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【ASAGIMADARA or a chestnut tiger】 (scientific name: Prantica sita) This is a butterfly that makes a long-distance flight crossing the ocean. This species is said to migrate one to two thousand kilometers. These days people try to solve the mystery of its migration by marking on the wings of chestnut tigers. According to a recent TV show, a chestnut tiger that was marked on April 2 on Kikai-island was caught in Ibusuki-city, Kagoshima prefecture, on April 4. This means it flew 350 kilometers in three days. Here's another story. A marked chestnut tiger released on Kikai-island was spotted after two weeks at Kiyotake-town, Miyazaki prefecture. A housewife took a picture of a butterfly in her garden. On replaying the image, she noticed some katakana letters and numbers on the wings. It read "kikai"and the numbers were the date of release. I wonder where these incredible flying powers come from. Some people insist chestnut tigers make use of an air current to fly over the sea. I think it's quite probable. There's an interesting report from fishermen. One day they saw something like butterflies afloat on the sea. When they approached to have a better look, they hastily flew off. Were they chestnut tigers that were taking a rest on the sea? On Amamioshima you can see lots of them sucking nectar from varios flowers in late spring and early summer, when they are on the way, heading up north. They are again seen in late fall or early winter, on the way heading down south. |