A guest blog from Mike Hoskins today.....
Reports will tell you that tigers have not been seen in Hong Kong since WWII, but I have reared and released many tigers in the New Territories.
Try not to worry, the tigers I speak of are small and delicate and will not cause you any harm. Plain Tigers have become a permanent feature in my garden this summer. The reason for this is milkweed - the larval host plant for this beautiful butterfly. I bought a small number of plants over a year ago, hoping to attract tigers and eventually they came in abundance, stripping the plants bare, even eating the flowers and soft parts of the stems. Although attractive to the human eye, the orange colouring of the adult serves as a warning to predators to stay away, as the body contains toxins derived from the larval food plant.
from caterpillar
to pupa
to the adult
The Plain Tiger - Danaus chrysippus,
is found across the whole of the African continent, most of Asia and even in Australia.
guest blog by Mike Hoskins Year 3 Teacher Beacon Hill School
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