Blue Tiger butterflies cross ocean to Taiwan for winter Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) Over 700 Blue Tiger butterflies were found in Taiwan's outlying Penghu County this winter, with some of the delicate insects traveling long distances to Taiwan from Japan, a Taiwanese research team said Sunday.
Of the hundreds of migrating Blue Tiger butterflies, 26 of them were discovered to have flown across the ocean from Japan to Taiwan, according to the team led by Chen Chien-chih (陳建志), director of the University of Taipei's Department of Earth and Life Science.
The butterflies, discovered at forts in Siyu Township in Penghu, traveled as far as 2,509 km from Japan's Fukushima Prefecture.
A volunteer named Hsu Tzu-yu (許自由) found this year's first Blue Tiger butterfly that migrated from Japan to Penghu in Siyu on Oct. 23, with information marked on its wings, Chen said.
The butterfly, with bluish-white spots and streaks on its brown wings, was released from Japan's Tokushima Prefecture.
Three days later, another volunteer, Chou Li-chao (周麗炤), found a Blue Tiger butterfly that traveled 1,800 km to Penghu from Aichi Prefecture within six days, Chen said.
The number of Blue Tiger butterflies discovered in Penghu this year was higher than in previous years, Chen said. Last year, only five of the butterflies were discovered in Penghu because construction was underway at the butterflies' habitat.
The research team marked seven of the butterflies before releasing them to better understand their migration route and habitats after they leave Taiwan.
Chen said he hopes Penghu authorities can better preserve the butterflies' precious habitat so that it can serve as a new spot for tourism and education. (Courtesy of CNA)
