A Rare Butterfly @ Yuan Long 元朗,朗屏丫髻山, Hong Kong

In late August, some pictures of a rather rare butterfly in Hong Kong, the Hypolimnas misippus (Danaid Eggfly) were posted on social media. On the following few weekends, many butterfly enthusiasts flocked around the peak of the 丫髻 mountain at Yuan Long where the butterfly was photographed  

I was no exception. On 4 Sept, together with my usual butterfly outing friends, we went up to the peak of the mountain - one of the toughest butterfly outings I have had.

Interestingly, there are quite a few beautiful rock paintings along the way to the peak.

When we reached the peak, there was already a big group of butterfly photographers waiting patiently for two male Danaid Eggflies to settle down. With some luck, I managed to take a few quick shots of  this species which I have not photographed before.

When the two males met, they had the tendency to chase and "fight with" each other. But once they were separated, they usually looked for a perch.

There was a couple of Common Seargent (Athyma perius) wandering around the peak too. However, most of the photographers didn't seem to be interested in them.

Occasionally, they may stay very still.

Look at this Common Sergeant carefully - it was balancing itself on a thin twig on the ground.

I spotted this Pea Blue (Lampides boeticus) feeding on the wild flowers. Before I could reposition myself, it scooted off.

As there wasn't any other species to shoot, we took a slow walk down the mountain and headed towards Yuan Long town centre for lunch.