Surprised to many, there are about 230 species of butterflies in Hong Kong. Out of the total area of 1 092 square kilometres, about three-quarters of the territory is countryside, with a landscape rising from sandy beaches and rocky foreshores to heights of almost 1 000 metres, woodlands and mountain ranges covered by open grassland. This provides a great variety of habitats to different species.

As an amateur butterfly-watcher, what excites me most is those rare species, though they are not necessarily very appealing in appearance.

The uncommon speicies are marked with '*', the rare ones '**' and the very rare ones '***'