ROUTE 2: LOOKING FOR FLOWER FAIRIES
Cheerful-looking butterflies seem to praise nature with their merry dances around blooming flowers. Wu Kau Tang, north of Plover Cove Reservoir, is home to over a hundred species of butterflies, with its richly diverse habitats. Let's visit the dear flower fairies!
Just as you get off the minibus, you're greeted by the little butterflies! Common Five-ring (Ypthima baldus), Dark Brand Bush Brown (Mycalesis mineus) and Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias) are among the welcoming team. They all have conspicuous eye marks on their wings, to alarm their potential predators!
They frequently sip on nectar of Bidens alba by the roadside. This is the best time for close observations!
A few Taiwan Acacia (Acacia confuse) line the road. If you look carefully, you may find some mini butterflies flying around the canopies of the trees. They are Tailless Line Blues (Prosotas dubiosa), a newcomer to Hong Kong, first recorded in 2010. Their caterpillars feed on the leaves of Taiwan Acacia, which is abundant in Hong Kong, so they are spreading fast locally!
On the other side of the road, you can find some larger butterflies such as Great Mormon (Papilio Memnon) and Red Helen (Papilio helenus) attracted to Lantana (Lantana camara) and smaller butterflies such as Pale Grass Blue (Pseudozizeeria maha) and Common Hedge Blue (Acytolepis puspa) among Wedelia trilobata. With a little patience, you will be able to “capture” (the images of) a few butterflies in the wild!
By shallow pools along the stream, many butterflies such as Paris Peacock (Papilio paris), Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon) and Tailed Jay (Graphium Agamemnon) come to sip water, which contains minerals the butterflies need. In scorching summer, the water also helps to lower their body temperature.
The paddy fields of the past are long abandoned. Today they have become large patches of grassland. Though seemingly weedy, the areas are actually a paradise for skippers. Here the very rare Pigmy Scrub Hopper (Aeromachus pygmaeus)—which is the smallest butterfly in Hong Kong—has been recorded.
More common skippers can be found too, particularly among the roadside Billygoat-weed (Ageratum conyzoides). Try to look for Forest Hopper (Astictopterus jama), Chestnut Angle (Odontoptilum angulatum) and Common Straight Swift (Parnara guttata)!
Mandarin and pomelo trees have been planted by villagers for their fruits. Unexpectedly, the leaves are valuable food for butterfly caterpillars. By the village houses, you may find traces of bitten leaves on the mandarin and pomelo trees. They are the favoured foods of Common Mormon (Papilio polytes) and Spangle (Papilio protenor).
The two caterpillars are odd in that they mimic bird droppings to avoid being detected by their natural enemies. In a latter stage, they even have a forked osmeterium that resembles a snake tongue, and can release a foul smell to scare away their predators!
Along the trail, there are several large clusters of bamboo. If you are lucky, you may find a special butterfly here—Lesser Forest Blue (Taraka hamada). The caterpillars feed on aphids on the bamboo—a rare carnivore among butterflies.
Ivy Tree (Schefflera heptaphylla) is a special tree, with its compound leaves arranged in the shape of a “goose foot”, hence its Chinese name “Duck-foot wood/Goose-foot wood”. It is one of the few trees that flower in winter. This is why large numbers of butterflies are attracted when Ivy Tree blossoms. Common “feeders” include Red-base Jezebel (Delias pasithoe), Painted Jezebel (Delias hyparete), Blue-spotted Crow (Euploea midamus) and Ceylon Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis similis).
Butterflies sunbathe not for tanning but to warm their bodies by absorbing heat from the sun, or to dry their wings after rain. They spread their wings as they bask, to get the most sunlight. Here in exposed rock surfaces, many butterflies come to sunbathe, such as Purple Sapphire (Heliophorus epicles), Plum Judy (Abisara echerius) and Punchinello (Zemeros flegyas).
