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A
Listing of
Butterflies & Moths
in Japan

.
(as during FONT tours
in the months of:
January, February, April, May,
June, November, December)
Butterflies are seen during our spring tours and during our winter tours on
the
southern islands, such as Amami &
Okinawa.
List compiled by Armas Hill
Those with an asterisk (*) seen during FONT Japanese tours, on the respective island as noted.
Numbers noted as (C:xx) refer to pages in "A World of Butterflies", with text by
Brian Cassie, and photographs (superb) by Kjell Sandved
Numbers noted as (F:xx) refer to pages in "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Butterflies", by Dr. John Feltwell
Numbers noted as (KJB:xx) refer to pages in the
"Key to Japanese Butterflies in Natural Color, by Toshio
Inomata", published
in 1990
Numbers noted as (JBM:xx) refer to plates in
"Japanese Butterflies & Moths" by Takashi Shiramizu, not known
when published but a preface in an early edition was written in
1966
Numbers noted as (S:xx) refer to pages in the
"Smithsonian Handbook, Butterflies & Moths", by David Carter
Geographical Codes (relating to Japanese
Islands):
AM: Amami
HK: Hokkaido
HN: Honshu
IR: Iriomotejima
IS: Ishigakijima
KY: Kyushu
OK: Okinawa
Throughout the world, there are over 180,000 described species of butterflies
and moths (in the order Lepidoptera).
In the following list of Japanese butterflies and moths, 399 species (with
additional subspecies) are included.
SOME COMMENTARY REGARDING BUTTERFLY IDENTIFICATION:
"Get a guidebook, take a few years, and
you'll still make mistakes. Butterfly identification has an initial, deceptive
simplicity.
Individuals in a species vary naturally, an eyespot slightly larger, a color
brighter.
Males and females of a species can be strikingly dissimilar.
So can genetic morphs or forms within a gender.
In a single species, butterflies that live in a range of habitats can vary in
appearance and produce different populations or geographical races, each better
adapted to its environment.
Species can also produce generations of distinct morphs in the same place at
different times of the year.
One Tiger Swallowtail is black. On the same
flower, another Tiger Swallowtail is yellow.
Another species produces red butterflies in the wet season and blue in the dry.
A species darkens in response to air pollution.
A species gains an eyespot. A species loses one."
The above commentary taken from the book, "An Obsession with
Butterflies", by Sharman Apt Russell (a wonderful read).
Links:
Upcoming
FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Japan
Birds
during previous FONT Tours in Japan (with photos)
Mammals in Japan (with photos)

A List of Japanese Butterflies:
