The gorgeous colors and ever-changing shapes of butterflies have always been deeply loved by people. These beautiful elves not only have academic value in zoology, ecology, environmental science and other disciplines, but also have great artistic and economic value in natural specimens and art collections, tourism and other aspects. In the series of mountains in the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the western part of Sichuan, due to the special geographical environment, many exotic butterfly species have been created, and are regarded by international experts as one of the most valuable areas for the study of butterflies in the world, and are known for producing rare and ornamental butterflies. Butterflies in this mountainous landscape are a mysterious and distant dream.
In the mountains of western Sichuan with an altitude difference of more than 7,000 meters, some river valleys to the surrounding peaks often have a vertical change in climate equivalent to from subtropical to subarctic, forming a rare ecological landscape in the world, and within a small range, it presents the natural change of "a mountain has four seasons and ten miles of different days". The types of butterflies have also become diverse and strange, and many rare butterflies have been passed down from generation to generation here.
□ Zhao Li text/photo
In the past few years, through cooperation with foreign experts from the American Society of Tropical Lepidoptera and the Japanese Lepidoptera Society, I have preliminarily completed the investigation of butterfly species in Western Sichuan, and found that there are at least 679 species of butterflies in the mountains of Chuanxi, more than 200 kinds of butterflies in Taiwan Province, which is known as the "Butterfly Kingdom", which is 3 times the number of butterfly species in Japan, and even more than the butterfly species in the whole of Europe (660 species in Europe)! These species include representative species of all families of butterflies in China, including dozens of rare species under national or international protection.
A treasure trove of the world's rare butterfly species
Every year, I go to the Qionglai Mountain System to look for the three-tailed brown butterfly, as if I were dating a former friend on time. This is the closest rare butterfly to me on the edge of the western Sichuan Mountains, and as long as I leave the city of Chengdu for tens of kilometers, I can enter their territory. They are the most amazing insects in the mountain forest, and have always been known for their gorgeous appearance and rare ethnic groups, widely distributed in the mountains of western Sichuan.
Every May, they appear on time in the mountains above 1,000 meters above sea level in western Sichuan, and are the most ethereal dancers in the mountains in May. The female brown phoenix butterfly is generally not very strong, slow movements, when it gracefully drags several streamer-like long tails gliding through the green valley, its elegant manners are beyond the reach of many butterflies; while the male butterfly is good at flying, in the scorching sun, it likes to soar high in the sky, sometimes stopping at the top of the tree, the wings are flat, like a vulture waiting for prey, staring around, once a female butterfly passes, it chases after it for love.
In June, the species of the brown butterfly have disappeared from the valley without a trace, and the largest butterfly species in China, the golden phoenix butterfly, has suddenly appeared. This large winged phoenix butterfly is one of the most difficult species of butterflies to photograph, and it took me three years from the first time I saw it flying high in the mountains of Kawanishi to the time I finally photographed it. Because it glids steadily over the valley during the day, like a mountain god who has experienced vicissitudes, looking down on the peaks below it, rarely flying low. It is only when early morning or late afternoon comes that it descends to the valley floor to feed on the nectar of lily plants. Due to its sheer size and beauty, the golden butterfly is a well-known internationally protected butterfly. The butterfly has a graceful appearance, with black velvety forewings contrasting sharply with the hindwings that shimmer with a golden luster, with female wings spreading up to 17 cm. However, in its approximate species brothers, it is a "small character", a species of bird-winged butterfly group, whose wings can generally spread up to more than 20 centimeters, and the largest is up to 28 centimeters.
If someone tells you that the mountains of Kawanishi live with the national butterfly of India, you will be surprised, but it is true. This butterfly species is called the golden-beaked butterfly. This is a unique butterfly, with a pointed beak-like head, four wings densely covered with golden-green scales, flashing a faint green light, and a curved golden-green band on the forewing; the male butterfly has a golden-yellow band on the hindwing, the edge is decorated with crescent-shaped golden spots, it also has a long sword-like tail, with a small section of golden yellow at the end, and the noble manners are like the emperor standing on the sword; the female butterfly is slightly less colored, while the long tail has two, and the wings are wider. The graceful posture is like a noble queen wearing a long and gorgeous cape, plus its Latin literary name originally means "emperor", so people often call it "imperial beak phoenix butterfly".
Every time I look for its tracks, I wait in the open area at the top of the mountain, because its male butterflies like to move on the top of the highest mountain. Usually in the early morning, it begins to vibrate its wings and soar like a bird in the sun, and the golden spots reflect brilliant flashes in the sun, so that I can find its traces in the distance. Unfortunately, because it is only distributed in a few mountainous areas in southwest Asia and is very rare, few people can witness the dignity of "emperors" with their own eyes. As it was chosen by India as the national butterfly in the 1980s, its habitat in India is strictly protected. Of the more than 17,000 species of butterflies known in the world, it is one of the very few animals listed by the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as a low-volume (R) protected species. Even for butterfly researchers, it is very difficult to meet them in the wild.
Kawanishi Butterfly Grand View
The arrow ring butterfly is the largest beautiful ring butterfly that is easiest to see in the low-altitude bamboo forest in the mountainous area of western Sichuan, and the two common ones are the Qingcheng arrow ring butterfly and the fish pattern arrow ring butterfly. Their wings are orange-yellow or pale yellow, and there is a row of black spots in the shape of arrow clusters around the front wings, the small ones resemble the spearheads in ancient weapons, and the large ones resemble black goldfish patterns, hence the name. The ventral surface of the wing has a longitudinal reddish-brown column in the middle, which resembles the round spots of the eyes, and there are two dark brown lines on the inside of the spot column. In some individuals, these two lines will outline a pattern similar to the silhouette of Venus, which is very wonderful, so some people call them "Venus butterfly".
The end of July to mid-August is the time of year when the arrow ring butterfly appears in large numbers, and they like to move in groups among bamboo forests, flying in the shade of trees or bamboo bushes, especially at dawn or in the evening. On some of the deep bamboo forest trails of Qingcheng Mountain, their orange-yellow figures suddenly drift up and down, like chrysanthemums flying with the wind.
When it comes to butterflies in the mountains of Western Sichuan, I have to introduce the dead-leaved butterfly. The famous dead-leaved butterfly is a world-famous mimetic species. As a typical mimetic in butterflies, they should be the most well-known butterfly species. I often get calls from enthusiastic people telling me that there are dead leaf butterflies there again. In most people's minds, this is a very precious butterfly, in fact, although they are not numerous, but they are widely distributed. This is because their larvae feed on Tateshina plants, which are very tenacious and can thrive in many forgotten wastelands.
The wing shape of the dead leaf butterfly is obviously leaf-shaped, coupled with the color of its ventral surface is tan, and when the wings are closed, there is a dark brown from the top angle of the forewing to the end of the hindwing, like the horizontal line of the main vein of the leaf, and several diagonal lines emitted by this line, scattered in different shades of the wing surface, like the decay spots and gray-brown spots on the leaves, which looks like a wonderful dead leaf. When it rests on a tree branch, it is difficult to distinguish it from dead leaves, even if you have reached it. But when it opens its wings, it presents a stunning beauty —the purple-brown wing surface reflects a dark blue luster, a wide orange-yellow diagonal band across the middle of the wing, and a dark corrugated line near the edge of the wing, which together produce a gorgeous effect, which contrasts strongly with the simple ventral surface.
The butterfly prefers to be on the edge of the jungle, especially on the beach by the stream or on the protruding broad-leaved trees. Every morning, when the sun dried the dew on their wings and their body temperature gradually increased, they looked around for the sap oozing from the trunk wounds, and huddled with various sap-loving insects to share the aromatic "wine". At this time, it is the best time to photograph them close, and I often use them to indulge in heavy drinking, and I have no time to take care of the timing of the surrounding movements, quietly approaching and shooting them up close. As long as the movement is slow, they don't mind posing in front of my camera to fully display their wonderful wings.
Butterfly's Garden of Eden
The great river valleys, which run north-south, allow butterfly species from subtropical to boreal zones to blend in the mountains of western Sichuan. The valley of Gongga Mountain is the world of subtropical butterflies, the red-edged pink butterfly, the annunciation spotted pink butterfly, the red axillary spotted butterfly and other iconic butterflies in the subtropical region are distributed here, these butterflies of the pink butterfly family are particularly colorful compared with their counterparts in temperate regions, the warm vermilion, bright yellow, elegant white, thick pure black are passionately waved on the wings by them without hesitation, forming an impressionist picture as if Picasso created.
With the increase of altitude or latitude, the distribution characteristics of butterflies in the mountains of western Sichuan are also changing rapidly. The first is that the appearance or pigmentation of the same kind has changed. For example, most of the female butterflies of the great phoenix butterfly, which are active on the banks of the river valley below 800 meters above sea level, drag a pair of tail processes typical of the butterfly family, but in the area above 1200 meters, the tail process disappears from this butterfly, and the white spots of the hindwings become developed. Then there is the change of species, 2000 meters above the mountain road, the river valley butterfly species in addition to the adaptability and vitality of the large silk butterfly is still leisurely out, the big phoenix butterfly, the golden phoenix butterfly, the spotted pink butterfly and other tropical butterflies have completely withdrawn from the stage.
Among the dotted wildflowers, only butterflies in various subtropical and temperate regions are actively wandering around, including purple gray butterflies, blue gray butterflies, and golden gray butterflies whose wings reflect purple, blue or golden metallic lusters, as well as various butterflies, clams, silk butterflies, eye butterflies, and sword butterflies with simple appearances, which are not only numerous in species, but also have a large number of populations. In the face of these full of life elves, people can't help but guess that the old mountain gods must have already given up this place to them and retreated to the mountains.
At an altitude of 2,500 meters above sea level, butterfly species and numbers are beginning to become rare, while some rare butterflies endemic to this area are beginning to take the stage. The West Fan Cui Butterfly and the Cree Kingfisher Butterfly, two of the most famous and beautiful butterflies in the Western Sichuan Mountains, occasionally skim over the edge of the jungle. From a distance, their appearance is very similar to the common kingfisher butterfly and paris kingfisher butterfly in the southern provinces of China, but when you get closer, you will find obvious differences. From a distance, it looks like a butterfly, but there are actually two white spots on the hindwings. The Crecry Butterfly, which looks similar to the Paris Kingfisher butterfly when flying, shows a brilliant blue-green band that runs through the hindwing wings and reflects the metallic brilliance. Since these two butterfly species are only distributed in a few mountainous areas centered around the Kawanishi Mountains, books introducing butterflies have listed them as rare butterflies in the world.
As the altitude rises, the sky becomes bluer, and the white clouds make everything around them feel as distant as ancient times. At an altitude of 3500-5000 meters, the alpine mountains are inhabited by a strange type of butterfly. Their wings are silky white and wide with rounded horns, and their wings are covered with wax and sparse scales, making them look as if they were made of translucent thin silk. The pale white background color is often embellished with round spots of pearl red or dark blue, which is both elegant and luxurious. This is the master of the mountain, the world-famous butterfly of the family Silk Butterfly.
China has forty-three species of silk butterflies, divided into more than 200 subspecies, accounting for most of the 64 known species of silk butterflies in the world, which can be called the crown of the world in terms of both the number of silk butterfly species and populations. The mountainous area of Western Sichuan is one of the most famous silk butterfly producing areas in China, and is rich in the rarest species in the silk butterfly family. They feed on poppies and sedum plants in alpine mountains, and their peculiar body structure and lifestyle adapt to the high altitude environment.
At the beginning of July, on the plateau meadow at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, spring is late. At this time, on the slope of the mountain where the snow had begun to disappear, a milky yellow full-edged green velvet flower and a purple alpine gentian flower competed to bloom, turning the meadow into a splendid carpet. Beside the emerald-like sedum plants, the newly feathered silk butterfly climbed hard out of the stone crevices where it had been hiding, quietly clinging to the bare gravel, slowly extending its thin silk-like wings. Under the scorching sunlight of the plateau, as the body temperature rises, it gradually becomes active and constantly vibrates its wings. After some time, finally, it took off, flew slowly over the meadow, and began its short but important adult life.
The warm season in the mountains is often only two or three months in the summer, and all kinds of creatures are rushing to take advantage of this short growth period and activity period. Silk butterflies are no exception, and they reproduce quickly as soon as the feathering step is complete. Male butterflies are generally more mobile, and they actively find female butterflies that have just been feathered and even their wings are not yet fully expanded to carry out the most sacred part of their lives - mating. After mating, the glands at the end of the tail of the male butterfly secrete a kind of mucus that turns into keratin after drying, forming a bag-shaped cover in the tail of the female butterfly, this ivory tough structure prevents other male butterflies from mating with this female butterfly, and the special bag-like structure of the silk butterfly appears in various ways according to the species, which is one of the bases for classifying the types of silk butterflies.
A few days after mating, the large-bellied female butterfly begins to lay eggs. Its eggs are mostly laid at the base of its larval host plant (Sedum). The eggs are flattened and round, the shell is thick, and the surface is decorated with beautiful carved patterns, like delicate and delicate small crafts. When the weather is clear, the eggs hatch into thread-sized larvae, usually black, with sparse bristles on their thin bodies. Soon after birth, the larvae crawl onto the back of a bud or leaf and chew it. They must race against time to grow as long as they can before the sweltering cold winter comes, and to accumulate enough fat in their bodies to survive the long winter.
The process of pupalization of silk butterflies is quite special, when the dark gray body color is decorated with bright pale stripes or red spots before the old mature larvae pupate, often like moths spit silk into a thin cocoon, or use silk to decorate the gravel dry grass into a small nest, hiding the body in it. The pupae of the silk butterfly is slightly oblong-shaped, smooth on the surface, and is often hidden in stone crevices. For these delicate beings living in alpine mountains, such a pupal method may be the best way to protect themselves through the long and harsh winter! If the spring of a certain year comes late and the snow does not have time to melt, the adult butterflies of this year may not necessarily feather, or cause a large number of larvae to die, so that they can hardly be seen in many places where many silk butterflies were seen last year. Therefore, in some foothills where silk butterflies are abundant, thousands of adult butterflies can be seen in the summer in some years, and only a few sporadic individuals may be seen in the second year, and the number may increase again every one or two years. Therefore, when inexperienced collectors try to catch silk butterflies, they often return in vain.
Butterflies at high altitudes are generally slow to fly, but fortunately there are not many natural predators besides birds, and the biggest danger to their survival is probably the harsh climate. The weather in the mountains is unpredictable, and when the sky is clear, the ground temperature can easily reach more than 20 degrees Celsius, but as soon as the sun is blocked by clouds, it will soon drop to a few degrees Celsius, followed by rain and snow. Butterflies at high altitudes seem to have the instinct to foresee, as soon as the sun hides in the clouds, even if it is only a minute or two, they will immediately stop flying, crouching in the grass or under the gravel cracks and other leeward places, just now very lively hillside turned quiet in an instant. However, as soon as the sun showed its face from the clouds for a few minutes, they became active again. This interesting phenomenon is especially common at high altitudes. This behavior is not because the butterfly has any special sensory organs, but because the butterfly is a temperature change animal, the body temperature changes with the environment, their activity requires a certain body temperature, only the body temperature reaches about twenty degrees Celsius to fly flexibly, and when the temperature is low, it is slow or even completely incapacitated, which leads to the special phenomenon that their moving or stationary behavior changes with the sun.
Butterflies are among the highest insects recorded in the world, reaching a glacier of 500 600 meters above sea level on Mount Gongga, a height that most other insects cannot match. Butterflies in the mountains of Kawanishi are the creators of this record, and how high the snow line is, how high they can generally be distributed, it is difficult to understand why these seemingly weak and windy elves have such tenacious vitality. In fact, they have achieved it step by step by natural selection in the process of evolution over hundreds of millions of years. The more adapted to the alpine environment, the greater the hope of survival, and the unfit will eventually be eliminated in the competition. Magical natural selection shows its power all the time, and it makes the butterfly distribution in the mountains of Western Sichuan higher and higher. When we marvel at the tenacious vitality of these delicate beings, can we think that all this is just the most basic principle of nature, although simple, but incomparably magical?