The Butterfly
Institution at HKIEd
HKIEd is known to have a great variety of butterflies
and more than 80 species have been discovered over the
last few years. Tsz Kit Wong explains more.
With the set-up of the Eco-garden, and the proximity of various areas with
extremely high biodiversity, such as Sha Lo Tung, Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve,
Shan Liu, Wu Kau Tung, Luk Keng, Tai Po Kau Natural Reserve and Pat Sin Leng
Country Park, 80% of the butterflies in Hong Kong have been recorded here. It is
believed that more species will be discovered in the foreseeable future with the
establishment of the ecogarden, the ecopond and the green corridor of HKIEd
acting as a stepping stone for attracting more species. We all know what
butterflies are but may not have a deep understanding of them.
Butterflies consume various food sources during different stages. They will
consume the egg shells for their first meal and a host plant will become their
major food source for the larval stage for the majority of the species - herbivores.
Particular species will also rely on aphididae ( a large insect family). As the
majority of them are oligophagous, butterflies are often regarded as the indicator
species of where species richness can be shown in a particular area. In other
words, if higher amounts of butterfly species can be found in that area, it will have
higher biodiversity.
In their imago stage