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Introduction

2024.12.17

Takashi Ohya

 

I, who have nothing to do with Kagawa University, would like to introduce myself and explain how I came to be involved in the creation of this “Digital Encyclopedia Birdwing Butterflies”.

As a child, I was an insect boy who often spent my time collecting butterflies with my younger brother. I only knew about Japanese butterflies, but when I came across an illustrated book entitled ‘Selected Butterflies of the World’ (Hokuryu-kan Publishing) by Drs. Waro Nakahara & Yoshihiko Kurosawa, published in 1958, I was struck by the overwhelming size and beauty of Birdwing Butterflies, which I had never experienced before. In 1970, when Japan’s economy was gradually improving after the war and overseas travel was much freer, I happened to make the acquaintance of a young insect enthusiast, Mr. Shinji Nagai (who later became a world-renowned beetle researcher), and began to discuss our dreams of collecting the Birdwing Butterflies. The dream soon became a reality, and he spent more than a decade in New Guinea and South-East Asia, achieving one amazing achievement after another. It was during this time that he met Mr. Ray Straatman, an employee of the Bishop Museum. When the specimens and literatures had been gathered to some satisfactory extent, I was about to enter the busiest period of my life when I was transferred to another public hospital to newly establish a cardiovascular surgery department. As the time, Dr. Tomoo Fujioka, then professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Keio University, recommended that I become the author of the illustrated book ‘Birdwing Butterflies’ (Kodansha), and I suddenly found myself working at two jobs. There were many difficulties before the book was completed, but it managed to be published in 1983. Thanks to that book, I have been able to get to know Mr. G. Deslisle, Mr. J.-P. Sclavo, Mr. J. Pasternak, Mr. O. Schäffler, Mr. H. Kobayashi and so on, who are world-renowned researchers on Birdwing Butterfly.

Let me preface by saying, the second special exhibition will be held at the Kagawa University Museum in 2008 under the theme ‘The Wonder of Insects’. Professor Yukio Yasui (then Associate Professor), who was a museum committee member of the Factory of Agriculture, came to my house to borrow specimens for display with him through an introduction by Professor Hajime Maeda, who was Vice-President and Director of Academic Affairs. This was our first mutual encounter. The idea of creating this Digital Illustrated Book came to him when I visited the Himeji Science Museum with him in 2012 for a meeting to catalogue the Heiichi Kobayashi Collection. I was already 74 years old, and I felt that it would be very hard for me to help photograph the huge number of specimens and write commentaries for Illustrated Books in future. However, I agree with the idea that it might be possible to make up for the ‘A Revision of Birdwing Butterflies’ that was being serialized in Butterflies, (former) Journal of the Butterfly Society of Japan, which had to be suspended for reasons of the Society, and that disclosing all the valuable specimens and data collected so far would contribute to future research. It has been 12 years since the idea was conceived, we cooperated with each other and somehow managed to give shape to the project. This ‘Digital Encyclopedia’ illustrates 100 % of the species units and about 90 % of the subspecies units (including 50 type specimens), giving an almost complete picture of Birdwing Butterflies. We would be more than happy to give you the attractiveness of this most gigantic and beautiful butterfly in the world.

Lastly, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Mr. Takeru Yamakawa, a research student at the Kagawa University Graduate School, for his extraordinary efforts in creating an illustrated book format based on a vast number of photographs and documents.

December  2024

 

Publications by Takashi Ohya

  1. Rare species of Birdwing Butterflies. Troides prattorum. Rhopalocerists’ Mag. 3 (4): 5-10, 1 pl., 1 map, 1980.
  2. Rare species of Birdwing Butterflies. Ornithoptera aesacus. Rhopalocerists’ Mag. 3 (4): 11-21, 1 pl., 2 figs. 1980.
  3. A revision of subspecies of Troides andomache (Staudinger, 1892). Rhopalocerists’ Mag. 4 (12): 3-12, 1 pl., figs. (A-E), 1 map., 1981.
  4. On Troides oblongomaculatus bandensis Pagenstecher, 1904（Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Rhopalocerists’ Mag. 5 (5): 2-8, fig. 1 (1-6), fig. 2 (7-10), fig. 3 (11-14), 1 map, 1982.
  5. On a new geographical race of Troides helena (Linnaeus, 1758) from Bunguran (=Natuna Besar) Island, Natuna Islands, Indonesia Rhopalocerists’ Mag. 5 (6): 1-8, pl. (fig.1-6), pl. 2 (1-6), 1 text-fig., 1 map, 1 pl., 1982.
  6. Birdwing Butterflies. (Kodansha). 331 pp., 136 pls., 1983.
  7. A new subspecies of Troides amphrysus Cramer, 1779 from Simeulue Island, Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Gekkan-Mushi 172: 4-8, 1 pl., figs. A-F, 1 map., 1985.
  8. The birth of the golden Birdwing Butterflies. Ornithoptera allottei is confirmed as hybrid. Butterflies 4: 37-40, 5 figs., tab. 1-3, 1993.
  9. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 1 (1) (Subgenus Aetheoptera). Butterflies 5: 37-48, figs. 1-19, tables. 1-3, 1993.
  10. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 1 (2) (Subgenus Aetheoptera). Butterflies 6: 41-54, figs. 20-39, 1993.
  11. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (1) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 12: 45-56, figs. 40-51, tables 4-6, 1995.
  12. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (2) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 14: 30-41, figs. 52-67, 1996.
  13. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (3) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 17: 51-63, figs. 68-79, 1997.
  14. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (4) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 20: 18-29, figs. 80-105, 1998.
  15. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (5) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 24: 37-49, figs. 106-137, 1999.
  16. Taxonomische Änderungen in der Gattung Troides Hübner, 1819. Schmetterlinge der Erde. Tagfalter Teil 7, Papilionidae IV (Troides II), Goecke & Evers, 1999.
  17. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (6) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 29: 16-28, figs. 138-163, 2001.
  18. Catalogue of Birdwing Butterflies (1758-2000). 196 pp., Ohya Pub., 2001.
  19. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (7) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 34: 24-34, figs. 164-183, 2002.
  20. A revision of Birdwing Butterflies. Series I (Genus Ornithoptera) Part 2 (8) (Subgenus Ornithoptera). Butterflies 38: 30-43, figs.184-217, 2003.
  21. Original Descriptions of Birdwing Butterflies. [1758-2008]. (1) 984 pp, (2) 920 pp, Ohya Pub., 2008-2010.
  22. Revised Edition Cataloque of Birdwing Butterflies (1758-2008). 288 pp., Ohya Pub., 2009.
  23. Japanese translation of Meek, A. S.：A Naturalist in Cannibal Land. 161pp, Ohya Pub., 2020.
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