Because of the lack of water, just because there are flowers does not mean that there is honey.

(Photo by reporter Wang Hanping)

[Reporter Wang Hanping/Tainan Report] The overwintering type of purple butterfly has returned to the north one after another, but the current number of purple butterfly corridors in Siraya National Scenic Area, an important relay station, is less than 1/10 of last year. Li Rongzong, a southern promotion lecturer of Taiwan Purple Butterfly Ecological Conservation Association, speculated , lack of water is the main reason.

Purple spotted butterflies are currently returning north from Kaohsiung and Pingtung’s Butterfly Valley. Li Rongzong said that there are many butterfly valleys in the mountainous areas such as Dongshan and Baihe Guanziling in the Siraya National Scenic Area. The butterfly survey at the end of last year found that the number has dropped sharply In previous years, there were tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of butterflies, but suddenly there were only hundreds or thousands of butterflies.

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Since 2009, the Siraya National Scenic Area Management Office has combined conservation groups and schools to create an ecological environment for butterflies, and planted a large number of butterfly-attracting plants. The plants were in bloom, but not many purple butterflies were seen.

Li Rongzong explained that because of the lack of water, the presence of flowers does not mean that there will be honey, and the overwintering type of purple spotted butterfly needs water most when returning north. Therefore, even if there are flowers, the purple spotted butterfly may find another habitat in order to find water.

Concerning the sharp decline in the number of purple-spotted butterflies at the Butterfly Road Relay Station in the mountainous area of ​​Tainan, Li Rongzong said that in addition to the lack of water is an important reason, it is still necessary to compare the data such as butterfly surveys over the years to understand the reasons for the large number of purple-spotted butterflies disappearing.

The overwintering type of purple butterfly returns to the north one after another, but the current number of purple butterfly corridors in Siraya National Scenic Area, an important relay station, is less than 1/10 of last year.

(Photo by reporter Wang Hanping)