A hiking trail in Yunlin has become a new hotspot for one of Taiwan’s most beautiful butterflies. Huashan Village in Gukeng Township has been a spot where migrating purple crow butterflies would stop to find flowers. Now, it boasts its own native population. Biologists say the striking butterflies have reproduced there. Right now, the Huashan area is absolutely bursting with the purple crows. It’s a must-visit for all butterfly lovers.
Here at Huashan Village, tens of thousands of beautiful purple crows flutter all around. Time to get out the camera. The hot weather this year, as well as frequent afternoon thunderstorms, have created the perfect habitat for the Kusukusu Eupatorium flower, which is the purple crows’ nectar source. They’ve flocked here in large numbers.
Hsu Yu-han
Huashan Leisure Promotion Association
In the past, you might see 100-200 a day. This year, it’s tens of thousands. You just walk along and the butterflies are fluttering all around your hands.
The purple crows used to migrate up over the mountains from Kaohsiung’s Maolin District to Linnei Township around Tomb-Sweeping Festival in April. But when these flowers were planted so densely here in the Huashan area, they started coming here. These butterflies are probably the offspring of ones who stopped here to reproduce on their journey.
Voice of Chen Jui-hsiang
Taiwan Purple Crow Ecological Preservation Association
We’ve worked out that these purple crows have not come up from Maolin. They’re the descendants of butterflies that migrated up from Maolin, or even the third generation, and they’ve formed a critical mass.
In May and June, Huashan is famous for its firefly festival. Now it’s got the purple crows to boast about. If you’re looking for a new spot where you can admire these winged wonders, look no further.
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