Language: Bilingual in English and Japanese
This is the 3rd volume of the series The Life Histories of Asian Butterflies. In this latest volume, the life histories of 194 species are introduced by beautiful and vivid images with detailed description.
The highlights of the latest volume are:
- Ludlow's Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis ludlowi), one of the most mysterious swallowtails which was re-discovered from Bhutan in 2011. The early stages of this species are illustrated and compared with three allies in this genus.
- Comparative study of the early stages of Two "Kaisers" (Teinopalpus imperialis and T. aureus).
- The early stages of rare and interesting species such as Achillides syfanius, Papilio sikkimensis and Polyura dehanii.
- First description of the female of Bibasis miracula.
- Interesting morphology of the egg of Lethe gemina, a rare and peculiar Satyrid butterfly found chiefly in Chinese area.
One of the authors, Harada is the student of another author, the late Dr. Igarashi (1924-2008). Harada was inspired by Igarashi when he was a young boy. Harada got interested in the early stages of butterflies and became a skillful field researcher. Igarashi published two huge volumes of The Life Histories of Asian Butterflies and planned to continue the series. However he abruptly passed away in 2008 and the series came near to be abandoned. Harada decided to take over his teacher's will and completed this volume. The passion of two earnest Japanese butterfly enthusiasts led to this volume being published.