Dingtugou Butterfly Village Introduction
Located at the boundary between Shuishang Township and Taibao City in Chiayi County, Tuguo Village is composed of the upper and lower Tuguo settlements. It is a typical rural community experiencing population outflow, with only the elderly and children remaining, and the living environment has gradually deteriorated. The county government once hoped to establish a landfill here, which triggered strong protests from the villagers and raised their environmental awareness. Additionally, in recent years, the government has vigorously promoted community development, coupled with the awakening of local residents, leading the upper Tuguo community to begin community building activities in 1998. Efforts were made to reorganize the village environment, rehabilitate the drainage ditches, and plant water caltrop to improve the previously filthy and overgrown ditches into a clean stream with ecological traces. Furthermore, the community planted cotton plants and marigolds to beautify the environment. The unexpected appearance of the Callicore butterfly occurred, as the cotton tree, also known as the butterfly tree, secretes sweet nectar that provides food for butterflies, thus attracting them to visit Tuguo. As a result, the villagers decided to plant large quantities of cotton trees to rejuvenate the butterfly population. With media coverage, the beautiful name of "Butterfly Village" began to spread. The year 1999 marked the peak of butterfly activity, with events such as "Butterflies at My House" and "Sesame Seed Festival" taking place, which also sparked a trend of community observation, with over 200 communities visiting, successfully establishing the reputation of Tuguo as a butterfly village. However, in recent years, butterflies have ceased to flutter in Butterfly Village due to an invasion of parasitic wasps that have disrupted the butterfly ecosystem. These wasps lay their eggs inside butterfly chrysalises and gradually consume the butterfly larvae, resulting in bees emerging instead of butterflies. While this is unfortunate, the image of the aging village has transformed, exuding a new rural atmosphere and achieving its goal of environmental beautification. In 2006, the community received sponsorship from the Xinyi Real Estate Community for the 95th fiscal year and community forestry subsidies from the Forestry Bureau, aiming to create an ecological education park along the 1.8-kilometer Taiwan Sugar Ditch Road that connects the upper and lower Tuguo settlements. This includes the creation of the "Butterfly Love Flower Trail" that links the two settlements, as well as the establishment of the "Spirit of the Butterfly" logo, enhancing the community's diverse ecological, recreational, and educational functions, and hoping to provide better leisure destinations for the public on weekends.
