讀後心得

The purple butterfly has migrated north from the south this year. Although the speed is fast, the numbers are low. In early March, the advance team arrived in Linnei Township, Yunlin County, reaching the national highway closure standard for two consecutive days, setting a record for the earliest highway closure. However, only 160,000 butterflies have been accumulated so far, which is below the historical average of 220,000. The president of the Purple Butterfly Conservation Association, Chen Ruixiang, pointed out that this year's climate change may have affected the number returning north, and volunteers are still continuing to observe.

This year, the speed of the purple butterflies migrating north from the south was earlier, but their numbers appeared to be lower. At the beginning of March, the advance party arrived in Linnei Township, Yunlin County, ahead of schedule, with continuous counts exceeding 250 butterflies per minute for two consecutive days, setting the record for the earliest road closure in history; however, after these two days, the standard was only reached on those occasions. As of now, a total of 160,000 migrating butterflies have been accumulated, still below the average of 220,000 over the years.

Since 2007, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications' Highway Bureau has implemented the "Highway Butterfly Passage" policy during the purple butterfly migration period. When the migration rate reaches 250 butterflies per minute, the outer lanes from kilometer 251 to 253 will be closed to reduce harm to the migrating purple butterflies.

The Taiwan Purple Butterfly Conservation Association also began monitoring the Linnei section of National Highway No. 3 in March. On March 4, they recorded 210 butterflies crossing per minute, and on the 12th and 13th, the count exceeded 250 per minute for two consecutive days, reaching the road closure standard and setting the record for the earliest road closure in history. However, subsequent observations have shown a decrease in migration activities, making this the year with the fewest road closure days.

Based on historical experience, the returning purple butterflies typically leave Linnei Township before the Qingming Festival. This year's Qingming Festival has concluded, and the count of purple butterflies seen was 160,000, failing to reach the historical average of over 220,000. The chairman of the conservation association stated that there were still some purple butterflies departing from the butterfly valley in the south on the 4th, but in limited numbers. So far this year, a total of over 160,000 butterflies has been accumulated, requiring continuous observation. Therefore, until April 30, volunteers will continue to conduct observations and tagging on-site.

The chairman mentioned that due to significant temperature changes before this year's Qingming Festival, some purple butterflies may have stayed in the south, and under clear weather, there was no sight of large-scale northern migration. As for the observation point in Zhunan, there have not yet been any large numbers of purple butterflies observed, and monitoring will continue this week.