China’s rare ‘butterfly explosion’ at risk from ‘crazy’ tourism, ecologist warns
- Millions of butterflies bursting forth from chrysalises a ‘breathtaking’ sight only seen in China’s Yunnan province and Mexico
- As visitors rush to ‘dance with the butterflies’, ecologist warns about how overtourism in the 1960s damaged another butterfly habitat
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Rare ‘butterfly explosion’ seen in China’s biodiverse southwestern Yunnan province
A rare “explosion” of millions of butterflies from their chrysalises in China’s southwestern province of Yunnan has taken social media by storm, with bloggers and visitors describing the scenes as “breathtaking”.
Wu Zhaolu, an ecology professor at Yunnan University, sounded the note of caution on the area known as Honghe Butterfly Valley as he recalled the fate of yet another famous tourist spot in the province.
The Butterfly Spring in Dali city of Yunnan was where tourists could view thousands of the newly emerged winged insects, many of them connecting with each other in a line with their heads and tails meeting.
“In the 60s, newspapers reported how the tourists went crazy for that view. Too many people rushed here. Years later, the butterflies left the place,” said Wu.
“There are a lot of spectacular insect sceneries in Yunnan. We do have a perfect ecosystem. The recently discovered ‘butterfly explosion’ is merely one of them.”
