Papilio prexaspes

Last updated

Blue Helen
Papilio prexaspes Rhopalocera Malayana.jpg
P. prexaspes from Distant (1882–1886) "Rhopalocera Malayana"
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. prexaspes
Binomial name
Papilio prexaspes

Papilio prexaspes, the blue Helen, is a swallowtail butterfly found in Southeast Asia. The race found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Papilio prexaspes andamanicus (earlier placed under Papilio fuscus), is also known as the Andaman Helen.

Contents

Description

The taxonomic description below is of race prexaspes and is taken from Charles Thomas Bingham's 1907 book (in the public domain):

Original Felder figure NovaraExpZoologischeTheilLepidopteraAtlasTaf15.jpg
Original Felder figure

Closely resembles Papilio chaon , from which it differs as follows: smaller; fore wing more produced, its termen concave. Male has the ground colour of the upperside of the wings a more brownish sooty-black. Hind wing with the upper discal white patch extended into interspace 4, most usually very slightly so, often represented only by a very small spot of white scaling, a white spot also above the tornal angle. Underside, fore wing: the internervular brownish-yellow streaks limited to the apical area of the wing. Hind wing: the upper discal patch extended to the dorsum in a series of three pure white not ochraceous-tinted spots, a more or less incomplete postdiscal series of lunules formed of diffuse blue scales, and the subterminal series of ochraceous lunules of a darker colour and smaller than in chaon; the rest as in chaon.

The upperside of the wing in females has the ground-colour paler than in chaon. Fore wing with an ill-defined broad pale discal band perceptibly widened and becoming whitish opposite apex of cell. Hind wing: the extension into interspace 4 of the upper discal white patch more pronounced than in the male, the small white spot above the tornal angle followed in some specimens by a blue ill-defined lunule and an ochraceous spot. Underside, fore wing: the transverse discal hand white and much more prominent than on the upperside. Hind wing: the postdiscal series of blue lunules generally complete and well-marked: the rest as in the male. [1]

Taxonomy

Papilio prexaspes is a member of the fuscus species group. The members of this clade are:

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Papilio helenus</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio helenus, the red Helen, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests of southern India and parts of southeast Asia.

<i>Papilio demoleus</i> Species of butterfly

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. The butterfly is a pest and invasive species, found from Asia to Australia. The butterfly has spread to Hispaniola island in the Western Hemisphere, and to Mahé, Seychelles.

<i>Papilio paris</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio paris, the Paris peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.

<i>Papilio alcmenor</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio alcmenor, the redbreast, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in South Asia.

<i>Papilio crino</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio crino, the common banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail (Papilionidae) butterfly found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, including India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

<i>Papilio bootes</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio bootes, the tailed redbreast, is a beautiful swallowtail butterfly found in India.

<i>Papilio castor</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio castor, the common raven, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in Cambodia and South Asia.

<i>Papilio janaka</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio janaka, the tailed redbreast, is a well-marked swallowtail butterfly found in India. The species was first described by Frederic Moore and Thomas Horsfield in 1857.

Papilio krishna Species of butterfly

Papilio krishna, the Krishna peacock, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests in China, north east India, Myanmar and Vietnam.

<i>Papilio nephelus</i> Species of butterfly

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.

<i>Papilio buddha</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio buddha, the Malabar banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India.

<i>Teinopalpus imperialis</i> Species of butterfly

Teinopalpus imperialis, the Kaiser-i-Hind, is a rare species of swallowtail butterfly found from Nepal and north India east to north Vietnam. The common name literally means "emperor of India". The Kaiser-i-Hind is much sought after by butterfly collectors for its beauty and rarity. The green iridescence of the wings has been found to be due to three-dimensional photonic structure of the scales and is the subject of much research.

<i>Meandrusa payeni</i> Species of butterfly

Meandrusa payeni, the yellow gorgon, is a species of swallowtail found in parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It belongs to the hooked swallowtails genus, Meandrusa, of the family Papilionidae. It is also called the outlet sword or the sickle.

<i>Papilio agestor</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio (Chilasa) agestor, the tawny mime, is a swallowtail butterfly, native to Indian subcontinent and widely found across Asia. The butterfly belongs to the mime subgenus, Chilasa, of the genus Papilio or the black-bodied swallowtails.

<i>Papilio clytia</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio clytia, the common mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in south and southeast Asia. The butterfly belongs to the subgenus Chilasa, the black-bodied swallowtails. It serves as an excellent example of a Batesian mimic among the Indian butterflies.

<i>Papilio epycides</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio (Chilasa) epycides, the lesser mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in India and parts of South-East Asia. The butterfly belongs to the mime (Chilasa) subgenus or the black-bodied swallowtails. It is a mimic of a common Indian Danainae, the glassy tiger butterfly.

<i>Dodona egeon</i> Species of butterfly

Dodona egeon, the orange Punch, is a small but striking butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm - in Mussoorie to Assam, Burma (nominate) and Peninsular Malaya that belongs to the family Riodinidae.

<i>Prosotas noreia</i> Species of butterfly

Prosotas noreia, the white-tipped lineblue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in South Asia and Java.

<i>Cethosia nietneri</i> Species of butterfly

Cethosia nietneri, the Tamil lacewing, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in Sri Lanka and south India. The species name is after John Nietner who obtained specimens of the butterfly from Ceylon from which it was described.

<i>Catochrysops strabo</i> Species of butterfly

Catochrysops strabo, the forget-me-not, is a small butterfly found in Asia that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. It is found in Sri Lanka, India, from Sikkim to Indochina and in Sundaland, Sulawesi and the Philippines.

References

  1. Bingham, C.T. (1907). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. II (1st ed.). London: Taylor and Francis, Ltd.

Other reading