The once endangered plant Qinling stone butterfly has returned to the wild for large-scale protection for the first time | Qinling | Plants
CCTV News: In recent years, with the continuous promotion of ecological protection in the Qinling Mountains, the population of wild animals and plants has also been increasing year by year. The once endangered plant Qinling stone butterfly, through artificial breeding, has recently returned to the wild for the first time on a large scale in Yang County, Hanzhong, Shaanxi.
In the plant protection base located in Lueyang County, Hanzhong City, these carefully taken care of by the staff are the Qinling stone butterflies. The Qinling stone butterfly is a nationally protected wild plant at the second level, with a very small number, named after the purple butterfly that resembles a flying flower when it blooms.
![The once endangered plant Qinling stone butterfly has returned to the wild for large-scale protection for the first time | Qinling | Plants](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/79b1d2c3a06802e0e5fe91a4db9d81dd.jpg)
Hu Fengcheng, Senior Engineer of the Forest Seedling Workstation in Lueyang County: We have discovered a new distribution point in Lueyang, with a wild population of approximately 200 plants. Its growth requires strict habitat requirements, and artificial breeding is not easy.
To strengthen the protection of these endangered plants, a local team of experts has been formed to simulate and build a wild living environment for the Qinling stone butterfly, and to carry out artificial propagation technology research. Through years of unremitting efforts, the current artificial cultivated population size has exceeded 10000 plants. Through multiple pilot trials in the early stages, experts finally selected new homes for them in the Changqing Nature Reserve in Yangxian, Hanzhong.
![The once endangered plant Qinling stone butterfly has returned to the wild for large-scale protection for the first time | Qinling | Plants](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/b36db3b774f9c314d07352e6aee981e7.jpg)
Jiang Jinglong, Professor of the School of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi University of Technology: After returning to the wild, we will come every month for observation, photo recording and monitoring. Our ultimate goal is to find a new distribution outside the original distribution. Realize the reconstruction of the population.