Taiwan's butterflies star in US

Tsai Bae-chun (蔡百峻) fell in love with butterflies on his first trip to Hualien almost 30 years ago.

"I was visiting with friends who raised butterflies in their house," Tsai said. "The caterpillars crawled onto the drapes to metamorphose overnight ... when we got out of bed in the morning the living room was full of fluttering butterflies."

The young photographer decided to become a professional butterfly chaser, supplementing his income by working mobile stalls in the early years before he established his reputation.

Now, 29 years later, Tsai is known as "Mr. Butterfly" and an exhibition of his photographs of Taiwanese butterflies will be shown at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History starting tomorrow and running through May 10.

"The international recognition of the beauty of Taiwanese butterflies is exciting," Tsai said.

He has photographed more than 340 of the 380 species of butterfly endemic to Taiwan, which boasts the highest concentration of butterfly species in the world. The diversity is a result of Taiwan's unique geographical and climate conditions, Tsai said.

"Climate conditions in Taiwan range from the sub-tropical coast to high-altitude mountains," Tsai said. "There are suitable conditions for 3000 different native plants."

Tsai often has to trek for days deep in the heart of Taiwan's mountainous regions to find rare butterflies. He hopes to eventually photograph all 380 known species.

"It gets harder every year as more habitat disappears," he said, "but I live in hope that species thought to be extinct might still be out there somewhere, or that there might even be species new to science still to be found."

The average Taiwanese do not need to work as hard to see a butterfly, however. Tsai says there are plenty of species to be found even on the outskirts of Taipei.

"You can take a bus to Sindian or Wulai where I have taken some pictures of rare species," Tsai said.

As for those attempting their own butterfly photography, be prepared to start thinking like a butterfly, according to Tsai.

"Don't try and surprise a butterfly. Tune into its body language and move slowly so that it does not see you as a threat," he said.

In order to take close-ups, Tsai has to get less than half a meter away from the butterfly.

Sometimes, a missed shot could mean not encountering the same species again for decades.

"Butterflies are uncooperative creatures," Tsai said.

In addition to the variety of butterflies found in Taiwan, the nation used to be internationally reknowned as an exporter of butterfly specimens. The trade has dwindled over the years and many butterflies have become protected species.

"In those days, many people caught and raised butterflies for sale," he said. "Even now, some people catch butterflies to sell, often illegally. However, the overdevelopment of Taiwan is a far greater threat to butterflies than butterfly catchers."

Since Tsai first followed the fluttering trail of butterflies, many butterfly habitats in Taiwan have become endangered through development, including that of the spectacular Lanyu birdwing.

"It's not worth irreversibly damaging our environmental heritage for shortsighted economic development," Tsai added.