Maolin Butterfly Season Guide 茂林賞蝶指南

Table of Contents

Basic Taiwan Butterfly Spotting Tips

• Bring binoculars and/or a telephoto lens
• Look for butterflies during hot times in the day (they are cold-blooded), near water sources, flowers, and at the edges of forests and bushes
• Sunny weather is best for butterfly spotting
• Move slowly and don’t make sudden movements
• Approach from downwind to hide your scent
• Make sure to record both the topside and underside of the wings
• Consult a guidebook such as 臺灣蝴蝶圖鑑， this blog post, or a Chinese online version of butterflies here: https://sites.google.com/view/butterfly-tw/%E8%9D%B4%E8%9D%B6%E5%9C%96%E9%91%91
• Insider tip: for the easiest butterfly spotting in Taiwan, check out the insectarium at Taipei Zoo.

Background:

Taiwan’s “Valley of Purple Butterflies” in Maolin is one of only two major overwintering butterfly valleys in the world, rivaling Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Valley. From October to February, hundreds of thousands of purple crow butterflies migrate to the warm, sheltered valleys at the foot of Mount Dawu—sacred to the Rukai and Paiwan peoples—to escape the winter cold, returning north in spring. Researchers have mapped their northbound “butterfly highway” from Maolin through several regions up to Zhunan in Hsinchu. This awe-inspiring natural phenomenon is recognized as one of Taiwan’s most magnificent ecological treasures and is the only Taiwanese site awarded three stars—the highest rating—by the Michelin Green Guide. The overwintering colonies mainly consist of species like the small, great, round-winged, and striped purple crows. Each winter, the Maolin National Scenic Area hosts butterfly-watching events, guided tours, live online broadcasts, and local cultural markets featuring Rukai arts and performances, offering visitors a unique blend of ecology and indigenous culture.

When are the major Butterfly Migrations in Taiwan?

September to March.
Major butterfly migrations, such as Maolin‘s butterfly season (where you can find lots of butterflies in the valleys of Taiwan’s southern mountains in Kaohsiung and Pintung), usually last from September to March when the climate is warmer and milder compared to northern Taiwan.

Where are the best places to spot butterflies in Maolin?

• Everywhere that there are trees, flowers, and sources of water
• Along treelines, such as roads, trails, or rivers that are near forests
• Maolin Village, Wanshan Village, and Duona Village

Maolin Butterfly Spotting Map:

Check out the popular tourist sites in Maolin above, where you can see butterflies.
You can also check out our full tourist guide to Maolin here.

My Experience Spotting Butterflies in Maolin

I am not an expert butterfly spotter or entomologist. There are so many slight variations of butterflies and even variations among the same species of butterfly that it is often hard for me to identify them and tell them apart.
However, I have experienced the joy of butterfly spotting ever since my friends took me butterfly spotting in Meinong and Maolin in Kaohsiung.
During the winter in the mountains of southern Taiwan, you can see flocks of hundreds or thousands of migrating butterflies.

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I live in Taipei, which is where I do most of my butterfly spotting. I don’t have time to go down to the southern mountains to witness the migrations all the time. I am a weekend warrior most of the time. But I have found that many of the butterflies found in southern Taiwan can also be found in Taipei.

If you are just starting out butterfly spotting, just know that the Small Cabbage White is the most populous butterfly in Taiwan by far. They are very, very numerous and are considered a pest.

Which Species of Butterfly migrates to Maolin in Winter?

See below for a list of migratory butterflies that overwinter in Maolin:

• Blue-branded king crow 圓翅紫斑蝶 (yuán chì zǐ bān dié) Euploea eunice hobsoni
• Double-branded Blue Crow 雙標紫斑蝶 (shuāng biāo zǐ bān dié) Euploea sylvester swinhoei
• Dwarf Crow 小紫斑蝶 (xiǎo zǐ bān dié) Euploea tulliolus koxinga

List of Butterflies Commonly Found in Maolin:

Please note that in the description underneath each butterfly is the elevation range in which they live, rarity, and also wingspan length.

Bamboo Treebrown 長紋黛眼蝶 (cháng wén dài yǎn dié) Zophoessa europa pavida

1000m – sea level, common, 6-7cm

Blue-branded king crow 圓翅紫斑蝶 (yuán chì zǐ bān dié) Euploea eunice hobsoni

Below 1000 m, common

Ceylon Blue Glassy Tiger 旖斑蝶 (yǐ bān dié) Ideopsis similis

Below 2500 meters, lots of them

Chestnut Tiger 大絹紋斑蝶 (dà juàn wén bān dié) Parantica sita niphonica

Below 1500m

Chinese Dart 黃斑弄蝶 (huáng bān nòng dié) Potanthus confucius angustatus

1000m to sea level, common, 2-3cm

Chocolate Pansy 黯眼蛺蝶 (àn yǎn jiá dié) Junonia iphita iphita

2000 m and below, common

Common Bluebottle 青鳳蝶 (qīng fèng dié) Graphium sarpedon connectens

2000m to sea level, common, 7-8cm

Common Grass Yellow 黃蝶 (huáng dié) Eurema hecabe hecabe

2000m to sea level, very common, 3-5cm

Common Jester 花豹盛蛺蝶 (huā bào shèng jiá dié) Symbrenthia hypselis scatinia

2000 m and below, common

Common Mapwing 網絲蛺蝶 (wǎng sī jiá dié) Cyretis thyodamas formosana

2500 and below, common, 4cm wingspan, looks like cracked tiles

Common Mormon 玉帶鳳蝶 (yù dài fèng dié) Papilio polytes polytes

2000m to sea level, somewhat rare in northern Taiwan, 8-10cm

Common Rose 紅珠鳳蝶 (hóng zhū fèng dié) Pachliopta aristolochiae inerpositus

1000m to sea level, common, 8-11cm

Common Windmill 多姿麝鳳蝶 (duō zī shè fèng dié) Byasa polyeuctes termessus

2500m to sea level, somewhat common, 10-12cm

Dark Blue Tiger 小淡紋青斑蝶 (xiǎo dàn wén qīng bān dié) Tirumala septentrionis

Gather on valleys in southern Taiwan during winter, below 2000 m

Double-branded Blue Crow 雙標紫斑蝶 (shuāng biāo zǐ bān dié) Euploea sylvester swinhoei

Numerous below 1000m

Dwarf Crow 小紫斑蝶 (xiǎo zǐ bān dié) Euploea tulliolus koxinga

Common below 1000 m

Formosan Treebrown 台灣黛眼蝶 (tái wān dài yǎn dié) Lethe mataja

2000m-200m, rare, 6-7cm

Glassy Tiger 絹紋斑蝶 (juàn wén bān dié) Parantica aglea maghaba

Southern Taiwan below 1500 m

Golden Birdwing 黃裳鳳蝶 (huáng cháng fèng dié) Troides aeacus kaguya

1000m to sea level, somewhat rare, 11-16cm

Great Mormon 大鳳蝶 (dà fèng dié) Papilio memmon heronus

male

female

Female

1500m to sea level, common, 10-15cm

Green Island Siam Tree Nymph 大白斑蝶屬 (dà bái bān dié shǔ) Idea leuconoe kwashotoensis

Below 500 on Green Island

Ideopsis 旖斑蝶 (yǐ bān dié) Type

Indian Cabbage White 緣點白粉蝶 (yuán diǎn bái fěn dié) Pieris canidia

2000m to sea level, very common pest, 5-6cm

Orange Oakleaf 古葉蝶 (gǔ yè dié) Kallima inachus formosana

male

Looks like a leaf

Paris Peacock 琉璃翠鳳蝶 (liú lí cuì fèng dié) Papilio paris nakaharai

300m to sea level, common, 10-11cm

Pink-spotted Windmill 長尾麝鳳蝶 (cháng wěi shè fèng dié) Byasa impediens febanus

2500m to sea level, somewhat common, 8-10cm

Plain Tiger 金斑蝶 (jīn bān dié) Danaus chrysippus

Rare seen in southern Taiwan

Red Ring Skirt 紅斑脈蛺蝶 (hóng bān mài jiá dié) Hestina assimilis formosana

2000m- sea level, rare, 6-8cm

Shiny Spotted Bob 白斑弄蝶 (bái bān nòng dié) Isotein lamprospilus formosanus

1500m- sea level, common, 3-4cm

Siam Tree Nymph 大白斑蝶 (dà bái bān dié) Idea leuconoe clara

Below 1000, common

Small Cabbage White 白粉蝶 (bái fěn dié) Pieris rapae crucivora

2000m to sea level, very common pest, 4-6cm

Spangle 黑鳳蝶 (hēi fèng dié) Papilio protenor protenor

1500m to sea level, common, 10-12cm

Staff Sergent 異紋帶蛺蝶 (yì wén dài jiá dié) Athyma selenophora laela

Female

Male

This one may be a Blue-branded Swallowtail, which is native to Africa.

2000m and below, common, 4-6 cm wingspan

Striped Blue Crow 異紋紫斑蝶 (yì wén zǐ bān dié) Euploea mulciber barsine

Common, below 1000 m

Taiwan Peacock 台灣琉璃翠鳳蝶 (tái wān liú lí cuì fèng dié) Papilio hermosanus

1200m to 100m, common, 8-10cm

Wang’s Three-ring 王氏波眼蝶 (wáng shì bō yǎn dié) Ypthima wangi

900m- sea level, common, 4cm

Full and Complete List of Taiwan Butterflies:

You can find our full and complete list of Taiwan butterflies here.

Thanks for reading! Know any Taiwan butterflies that are not on the list above? Let us know in the comments.

You can also check out our full tourist guide to Maolin here.

For more information about Taiwan, check out our ultimate guide to Taiwan here.