Moths and Butterflies

from The Akitan Spring 2022

Hellos and Goodbyes

After the moth died of old age, I started the pinning process. Pinning insects allows you to admire their beauty forever!

seen on a daily basis. Now, living in countryside Japan, I am overwhelmed with the amount of wildlife I see every day.

There are over 6000 moth species in Japan. You can see some moths between May and November but most species are active during the warmer months, June through September. You can often spot many of them sitting on the windows of convenience stores if you live in a rural area.

I currently raise caterpillars and keep moths in my apartment. I often visit my local parks and walk around my schools during lunch looking for caterpillars, chrysalises, cocoons, moths, and butterflies. Many of my elementary school kids help me look for caterpillars and are interested in my pet caterpillars. It’s a great hobby to show young kids! I usually find caterpillars on plants and bushes eating away at the leaves. Chrysalises and some cocoons can be found hanging on tree branches or tall plants. Most cocoons lay on the ground amongst foliage, hidden by small plants, unfortunately.

It’s important to note that some caterpillars and moth species are toxic and can cause mild to serious side effects if you touch them. I use “Google Lens” which is an image search feature you can find on the “Google Photos” app or on the “Google” search app. Take a good photo of the insect and search for it to try and identify the species. Identifying the species will help you learn the host plant(s) that the caterpillar eats, the caterpillar’s behaviors, and what the moth eats, if it actually does eat. Many moth species have vestigial mouths and no digestive tract so they live very short lives.

I also use the website “inaturalist.org” to log my catches and further help identify species. The site even has a map feature to see if there have been sightings near you or if you want to see how far a species spans.

I bought a large aquarium and turned it on its side so I can easily clean the bottom. I used wood, a saw, screen door netting, and wood glue to make a door that perfectly fit into the indentation around the aquarium’s edge. I get fresh clippings of their host plant every other day for my caterpillars and clean the cage before I put in the new clippings. Since both of my current caterpillars form their cocoons on the floor, I don’t need sticks for them to climb on. I recently raised a butterfly that did need sticks to form its chrysalis on. I had to transfer its chrysalis from the leaf to the stick very gently with hot glue. This hobby has brought me so much happiness and changed the way I perceive nature. My friend who also likes bugs told me that I have “虫目” or bug-searching eyes because I can spot bugs easily. I look at plants, bushes, and trees and wonder what bugs are living among them. I have become more knowledgeable about local plants, flowers, and trees in Japan and can now identify many of them because of this hobby.

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by wildlife and nature. Nature in Japan is seriously incredible and I encourage everyone to take a look at the animals living within it.