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Conservation of butterflies in Japan: status, actions and strategy

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Abstract

There are about 240 butterfly species in Japan of which 15% are endangered. Grassland butterflies are the most threatened and have declined most widely, some with an extremely high rate of decline of over 80% in 40 years. The main cause is the change of “Satoyama” ecosystems, a traditional landscape including secondary woodlands, grasslands, paddy field and other habitats. However, most “Satoyama” ecosystems have been abandoned or destroyed as the landscape has been industrialized. This process has accelerated in recent years, leading to even greater impacts on butterflies. To halt this decline, the Japan Butterfly Conservation Society (JBCS) was founded in 2004 and is doing various crucial activities. Local groups have been formed and numbers have been growing steadily. Also, public awareness toward conservation of the natural environment has been increasing and conservation groups related to “Satoyama” exceed 1000. Government policy on biodiversity has developed since The National Biodiversity Strategy of Japan was published in 1995. JBCS has set targets to prevent threatened butterflies from becoming extinct at national and regional level. However, many difficulties remain and a greater effort is needed to develop a social system to maintain “Satoyama” as an industry. Although interest in the conservation of Japanese butterflies began several decades ago, full scale conservation activities have only started recently and future progress is expected.

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Acknowledgments

The author heartily thanks Martin Warren for his kind help in editing the text, and Yoshiyuki Nagahata, Masahiko Kitahara, Minoru Ishii, Hidetoshi Tamate, Rashida Dumbuya, Matthew Oates and Nigel Bourn for valuable comments on the manuscript. Thanks are also due to K. Maeda, T. Kudo, T. Abe, A. Araya, Y. Nagahata, T. Saito, T. Mifune, M. Shiota, T. Kuzuya, T. Matsumura, R. Kaga, M. Takakuwa, T. Turufuji, S. Suda, S. Minohara, M. Yago, S. Watanuki, T. Shimonoya, T. Takeuchi, S. Umemura, S. Hayami, M. Kitahara, R. Kato, M. Ihara, A. Ono, K. Maruyama, Y. Ando, M. Takahashi, J. Togari, H. Fujii, S. Miwa, H. Takei, S. Morichi, O. Yamamoto, K. Kamada, S. Kondo, Y. Tateiwa, F. Ito, A. Tamura, K. Yodoe, S. Miyake, Y. Suemune, A. Kanayashiki, J. Iwami, K. Ohara, T. Dejima, K. Ohta, R. Arakawa, O. Fukuda, N. Nakazono, T. Mizobe, M. Kawano, T. Komatsu, Miyazaki Entomologists’ Society, Y. Nakamine and K. Kanai for providing latest distribution data of threatened butterflies and helpful information, and J. Togari for providing photograph.

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  1. Japan Butterfly Conservation Society (JBCS), 1-36-1-301 Ohi, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 140-0014, Japan

    Yasuhiro Nakamura

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  1. Yasuhiro Nakamura
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Correspondence to Yasuhiro Nakamura.

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Guest Editor: Dr. M.S. Warren.

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Nakamura, Y. Conservation of butterflies in Japan: status, actions and strategy. J Insect Conserv 15, 5–22 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-010-9299-x

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