Taiwan Butterflies and the like.

A taste of Taiwan's butterflies and other insects. For bird stuff see @TaiwanBirding

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Common Windmill - Byasa polyeuctes termessus at rest.

Calling a butterfly here “swallowtail” doesn’t tell you much...there are about 30 species of #swallowtail to choose from.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Common Tiger - or Striped Tiger is perhaps better.
Seen year-round, Danaus genutia on the very widespread Bidens pilosa.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Paper Kite.
Idea leuconoe, also known as Rice Paper or Large Tree Nymph. Large, can be seen year round, even braving some otherwise very butterfly-unfriendly rain.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Sixbar Swordtail.
Graphium eurous asakurae, subgenus Pazala.
You can ponder those names - or just enjoy looking at this most splendid #swallowtail.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Lime Butterfly
Papilio demoleus. The globally widespread #swallowtail - but without a tail. #butterflies

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Asian Pintail.
Acisoma panorpoides panorpoides. With this warm winter, I’m hoping to see one of these any day now. #dragonfly #Taiwan

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Chestnut Tiger
Parantica sita niphonica
While every year is the year of the butterfly...I also hope you have a very happy #YearOfThePig!
#danaid #Nymphalidae

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Common Bluebottle.
Graphium sarpedon connectens, pretending spring has arrived (or winter hasn’t). Both possibly true.
#butterfly #papilionidae #Taiwan

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Coastal Glider.
Macrodiplax cora. Common in some locations here.
A bit of gold in mid winter.
Libellulidae #dragonfly #Taiwan

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Metallic Cerulean. Jamides alecto dromicus. On the campus of NPUST university in Pingtung - year-round #butterflying hotspot. #lycaenidae ZRD

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Red Ring Skirt. Hestina assimilis formosana.
The unseasonably warm ‘winter’ weather makes #butterflying rewarding (birding less so). Another cracking nymphalidae that even the most tedious twitcher will acknowledge.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Long-banded Silverline. Cigaritis lohita formosana. Hard not to love this one - even if it tends to like slightly damper locations. #lycaenidae #Taiwan

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Restricted Purple Sapphire. Heliophorus ila matsumurae. Even grabs the attention of birders looking for something else with feathers. #lycaenidae #Taiwan Rigo C. Fairly common.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Hard to beat Club Silverline, Cigaritis syama (was Spindasis syama).
#lycaenidae Xiong Yingo.
A roadside bagging, well worth the random stop.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Common Leopard - Phalanta phalantha. A fairly common nymphalid in Taiwan. Likes the sun - and we usually have that. #brush-footed Su Fongliou.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Fighting the Monday morning aggravations with a Pied Sapphire Flutterer - Rhyothemis regia regia.
#odonata therapy. Rigo Chang.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Looking forward to a good weekend of butterflying and mothing.
Here’s one of our scarcer Indomalayan hesperiiade - Fulvous Pied Flat - Pseudocoladenia dan. #Taiwan Rigo C.

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

My kind of Blue. The formosanus subspecies of Grass Jewel - Chilades trochylus. Widespread across Asia to Mediterranean, and common in Taiwan except in very north. #Lycaenidae Photo: Rigo Chang

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

Paris Peacock. Papilio paris nakaharai. Not uncommon, similar to #Taiwan Peacock. May be encountered year-round.
Photo Rigo Chang #swallowtail

[Taiwan Butterflies and the like. @TaiwanInsects]

A mixed week of too much rain is thankfully over. Good to spot a Plessen’s Emperor. Helcyra plesseni. One of our #Taiwan endemic #nymphalidae.
Photo © Rigo Chang