Endless Notes
The boundless, beautiful natural world
The antithetical, boundless human world
A photographer's notebook chronicling the current state of the environment
vol.3 The Insects
Endless Notes
The boundless and beautiful natural world
The boundless human world, its antithesis
A photographer's notebook on the current state of the environment
Vol. 3: The Insects
Beyond beautiful landscapes, the "present moment" of Earth.
In an age of advancing climate change and environmental destruction, the relationship between our lives and nature is reaching a major turning point.
Nature photographer Yosuke Kashiwakura has gone beyond mere beauty,
and has captured in his photographs the challenges facing Earth and the signs of change.
This page offers an opportunity, through Kashiwakura's works,
to re-examine the diverse expressions of nature and the current state of the environment behind them.
The "present" state of the Earth, hidden behind beautiful scenery.
In an age of advancing climate change and environmental destruction, the relationship between our lives and nature is at a major turning point.
Nature photographer Yosuke Kashiwakura has captured not just the beauty of nature, but also the challenges facing the Earth and the signs of change within it, in his photographs.
This page offers an opportunity to re-examine the diverse expressions of nature and the current state of the environment behind them, through Kashiwakura's works.
volume.3
Episode of
the Insects
volume.3
Episode of the Insects
The evolution of insects began approximately 480 million years ago, during the Ordovician period of the Paleozoic Era. Over the course of their evolution, insects have developed unique appearances by manipulating their colors and shapes. From shells that shimmer like gold, to the ability to fold their wings compactly, to camouflage patterns that blend seamlessly with leaves, their forms possess a captivating beauty. What's even more astonishing is that these features are not merely beautiful; they also serve functional roles for survival. Whether you are a fan of insects or not, take a moment to observe their refined functional beauty.
Phylliidae, or leaf insects, are mimetic insects found mainly in Southeast Asia, known for their body resemblance to leaves. Their leaf-vein-like patterns and coloration possess both protective coloration and morphological mimicry, providing extremely sophisticated camouflage.
Their legs also have leaf-like "leaflets," completing the illusion of being a single leaf. When swaying in the wind, they may even lightly sway their bodies to appear more like a real leaf.
Morpho butterflies inhabit Central and South America, including the Amazon basin, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. They are characterized by their vibrant, metallic blue wings, and "Morpho" is another name for Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty in Greek mythology.
The upper side of their wings is a beautiful, shimmering structural blue, while the underside is brown with an eye-spot pattern. When they fly, the alternating "blue and brown" confuses predators, making it difficult to track their movements. The blue color of Morpho butterfly wings is not due to pigment but is called structural color. The nanoscale structure of tiny "scales" reflects light, and when a specific wavelength of light (e.g., blue) is reflected, it appears as a dazzling blue.
The mechanism of structural color is also applied in banknotes, cosmetics, and solar panels.
The rainbow stag beetle is characterized by its glossy, metallic body color, which varies from green, red, purple, and blue depending on the individual, giving it the name "rainbow." It mainly inhabits the tropical rainforests of northern Queensland, Australia. The beautiful colors of the rainbow stag beetle are due to structural coloration. This mechanism, also seen in Morpho butterflies, involves the surface structure of the body interfering with and reflecting light to create color.
Madagascan Moon Moth (Argema mittrei)
One of the world's largest moths, found on Madagascar, it is a beautiful, large moth characterized by its hind wings with long, tail-like appendages. Adults do not have mouths and do not feed, so their lifespan is only about 4-5 days. It is endemic to Madagascar and not naturally distributed elsewhere, including the African continent.
Lanternflies are a type of planthopper belonging to the family Fulgoridae, distributed in Southeast Asia. They have an elongated, upward-pointing "lantern" protrusion (cephalic process) on their head. They feed on plant sap (tree sap) throughout their life cycle, from larva to adult, and often favor lychee and longan trees.
The Papua New Guinea stag beetle (Lamprima adolphinae) is a very beautiful stag beetle that inhabits Papua New Guinea, characterized by its metallic-lustered body color. It exhibits iridescent structural colors such as green, blue, gold, and copper, and is sometimes called the "jewel stag beetle." Males have relatively large mandibles and fight with other males over sap feeding sites and during breeding. They inhabit the rainforests, living in environments with fallen trees and decaying organic matter on the forest floor.
The jewel beetle is a type of beetle found in Japan, whose entire body gleams with a metallic luster (structural coloration). Its whole body possesses a metallic sheen ranging from green to blue, purple, and red, truly making it a gem-like insect. This luster is not due to pigments but is structural coloration created by the microstructure of its scales. Known for its intense metallic luster and vivid colors, it is highly popular among insect enthusiasts and specimen collectors.
Phylliidae, or leaf insects, are mimetic insects found mainly in Southeast Asia, known for their body resemblance to leaves. Their leaf-vein-like patterns and coloration possess both protective coloration and morphological mimicry, providing extremely sophisticated camouflage.
Their legs also have leaf-like "leaflets," completing the illusion of being a single leaf. When swaying in the wind, they may even lightly sway their bodies to appear more like a real leaf.
Morpho butterflies inhabit Central and South America, including the Amazon basin, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. They are characterized by their vibrant, metallic blue wings, and "Morpho" is another name for Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty in Greek mythology.
The upper side of their wings is a beautiful, shimmering structural blue, while the underside is brown with an eye-spot pattern. When they fly, the alternating "blue and brown" confuses predators, making it difficult to track their movements. The blue color of Morpho butterfly wings is not due to pigment but is called structural color. The nanoscale structure of tiny "scales" reflects light, and when a specific wavelength of light (e.g., blue) is reflected, it appears as a dazzling blue.
The mechanism of structural color is also applied in banknotes, cosmetics, and solar panels.
The rainbow stag beetle is characterized by its glossy, metallic body color, which varies from green, red, purple, and blue depending on the individual, giving it the name "rainbow." It mainly inhabits the tropical rainforests of northern Queensland, Australia. The beautiful colors of the rainbow stag beetle are due to structural coloration. This mechanism, also seen in Morpho butterflies, involves the surface structure of the body interfering with and reflecting light to create color.
Madagascan Moon Moth (Argema mittrei)
One of the largest moths in the world, endemic to Madagascar, characterized by its beautiful, large size and hindwings with long tail-like appendages. The adult moths do not have mouths and do not feed, so their lifespan is only about 4 to 5 days. It is an endemic species to Madagascar and is not naturally distributed anywhere else, not even on the African continent.
Lanternflies are a type of planthopper in the family Fulgoridae, found in Southeast Asia, and have an elongated, upward-pointing "lantern" protrusion (cephalic process) on their heads. They feed on plant sap (tree sap) from larva to adult, often favoring lychee and longan trees.
Papua New Guinea stag beetles are very beautiful stag beetles that live in Papua New Guinea, characterized by their metallic iridescent body color. They have iridescent structural colors such as green, blue, gold, and copper, and are sometimes called "jewel stag beetles." Males have relatively large mandibles and fight with other males over sap feeding sites and during breeding. They inhabit rainforests, living in fallen trees and areas with decaying organic matter on the forest floor.
The jewel beetle is a beetle found in Japan, its entire body gleaming with a metallic luster (structural color). With its body shimmering in shades of green, blue, purple, and red, it is truly a jewel-like insect. The luster is not due to pigment but rather a structural color created by the microscopic structure of its scales. Known for its intense metallic sheen and vibrant colors, it is highly popular among insect enthusiasts and specimen collectors.
volume.2
Episode of
Yakushima Island
In recent years, rapid deforestation, urban development, the use of insecticides and herbicides, and monoculture farming have all encroached upon insect habitats. Considering the food chain, maintaining a world where insects can thrive helps sustain human life. This summer, a exhibition focusing on the functional beauty of insects will be held at Ecology Theme Park "Ecorin Mura" in Eniwa, Hokkaido. We hope this opportunity sparks your interest in the beauty of insects.
Beautility: The Functional Beauty of Insects 2025 – A Photo Exhibition by Yosuke Kashiwakura
Exhibition Overview
Dates: July 19 (Sat) – August 31 (Sun), 2025
Hours: 10:00-17:00
Location: "SHEEP SHEEP" CLUBHOUSE, Ecorin Village, Eniwa City, Hokkaido
Admission: Free
Photographer
Yosuke Kashiwakura
He vigorously photographs nature-related themes both in Japan and abroad. Focusing on the rehabilitation of orangutans living in areas where civilization and wilderness collide, he published "Back to the Wild: Orangutans Who Lost Their Forests," a photo collection that took 15 years to produce. He held a touring exhibition titled "Orangutans and the Green Tsunami" at Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido, Ecorin Village, and Maruyama Zoo. His works have been exhibited at the "MOVING PICTURES Exhibition" organized by the BOS Foundation, the world's largest primate conservation support organization, as well as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the US, the Natural History Museum in London, and the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. He has won awards such as the LensCulture Earth Awards, the National Geographic International Photo Contest, and Wildlife Photographer of the Year, and received the Monochrome Photography Awards / Landscape Photographer of the Year. He also serves as a judge for the Monochrome Photography Awards. In 2025, he launched an environmental photography project titled "Endless."
Episode of Borneo island
Episode of Yakushima island
Episode of The Insects
Episode of Borneo island
Episode of Yakushima island
Episode of The Insects
Episode of Rebun island
Episode of Kathmandu, NEPAL