ヒメヒカゲCoenonympha oedippus arotiusに関する観察記録

抄録

1) Two pale brown pupae of Coenonympha oedippus arotius hung from their tail end on the withered cane of Pleioblastus fortunei were found in the field at Kakogawa City in Hyogo Prefecture. The pupation sites on the cane were both around 10cm of height from the ground, and the heights were similar to those reported by Shirai (1986). 2) A fully grown caterpillar found in the field was reared in the laboratory to the pupa, which also hung apart from the food plant on the withered cane of P. fortunei arranged in the breeding pot. The usage of the withered cane of P. fortunei for pupation was thus common to the reared insect and the wild insects. The color of the pupa was green, and this indicates that there would be some unknown factors affecting the color of pupae other than camouflage to protect them. 3) A female adult should emerged before sunrise from one of the pupae found in the field, and another female adult emerged at 4:18a.m. before sunrise (4:46a.m. at Hyogo District) from the reared pupa. It should be confirmed through much more observations that the emergence of the adult of C. o. arotius from the pupa occurs at very early time around sunrise. 4) The female adult emerged from the reared pupa was released into the native field on the morning, and she was captured in the same area of the field at 10 days after the release. More than half of her all wings were broken and her two legs in the right side had been lost when captured. She was reared by supplying with a sport drink (POCARI SWEAT^[○!R]) and showed surprising vitality to live further 10 days and lay 31 eggs on withered leaves of food plant (Carex conica) in the laboratory. 5) Carex conica and Rhynchospora fujiana were confirmed as food plants for caterpillars of C. o. arotius in the field at Kakogawa City. It should be investigated whether Cyperaceae, Gramineae and so on are host plants for them.