Winter Butterfly Valley

Most people in the US know that Mexico is the home for Monarch butterflies in the winter,  but are unaware of another major butterfly migration phenomenon. Each year millions of Euploeini butterflies from northern regions of Taiwan and continental Asia migrate to the warm sunny valley of Maolin in southern Taiwan.  More than 600,000 Euploeini butterflies fly to the holy Dawu mountain foothill in Maolin (AKA “Purple Butterfly Valley”) taking shelter for winter from January to March. Tourists delight in  watching these butterflies arrive and settle in the Maolin valley. The scenes in the valley are beautiful and magnificent.

Euploeini butterflies have blue and purple wings that show beautifully varying hues under sunlight. The blue and purple wing colors serve as a biological defense mechanism which deters predators. Every winter, various species of the purple crow butterfly (AKA Taiwan purple-spotted butterfly) are present in the “Purple Butterfly Valley”. The most common species are Euploea Tulliolus Koxinga Fruhstorfer, Euploea Mulciber Barsine Fruhstorfer, Euploea Eunice Hobson (Butter), and Euploea Sylvester Swinhoei Wallace & Moore.  Purple-spotted butterflies feed on milkweed and other flowers, and are classified as milkweed butterfly species.