The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of Lethe diana (Butler) inhabiting Mikura Island (L. diana mikuraensis) were analyzed and compared with those of L. diana from other areas in Japan (L. diana diana). There were only 4-7 bp differences in 942 bp of mtDNA (432 bp of ND5 and 510 bp of CO1) between the specimens obtained at Mikura Island and the main islands of Japan, although L. diana from Mikura Island is described as a subspecies. Chemical analyses revealed that males of the two L. diana subspecies shared five n-alkanes with odd numbers of carbon atoms from 23 to 31 as the major CHCs, together with hexadecanoic acid and squalene. This is an example in which there is no significant difference in the mtDNA or CHCs of two subspecies, although adults of the two differ morphologically.

Seasonal polymorphism in butterflies is widely known among lepidopterists but has not been studied comprehensively. In this study, we analyzed a complete list of Japanese butterflies to elucidate possible morphological features that exhibit seasonal polymorphism. We found that 150 of 250 species were multivoltine; of these, 113 species exhibited seasonal polymorphism in adult wing color, wing shape, or body size. Approximately 65% of seasonally polymorphic species had darker color on the dorsal side of wings in the high-temperature season, and nearly 40% of seasonally polymorphic species had lighter color on the ventral side of wings in the high-temperature season. Most species exhibited no morphological changes in wing shape, and more than 60% of seasonally polymorphic species showed a seasonal change in body size. The darkening of dorsal wing color in the high-temperature season was the most frequent phenotypic change among all Japanese butterfly species. Our results further indicated that seasonal polymorphism trends in Japanese butterflies varied among butterfly families.

Faunis menado (Nymphalidae, Satyrinae, Amathusiini) is an endemic species found in Sulawesi and surrounding archipelagoes, comprising about 10 subspecies. We investigated possible differences in larval morphology and color pattern between ssp. menado and ssp. chitone which currently represent subspecies from N. Sulawesi and S. Sulawesi, respectively. As a result of our investigation, we found that the color-pattern of the head in fifth instar larvae differs markedly between these two subspecies. This result supports the conclusion of the authors’ previous paper (Yamaguchi et al. 2016), in which Faunis menado was divided into two types based on adult morphological characters. Therefore, it is suggested that the color pattern differences observed here between larvae, taken together with the morphological differences previously established between adults, support the existence of two types, i.e., menado type and chitone type, which are possibly two different morphospecies.

We considered that Hypocala deflorata deflorata (Fabricius) known from African and Asian regions and H. deflorata australiae Butler mainly recorded from Australian region are not different subspecies but representing two distinct species, judging from their male and female genitalia, DNA barcode data and distributions. And we recorded H. australiae Butler stat. rev. from Japan for the first time. This is also the first record of this species from Asia. This fact means that the distribution of H. deflorata and that of H. australiae are overlapping in Asia. Therefore, we showed that how we can distinguish the two species, H. deflorata and H. australiae by the morphology and DNA barcoding. Populations from Africa attributable to H. gaedei Berio are closer to H. australiae than to H. deflorata.