basal spots, one black costal spot, two orange-crowned tornal spots.
In these few days we can find Gram Blues in groups of 3 to 4 numbers fluttering on flowering plants in the Hong Kong Park. This beautiful Gram Blue was spotted yesterday inside the park.
