[Movie File] Japanese Oakblue (Narathura japonica)

[Movie File] Japanese Oakblue (Narathura japonica)

Japanese Oakblue (Narathura japonica) is found from northern Honshu to Okinawa. Outside Japan it is confined to Taiwan and Korea. Adult butterfly hibernates and sometimes is seen active even in winter when it is warm. Larva feeds on various oaks (Quercus spp.). Recently this species is found at the center of Tokyo because the foodplants are abundant in parks and streets.

▲ Basking. To bend its body towards the ground

▲ Basking. Shiny Blue on its upperside is broader in males

(Hachiouji, Tokyo JAPAN Feb. 2013)

Searching for "Romeo" in Panay, Philippines

Kitamura's collection (Nymphalidae in Philippines)

 

Searching for "Romeo" in Panay, Philippines

   The late Mr. KITAMURA Minoru (1937-2003) is a Japanese butterfly enthusiast who made a great contribution to the study on immature stages of many butterflies in Philippines. He worked as a civil engineer but spent most of his spare time on the study of butterflies.

   Recently small part of his collection was donated to RIEB (Research Institute of Evolutionary Biology) where our secretariat is housed.

   Here the author of this blog would like to introduce his collection to the memory of him. This collection contains chiefly Nymphalidae and Hesperiidae in Philippines. Almost all specimens were collected by himself or his native staffs. So the collecting data is precise.

   Among these precious specimens, Romeo's Assyrian (Terinos romeo) is one of the most remarkable specimens.

Romeo's Assyrian (Terinos romeo), Male (Panay, Philippines)

 

   This beautiful species was first described from Panay in 1984 by Schröder and Treadaway who are well-known Lepidopterists specialized in butterflies in Philippines. After the discovery, no additional record had been obtained until Mr. KITAMURA re-discovered this species in northern Panay.

The location of Panay Island (Red dot)

Detailed map of the collecting site (by KITAMURA, 1993)

 

    In 1993, KITAMURA visited Panay to join the baptismal service for his Philipino relative. Then he went into the jungle for searching butterflies as usual. There he found one strange-looking Nymphalid butterfly visiting the tree flower. He got it but could not identify it. After going back home in Manila and checked the book. Soon he shouted "Oh, this is ROMEO!!"

After this discovery, he has visited there many times to unveil the early stages of this butterfly. But he could not make it though he found the female of this species for the first time in the world.

Romeo's Assyrian (Terinos romeo), Female (Panay, Philippines)

 

   He suddenly passed away in 2003. He has unveiled the early stages of more than 200 butterfly species in Philippines. His unprecedant achievement greatly contributed to the book, "The Life Histories of Asian Butterflies" (Vol.1-2) by Igarashi and Fukuda.

   KITAMURA's abrupt death was definitely a great loss to the study of butterflies in Philippines.  

2012 Annual Meeting

2012 Annual Meeting

   On December 15, we had the annual meeting at the University of Tokyo. Same as the last time, we had plenty of presentations so it started from the morning time.

   This year Dr. KATO Yoshiomi (Emeritus professor of International Christian University) won HAYASHI Prize. He made a special presentation titled "My life to unravel the mystery of butterflies: How was Japanese population of “Eurema hecabe” diveded into two good species?"

                            Dr. KATO (left) and Mr. Uémura, President of BSJ(right)

   In the afternoon, the presentations on Zephyrus Hairstreaks are carried out by various speakers. This featured topic contains the latest information on this group from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Bhutan and Myanmar. Among them, the final presentation made by Mr. Shizuya Hideo drew much attention. His presentation was on the newly discovered Zephyrus from W. Myanmar. He himself has been studying the butterfly fauna in Myanmar for almost 20 years. He has discovered many new and interesting species so far. Last June he found another striking new species from western Myanmar.

Mr. Shizuya made his presentation on new Zephyrus species from Myanmar

   This new species was described as Burmaozephyrus kothayaungi (gen. et sp. nov.). Definitely the most remarkable discovery in 2012!!

Burmaozephyrus kothayaungi (gen. et sp. nov.)

 

   After the presentation session, the party was held.

  We welcomed 150 participants in total, very successful meeting.

Ludlow's Bhutan Glory was discovered from India!!

Ludlow's Bhutan Glory(Bhutanitis ludlowi) was discovered from India!!

▲ A male of Bhutanitis ludlowi visiting a flower

(Trashiyangtse, E. Bhutan, Aug. 2011)  Photo by WATANABE Yasuyuki



 

A great news has just arrived from India!

 

   Ludlow's Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis ludlowi) was discovered from Arunachal Pradesh, India. This magnificent swallowtail was re-discovered after almost 80-year absence in 2009. This species was thought to be endemic to small area of eastern Bhutan. In 2011, our society has a joint research with Bhutanese government and unveiled its biology.

 

   The observation and finding in our survey was described in our journal, Butterflies No.60.

 

    see  http://bsj-t.blogspot.jp/2012/06/our-journal-butterflies-teinopalpus.html

 

   The new discovery from India expands the distribution of this swallowtail. 

 

   Details are available from the following link.

 

   see  http://ifoundbutterflies.org/54-bhutanitis/bhutanitis-ludlowi

 

 

Our journal, Butterflies (Teinopalpus) No.61 has been published!

 ▲"Butterflies (Teinopalpus)" No.61

 

Our journal, Butterflies (Teinopalpus) No.61 has been published!     Our journal Butterflies (Teinopalpus) has just been published. In this new volume No.61, the featured paper is as follows.

Miyagi, A. Field observations of Pithecops corvus from autumn through next spring in Okinawa Island

 

▲The paper



This issue is available for non-members. Those who would like to get the copy, please send e-mail to the following address. One copy is 40 US$ (including the international postal fee)

[Contact] welcome_scripts@yahoo.co.jp

 

[Movie File] Ovipositional behavior of Vanessa indica

[Movie File]　Ovipositional behavior of Vanessa indica　
   It is amazing that butterflies can select their foodplants correctly to lay eggs from numerous kinds of plants growing in the field. Once the mother butterfly successfully comes near to her foodplant then she starts to drum the surfice of nearby leaves at random to find the real one. This is because the butterfly has the chemotactile receptor on its foretarsus so it tries to "taste" the plant chemically by this behavior.

 

▲Usual style of the adult butterfly. Forelegs are folded on the thorax.

 

▲Forelegs magnified.

　In the case of Nymphalid butterfly, it uses the forelegs which are usually folded on its thorax. This video is the female of Indian Admiral (Vanessa indica) which is drumming its foodplant, Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) by its forelegs. In the field, it is not easy to observe such an interesting behavior.

(Okinawa, JAPAN September, 2009)

 

 

An abberant form of Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon)

▲Graphium sarpedon (Vietnam)
　Left; Normal form Right; Abberant form(preserved in RIEB)

▲　Ditto, underside

An abberant form of Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon)

   Common bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon) is known to have an abberant form which lacks almost all its bluish spots on its wings. This blackish form is very rare but found in many places from old days. Checking the wing patterns of this form carefully, one can find out the one bluish spot on its each forewing's apex usually remains although all the other bluish spots are missing. The reason is not certain but it is possible that this spot may have some special meaning.