Maolin's Purple Crow Butterflies / 茂林尋幽踏青 與紫蝶共舞
Maolin's Purple Crow Butterflies
◎English translation: Marie-Claude Pelchat ◎Photos by Pao Chung-hui
Maolin's Purple Butterfly Valley is as famous as the Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Valley. In both locations a huge number of butterflies migrate to the region during the winter months. It is not known where these butterflies originate from, however the colder the weather gets in northern Taiwan, the more numerous the butterflies are in Purple Butterfly Valley. In the past, there have been over 600,000 butterflies recorded in the region. They are especially numerous during Lantern Festival. "Seeing such a tremendous number of butterflies is a phenomenal sight," explains Rukai tour guide Yuan-er-ke (aka Chian Shan-Chuan).
There are actually four types of purple crow butterflies that come to Maolin's Purple Butterfly Valley. There is the dwarf crow butterfly which has a large purple band on the end of its wings. The double-branded black crow butterfly which has two long stripes on its forewings and three white spots in the middle of the wings. The smaller striped blue crow butterfly has a white spot in the middle of its wings. Finally, the chocolate tiger butterfly with prominent hind wings and big white spots in the middle of its forewings.
When visiting Purple Butterfly Valley, walk slowly and speak quietly. In the past, there were so many visitors and organized tours; the butterflies began to disappear and did not return to Maolin for quite a long time. The local Rukai tribe felt it was important to protect the butterflies and employed 
specialist Chan Chia-lung to step in and lead conservation efforts. The first initiative was to plant more butterfly nectar plants. They also erected fences in order to prevent people from entering the area. These measures were kept up for several years, until butterfly populations were restored during the winter months. The best time to see purple butterflies and visit Maolin's National Scenic Area is from December 2012 to March 2013. On weekends, Maolin District Office and the Maolin National Scenic Area provide guided tours. These volunteer guides can be met at the entrance of the Valley and give great insight into the world of these beautiful butterflies.
茂林尋幽踏青 與紫蝶共舞
◎文／盧怡如 ◎攝影／鮑忠暉
隨著冬日清晨第一道陽光進入茂林區紫蝶幽谷，我們輕踩著腳步，一探幽谷中的嬌客─「紫斑蝶」。也許是被穿透山谷間的光線喚醒，抑或是與晨運訪客的呢喃細語應和，牠們時而穿梭在高低起伏的山谷裡翩翩起舞，時而停歇在蒼鬱繁盛的樹林上優雅休憩，時而追逐在氤氳芬芳的花叢中汲取蜜源；山谷因紫蝶的到來，為高雄冬天憑添些許暖意。
為高雄「暖」冬的紫斑蝶有4種：「端紫斑蝶」的翅端有一大片紫色，在陽光照射下呈現幻色絢麗；「斯氏紫斑蝶 」的前翅有兩條長條形性標，中室有三個白斑；「小紫斑蝶」體型較小，中央有一點白色斑點；以及後緣突出，中央有大白斑的「圓翅紫斑蝶」。此外，幽谷裡也常見到色彩鮮麗的「青斑蝶」，巧兮倩兮讓人驚嘆讚賞。
幾十萬隻的紫斑蝶從何而來？目前仍是個謎。只知根據經驗，北部天氣愈冷 ，茂林蝴蝶谷裡的紫斑蝶數量就愈多，最高峰時期數量曾達到60萬隻。「尤其農曆小寒到元宵節之間，在山谷向陽處所聚集的蝴蝶飛舞景況，最叫人目瞪口呆。」魯凱族導覽員爾克（漢名：簡山泉）如此形容。
拜訪紫蝶幽谷可得步伐減緩、輕聲細語！由於過去舉辦賞蝶季吸引許多觀光客，但人為的侵擾卻讓紫斑蝶一度消失蹤影，這讓魯凱族人意識到保育蝴蝶的重要。於是，在蝴蝶研究者詹家龍的帶領下，除了在山林間為蝴蝶種植蜜源植物，裝置水管水源，同時也在紫斑蝶活動區域的山谷設置柵欄，防止遊客闖入；經過幾年來的努力，情況獲得改善，回茂林山谷過冬的紫斑蝶也逐漸恢復以往的數量。
紫蝶谷與墨西哥帝王斑蝶谷齊名，是目前世界已知兩處的大規模越冬型蝶谷。到今年3月前，是茂林紫蝶幽谷賞蝶絕佳時機，茂林區公所與茂林國家風景區管理處於假日在紫蝶幽谷入口處設置解說志工，提供遊客導覽及解說的服務，歡迎和我們一同體驗世界級蝴蝶生態景觀的感動。
