Maolin : Ecology

1. Taiwan was called a “butterfly kingdom” many decades ago, back when it had a small industry which exported dead butterflies to collectors overseas. Today, Taiwan's people are learning to appreciate butterflies alive in their natural habitats, as an ecological treasure. The island is home to over 400 butterfly species, more than Japan, or any country in western Europe. At least 56 species are endemic to Taiwan, living nowhere else. Butterfly watching is an easy and inexpensive outdoors activity, very suitable for children and students. It can be done almost anywhere, even in towns and city parks, although national parks and scenic areas may offer a much wider and more colorful variety. In most places, butterfly watching is best in the summer. But if Taiwan's “butterfly kingdom” had a winter capital, it might well be in Maolin.
    
   Maolin's Purple Butterfly Valley is a very rare and special place in the natural world – a winter home for butterflies that migrate from colder areas every year. In Maolin's Butterfly Valley, one might see hundreds of thousands of Dwarf Crow butterflies, as well as Striped Blue Crows, double-branded Black Crows, Chocolate Tigers and six or more other species. Scientists have found that at least nine species of danaine butterflies (known as milkweed butterflies, because they lay eggs on milkweed plants.) regularly migrate in the fall from northern and central Taiwan, flying up to 300 km to warmer sheltered valleys near Maolin. Hundreds of thousands of butterflies may gather there over the winter, covering the trees and remaining fairly quiet during the cold weather. They become more active as it gets warmer, and in March the migrating butterflies begin courting and mating, and then individually fly north to the breeding areas. Only a few such places are known around the world. The most famous is in Mexico: the winter home for millions of Monarch butterflies from the US and Canada.

2. Bird-watching has become a popular activity in Taiwan owing to the island’s rich, diverse bird life. Although it is small in area, Taiwan’s complex topography-includes mountains of low, medium and high altitudes, rugged forests, varied plains and abundant rivers and streams, creating many small, localized ecological environments. The wet, subtropical climate supports lush vegetation, which consequently contributes to the island's bountiful wildlife populations.
   Approximately 500 bird species have been recorded in Taiwan, and about 150 species are resident (present every year). They include 15 endemic species: Collared Bush-Robin, Flamecrest, Formosan Magpie, Formosan Whistling-Thrush, Mikado Pheasant, Steere's Liocichla, Styan's Bulbul, Swinhoe's Pheasant, Taiwan Barwing, Taiwan Bush-Warbler, Taiwan Partridge, Taiwan Yuhina, White-eared Sibia, White-whiskered Laughingthrush, and Yellow Tit, and about 70 endemic subspecies.
   Visitors who enjoy bird watching may find various species of birds suited to middle and low altitude mountain areas at the Maolin Scenic Area, including most of the 15 endemic species.
   Although small in area, Taiwan has a complex topography- ranging from high mountains and thick forests to river valleys and coastal plains - -giving the island many small, localized ecological environments. Despite being located in the subtropics, a wide range of altitudes endows it with varied climates - tropical, subtropical, temperate, and even frigid. Lastly, oceanic influences, such as high humidity and plentiful amounts of rain-give Taiwan an abundance of diverse vegetation, which consequently contributes to the island's rich and varied animal life.
   If you follow the Duona forest trail in Maolin or the mountain region of Wutai, you may spot raptors (large birds of prey) such as the crested serpent eagle, black kite, grosbeak, Formosan crested goshawk, or gray-faced buzzard.

3. The Maolin National Scenic Area is also home to numerous species of mammals, thanks to an abundant supply of water and a terrain which provides good cover, . Besides Formosan rock monkeys, as for the small-sized mammals, there are Formosan red-bellied squirrels, Formosan giant flying squirrels, ferret badgers, crab-eating mongooses, Formosan gem-faced civets and so on. Larger mammals include boars Formosan Reeve's Muntjac (barking deer), sambars and Formosan Serows (type of goat) etc.

4. Aquatic life is another important resource in the Maolin National Scenic Area. The upstream portions of the Laonong River, Ailiao River, Jhuokou River and smaller streams and brooks have clear and unpolluted water. They are breeding grounds for local freshwater fish such as the Formosan Kooye Minnow and zacco barbato.

5. The clear, unpolluted mountain air and the lack of ambient light from urban areas makes the Maolin area great for stargazing all year round. But for a short time each year, visitors can also enjoy another natural light show: the spectacle of fireflies in the mating season. From late March to mid-April each year, great numbers of fireflies take to the air en masse each evening to look for a mate. As they fly, the males flash their lights over and over, filling the air with moving sparkles. On a busy night it may seem like the Milky Way has come down to Earth. There are actually many species of firefly in Maolin; the most representative is the L. cerata Olivier, but one can also find L. gorhami Ritsema, Luciola kagiana, L. praetexta (Olivier) and Lamprigera yunnana (Fairmaire) among others.
   
    

   The host plants of purple crow butterfly F. gibbosa Blume Bijdr. F. erecta Thumb (var. beecheyana) F. virgata Reinw.  ex Blume 　 　 　 F. sarmentosa Buch-Ham. (var. henryi) Parsonia laevigata  (Moon) Alston Parsonia laevigata  (Moon) Alston 　 　 　 Trachelospermum sp. Gymnema alternifolium  (Lour.) Merr. F. microcarpa Linnaeus 　 　 　 　 F. formosana Maxim Malaisia scandens (Lour.) Planch.

Reference：

http://www.svtw.org.tw/~butterfly/pruple7.htm

        http://www.maolin-nsa.gov.tw/maolin/content.php?L2_CODE=0009283&lang=ct