Black swallowtail - Kuroageha (English spelling) spangle

A butterfly belonging to the order Lepidoptera, family Papilionidae. It is distributed throughout Japan except Hokkaido, but is rare in the northern Tohoku region. In many parts of Japan, it is the most common of the large black swallowtail butterflies. Outside of Japan, it is distributed from Taiwan and China to the northwestern Himalayas, and is a species that shows a typical distribution pattern of the Western Chinese species. The wingspan is about 100 to 120 mm. Both sexes have black wings (females are slightly lighter in color), and males have horizontal white stripes at the front of the hindwings. In areas near the northern limit of its distribution, it occurs twice a year, in warm areas it occurs three times a year, and in the Ryukyu Islands it occurs even more frequently. The larvae feed on citrus fruits such as Unshu mandarin, Natsumikan, and Yuzu, as well as Rutaceae plants such as trifoliate orange, Japanese pepper, Japanese pepper, Japanese pepper, and Illicium japonica. It overwinters as a pupa.

[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。北海道を除く日本全土に分布するが、東北地方北部では少ない。日本の多くの地域では黒色大形のアゲハチョウのなかでもっとも普通の種である。外国では台湾、中国からヒマラヤ北西部にかけて分布し、典型的な西部中国系の分布様式を示す種である。はねの開張は100～120ミリメートル程度。雌雄ともはねは黒色（雌は色彩がやや淡色）、雄では後ろばねの前方に横白条がある。分布の北限に近い地方では年2回、暖地では年3回の発生、南西諸島ではさらに発生回数を増す。幼虫の食草は温州(うんしゅう)ミカン、ナツミカン、ユズなどのミカン類、カラタチ、サンショウ、イヌザンショウ、カラスザンショウ、ミヤマシキミなどのミカン科植物。越冬態は蛹(さなぎ)。

［白水　隆］

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