📸 PhotoPhoto: Alpsdake · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Japanese luehdorfia
Luehdorfia japonica (Japanese luehdorfia · ギフチョウ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 A wingspan of 6.5 cm is about 3/4 the long side of a credit card (8.56 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Taiwan's National Museum of Natural Science introduces this butterfly as endemic to Japan, while the congeneric butterfly seen in Korea is Luehdorfia puziloi (National List of Species of Korea).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Japanese luehdorfia is a swallowtail butterfly (family Papilionidae) endemic to Japan that appears once in early spring. The IUCN assessed it as Near Threatened (NT) in 1996.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its wingspan is 4.8–6.5 cm. The underside of the wings has yellow stripes and black vertical lines, the outer forewing has a black band and oblique tiger-like stripes, and the hindwing is yellow with wavy margins.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Adults emerge once a year in early spring and overwinter as pupae. The caterpillars feed on plants of the genus Asarum in the birthwort family (Aristolochiaceae). After mating, the male attaches a mating plug (sphragis) to the female to prevent her from mating with other males.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
Instead of this species, the congeneric Luehdorfia puziloi is listed on the National List of Species of Korea.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List NT (1996) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12406/3341075
- • IUCN Red List category NT — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3WDFH
- • iucnredlist.org — 3341075
- • wikidata.org — Q2606428
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Luehdorfia japonica on Rhododendron farrerae.jpg
- • nmns.edu.tw — Collection-E00407
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Andy Wilson · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Papilio troilus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.