The egg density of the endangered butterfly, Luehdorfia japonica, and the nutritional condition of its food plant, Asarum asperum, population were investigated at Mt. Kono in northern Osaka Prefecture from 2011 to 2014. For comparison, the food plant population condition was also investigated in Yoshino area where L. japonica has recently disappeared. In addition, we evaluated the amount of leaves needed for the completion of larval development of L. japonica in the laboratory. Results showed that the egg density severely declined from 2011 to 2013. The nutritional condition of A. asperum at Mt. Kono was better than that at Yoshino. The laboratory experiment showed that about seven leaves of A. asperum were consumed by L. japonica during the larval stage. The results suggest that a rapid decline was already under way in the Mt. Kono population of L. japonica in 2011 in spite of sufficiently existing food resources.
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