Papilio machaon var. asiatica ab. caerulescensHoll, 1910
Papilio machaon var. asiatica ab. djezïrensisHoll, 1910
Papilio sphyrusHübner, [1823]
Papilio machaon machaon maximaVerity, 1911
Papilio machaon maxima gen.aest. angulataVerity, 1911
Papilio machaon f. chrysostomaChnéour, 1934
Papilio machaon f. archiasFruhstorfer, 1907
Papilio machaon chishimanaMatsumura, 1928
Papilio machaon sylviaEsaki, 1930
Papilio machaon venchuanusMoonen
Papilio machaon schantungensisEller, 1936
Papilio machaon, the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this species was the first to be given the name). It is the type species of the genus Papilio. This widespread species is found in much of the Palearctic (it is the only swallowtail in most of Europe) and in North America.
There are 41 recognized subspecies, that include:[3]
Trailing edges of the hindwings resemble the tails of swallows
P. m. aliaskaScudder, 1869 (Chukot Peninsula, Alaska to northern British Columbia)
P. m. annaeGistel, 1857
P. m. archiasFruhstorfer, 1907 (southern Sichuan)
P. m. asiaticusMénétriés, 1855
P. m. baijangensisHuang & Murayama, 1992 (China: Xinjiang)
P. m. bairdiiEdwards, 1866 (Nevada to Kansas, Arizona, Colorado)[4][5]
P. m. birmanicusRothschild, 1908 (southern Shan States)
P. m. britannicus(Seitz, 1907) (Great Britain)
P. m. bruceiEdwards, 1893 (Alberta, Saskatchewan to Nebraska, Utah)
P. m. centralisStaudinger, 1886 (Turan, western Tian-Shan, Ghissar, Darvaz, Alai, western Pamirs)
P. m. chinensisVerity, 1905 (Sichuan)
P. m. gorganusFruhstorfer, 1922 (southern Europe, Ural, Caucasus Major)
P. m. hippocratesC. & R. Felder, 1864 (Japan)
P. m. hudsonianusClark, 1932 (Alberta to Quebec)
P. m. kamtschadalusAlphéraky, 1897 (Kamchatka)
P. m. kiyonobuMorita, 1997 (Tibet)
P. m. kunkalaschaniEller, 1939 (western Sichuan)
P. m. ladakensisMoore, 1884 (eastern Pamirs)
P. m. lapponicaVerity, 1911 (northern Europe)
P. m. machaon (Central Europe)
P. m. mauretanicaVerity, 1905 (North Africa)
P. m. maxima gen.aest. angulata Verity, 1911
P. m. melitensisEller, 1936 (Malta)
P. m. montanusAlphéraky, 1897 (western Sichuan, south-western Gansu, eastern Qinghai, north-western Yunnan)
P. m. muetingiSeyer, 1976 (southern Arabia, United Arab Emirates)
P. m. neochinensisSheljuzhko, 1913 (Ta-tsien-lu)
P. m. oregoniusEdwards, 1876 (southern British Columbia to Oregon, Idaho)
P. m. oreinusSheljuzhko, 1919 (Tian-Shan)
P. m. orientisVerity, 1911 (Altai, Sayan, Transbaikalia, northern Amur, Far East)
P. m. pikeiSperling, 1987 (Quebec, British Columbia)
P. m. sachalinensisMatsumura, 1911 (Sakhalin)
P. m. schapiroiSeyer, 1976 (southern Ussuri)
P. m. septentrionalisVerity, 1911 (Kurils)
P. m. sikkimensisMoore, 1884 (Tibet)
P. m. suroiaTytler, 1939 (Manipur, Assam, northeastern India)
P. m. sylvinaHemming, 1933 (Taiwan)
P. m. syriacusVerity, 1908 (Caucasus Minor, Armenia, Talysh Mountains)
P. m. taliensisEller, 1939 (northern Yunnan)
P. m. ussuriensisSheljuzhko, 1910 (southern Amur, northern and central Ussuri)
P. m. verityiFruhstorfer, 1907 (northern Burma, Shan States, southern Yunnan)
P. m. weidenhofferiSeyer, 1976 (Kopet-Dagh)
Papilio machaon gorganus is strongly migratory in Europe and may be found in almost all habitats. In the UK, P. m. britannicus is an endemic subspecies, but occasionally individuals of the continental subspecies P. m. gorganus breed temporarily on the south coast. Subspecies P. m. britannicus differs from the continental subspecies in being more heavily marked in black. The Maltese Islands are home to another endemic subspecies, P. m. melitensis.
This butterfly is widespread in Europe. In the United Kingdom, it is limited to a few areas in the Norfolk Broads of East Anglia.[6] It is the UK's largest resident butterfly. The monarch (Danaus plexippus) is slightly larger, but is only a rare vagrant.
As P. machaon is widespread throughout Eurasia and often common, it is not threatened as a species.[3] It is listed as "vulnerable" in the South Korean and Austrian Red Data Books, and in the Red Data Book of the former Soviet Union.[3] In Armenia the species demonstrates stable population trend and is assessed as Least Concern.[7]
In some countries, P. machaon and its subspecies are protected by law. Papilio machaon machaon is protected by law in six provinces of Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Moldova. The species is protected in the United Kingdom, and subspecies verityi is protected in India.[3]
Description
The imago typically has yellow wings with black vein markings, and a wingspan of 65–86 millimetres (2.6–3.4in).[8] The hindwings of both sexes have a pair of protruding tails which give the butterfly its common name from the resemblance to the birds of the same name. Just below each tail is one red and six blue eye spots.[9]
In the caterpillar stage, P. machaon has a length of 45 millimetres (1.8in). When young, the caterpillar resembles a bird dropping, giving it camouflage. The caterpillar also protects itself using a large orange fork which protrudes behind its head.[9]
The butterfly has a strong and fast flight, but frequently pauses to hover over flowering herbs and sip nectar. It frequents alpine meadows and hillsides, and males are fond of 'hilltopping', congregating near summits to compete for passing females.[10] At lower elevations, it can be seen visiting gardens.
Unlike other swallowtails which specialise on Rutaceae, this species mostly feeds on plants of family Umbelliferae, females laying eggs singly. Milk parsley (also known as marsh hog's fennel) is normally the only food plant used by the caterpillars of the British subspecies.[10] The food plants of the swallowtail in Europe, Asia, and North America are more varied than in the UK. It uses a wide variety of umbellifers including wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild angelica (Angelica sylvestris), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), and hogweeds (Heracleum). In the Maltese Islands, the caterpillar feeds on plants such as rue (Ruta chalepensis) in addition to Umbelliferae such as fennel.
In Kashmir, the common yellow swallowtail, as Papilio machaon is called there, inhabits alpine meadows in the Himalayas occurring from 2,000 feet (610m) in Kashmir valley to 16,000ft (4,900m) in the Garhwal Himalayas. In India, in Himachal Pradesh, it is found over 4,000ft (1,200m) only and in Sikkim over 8,000ft (2,400m) only.
At lower elevations, these butterflies fly from March to September; at higher elevations, they are limited by the short summer seasons.
The British subspecies P. m. brittanicus is less mobile than its European continental counterpart and stays within, or close by, its fenland habitat.[10]
Life cycle
There are usually two to three broods in a year, but in northern areas, the species may be univoltine. In some places such as the UK, some will pupate and emerge in the same year and others will overwinter as pupae before emerging the following year, a situation known as being partially bivoltine.
The caterpillar spends the first part of its life with the appearance of a bird dropping, an effective defense against predators.[10] As the caterpillar grows larger, it becomes green with black and orange markings. It has a defense against predators in the form of an osmeterium, which consists of retractable, fleshy projections behind its head that can release a foul smell if disturbed, which deters insects, but not birds.[10]
Imago or imaginal stage, in which the insect attains maturity.
Breeding
Old World swallowtails can easily be bred in captivity. Butterflies can be lured to lay eggs in a backyard garden by keeping plenty of caterpillar food plants in it. Common rue plants are highly appropriate for this.
Movie of Papilio machaon caterpillar
Once eggs or young caterpillars have been collected, they can be kept in a pot with holes on its top to allow air circulation. More than one caterpillar may be kept in a single pot since they do not attack each other (although they might sometimes get frightened by other caterpillars moving). They can be fed any of their food plants. Fennel is one of the easiest to find in the wild. Care must be taken with fennel as well as dill, though, because they will not eat hard, woody stems; they need to be fed the tender leaves. They can also be fed rue or milk parsley. Feeding them with unsuitable plants will lead to death from starvation.
Caterpillars are very fast eaters; they will spend their time eating or resting before they resume their eating again. Once a sufficient size has been attained, they will attach themselves to any available structure with their silky threads. They will then stay still until they become pupae. This will take about a day.
Once in the pupa stage, they can be very carefully removed from the pot and placed in a warm location. The time the butterfly takes to form and come out depends on the temperature. If kept in warm summer temperatures, it will take about one or two weeks to form. On the other hand, if the temperature is lower, it might take as long as several months until it feels the weather is warm enough.
Pupae should not be kept on an impermeable surface, since when they eclose a bit of liquid will be released, this means the butterfly would stay wet and might not be able to fly. Absorbing paper such as the one used in kitchens is advisable.
Papilio glaucus, the eastern tiger swallowtail, is a species of butterfly native to eastern North America. It is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States, ranging north to southern Ontario, Canada, and is common in many different habitats. It flies from spring until fall, during which it produces two to three broods. Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of the families Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae. P. glaucus has a wingspan measuring 7.9 to 14 cm. The male is yellow with four black "tiger stripes" on each forewing. Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic. The yellow morph is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black.
Papilio is a genus in the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, as well as the only representative of the tribe Papilionini. The word papilio is Latin for butterfly.
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus Ornithoptera.
Papilio polyxenes, the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma and New Jersey. An extremely similar-appearing species, Papilio joanae, occurs in the Ozark Mountains region, but it appears to be closely related to Papilio machaon, rather than P. polyxenes. The species is named after the figure in Greek mythology, Polyxena, who was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy. Its caterpillar is called the parsley worm because the caterpillar feeds on parsley.
The osmeterium is a defensive organ found in all papilionid larvae, in all stages. The organ is situated in the prothoracic segment and can be everted when the larva feels threatened. The everted organ resembles a fleshy forked tongue, and this along with the large eye-like spots on the body might be used to startle birds and small reptiles. The osmeterial organ remains inside the body in the thoracic region in an inverted position and is everted when the larva is disturbed in any way emitting a foul, disagreeable odor which serves to repel ants, small spiders and mantids. To humans, this odour is rather strong but pleasant, usually smelling like a concentrated scent of the caterpillar’s food plant and pineapple.
The clouded Apollo is a butterfly species of the family of swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) found in the Palearctic realm.
The scarce swallowtail is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. It is also called the sail swallowtail or pear-tree swallowtail.
Papilio multicaudata, the two-tailed swallowtail, is a species of the family Papilionidae found in western North America from British Columbia to Central America.
Papilio palinurus, the emerald swallowtail, emerald peacock, or green-banded peacock, is a butterfly of the genus Papilio of the family Papilionidae. It is native to Southeast Asia, but is regularly kept in butterfly houses around the world.
Papilio demoleus is a common and widespread swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is also known as the lime butterfly, lemon butterfly, lime swallowtail, and chequered swallowtail. These common names refer to their host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the cultivated lime. Unlike most swallowtail butterflies, it does not have a prominent tail. When the adult stage is taken into consideration, the lime swallowtail is the shortest-lived butterfly, with male adults dying after four days and females after a week. The butterfly is native to Asia and Australia, and can be considered an invasive pest in other parts of the world. The butterfly has spread to Hispaniola island in the Western Hemisphere, and to Mahé, Seychelles.
Papilio polytes, the common Mormon, is a common species of swallowtail butterfly widely distributed across Asia.
Papilio nephelus is a species of swallowtail butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. Subspecies include P. n. chaon, the yellow Helen, and P. n. sunatus, the black and white Helen.
Papilio aegeus, the orchard swallowtail butterfly or large citrus butterfly is a species of butterfly from the family Papilionidae, that is found in eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Papilio hospiton, the Corsican swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found only in Corsica and Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea.
Papilio xuthus, the Asian swallowtail, Chinese yellow swallowtail or Xuthus swallowtail, is a yellow-colored, medium to large sized swallowtail butterfly found in northeast Asia, northern Myanmar, southern China, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Siberia and the Hawaiian Islands. It was also recorded in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India, in 2014.
Papilio alexanor, the Alexanor or southern swallowtail, is a butterfly species in the Papilionidae or swallowtails.
Papilio canadensis, the Canadian tiger swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It was once classified as a subspecies of Papilio glaucus.
Papilio joanae, the Ozark swallowtail, is a North American butterfly species in the family Papilionidae. It was once considered a synonym of the black swallowtail.
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