[Pollinator] Taiwan: Butterfly Migration Shuts Highway

[Ladadams at aol.com]

 See the pictures at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6491255.stm


Highway shut for butterfly travel

The migration is only one of two mass butterfly movements worldwide
Taiwan is to close one lane of a major highway to protect more than a
million butterflies, which cross the road on their seasonal migration.
The purple milkweed butterfly, which winters in the south of the
island, passes over some 600m of motorway to reach its breeding ground
in the north.

Many of the 11,500 butterflies that attempt the journey each hour do
not reach safety, experts say.

Protective nets and ultra-violet lights will also be used to aid the
insects.

Taiwanese officials conceded that the decision to close one lane of the
road would cause some traffic congestion, but said it was a price worth
paying.

"Human beings need to coexist with the other species, even if they are
tiny butterflies," Lee Thay-ming, of the National Freeway Bureau, told
the AFP news agency.

Under the bridge

Each year thousands of butterflies die when turbulence generated by
fast-moving cars drags them into the traffic or under the wheels of
oncoming vehicles.

Ecologists hope the triple-action effort of lane closure, protective
nets and ultra-violet lighting will dramatically increase the
milkweed's chances of reaching the breeding ground.

The protective nets are designed to force the butterflies to fly
higher, reducing the chances of them getting caught in the traffic.

Ultra-violet lighting will be used below an elevated section of road to
encourage the butterflies to head beneath.

The measures are estimated to have cost $30,000 (£15,200).



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