Yunlin County’s Linnei Township (林內) is currently holding a festival to celebrate the migration of Taiwanese milkweed butterflies.
The nation’s four species of milkweed butterflies (Euploea) migrate northward from southern Taiwan during March or April every year and are usually blackish brown in color with metallic purple scales and white spots on their wings.
The insects spend the winter in the valleys of southern Taiwan, mostly in Greater Kaohsiung’s Maolin District (茂林) and Taitung County’s Dawu Township (大武).
Photo: Chan Shih-hung, Taipei Times
During migration the butterflies pass through Linnei township in early April, the office said, adding that the butterflies have arrived earlier this year due to a relatively warm winter.
Volunteers counted more than 200 butterflies per minute flying through the town during peak times, the office said.
Researchers have found that a section of the Formosa Freeway (National Freeway No. 3), between kilometer markers 251 and 253, is a hotspot where milkweed butterflies pass through in large numbers during migrating season, so the National Freeway Bureau has set up a protection net to prevent them from being run over. It has since 2007 even closed the freeway’s northbound outside lanes during peak days of the migration.
Following an opening ceremony yesterday, Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and township Mayor Chiou Shih-wen (邱世文) invited visitors to shout out: “I love butterflies and I am against nuclear power,” as an oath to protect the butterflies’ natural environment from the risks of radioactive contamination.
A street parade was held to celebrate the festival, which included dozens of girls in ballet dresses with sparkling fake antennas and wings, and boys in scout uniforms and butterfly-shaped paper decorations on their caps.
A series of events, including customized stamp making, butterfly and ecology observance trips, performances for children, 3D art displays, are to take place today and next weekend at the township.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it