【明報專訊】A butterfly surveyor of Green Power (綠色力量) has discovered European Beak (朴喙蝶) - a species of butterfly new to Hong Kong - at Sha Tau Kok (沙頭角).

Hui Chun-tung (許鎮東), a retiree who is a butterfly surveyor, spotted the European Beak on a dried leaf. He found the insect different in appearance from the commonly seen Blues (灰蝶科) and subsequently confirmed it was the European Beak. He snapped a photo of it, which is believed to be the first photographic record of the species.

The European Beak feeds on nettle trees (朴樹), which are common in the city. It is also found on the mainland and in Taiwan, Japan, India, Thailand and Southern Europe.

There are more than 260 butterfly species in eleven families in Hong Kong, but, in the past, only one of them belonged to the Libytheidae group (喙蝶科). The discovery of European Beak marks the second that belongs to the Libytheidae group. (source: Ming Pao, Green Power)

■Words

butterfly surveyor 蝴蝶調查員

species 物種

insect 昆蟲

■Quiz

Fill in the blanks with suitable words from the passage to complete the summary.

A (a)_________________ named European Beak was seen in Hong Kong for the (b)___________________ time. It was found by a (c)________________ in Sha Tau Kok. He took a (d)__________________ of it, which is believed to be the first record of the insect. The European Beak feeds on

(e)_____________________, which are found in Hong Kong and some other places in Asia.

■Glossary

retiree (n) 退休者

spot (v) 注意到

snap (v) 拍攝

feeds on (phr v) 靠……為食