Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society Events & Activities

      

A good sighting of butterflies will always be marked as a place worth visiting again.   I have not gone back to the Nanling National Forest Reserve in Guangdong for quite sometime. When June came, the call of the Euthalia ssp. was hard to resist.  In my previous visits, there were so many of them flying around. There were at least six species commonly seen along the pathways,  particularly the golden Euthalia nara Moore 1859, Euthalia pratti Leech 1891 and Euthalia thibetana Poujade 1885. Sad to say, they had been hunted down by locals for 10 cents each to make into bookmarks,  a project of the Government owned insect “museum� in the Ru Yang town. They appeared to return in large numbers this year but nothing compares to their density in the good old days.

The mountain range of      Nanling National Forest Reserve

            I succumbed to the temptation and embarked on a trip last May and June. The sight of the beautiful Theclini in May and the robust Euthalia  for June were enough motivation  and I was not disappointed.

            A week long plan for May was reduced to two days due to the generous downpour  which was not surprising.  May is always the rainy season.   Even though the trip was cut short,  I beat the downpour with one good clear day , a bright day for butterflies. For the June trip, it was surprisingly excellent and we had five good sunny days for butterfly watching.

                Nanling is a very special place. I had been to so many places and I can say that Nanling is surely one  butterfly paradise that you can find so close to Hong Kong.  Of course,  Hong Kong is the best place for butterflies, with high concentration of butterflies clamped in a tiny 1,000 sq. km.  But Nanling has the best of both temperate species as well as subtropical ones. Every time I go I will see new butterflies and add new local records for Nanling. There will be many new species to be discovered even new for scientific research. 

                P.C. Lee took the luxury to join me in June.  P.C. always said that he was a “black boy� � (bad luck). In this instance, he proved himself wrong. He brought luck not only to me but to all of us,  as we were  joined by Cheni and his friend � an ant enthusiast after our second day of our arrival. They came from Guangzhou. 

                During the five `short � days, we visited Shek Hang Mei or the “Little Hwang Shan�, Group of Waterfalls, Cable Hill and the Plant Specimen Garden. We did not wander to Shek Hang Hung, the highest point in Guangdong rising up to over 1,900 m.   The distance of the walk to and from Shek Hang Mei,  and the hike,  had already sent chill to P.C. who has been suffering from  sore legs for some time.   I see the painful look in his face every now and then, but the grimace quickly disappears  the moment  he sees butterflies!

P.C. walking down the foot path in the Group of Waterfalls	Another corner of the Waterfalls

                Over 100 species were seen and 2000 pictures  taken. Time went by so quickly, and again,  it was time to return home.   Nanling, for all that it has to offer,  will definitely be  earmarked for another butterfly watching trip next year.       

                Below are some beautiful butterflies and caterpillars from Nanling: 

			Ravenna nives Nire 1920	Amblopala avidiena Hewitson 1877		Yamamotozephyrus kwangtungensis Forster 1942
			Yamamotozephyrus kwangtungensis Forster 1942	Rapala nissa Kollar, 1844		Ussuriana michaelis Oberthűr 1880
			Can anyone guess? The host is Lonicera confusa.		Amblopala avidiena Hewitson 1877
			Japonica bella Hsu, 1997 (** see below)	Satyrium spp.		Antigius butleri Fenton, 1882
			Zinaspa youngi Hsu & Johnson 1998	Barca bicolor Oberthűr 1896		Celaenorrhinsus aurivittatus Moore 1879
			Satarupa monbeigi Oberthűr 1921		Satarupa nymphalis Speyer 1879
			Celaenorrhinsus maculosus Felder et Felder 1867	Celaenorrhinsus aspersus Leech 1891		Parasovia perbella Devyatkin 1996
			Capila pieridoides Moore 1878	Capila jayadeva Moore 1866 (?)		Abraximorpha heringi Mell 1922
			Stichophthalma howqua Westwood, 1851	Nosea hainanensis Koiwaya 1993		Acropolis thalia Leech, 1891
			Dercas nina Mell 1913 (male)	Gonepteryx amintha Blanchard 1871 (male)		Talbotia naganum Moore 1884 (male)
			Athyma fortuna Leech 1889	Athyma jina Moore 1857		Neptis speyeri Staudinger 1887
			Neptis philyra Ménétriés 1859	Athyma opalina Kollar 1844		Athyma disjuncta Leech 1890
			Neptis manasa Moore 1857	Neptis thetis Leech 1890		Neptis ananta Moore 1857
			Neptis spp.	Neptis guia Chou et Wang (?)		Neptis spp.
			Athyma punctata Leech		Bhagadatta austenia Moore 1872
			Sephisa princeps Fixsen 1887 (male)	Sephisa chandra Moore 1857 (male)		Sephisa princeps Fixsen 1887 (male)
			Helcyra subalba Poujade 1885 (male)	Helcyra subalba Poujade 1885 (male)		Helcyra subalba Poujade 1885 (male)
			Mimathyma chevana Moore 1865 (male)		Sasakia charonda Hewitson 1863 (male)
			Euthalia thibetana Poujade 1885

 **It was found dead along the foot path in the Group of Waterfalls. Subsequently, it was also spotted in the Plant Specimen Garden. Hsu recorded it first in Guizhou Province and later in Nanling as well. I have to upload PC picture of the J. bella to show its natural beauty. I missed the chance to take this shoot. There will be a next time!

Japonica bella Hsu, 1997