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Once again, spring is in the air. At this time of the year it is easy to see the signs of seasonal change and renewal. Spring is also a good time to appreciate butterflies. From today (April 23) until October 28 at Hong Kong Wetland Park, a thematic event titled "The Flying Beauties" offers visitors the opportunity to learn more about the anatomy, life cycle, survival strategies and courtship behaviour of butterflies.
Teeming with life and rich in ecological resources, wetlands are home to a wide variety of fishes, birds, insects and plants. Butterflies may be small, but their fantastic colours and dramatic metamorphosis capture our attention. With abundant nectar and larval food plants, the Wetland Park's Butterfly Garden is an ideal habitat for butterflies and a great spot for watching them. The Park has recorded 157 species of butterflies, accounting for over 60 per cent of the total number of butterfly species recorded in Hong Kong. Even some uncommon species such as the swallowtail and the red lacewing can be spotted.
For the first time, the Park and the Hong Kong Lepidopterists' Society are jointly holding an exhibition of over 500 butterfly specimens from different parts of the world. A number of local butterfly specimens will be brought to life through 3-D models so that visitors can observe their fascinating behaviour – a group of butterflies sipping water at a riverside, the amazing camouflage of the orange oakleaf, a mating pair of Chinese peacocks and a butterfly threatened by a praying mantis.
It is easy to appreciate the wonder of butterflies when observing them closely. Butterflies and moths comprise the order Lepidoptera, one of the major groups of insects. They are characterised by the pigment-bearing scales on their wings, and reflecting the light, these scales produce distinctive colours and patterns. A butterfly can have up to 600 individual scales on just one square millimetre of its wing. The exhibition reveals to visitors the microscopic world of butterflies, displaying some butterfly parts hardly visible to the naked eye, including the coiled proboscis, the shield-shaped scales and the iridescent wings.
A butterfly has a complex life cycle, beginning as an egg that hatches into a caterpillar. The caterpillar is the larval stage of its life cycle. A caterpillar then develops into a pupa with a hard protective casing. Finally, the adult emerges from the pupa and begins searching for food and a mate to begin the cycle again. The adult female seeks out a specific host plant to lay its eggs because butterfly caterpillars are voracious but picky eaters, and many species of caterpillar feed only on a particular species of plant. For example, the peacock pansy feeds on Hygrophila salicifolia while the chocolate royal eats Kandelia obovata. At the exhibition, visitors can see how hungry caterpillars eat a whole leaf in a short time.
The Park will arrange a wide range of activities, including guided tours, summer dramas, playgroups, art workshops and public lectures, for visitors to discover the wonderful world of butterflies.
For programme details, please visit www.wetlandpark.gov.hk .
Ends/Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:50
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