Tsumagurohyomon (Argyreus hyperbius) butterfly (female): Kita-kamakura

The elegant swallowtail butterflies of summer, that used to soar gracefully in the intense sunlight, have already disappeared into the air. 

Now, the butterfly with orange wings marked with black and silver are busily flitting in the autumn sky to search for flower nectar and mating partners. As autumn deepens and winter approaches, butterflies must vanish out of sight secretly.

Butterflies cope with the hardness of cold winter in a variety of ways to survive and leave offspring. Some kinds of butterflies endure harsh winter as larvae or adults by lying in concealment in the shadow to protect themselves from enemies.

There are butterflies which lay eggs before the arrival of winter, and there are butterflies whose larvae become chrysalises before winter and quietly wait for spring in their hiding places to depart from the chilly ground into the warm spring sky.