"The flowers bloom in the valley, and the butterflies come." In Jin Yong's "Legend of Relying on the Sky and Slaying the Dragon", there is a beautiful valley called "Butterfly Valley", in which "spring is extremely brilliant, and butterflies are everywhere...". In Jinping County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province, the picture of hundreds of millions of butterflies dancing is a real existence.
There are about 20,000 species of butterflies recorded in the world, about 2,100 species in China, and more than 320 species in China's Honghe Butterfly Valley, which is one of the richest areas in the world in terms of butterfly populations and butterfly resources, so it is also known as the "Butterfly Museum" hidden in the mountains.
An arrow-ringed butterfly photographed in Honghe Butterfly Valley, China, on May 20, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Chao
Located in Maandi Township, Jinping County, Yunnan Province, China Honghe Butterfly Valley has an average annual temperature of about 18°C, mild climate and abundant rainfall. More than 40,000 acres of bamboo forest with lush leaves here provide an adequate food source for butterfly larvae and good conditions for butterfly breeding.
Yang Zhenwen, 46, is the director of the Butterfly Valley Museum and a monitor for Butterfly Valley. For 25 years, he has traveled through the mountains and forests, engaged in the protection, investigation and research of butterfly biodiversity resources, and is affectionately known as "Butterfly Daddy" by the locals.
"A mountain is divided into four seasons, ten miles of different days, this is one of the three-dimensional climate areas in Yunnan's mountains." According to Yang Zhenwen, the primitive natural ecological environment and plant diversity in Butterfly Valley provide a good biodiversity environment for the breeding of a variety of butterflies.
"The golden-spotted beaked phoenix butterfly here is one of the ten rarest butterflies in China, and the wings of the golden-clawed phoenix butterfly are large and beautiful..." Speaking of the butterflies in the Butterfly Valley, Yang Zhenwen is like a treasure.
Hundreds of millions of eggs develop into adults, and after pupae, they feather. Yang Zhenwen said that in a few days, the arrow-ringed butterflies of Butterfly Valley will enter a concentrated outbreak period, and flocks of butterflies will dance in the secluded mountains and forests, forming a rare ecological wonder.
A butterfly explosion photographed in Honghe Butterfly Valley, China, on June 9, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Chao
The so-called butterfly outbreak refers to the fact that from May to June every year, the larvae of the arrow-ringed butterflies in the Butterfly Valley concentrate in a large number of pupae in a short period of time and feather, and hundreds of millions of arrow-ringed butterflies gather and fly in the woods, streams, and mountain roads, forming a beautiful biological activity spectacle.
The emergence of the butterfly outbreak not only depends on the local ecosystem, but also inseparable from the careful care of the "butterfly daddy" represented by Yang Zhenwen. "Because of the large butterfly population, many butterflies cannot eat, and generally live by absorbing dew and the sap flowing from trees, but this is far from meeting the growth and development needs of butterfly bodies."
Boil water, add sugar, add glutinous rice flour and pineapple... In order to meet the growth of butterflies, butterfly research experts and local villagers spent 6 years developing and making a nutrient solution for feeding butterflies. Unlike the larval stage, Yang said, butterflies feed mainly on nectar or sap from decay, once they become butterflies. During the butterfly outbreak period, Yang Zhenwen would spray this nutrient solution all the way with every time he entered the mountain to increase the nutrition of the butterflies and extend their lifespan.
Butterflies photographed in Honghe Butterfly Valley, China on June 9, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Chao
"In the 80s of the 20th century, we still had people spraying pesticides to culll butterflies, and later learned that this was actually destroying the ecological environment." Wu Ziwen, a villager engaged in butterfly breeding, said that butterflies are a gift from nature, and in recent years, through the breeding and protection of villagers, there are more and more types of butterflies and the ecological environment is getting better and better.
Nowadays, the villagers of Masaddi have spontaneously established a colorful butterfly professional cooperative, and more and more villagers are engaged in butterfly breeding. "Protecting forests, protecting water sources, and protecting butterflies has become a conscious act of the local people and has been written into the village rules." Yang Zhenwen said.
"We have stepped up the protection of biodiversity in our jurisdiction, formulated and issued regulations on the protection and management of Butterfly Valley at the bottom of the saddle, and increased education on the public's awareness of ecological protection." Wu Huahao, deputy secretary of the Jinping County Party Committee and county magistrate, said that in recent years, the local area has ensured the growth environment and living space of butterflies to the greatest extent.
On May 20, 2021, two women watch butterflies in Honghe Butterfly Valley, China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Chao
Since opening to the public in 2010, Butterfly Valley has received nearly 1.9 million visitors. The unique butterfly resources call for special local measures for butterfly protection. At present, the local butterfly seed breeding base with the functions of butterfly release park, butterfly sightseeing garden and butterfly science popularization garden has been built, and the story of harmonious coexistence between humans and butterflies continues here.
Reporter: Zeng Wei
Source: Xinhua News Agency