Tama Zoo Insectarium exhibits different types of butterflies year-round, but recently a seasonal butterfly has appeared. However, this does not mean that we have started exhibiting new types of butterflies.

In Insectarium, there is a butterfly called the White Flying Swallowtail with white band-like wings on a black background, but for this time of year, you can see the White Owl Swallowtail with its wings and body parts dyed orange. This orange swallowtail is not seen immediately after emergence, so it is not the original butterfly. In fact, the orange color on its wings and body is the pollen of a plant called Ho-Oh Bok.

The white swallowtail is a large tree that towers in the center of the Insectarium and has become the symbol tree of the ecological garden. It is a legume tree native to Madagascar, and in the summer of 2011, many bright red flowers bloomed. When the white swallowtail sucks the nectar of the flowers of the white swallowtail, the pollen sticks to its wings and body, resulting in a white swallowtail dyed orange.

This flower also attracts butterflies other than white swallowtails, and you can also see orange swallowtails.

When you come to Insectarium this summer, be sure to look for the butterflies with their many bright red flowers and the seasonal butterflies that are colored orange. In the evening, the leaves of the butterflies are used as a place for butterflies to rest. During the park's opening at night, be sure to see the butterflies hanging on the leaves, which you can't see during the day.

Above: White swallowtail with orange pollen
In the photo: Bright red flowers of the Ho-oh Bok and white swallowtail
Pictured below: Insectarium 's symbol tree

[Tama Zoo Insect Garden Breeding and Exhibition Section Yosuke Tanaka]

(August 19, 2011)