Shut Highway for Butterfly

Track the Secret of Death and Hope
(Picture From United Daily News/2007.03.30)

Shut Highway for Butterfly
After the last cold current bugle in every spring, Butterfly-March begins to depart from south to north inhabitant, where they breed and die in summer bright sunshine--death and hope occur in moment.

The National Freeway Bureau shut highway for purple milkweed butterflies to cross about two hours yesterday to test the function of the whole program. In scientist's initial observation, when The Bureau shut outlane, there are about 70% of butterflies would fly higher to cross highway, but 30% of butterflies could not make it and hit by passing car at inlane.

When the number of butterflies arrive 2000 in one minute, a lane in a major Taiwanese highway will be closed, protective nets and ultra-violet lights will be used to provide a safer journey for over a million migrating purple milkweed butterflies. Yesterday the number of butterflies already arrive 300 in one minute.

The owner of Butterfly-Farm [ Translate this page ] said that the efforts that government made worth applause, but setting the light to change the flying route might need to reconsider. Because butterfly needs to absorb sufficient sunshine energy to flutter its wings, there is no sufficient solar energy for this at night, so butterfly rests at night. Then, why using light at night?

Check Part 1 :Taiwan Shuts Highway for Butterflies to Cross

Published By Wan-Li Yang

March 30th, 2007

Taiwan Shuts Highway for Purple Milkweed Butterflies to Cross

Shut Highway for Butterfly
A lane in a major Taiwanese highway will be closed, protective nets and ultra-violet lights will be used to provide a safer journey for over a million migrating purple milkweed butterflies. ( From BBC News) (picture from Liberty News)

The butterflies winter in the south Taiwan and travel over 600m of motorway to get back to northern, where they lay eggs and die. The young butterflies then spread to whole country but able to fly simultaneously to south every November. Without the carrying on of 2 generation, the route of migration cannot be completed.

(picture shows flying route/from 1-apple.com.tw)

To protect the millions of migrating butterflies, a 600-yard stretch of highway in southern Taiwan will be sealed off in the coming days as the migration peaks, said Lee Tai-ming, head of the National Freeway Bureau. [ Translate this page ] Authorities will set up nets to make the butterflies fly higher and avoid traffic, Lee said. They will also install ultraviolet lights to guide the insects across a highway overpass.

(the following picture from 1-apple.com.tw and the National Freeway Bureau)

Paradize Lost (The Conflict Between Trade and Envirnment)
There was a time during the 1960's when thousands of workers here were producing butterfly art and crafts.　It is estimated that some 10 million butterflies were caught every year.　Even though the export of butterfly products has long since stopped, the butterfly population continues to drop.　The loss of habitat is thought to be the main cause of this decline. In fact many rare and precious species of butterfly are now facing extinction.( from Butterflies of Taiwan.)

Crusade Begin
Taiwan government encouraged NGOs to conduct the research of butterfly life cycle and flying routes. From marking butterflies to identify migratory butterflies, precise flying routes and altitudes remain a mystery, but researchers are able to learn some rough idea about the butterfly path by those markers. This action attracted wide spread attendtion. More and more non-profit groups and I-Shou university join the research of mystery butterfly ,and find out each year thousands of butterflies die when turbulence generated by fast-moving cars drags them into the traffic or under the wheels of oncoming vehicles in typical area.(You can see the 2005 butterfly migration picture by Liberty News:news:http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2007/new/mar/24/today-life8.htm)

Other information and more butterfly picture

The main NGO: The Butterfly Conservation Society of Taiwan台灣蝴蝶保育學會（02）28814006或上紫蝶全球資訊網http://www.butterfly.org.tw/euploea/recruit.html - [ Translate this page ]
http://www.butterfly.org.tw/home.php [ Translate this page ]

This undated photo made available 24 March 2007 by the Butterfly Conservation Society of Taiwan shows a large drove of butterflies flying above the sky in Maulin Kaohsiung county .
http://www.mediafaxfoto.ro/photo_preview.php?photoId=2295290

The photo shows researchers trying to mark butterflies to figure out their migration route, butterfly path.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lionyang/sets/72157594476200628/

Secret garden:http://hkls.org/siulangshui/aggregation.html

Wan-Li Yang
2007.03.27