Spotted Butterfly - Spotted Butterfly

Japanese: マダラチョウ(斑蝶) - マダラチョウ

A general term for insects of the Lepidoptera family Danaidae. They are widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics, but the largest number of species are found from India to Oceania. In Japan, the five main species are the Monarch butterfly, which is endemic to the mainland, and the Ryukyu Monarch butterfly, Danaus fasciata (illustration), Ideia leuconoe, and Danaus fasciata, which are endemic to the Ryukyu Islands, but in addition to these, a dozen or so species have been recorded as vagrants. The Monarch butterfly family has many distinctive characteristics. First of all, the larvae feed on plants that contain poisonous substances to other organisms, such as the Asclepiadaceae family, and retain these substances in their bodies even after they become adults.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

鱗翅目マダラチョウ科Danaidaeの昆虫の総称。熱帯，亜熱帯に広く分布するチョウであるが，インドから大洋州にかけてもっとも種類数が多い。日本では本土定着種としてアサギマダラ，南西諸島定着種としてリュウキュウアサギマダラ，カバマダラ（イラスト），オオゴマダラ，スジグロカバマダラの5種が主要なものであるが，このほかに十数種が迷チョウとして記録されている。　マダラチョウ科の特徴には際だったものが多い。まず幼虫はガガイモ科など，他の生物にとっては有毒成分を含む植物を食べ，その成分を成虫になっても体内に蓄えている。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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