Hong Kong Butterflies II

 

Hong Kong Post released the butterfly stamp series on June 14,  2007. The issue stamps has depicted species Faunis eumeus, Prioneris philonome, Polyura Nepenthes, Acraea issoria, and Tajuria maculata.

 

The Faunis eumeus or large Faun is butterfly distributed  ranges from Assam to North Myanmar, the Shan States, Indo China, southern Yunnan, South China and Hong Kong.

Upperside of males and females is forewing maroon, with a very broad, oblique, preapical. Hindwing brown, shading to dark maroon anteriorly.Underside is maroon-brown.

 

This species is  belong to the Morphinae sub family of the Brush-footed butterfly family and quite widespread and can be found throughout the warmer months. 

 

 

 

The eggs are quite small, grey and spherical with ribbing.  The butterfly can be found in deep shade on open forest floor, resting on leaf humus.

 

 

Prioneris philonome or Redspot Sawtooth is a small butterfly of family Pieridae and found in Asia.This butterfly has distinctive such as the hind-wing basal two-third yellow, with a small red basal patch. The vein are prominently darkened.

 

Prioneris philonome is a forest butterfly may be seen in open spaces near water courses, gathering at moist spots or puddles in the company of other pierid species or papilionids. The males  are usually seen in one's and two's imbibing mineralised moisture from damp sand or gravel, often in the company of Appias lyncida, Eurema hecabe and other yellow Pieridae.

 

Prioneris are robust and powerful flyers, but nervous in nature. If disturbed they have a habit of instantly dashing off, only to resettle a few feet away, and if followed they then go back to their original feeding place.

 

Polyura Nepenthes is recorded to cover a vast area from Burma. Laos, N. Vietnam, Thailand and Central to Southern China.

Polyura nepenthes  relatively large in size among other species of the same genus. It is a strong flyer with striking white creamy colour in flight suffused with black margins on the forewings.

 

The two sexes of Polyura nepenthes do not fly low apart from feeding and tend to settle again and again on the same point high up in the trees. They will always fold their wings when they are not in flight.

 

 

The female is generally larger in comparison but resembles the other sex in appearance with the exception that the male has a totally white abdomen whereas the female is white and black beneath. Both sexes do not visit flowers and prefer rotten fruits, sap from trees in particular those of the citrus ones and animal dungs. They are found near streams and sometimes quite territorial.

 

In fact, Polyura nepenthes appear to be a new comer to Hong Kong. They appear to have flown into Hong Kong from the Mainland China in the last couple of years and have bred locally throughout Hong Kong.

 

Tajuria maculata , also known as the Spotted Royal, is a widespread oriental butterfly and ranges from the central Himalaya and northeastern India to South China, Indo-China, peninsular Malaysia and Borneo.

Tajuria maculata is a medium-sized Lycaenid. Wings of male have slightly shiny blue center, suffused with white towards the edge, and enclosed all round with a black margin. In females, most of the shiny blue is replaced by white, so that only a small amount of blues remains in the base of each wing.

 

 

The underside of both sexes is white, covered with irregular black spots. There are two prominent black spots at each hindwing tornus, adjacent to the two tails. Females are generally larger and broader than males.

Its flight is swift and erratic. It tends to fly around its host plant and will not wander far. It usually settles on the upperside of leaves and is usually easy to reach.

 

There was no sighting records of the butterfly feeding at flowers or at puddles.The butterfly is only recorded in two separate locations in Hong Kong in recent years, namely in Pok Fu Lam on the Hong Kong Island and Tai Po Kau in the New Territories.

 

 

Acraea issoria or The Yellow Coster,  is a small, leathery-winged butterfly, species of genus Acraea. Acraea is a genus of brush-footed butterflies (family Nymphalidae) of the subfamily Heliconiinae. It is common in Guangdong, north of the border.

It feeds on a variety of food plants notably Boehmeria novea  Gaudich of the Urticaceae family.

 

Recently, the butterfly has been seen in many places namely in Hok Tak and Chuen Lung. 

Most species of Acraea assembled  here are restricted to the African region, but some are found in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.

 

 

A recent trip to Chuen Lung on 12th April 2003 by Yiu Vor and P.C. Lee had revealed a large population already established in Chuen Lung.  There were more than one hundred pupae and caterpillars on the Boehmeria along the bank of the stream behind the tea house.

 

The food plants of their caterpillars are usually Urticaceae or, like in most Heliconiinae, Passifloraceae.  Their preferred species contain cyanogenic glycosides, which make the larvae and adults poisonous to predators. The aposematic coloration of the adults announces this, and some species are mimicked by less noxious butterflies.