A Google search reveals that this book probably has little competition in the market for a quick-and-easy guide to Hong Kong’s butterflies. It is a 176-page, pocket-sized introduction to the vast majority of the 235 resident species and 28 vagrants.
An introductory section covers reasons that butterflies are enjoyable to study, some basic biology, morphology, evolution and systematics, none of which will surprise most readers of Antenna but will be useful to those new to butterfly watching. More interesting to me was the short section called Butterflies in Hong Kong. Here I learnt that Hong Kong hosts the highest number of swallowtail species in any major city of the World and that Ian Fleming, of James Bond fame, marvelled at the butterflies of Hong Kong in his book Thrilling Cities. I also learnt that Hong Kong has one endemic subspecies, a skipper, and was told the nine best places to see butterflies in the highly unlikely event that I should visit in my dotage.
The species descriptions provide just a few words on colour, distribution, habitat and behaviour. Each description is accompanied by a photograph of the adult. The photos are of variable quality, and show the species is various poses, but they should be sufficient, alongside the text, to distinguish all but the most closely similar. In the case of the five palm dart skippers, there is a handy table to help. Oddly, just five species have larvae pictured. All the species have been given vernacular names. Spare a thought for the Common Duffer and the Fluffy Tit. At the back is a checklist giving the common name, Latin name, Chinese name and an indication of its status (Common, Fairly Common, Uncommon, Rare).
The book is small enough to carry round, but this means that the pictures are necessarily small, and the print so tiny that it might present problems for those who don’t get their prescription spectacles renewed often enough. At a mere £13, this book is not only suited to those living in, or visiting, Hong Kong who fancy knowing which butterflies they see, but also people like me like to have a handy reference to butterflies, even in places they are unlikely to visit.
