Critter spottings in the vicinity of Mui Tsz Lam

Is that a blue tiger or blue glassy tiger (butterfly) in the photo?

This looks to be the common tiger butterfly -- which,

true to its name, is one of the butterflies I spot most

frequently when out hiking in Hong Kong

 

 Not a butterfly but a moth -- but beyond it being

on the small side and my finding it pretty,

I can't tell you much else about it ;(

 

Today being a Sunday with fine weather (i.e., rain-less, cool(ish) and not too humid), no prizes for guessing what I did this afternoon.  This time around, my hiking buddy and I went along a route that took us from Sai Kung (more specifically Tai Ping Tsuen) over to Sha Tin via portions of the Ma On Shan Country Trail, Maclehose Trail Section 4 and part of of a century old path linking the villages of Mui Tsz Lam and Pak Kong whose existence I found out about by reading the blog entry in  Journey to Hong Kong about it.

 

Should there be any doubt, the scenery along this hike was diverse, often interesting and sometimes downright splendid.  And I also did have a number of non-butterfly and -moth critter spottings, including of a golden orb weaver spider in the process of either consuming a grasshopper or wrapping it up some more for storage -- and a couple of lizard like creatures in a stream.

But I was particularly struck today by the number and variety of butterflies and moths my hiking buddy and I caught sight of today.  Interestingly, the spottings generally occurred early into and at the tail end of our trek, with few butterflies and moths catching our eye during the relatively level middle portion of the hike -- and it was when we were in the vicinity of Mui Tsz Lam that these insects were the most willing to have their photographs taken.

 

After returning home and doing some internet research, it makes sense why this is the case: i.e., Mui Tsz Lam is home to a fung shui wood and fung shui woods have been identified as ideal butterfly watching spots.  (Actually, and more generally, fung shui woods are vibrant and dynamic habitats for a variety of wildlife in addition to being invaluable living herbaria.)

 

On a less scientific note: I don't want to end this blog entry without asking people to click on my photo of the common tiger butterfly and check out the enlarged visual.  More specifically, I want to know: is it just me or doesn't the very top part of the insect look to you too like a man with a white face wearing dark glasses and large headphones along with antennae?! ;O