TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —The Hengchun Peninsula began welcoming a large-scale migration of purple crow butterflies, with as many as 100 butterflies per minute crossing roads along the east coast.
Skies filled with tens of thousands of purple crow butterflies on Tuesday. The Kenting National Park Administration called on drivers to reduce speeds to 40 kph to avoid harming the butterflies, per LTN.
Recent ample rainfall has allowed grasses and vines to sprout buds, which feed the butterfly larvae. This led butterflies to migrate from the mountainous areas of Taitung and Pingtung.
Purple crow butterflies fly south following the Pacific coastline, turning west after reaching the Bashi Channel, and arriving at breeding areas in Nanwan. From May to June each year, migration peaks with as many as 1,260 butterflies per minute flying across Provincial Highway 26.
The number of butterflies traveling on Tuesday was equivalent to a year earlier. People along the route filmed the spectacle with their mobile phones and cameras.
Kenting Park Administration official Hsieh Kuei-chen (謝桂禎) said purple crow butterflies travel at about 20 kph and can be caught in the airflow of cars passing at 50 kph, crushing them. Speeds should be reduced, and vehicles should share the road with the butterflies, Hsieh said.
In the summer of 2021, Kenting experienced significant roadkill of purple crow butterflies. In 2024, a butterfly protection net was set up on a section of Provincial Highway 26 to reduce roadkill.
An ecological investigation found that burny vine in the Maanshan area provided a rich food source for larvae. The area has become a large-scale breeding ground for the purple crow butterfly.
