Now in Nantou County, Taiwan
Assuming this is Eurema hecabe [菏氏黃蝶] and not Eurema blanda arsakia [台灣黃蝶] then that would bring the total number of different species photographed at 55.
If you’re an expert at identifying insects and would like a challenge please don’t hesitate to double check the identifications at the Taiwan’s Butterflies page.
UPDATE: Nope, definitely another Eurema blanda arsakia. Still at 54 species.
Psacothea hiraris hiraris
A Longhorn Beetle [天牛 or "Sky Cow"] on a recreational hiking trail in Jhongsing Village.
Near Longfeng Waterfall in Zhongliao.
Another gem found by the Longfeng Waterfall in Zhongliao.
Another insect that wouldn’t stop moving for me.
After trying to get a good shot for about ten minutes during lunch break, this was sadly the best I could do.
![Hypolimnas misippus [female]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3205/3025036674_6d403d8388.jpg)
A female Hypolimnas misippus finally stops to rest behind the Taiwan Provincial Government Building in Jhongsing Village.
As promised, a picture with the wings open.
Found this lovely specimen at my new favorite spot to photograph butterflies at a garden behind the Taiwan Provincial Government Building in Jhongsing Village. The real visual treat is when this species opens its wings… stay tuned!
I am certainly no expert in the field, however I’ve been asked by numerous people the sources I use to help me identify the butterflies I photograph in Taiwan. It all started with a trip to the Guandu Nature Park [關渡自然公園] in Taipei to toy with my then recently purchased Nikkor 55-200vr “budget telephoto”. The pictures I went home with were absolutely terrible, but I did walk home with three ID books: One for birds, one for dragonflies, and one for butterflies. The books were inexpensive at $200NT each. The butterfly one: Taiwan’s Commonly Seen Butterflies [Chinese Link (台灣常見的蝴蝶)] contains 133 different species of butterflies. The book contains photos of the different species as they exist in nature, lists scientific name, Chinese name, a few brief points about identifying, as well as diet and habitats.
Before long I was coming across pictures of butterflies that I could not identify using the small ID book. I was finally finding butterflies outside of the 133 commonly seen ones listed in the book [which can't be very hard since Taiwan is home to over 400 species of butterflies]. There was a nature store at the new Eslite bookstore in Taichung whose name escapes me, anyways I picked up the much larger Taiwan’s Butterfly Example Book [sorry for the very terrible translation, here's the Chinese and link (台灣蝴蝶圖鑑)]. The book contains over 270 species and points out distinctive features of each species, and a lot more information concerning distribution, habitats, and diets than the previously mentioned book.
Outside of those two books there’s also an excellent Chinese website available called Insects of Taiwan [台灣的昆蟲]. To make navigation a little easier, here are the different butterfly families on the site: Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae [and sub-families: Danainae, Libytheinae, Satyrinae, and Morphinae], and Papilionidae. Hope you enjoy!
*Note: I’ll be taking a brief break from posting daily photos today and over the weekend. I’ll likely resume on Monday.
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