NGC全民英检绽放真台湾-蝴蝶密码

NGC全民英检绽放真台湾-蝴蝶密码 The Butterfly Code NGC全民英檢:綻放真台灣,蝴蝶密碼 播出時間:2月13日 星期六 @11:00-12:00 Butterflies have fragile wings and a tiny brain, yet it seems they can do the impossible. In the Summer of 2000, a butterfly is caught by a young man in Japan. He discovers that this is no ordinary creature- on the back of its wings is a strange hand-written code. Scientists later traced the code to Taiwan, an island approximately 1,200 km away. Could this tiny insect really fly all this way across the ocean? Was it intentional or accidental? What secrets will this butterfly code reveal? At first, it’s just a simple egg laid on a leaf. But soon, life springs forth. Surrounded by the leaves of the milkweed plant, this tiny creature has all the food it needs. Its voracious appetite is necessary, for it will need enough fuel to grow and fulfill its critical mission. With growth comes the splash of color on its skin, shedding each time to make room for its ever-growing form… then, suddenly, the feeding frenzy comes to a halt and the skin splits open to reveal a fluorescent green pupa or chrysalis. Within the chrysalis, the once tiny caterpillar completes an amazing transformation and emerges as a winged adult. Not all eggs survive to adulthood. In fact, most of the eggs laid won’t make it past their larval stages. Only the fittest survive to this last stage in life. How do butterflies know how to transform? It’s in their genetic code, determined the moment the egg is fertilized. It’s not just when and how they transform, but the butterfly’s genetic code also includes directions on such things as eating, mating and for some, even migrating. This newly formed butterfly is the Parantica sita, or chestnut tiger, commonly found in East Asia. One of the 300 species of milkweed butterfly, the chestnut tiger is identified by its transparent light blue markings and chestnut borders… It’s genetically wired for one last mission- to reproduce and ensure another generation of its kind before it dies. The clock is ticking. It has only three months to mate and lay eggs. One such creature may have carried its mission to the extreme, traveling 1200km from the island of Taiwan to Japan, and sending shockwaves throughout Asia’s scientific community. Japan is an archipelago with highly distinct seasons, bringing great temperature differences throughout the year. Butterflies depend on their environment to help regulate body temperature. So when it gets too cold for them to fly, some choose to leave, driven by seasonal change. Recently, seasonal migration of the chestnut tiger within Japan was proven, but migrating further south to Taiwan came as a shocking surprise. One man is convinced that chestnut tigers fly across the sea as part of their migration. Dr. Haruo Fukuda has been researching chestnut tiger migration since 1980. He believes the discovery indicates a possible trans-ocean migration pathway and hopes 1032C NTU, the first coded butterfly found in Japan, can shed light on his 25-year research. Chestnut tigers can fly long distances, whether it’s over land or ocean, that’s already known. But there are many questions that remain answered. Like how high do they fly? If they fly too high, then we can’t see them, so we can only estimate. How did this tiny creature fly across the ocean? Was this butterfly alone or were there others like it? We may not be able to decipher its genetic code, but the handwritten code on its wings may provide clues to this mystery… but who marked them and why? Perhaps the answer lies in Taiwan, where 1032C NTU first embarked on its hazardous, trans-oceanic journey. Taipei, with a population of 2.9 million, it is one of the most modernized cities in Asia. >From this urban capital, a short 30 minutes’ drive will bring you to a backyard wilderness- the Yangmingshan National Park. Covering an area of 11,455 hectares, and consisting of several mountain peaks, Yangmingshan was formed by volcanic activity some 2 million years ago. Here, hot springs and steam vents are surrounded by tranquil lakes and grass fields- making it a prime location for growth of the chestnut tiger’s favorite food, the Eupatorium plant. Each year in May, tens of thousands of chestnut tiger butterflies mysteriously congregate here, spending most of their time drinking nectar from flowering Eupatorium plants, as if readying themselves for a long distance journey. By late June, they suddenly disappear. But why and where do they go? Dr. Chian-Chi Chen is one of Taiwan’s foremost butterfly experts. He has been tracking the chestnut tiger’s movements in this national park for the past 8 years. He discovered that the butterflies’ wings are all fresh and complete, with no evidence of the wear and tear of long distance flight… which means that these butterflies started life here, having just completed their metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to butterfly. Many breed here, at the south-west foot of Tatun Mountain in Yangmingshan National Park. At an altitude of 750 meters, this wind-sheltered forest provides an abundant supply of food for butterfly larvae. With such ideal breeding grounds, why is it that chestnut tigers disappear at the end of each June? The reason is that some parasitic wasps lay eggs inside the chrysalis or in fully formed butterfly larvae. Wasp grubs aren’t the only threat- carnivorous wasps can also be seen feeding on the larvae of various butterfly species in Taiwan. Some groups of butterflies leave this mountain away from this Yangmingshan hidden crisis. The threat of parasitic or carnivorous Wasps may be one reason why butterflies leave Yanghmingshan each year, Fukuda, the butterfly expert from Japan, adds to what he and Chen believed as another possibility. Because Taiwan’s summers are extremely hot, chestnut tigers cannot adapt, so they must fly to cooler places. Lack of food sources also poses a problem, as the flowers they feed from are not available in the heat of summer, so that is why the chestnut tigers will leave Yangmingshan. But that still leaves the big question as to where do all the butterflies go? Entomologists like Taiwan’s butterfly expert Dr. Chen and a graduate student named Hsin-Deh Lee, use the mark, release and recapture method to track the chestnut tiger’s movements. They’ve been tracking butterflies for 4 years as part of their field research. A numbered code tells where and when the butterfly was marked and will help scientists trace the butterflies once they’re recaptured. For example, NTU means National Taiwan University, where some of these scientists do their research. This is currently one of the most successful methods of tracing butterfly movement in Taiwan. It was Lee’s marked butterfly 1032C NTU that made its way to Japan in the summer of 2000. That year, Lee marked nearly 4,000 butterflies. It’s very difficult to catch this marked and released butterfly again in the vast sky, and since they’re so small, it’s hard to observe them once they’ve flown a distance of 10 meters, Besides, the chances of catching them are quite small since they can only live for a couple of months. Despite all odds, these scientists have already made amazing achievements. Just one month after the first discovery in 2000, another butterfly, marked 145E NTU was found in Kyoto, Japan. The distance- 1790km. Incredibly, it seems the butterflies travel both ways. Thanks to the mark and release efforts in Japan, the next winter, SOA118 1K, a butterfly from Japan was found in Taiwan. The distance, a remarkable 2010km. All in all, a total of 3 marked butterflies were found in Japan and 2 in Taiwan, sparking debate on whether this is evidence of butterfly migration- or could it be something else? How can butterflies achieve such great distances by simply flapping their wings? Perhaps they know what the birds know. Some birds that breed in the northern hemisphere tend to migrate to the warmer parts of the south. Many rely on air currents, so they don’t have to exert as much energy on their long journeys. If birds utilize air currents for long distance flight, perhaps chestnut tigers are capable of doing the same. Dr. Jong-Dao Jou is professor of atmospheric sciences at National Taiwan University. Taiwan is located between the world’s biggest continent, the Asia mainland and the world’s biggest ocean, the Pacific Ocean. This region is most frequently affected by seasonal winds. In the winter time, the high pressure cold front from Siberia formed by a combination of atmospheric currents that flow from the land to the ocean and the earth’s rotation creates what’s known as the north-eastern current that steers right in the direction of Taiwan in the winter. In the summer, the land is warmed and the air currents from the sea flow toward the land combined with the earth’s rotation, creates the south-westerly current over Taiwan. Beginning in May and continuing through to October, this large air mass will pass through Taiwan from the South China Sea, to the E. Asia island chain and all the way to Japan. The chestnut tigers leave Yangmingshan in June, right when the currents can blow them straight to the ocean towards Japan. The problem is, butterflies don’t fly as fast as migratory birds. Their bodies are not as powerfully built, and they don’t live as long. With just the help of air currents and their own flight muscles, how fast and how long can they possibly fly? Take a 747 airplane for example. At 180.8 tons in weight, 70.7 meters in length, and 64.4 meters in wingspan, it takes a little over an hour to fly from Taipei, Taiwan to Kyushu, Japan, with speeds of 900 kilometers an hour and an altitude of 10,000 meters. By comparison, the chestnut tiger butterfly marked 1032C NTU was found 1140km away in Japan, just 13 days after it was first marked and released in Taiwan. From this, we can determine that if the wind direction is ideal, the butterfly weighing under a gram with the 10cm wingspan can ride the air currents and travel nearly 100km per day. But within these 13 days, won’t the chestnut tigers need to stop and rest? How long can they fly without food and water? Chasing butterflies over the ocean is extremely difficult- we may never find out how they accomplish this kind of travel. But the fact that 5 marked butterflies made these journeys proves that such feats are possible. If we can’t chase butterflies over the ocean, perhaps we can still learn from the chestnut tigers’ close relatives found in Taiwan’s famed Valleys of the Purple Butterflies. Taiwan is often called the “Kingdom of Butterflies” and with good reason. Home to nearly 400 species, it has one of the highest concentrations of butterfly species in the world. Mt. Tawu in Southern Taiwan, a sacred mountain of the indigenous Rukai tribe. Part of the central mountain range that span almost the entire length of the island, Mt. Tawu is on the southern end, with sheltered valleys tumbling into lowlands on the west. This mountain valley is not only home to the Rukai people, but to the purple crow butterflies as well. Each November, over a million purple crows appear in the valley near the Rukai, washing the forests in a shimmering, blackish-purple sheen. This is the famed Valley of the Purple Butterfly, where purple crows congregate and where secrets of long distance migration may finally be revealed. Milkweed butterflies like the purple crows are extremely sensitive to temperature change and perish in the cold. The onset of winter produces a very distinct temperature difference in Taiwan. Long-term exposure to the temperatures below 4 degrees C can be lethal for them, so to escape the cold air, purple crow butterflies from the northern and central parts of the central mountain range fly to the warmer south, congregating here each November. A few months before the butterflies’ arrival, the Rukai people hold their annual harvest festival- the most important celebration of the year. Rukai men and women dress in their best traditional clothing for this special occasion. To them, butterflies are an integral part of everyday life, as a symbol of wealth and status within the tribe. Butterflies and their symbolic role within this native community in Taiwan can be seen in many forms. The fragile beauty of these insects and the art they inspire, attract tourists that in turn support these communities. Memories are often made in this butterfly valley: Before there were so many butterflies here that it formed a tight curtain all around the valley. They would hang from branches, filling up entire trees. If we walk near them, they would fly away, stop and then fly away again if we approach them. There would be so many of them that you’d have difficulty seeing in front of you. At that time they come here to drink water because back then it was the only water source around here. This butterfly valley was discovered in the 1970s. Since then, purple crows have been observed making long distance journeys across Taiwan, but scientists are just beginning to understand their over-winter and migration behavior. If internal migration patterns can be determined with this species in Taiwan, perhaps the insights will help prove the trans-ocean migration of the chestnut tigers. One man and his team of volunteers are close to unlocking the migration mysteries of the purple crow. Chia-Lung Chan has been studying butterflies for 15 years. An active researcher for the Butterfly Conservation Society here in Taiwan, he also plays a major role in the purple crow butterfly mark and release program with the Society’s network of volunteers. Each year, volunteers station themselves throughout the island, at various points near an unverified butterfly pathway based on eyewitness reports. Their mission- to track and confirm the internal migration pathway of the purple crow. Catching butterflies may seem like a rather easy and romantic task, but it’s not so simple. Chia-Lung Chan insists that volunteers go through the proper training on how to catch and handle these delicate creatures. First, pinch the butterfly’s wings together then carefully hold its chest or thorax and wings to avoid hurting it. The local aboriginal children also join as young volunteers. These coded butterflies carry an important mission, like the marked chestnut tiger butterflies, it may unlock the mystery of their butterfly highway. On a warm morning in March, one by one, these purple crows leave the quiet butterfly valley. Local traffic is only the beginning- a dangerous journey is ahead of them. The chase begins. Huge numbers of purple crow butterflies just left the valley and a team of volunteers are on an island-wide chase to track their flight and prove the existence of an internal butterfly pathway extending the length of Taiwan. Now this position is at 120 degrees 37 minutes 55 seconds east longitude and 23 degrees 43 minutes 57 seconds north latitude. These are the coordinates of the butterfly group. Come here quick!Let’s go! Another group just flew by! Let’s hurry up and go there! Taiwan’s landscape is complicated, with mountain ranges taking up 3 quarters of the island’s total surface area, making the chase extremely difficult for these volunteers. It may be impossible to chase chestnut tiger butterflies across the ocean to and from Japan, but chasing these purple crow butterflies overland in Taiwan is at least theoretically possible. Eyewitness reports have already mapped out a tentative migration route within Taiwan. All it takes is enough scientific data to confirm it. The volunteers have grouped together in an island-wide butterfly network geared towards chasing the purple crows. Today a huge group of butterflies slowly made their migration over here. We witnessed a fascinating biological behavior. The most important thing is to record their exact location, so we can understand their movements this entire year within Taiwan. If scientists need satellite global positioning systems, or GPS to find their locations, how do butterflies know the correct route to their destinations without ever having been there? Recently, scientists in the United States have determined that the monarch, another milkweed butterfly, uses the angle and intensity of sunlight to set an internal clock that helps them navigate thousands of miles from Canada to Mexico. Perhaps using the sun as a compass can help can help the butterflies navigate. But navigation does not come easily to these volunteers. The volunteers have the daunting task of trying to chase and catch the migrating insects and hopefully catch a butterfly marked with a code that proves the migration path. Could their guess at the butterfly pathway be incorrect? It’s been a month since the disappearance of butterflies from the valley. They’ve been scouting here for 7 days now, but no luck yet. Their hearts are heavy- the chances of recapturing these north-bound butterflies are slim. And if none are recaptured, it could mean all their efforts this year are wasted. Heavy rain is one thing to stop butterflies in their tracks… long enough for Chan and his team to catch up. In this mountainous region 100km away from the butterfly valley, the purple crow butterflies have all stopped to hide from the rain. The butterflies’ wings are covered with small colored scales that help waterproof their flight gear. But even so, they can’t stand a chance against strong winds and rain, so they must stop and hide under heavy foliage. The chestnut tiger butterflies will perish under these same conditions while flying over the ocean, where they cannot find shelter from a storm. Quiet… these butterflies arrived just yesterday. They all flew from the south- from Kaohshiung. We have to approach them slowly and quietly or else they’ll get scared and fly away. Right in here, right on top, all those are butterflies! Elementary School teacher Cheng-Nan Zhen is an avid butterfly volunteer and just happened to see the butterflies speed across to find cover from the rain. For these volunteers, this is a huge breakthrough as it is the biggest group of butterflies they’ve seen since the insect’s departure from the valley in the far south. The volunteers scour for the butterflies with the coded wings. Could this group be from the valley? Those without codes will still be marked. Perhaps they too will be recaptured later. The surprise and ambush tactics used by these butterfly chasers is only made possible by the use of certain props. They’ve developed special mark and release nets that will make their jobs more efficient. I’m a volunteer from mid-Taiwan. Before, marking and releasing butterflies was a tedious job, but after I discovered that I can use some props from home to create a special butterfly net, then my job became easier. We took our extra umbrella, attached it to our mosquito net, and added a stool at a bottom to create this wonderful containment tent. We can sit down and mark while relaxing under the shade. The mark and release procedure is fast, easy and fun. Whenever we have free time we’ll come here to Lin Nei and catch butterflies. Eleven-year-old Wen Wen and her parents are avid volunteers in the butterfly mark and release program. The youngest volunteer in the group, Wen Wen delights in her family’s newest creation- the flagship of all butterfly tents. Recently we created a new marking net because our old one was small and can only accommodate a few people inside. Now the space is a lot bigger with two different colors so the butterflies will fly towards the top because they like lighter colors. We also made a slit to make it easier for the volunteers to release the marked butterfly. Even a child’s tent can be put to good use. These fun creations will help butterfly volunteers do their work quickly without harming the butterflies. This mark release and recapture process continues throughout the entire winter as they chase butterflies up and down the central mountain range of Taiwan. Finally, with one swoop of his net, Wen Wen’s father makes a big break. There’s one right over here. Really! Look! Come look! Zhen quickly reports this butterfly, marked MB0123, to the butterfly association to track its origin and finds out that this is indeed from the southern butterfly valley. This is a huge encouragement to these volunteers. And for Wen Wen’s father, it’s just like winning the lottery. In this butterfly relay race, the sprinter just grabbed the first baton and is ready to run. Wen Wen just marked her first butterfly of the day, MD329. She’s not sure where the purple crow will fly to, but hopes that it will quickly return to its group and safely complete its long distance journey. It’s morning and the butterflies from this mountain region leave the forest. Many of them have marked codes as they fly past excited hikers, among them, Wen Wen’s marked butterfly, MD329. Zhen and his students wave the butterflies goodbye, wishing them a bon voyage. These butterflies survived the rain, but with their battered wings, they only have about a month left to live. They may not know it yet, but they are about to face a perilous leg of their journey. As spring turns into summer, the birds from these lowlands are busy feeding their young. At this time each year, they won’t miss out the opportunities for a ready meal. The purple crows will have to face several of these dangers along their migration pathway. But the real killer is still man. This is a journey filled with dangers. April is the month where the Taiwanese return home to honor their ancestors. Traffic is not only busy on the roads but in the skies as well. The south-westerly currents speed both bird and butterfly up north. For the purple crows, they will soon encounter a major challenge. Right ahead is a busy highway. Butterflies are thrown in different directions as each car zooms past. Some get tossed right into the path of tires, windshields, and bumpers dying on impact. This highway creates a disruption in air currents, breaking up the butterfly’s pathway and scattering the unity of the butterfly group. Many are lost on this highway of death. Butterflies don’t fly underneath the overpass because they don’t like the dark and prefer the light. I have already caught over 50 dead butterflies on just 100m expanse of highway, which comes to show just how treacherous the highway is to them. Did Wen Wen’s butterfly make it across? Those who have survived this treacherous obstacle continue on towards the middle of Taiwan, where another group of butterfly volunteers are ready and waiting. In the middle of Taiwan, near the suburbs, is an 88 hectare city park. A place where residents take leisurely strolls is also a place where hundreds of thousands of butterflies cross each year. University student Ah Mei and her classmate are butterfly mark and release volunteers, using weekends and holidays to do their work. Today is Ah Mei’s lucky day. You caught one with a code! Ah, really!// Really, look, March 29th! Let’s call quickly! Take a picture! Please get my pen and paper. I’ll take notes. You take those! OK, I will call now.// What do we do now? Let’s first call Chan Chia-Long. Ah Mei remembers that the first thing to do when you find a coded butterfly is not only take its picture but call the butterfly association’s office and track where the butterfly was marked. That will complete the recapture process. The baton is passed on to the 2nd sprinter, as MD329, Wen Wen’s butterfly makes great progress by linking the butterfly pathway between southern Taiwan and middle of Taiwan. A tremendous milestone for the volunteers, not only for the one who recaptured the butterfly, but for the group’s youngest volunteer, 100km away… Wen Wen. When I found at that Ms. Ah Mei caught my butterfly, I felt as though my teacher just announced that I won first place. I’m so happy! This relay race is not easy. Not only must the volunteers outpace the butterflies, they also must keep track of each baton or numbered code as they migrate up north. With guidance from the sun and the push of strong south-westerly currents, the purple crows head straight for the dense wind-sheltered forests in northern Taiwan near the ocean. This forest by the sea, where densely packed Australian pine trees offer much protection to the secrets within. This is where butterfly larvae can find their favorite food, the leaves of the milkweed plant, and an important destination for the purple crows to breed and lay their eggs. It’s May, 8 weeks since the butterflies left their valley in the south and the volunteers manage to chase some butterflies to this forest. Everyone is wondering, could this group of butterflies really be the same group that traveled from the southern butterfly valley? Or, is this just a group from the vicinity? This is YB7 or YR7? Let me see... Wait, it looks as though it’s… January 19th! We hit the jackpot! We hit the jackpot! A shout breaks through the silence of the forest and excite the hearts of the 30 odd butterfly volunteers. This is from Maulin, we’ve waited so long for this. Yes, victory! The butterfly marked YB7 survived for at least 3 months and flew over 200 kilometers, from the butterfly valley to the mountainous regions in middle Taiwan to the forests of the north. The mysteries of this butterfly pathway are now unlocked. On the same day, in this same forest, volunteers catch 5 more butterflies all from the same group that was marked in the southern butterfly valley. Not only do these findings confirm the northerly migration of these overwintering butterflies, it also reaffirms their strong survival and flight abilities. 1030? October 30th. Let’s look it up. Hold it carefully. Don’t press on it. This one is too real. FY was marked by Feng Yue. Feng Yue?// She’s the volunteer from the south. It’s been recorded! This is the real jackpot! No one really knows how long the purple crow butterflies can live. Today, FY1030 confirmed that it’s possible for purple crows to live for almost half a year, even through the winter, and complete a 254km journey, the longest recorded journey ever made by a purple crow butterfly. These coded wings now connect a butterfly pathway that people suspected existed, but until now, had not been proved. The butterfly’s genetic code steers it unerringly to the place that hundreds of generations have gone before. It is one of the miracles of nature. The handwritten code on its wings help butterfly chasers trace and unlock the migration mysteries of the purple crows. The next important mission for these butterflies who just flew over 200km is to reproduce and ensure another generation of their kind. They rode the warm southern currents to the north to find the best mates and suitable place for their offspring. The males are busy now, using sexual attractants called pheromones to entice the females to mate. These chemicals, along with a special male organ called hair pencils are used during courtship. These fine hairs contain chemicals that are sometimes rubbed or brushed against the antennae of the female to invoke a cooperative response. Now, at the end of their lives, some make one last effort at mating while others frantically search for places to lay their eggs. This female butterfly, having just mated, scours the forest for the best places for her offspring. She’s beaten the odds and survived for this long to accomplish her last mission. Soon, she will die within the comforts of this forest… and a new cycle will begin again. It’s the end of May and this newly hatched purple crow butterfly larvae will begin a three-week non-stop feeding frenzy, growing 120 times its original size to form a chrysalis. Approximately 10 days later, on a hot summer’s morning, it will emerge a fully formed butterfly, awaiting the rays of the sun to dry its wings. But not all caterpillars will make it to a fully formed butterfly; each year, deadly predators await their coming. These wasps are the predators that feed on the larvae of the chestnut tigers. The same wasps also attack the purple crows. Even spiders won’t miss out on the opportunity for an insect meal. They trap adult butterflies in their webs. Some die even before they hatch, some die when they’re caterpillars while most die when they’re inside their chrysalises. Some call this place the purple crow’s forest of death. The migration pathways of the purple crow butterfly are unlikely to change, so this fate will await them each year. Unlike the chestnut tigers that leave Yangmingshan National Park to escape the parasitic wasps, the purple crows, at the end of their lives, stay and take their chances. Once they leave, these newly formed butterflies will scatter to the lowland forests to rest until the coming of Autumn, when the 4th generation of butterflies will make their maiden voyage back to spend their winter in the warmer south. They’ll take the same paths as their ancestors before them. The aborigines will watch over them in their home, the Valley of the Purple Butterflies. This year, through the efforts of these volunteers, the purple crows’ migration pathway in Taiwan is now finally revealed. Experts now face the much more difficult challenge of understanding the movement between Taiwan and Japan of the chestnut tiger butterflies. The scientists cannot do it alone. They need volunteers to find their tagged and released specimens and so reveal the migration secrets of the coded butterflies. Japanese butterfly expert Fukuda is hopeful. In order to solve this mystery, not only do we need researchers, but we need everyone’s participation, from young to old. This is not something only a handful of people can solve. With insects so fragile and beautiful, it is no wonder that so many will volunteer their time to contribute to understanding the amazing and complex life cycle of these stunning butterflies… but for how long will they keep their secrets?