On September 27, despite an unseasonably warm and humid autumn breeze, 30 people, including members of the Earth Love Exploration Team and families with elementary school students, gathered at Gangseo Marsh Ecological Park. The members examined the evening primroses blooming throughout the park, searching for butterflies that are often found flying near flowerbeds.
The Earth Love Exploration Team is a citizen science project that has been running since 2013, led by Donga Science's magazine 'Children's Science Donga' and Professor Jang Yi-kwon of the Ewha Womans University's Division of EcoScience. As team members, participants explore and document 16 species of living organisms in their surroundings. Scientists then use these records as research data.
The field education event, titled 'Butterfly, Let's Play with Me,' was joined by Patagonia Korea. Patagonia Korea, an eco-friendly outdoor sports brand that pursues sustainability and environmental protection, provided exploration gear and snacks for the members participating in the field event.
The 'Butterfly, Let's Play with Me' field education was led by researcher Chu Heon-cheol from the Parks and Recreation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Eastern Parks & Recreation Center. Researcher Chu studies the distribution and ecology of butterflies in Seoul Forest in response to climate change.
Butterflies are insects sensitive to climate change. They are heavily influenced by changes in temperature, humidity, and ecosystems, causing them to relocate their habitats or disappear. Accordingly, the National Institute of Biological Resources under the Ministry of Environment has designated seven butterfly species in Korea as climate change indicator species and is continuously monitoring their distribution, lifestyle, and population size.
Butterflies feed on nectar from flowers, while their caterpillars eat leaves. Gangseo Marsh Ecological Park is home to a wide variety of plants, from wild flowers like evening primroses and annual fleabane to large trees such as willows, making it possible to see many different species of butterflies.
Researcher Chu explained that when looking for caterpillars, “if there are droppings around chewed leaves, there is a high probability that a caterpillar is living nearby.” Following his explanation, the members set out to find butterflies and caterpillars near the flowerbeds and trees.
The first butterfly discovered was the pale grass blue, flying near a creeping woodsorrel. The pale grass blue is small, with a wingspan of only about 28-30mm. It originally lived only in regions south of Seoul, but has recently been found nationwide. “Its habitat has expanded as Korea's climate has warmed due to global warming,” explained researcher Chu.
Afterward, the members found the large copper, various nymphalids, the Japanese argus, and the straight swift. Among them, the large copper originally inhabited northern areas like Paju and Yeongheungdo Island, but has recently been spotted in South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces.
While it is endangered in Europe due to habitat loss, in Korea its habitat is actually expanding, drawing attention from international butterfly researchers. Near the willow trees, a purple emperor caterpillar and a sericin-moth butterfly were also found. The purple emperor feeds on willow leaves and is characterized by the V-shaped antennae on its head.
The sericin-moth butterfly lays its eggs on birthwort vines near rivers, and its caterpillars feed on the birthwort leaves. However, as river maintenance projects have reduced the number of birthwort vines, the sericin-moth butterfly population is also declining. “To prevent the extinction of the sericin-moth butterfly, the Seoul Metropolitan Government designated it as a protected wildlife species in Seoul last September,” said researcher Chu.
After the exploration, Hwang I-jun, a member of team 'Junseon,' shared his thoughts: “I've always loved seeing butterflies in the forest, so I was thrilled to discover a large copper for the first time today.” Jang Seo-won of team 'Jangseowon' said, “It was heartbreaking to learn that global warming is also affecting the habitats of butterflies.”
