Finally Butterflies

Usually, I switch to photographing butterflies as soon as the first species of spring emerge. This year I have concentrated more on birds and I have missed some early butterfly species. However, I definitely didn’t want to miss capturing Japonica lutea, which is one of my favourite Japanese butterflies. The other day I went to a park in Western Tokyo, to see whether I could already find some. I was the first one to enter when the park opened in the morning. After a short stroll searching through the green foliage, I found my target, beautiful orange colored hairstreak butterfly. It looked fresh as if it had been newly emerged. I was told by another photographer that he had not been able to find any on earlier days so it is very much possible the butterfly I found was the season’s first one in that park. On the same day, I was able to find two more of that species but they were too far to be captured.

The following day I returned to the park again. There were already quite a few of Japonica lutea butterflies some of which were already broken-winged which shows how fragile a butterfly’s life can be.

On the second day I found also one other orange hairstreak butterfly, the Japonica saepestriata. In the coming days, I am sure they will also be bigger in number.

I think if you go to any park in Tokyo in this season, you will find more moths than butterflies. A glance up to trees and you will probably see dozens and dozens of white moths flying around. From afar they look like petals of cherry flowers fluttering in the air. It is the Ivela auripes and indeed, there were hundreds of them in this park, too.

As for the butterflies, I also captured captured Fryer’s purple emperor, Pallas’ sailer and Nope goskevitschii.

以前は初春になるとレンズを変えて蝶を撮り始めますが、今年は今まで渡り鳥などをずっと挑戦して来ました。しかし、この季節の大好きな蝶の撮りたくて西東京のある公園に行くことにしました。一番のりに公園に入り、緑の中少し探すと、オレンジ色の小さな蝶を見つけました。大好きなアカシジミです。この季節にしか見れないゼフィルスの一種です。個体はとても綺麗で、羽化しばかりに見えます。のちに他のフォトグラファーと話すと、その公園で季節初の個体と思われます。その後また二頭を見つけましたが、遠過ぎて、写真を撮れません。

次のひも同じ公園に足を運びました。アカシジミの数が増えて来ました。一部はすでに翅が傷があり、蝶はかいかにもか弱い者かと改めて覚えさせられました。

この日、二つ目のゼフィルスのウラナミアカシジミも発見しました。一頭だけでしたが、これから数が少し増えるでしょう。

この季節はどこの公園に行っても蝶よりも蛾が良く見られます。少し見上げると、キアシドクガが大量に飛び回っています。この公園も大量にいました。桜の花びらみたいにヒラヒラと飛び回っています。

二日間の間コムラサキ、コミスジやサトキマダラヒカゲなども撮れました。