Butterflies add colour to HK

December 30, 2018

Courtship behaviour:

Male Blue Tiger butterflies convert chemicals in plants into pheromones to attract the females.

Natural mimic:

The Tawny Mime is adept at imitating the appearance of the poisonous Chestnut Tiger to ward off predators.

City dweller:

It is not difficult to find the Pale Grass Blue butterfly in urban parks.

Rare sight:

The locally uncommon species of Red Lacewing has been spotted recently in Lung Kwu Tan, Lung Kwu Chau, Pui O and Shing Mun Country Park.

Warming up:

Butterflies are cold-blooded and like to bask in the sun on warm days.

Essential equipment:

A camera is very useful in identifying butterfly species.

Butterfly aficionado:

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Field Officer Tam Kin-chung is an expert on butterflies and is well-versed in their behaviour.

Download Video| Transcript

Voiceover:
The classic Chinese legend The Butterfly Lovers tells the tragic tale of star-crossed lovers Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai who are reunited in death and transform into butterflies.

Due in part to one of the greatest Chinese folk tales, butterflies have become a symbol of love.

Back to nature, real butterflies perform their own courtship dance to find partners.

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Field Officer Tam Kin-chung:
The male butterflies usually (put in) a lot of effort to attract females. For example, the Common Tigers here, they are trying to find a plant with some special chemicals to convert them into pheromones to attract female butterflies. And some other butterflies, the male butterfly, will go to a hilltop. Such behaviour, we call that hill-topping. They go there to wait for a female butterfly to fly across so that they can have the courtship behaviour with them.

Voiceover:
Tam Kin-chung joined the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department in 2012 and is an ecological surveyor in the Butterfly Working Group.

He is an expert on the winged insects and has extensive knowledge about their behaviour.

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Field Officer Tam Kin-chung:
My main duty is to collect data, butterfly biodiversity data in Hong Kong. In my job, I have to go everywhere in Hong Kong, for example, some hiking routes and also some butterfly hotspots to collect the butterfly information, their number of species and their quantity.

Voiceover:
Since 2002, the department has been conducting surveys of various butterfly species.

Mr Tam found his passion through his fascinating findings.

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Field Officer Tam Kin-chung:
I love butterfly watching, so it is a perfect job for me.
I like butterflies because in my first impression, butterflies are a very weak insect. They fly very slowly. But in fact, when I learnt more about butterflies, I found (out) they are survivors in the nature competition. And they can have their own strategies (for) survival in nature. And I love this contradicting property of butterflies.

Voiceover:
He gives the example of the Tawny Mime as a species with a special survival skill.

It mimics the appearance of a poisonous butterfly called the Chestnut Tiger, to ward off predators.

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Field Officer Tam Kin-chung:
They have a black forewing and a brown hindwing with some pale blue colour, colour stripes on their wings. It is quite a beautiful butterfly. But if you want to find one, it is quite difficult. Because the adults of Tawny Mime only appear in March and April every year. If you miss it, you will need to wait for another year to see this rare butterfly.

Voiceover:
The butterfly aficionado finds it meaningful to help broaden people’s knowledge about these beautiful insects and shed light on the importance of environmental conservation.

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Field Officer Tam Kin-chung:
Butterfly survey and investigation is very important to the public, because butterfly is part of our ecosystem. When there are more butterflies, it means that there are more flowers and the vegetation should be quite good in the surrounding environment. They can support the butterflies, so that they come by. So it is very important for us to protect our environment so that more butterflies and animals can live there.

Voiceover:
Butterflies are cold-blooded which means they cannot regulate their own body temperature, so they like to bask in the sun on warm days.

They can be found in Hong Kong all year round due to the city’s climate.

Abundance and diverse species of the winged creatures are most marked in spring and summer between April and June, and in autumn between October and November.

For those looking to go butterfly watching, don’t leave home without these essential pieces of equipment.

Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department Field Officer Tam Kin-chung:
You should bring a pair of binoculars. They really help you to observe and to notice the details on the butterfly’s wings. Also you can take a camera as well. A camera can take photo record of course and it is very useful when you want to identify a butterfly species.

Hong Kong is home to more than 200 butterfly species, which add a dash of colour to the city all year round due to the mild climate.

Tam Kin-chung joined the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department in 2012 and is an ecological surveyor in its Butterfly Working Group.

The Field Officer is an expert on the winged insects and is well-versed in their behaviour.

“The male butterflies usually put in a lot of effort to attract females. They try to find a plant with some special chemicals to convert them into pheromones to attract female butterflies.

“And some other butterflies, the male butterfly, will go to a hilltop. Such behaviour, we call that hill-topping. They go there to wait for a female butterfly to fly across so that they can have the courtship behaviour with them.”

Survival skills

The intricately detailed Tawny Mime is adept at imitating the appearance of the poisonous Chestnut Tiger to ward off predators, Mr Tam said.

“They have a black forewing and a brown hindwing with some pale blue colour, colour stripes on their wings.

“It is quite a beautiful butterfly but if you want to find one, it is quite difficult because the adults of Tawny Mime only appear in March and April every year. If you miss it, you will need to wait for another year to see this rare butterfly.”

Mr Tam traverses the city to collect information on butterflies and finds it meaningful to help broaden people’s knowledge about the beautiful insects and to share the importance of environmental conservation.

“Butterfly survey and investigation is very important to the public because butterflies are a part of our ecosystem.

“When there are more butterflies, it means that there are more flowers and the vegetation should be quite good in the surrounding environment. They can support the butterflies, so that they come by.

“It is very important for us to protect our environment so that more butterflies and animals can live there.”

Butterfly appreciation

There are five families of butterflies in Hong Kong, each different in shape, colour, flight pattern and other characteristics.

A diverse selection of the creatures take wing in spring and summer between April and June, and in autumn between October and November.

Butterflies are cold-blooded meaning they cannot regulate their own body temperature, so they like to bask in the sun on warm days.

Sunny periods following a rainfall is also one of the best times to watch them.

Key sites for observing butterflies include Wu Kau Tang, Lai Chi Wo, Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve, Shing Mun Country Park, Pak Tam Chung, Fung Yuen Valley, Lung Kwu Tan and Victoria Peak.

Mr Tam advised those who plan to go butterfly watching to bring some essential equipment.

“You should bring a pair of binoculars. They really help you to observe and to notice the details on the butterfly’s wings.

“Also you can take a camera as well. A camera can take photo record of course and it is very useful when you want to identify a butterfly species.”

He added that people should observe the butterflies quietly and not capture any.

Since 2002, the Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department has been surveying butterflies to establish a systematic database crucial to future monitoring and conservation.

More details are available at the department’s HK Biodiversity Database.