Usubaageha - Usubaageha

A butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae in the order Lepidoptera of the class Insecta. It is also called the Pale White, but it is not a species of the Pieridae family, so the name is inappropriate. It is distributed in Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku, but does not live in Kyushu. It is often found around mountain villages and in grasslands on the edge of forests, and flies slowly. Its wingspan is about 50 to 65 mm. It is exceptional for a swallowtail butterfly in that it has round wings and no tail-like protrusions. The base color of the wings is white, but in females the wings are slightly transparent and may be blackish. It appears once a year, from late April to late June in warm areas, and from mid-June to early July in cold areas such as the highlands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The larvae feed on plants of the Corydalaceae family, such as Corydalis purpurea and Corydalis japonica. It overwinters as an egg. A similar species in the same genus, the Small White Swallowtail (also known as the Small White Swallowtail), is endemic to Hokkaido in Japan and looks very similar to the Small White Swallowtail, making it difficult to distinguish between the two.

[Takashi Shiramizu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昆虫綱鱗翅(りんし)目アゲハチョウ科に属するチョウ。ウスバシロチョウともよばれるが、シロチョウ科の種ではなく、その名は適当ではない。北海道、本州、四国に分布し、九州には生息しない。山間の村落の周辺、林縁の草地に多く、緩やかに飛ぶ。はねの開張50～65ミリメートル程度。アゲハチョウ科のチョウとしては、例外的にはねの形は丸く、尾状突起もない。はねの地色は白色、雌でははねがやや透明となり、黒みを帯びることがある。1年に1回発生し、温暖な地域では4月下旬から6月下旬、本州の高地や北海道などの寒冷地では6月中旬から7月上旬ごろに発生する。幼虫の食草はムラサキケマン、ヤマエンゴサクなどのエンゴサク科の植物。卵の状態で越冬する。同属の近似種ヒメウスバアゲハ（別名ヒメウスバシロチョウ）は、日本では北海道の特産種で、ウスバアゲハに酷似しており、その区別はむずかしい。

［白水　隆］

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