Nymphalidae - Nymphalidae

Japanese: タテハチョウ - たてはちょう

A general term for the Nymphalidae family of butterflies in the order Lepidoptera of the class Insecta. There is no species called Nymphalidae.

Butterflies belonging to the Nymphalidae family are generally medium-sized, with the largest species found in Japan being the Great Purple Emperor and the smallest being the Red Spotted Butterfly. There is a wide variety of colors, markings, and wing shapes. As with the Satyridae, Danaidae, and Nasiothridae, the front legs are degenerate to various degrees and are folded under the thorax and not used when landing on objects, and the pupa hangs down from the tail end (hanging pupa).

[Takashi Shiramizu]

Classification

The Nymphalidae butterflies found around the world are generally classified into 12 subfamilies, of which 9 are found in Japan.

(1) Charaxinae: The species of this subfamily are found mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia. In Japan, only one species, Charaxinae, is found on the main island of Okinawa. The body is thick and strong, and the hindwings usually have two tail-like protuberances. The larvae are "slug-shaped" similar to species of the subfamily Polytrichum, with a pair of broad protuberances on the head that branch out at the tips. The pupa is "pot-shaped" and round, with no prominent ridge running vertically down the center of the back.

(2) Apaturinae: The main distribution of this subfamily is the temperate zone of East Asia, the subtropics, Southeast Asia, with many species also found in North and South America, but only one species is found in Africa. There are three genera and four species found in Japan. They have no tail-like appendage. The larvae are "slug-shaped" with a pair of branched horn-like appendages on the head and a forked tail. The pupa is flattened on both sides and has a prominent ridge running vertically down the center of the back.

(3) Marpesiinae: Mainly found in Southeast Asia and the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, with only one species found in Africa. Only one species, Marpesiinae, is found in Japan. A medium-to-small-sized species. The larvae are similar to those of the Orthopaeidae, but are elongated, with a pair of horn-like projections on the head but no branches, and the tail end not forked. The pupa is flat on both sides, has a ridge running vertically down the center of the back, and has a pair of long rod-like projections on the head, somewhat resembling that of the Orthopaeidae.

(4) Pseudoergolinae: A group that includes a few species distributed in the warm zone of Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and East Asia, with only one species, Pseudoergolinae, found in Japan. The larvae are slender, similar to those of the Pseudoergolinae, with a pair of unbranched horn-like projections on the head, but no projections on the dorsal surface of the abdomen. The pupa has a unique shape, with a flat protrusion on the dorsal surface of the mesonothorax, the tip of which is bent backwards like a nose, and when viewed from the side, a "nail puller-shaped" space is created between the protrusion of the second abdominal segment.

(5) Subfamily Argynninae: Many species have black spots on an orange background, with colors and markings reminiscent of wild leopards. Many species are found in the Americas and Southeast Asia, but the majority are found in the cold to temperate zones of Eurasia. There are 10 genera and 15 species in Japan. The larvae are long and slender, with many nearly uniform spine-like projections on each segment of the body. Many pupae also have projections on the thorax and abdomen, some of which often shine silvery-white to golden.

(6) Subfamily Limenitinae: Widely distributed throughout the world, 11 species in 4 genera are found in Japan. As far as the Japanese butterflies are concerned, they are divided into the Limenitinae type, which has one white band running through the forewings and hindwings, and the Limenitinae type, which has three white bands. The spines on the torso of the larvae vary in size, and the shape of the pupa is "violin-shaped" when viewed from the dorsal and ventral sides, with no protrusions on the thorax or abdomen.

(7) Nymphalinae: Widely distributed throughout the world, with 17 species in 11 genera native to Japan. The larvae are long and slender, with spines of the same size on each segment of the body. Some have spines on the head, while others do not. The pupae also have projections on the thorax and abdomen.

(8) Melitaeinae: The surface of the wings is orange with many black spots, and at first glance they resemble the leopard fritillary, hence the name, but there is no close relationship between them. They are distributed from the cold to temperate zones of Eurasia, and in North and South America, but are not found in Southeast Asia or Africa. There are two genera and three species found in Japan, all of which are univoltine and inhabit the grasslands. The larvae have spines all over their bodies, similar to the Nymphalinae, but the pupae are a white base color with black and orange markings, which distinguishes them from those of the Nymphalinae.

(9) Biblidinae: They are found in the tropics and subtropics of Africa, Asia, and America, and in Japan, one species (Biblidinae) is found in the Yaeyama Islands as a vagrant butterfly. Some scholars consider them to be a group within the Biblidinae subfamily, as they are morphologically similar to the Biblidinae.

[Takashi Shiramizu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

昆虫綱鱗翅(りんし)目タテハチョウ科Nymphalidaeの総称。タテハチョウという種は存在しない。

　タテハチョウ科に属するチョウは一般に中形で、日本産で最大の種はオオムラサキ、最小の種はアカマダラである。色彩・斑紋(はんもん)および翅形の変化に富む。ジャノメチョウ科、マダラチョウ科、テングチョウ科と同じく前脚(ぜんきゃく)は種々の程度に退化し、胸部の下に畳み込まれて物に止まる場合には使用されず、また蛹(さなぎ)は尾端で垂下する（垂蛹(すいよう)）。

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分類

世界に産するタテハチョウ科は、普通、12の亜科に分類されるが、日本にはそのなかの9亜科を産する。

(1)フタオチョウ亜科Charaxinae　この亜科の種はアフリカ、中・南アメリカ、東南アジアの熱帯から亜熱帯地方がその分布の中心。日本には沖縄本島にフタオチョウの1種のみが産する。体は太く強剛、後ろばねに普通2本の尾状突起がある。幼虫はコムラサキ亜科の種に似た「ナメクジ状」、頭部の1対の突起は幅広くその先端は分岐する。蛹は「だるま形」で丸く、背面中央を縦走する顕著な稜(りょう)がない。

(2)コムラサキ亜科Apaturinae　この亜科の分布の中心は東アジアの温帯から暖帯・東南アジア、北・南アメリカにもかなりの種類を産するが、アフリカには1種を産するのみ。日本産は3属4種。尾状突起はない。幼虫は「ナメクジ状」で、頭部には分枝をもつ1対の角(つの)状突起があり、尾端は二叉(にさ)する。蛹は左右に扁平(へんぺい)、背面中央を縦走する顕著な稜がある。

(3)イシガケチョウ亜科Marpesiinae　東南アジア、アメリカ大陸の熱帯から亜熱帯が分布の中心、アフリカには1種を産するのみ。日本産はイシガケチョウの1種のみ。中・小形種。幼虫はコムラサキ亜科に似るが細長く、頭部には1対の角状突起があるが、分枝はなく、尾端は二叉しない。蛹は左右に扁平、背面中央を縦走する稜があり、頭部に1対の長い棒状突起があり、ややコムラサキ亜科の蛹に似ている。

(4)スミナガシ亜科Pseudoergolinae　東南アジアよりヒマラヤ、東アジアの暖帯に分布する少数の種を含む群で、日本産はスミナガシの1種のみ。幼虫はイシガケチョウ亜科に似て細長く、頭部に分枝を欠く1対の角状突起があるが、腹部背面には突起がない。蛹の形態は特異、中胸背面は平板状に突出し、その先端は鼻状に後方に曲がり、側面から見ると、第2腹節の突出部との間に「釘(くぎ)抜き状」の空間をつくる。

(5)ヒョウモンチョウ亜科Argynninae　多くの種は橙(だいだい)色の地色に黒色の斑点をもち、野獣のヒョウを思わせる色彩・斑紋をもっている。アメリカ大陸、東南アジアにもかなりの種類が分布するが、ユーラシア大陸の寒帯から温帯にもっとも種類が多い。日本産は10属15種。幼虫は細長く、胴部各節に多くのほぼ同形の棘(きょく)状突起がある。蛹にも胸・腹部に突起をもつものが多く、その突起のいくつかは銀白色から黄金色に光ることが多い。

(6)イチモンジチョウ亜科Limenitinae　全世界に広く分布し、日本産は4属11種。日本産に関する限り、前ばねと後ろばねを貫く1本の白帯をもつイチモンジ型と、3本の白帯をもつミスジ型に分けられる。幼虫の胴部の棘状突起の大きさは不同、蛹の形は背・腹面から見ると「バイオリン形」、胸・腹部に突起はない。

(7)タテハチョウ亜科Nymphalinae　全世界に広く分布し、日本の土着種は11属17種。幼虫は細長く、胴部各節に同大の棘状突起がある。頭部には棘状突起をもつものと、もたないものがある。蛹も胸・腹部に突起をもつ。

(8)ヒョウモンモドキ亜科Melitaeinae　はねの表面は橙色で多くの黒斑があり、一見ヒョウモンチョウに似ているのでこの名があるが、近い類縁関係はない。ユーラシア大陸の寒帯から温帯、北・南アメリカ大陸に分布するが、東南アジア、アフリカには産しない。日本産は2属3種、すべて1化性で草原性のチョウである。幼虫はタテハチョウ亜科に似て全身に棘(とげ)があるが、蛹は地色白色で、黒色・橙色の斑紋があって、タテハチョウ亜科のものとは異なる。

(9)カバタテハ亜科Biblidinae　アフリカ、アジア、アメリカの熱帯から亜熱帯に分布し、日本では1種（カバタテハ）が八重山(やえやま)列島に迷チョウとして飛来する。形態的にイチモンジチョウ亜科に似た点もあるので、イチモンジチョウ亜科内の一群とする学者もある。

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