Papilio ulysses

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Ulysses butterfly
CSIRO ScienceImage 3831 Ulysses Butterfly.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. ulysses
Binomial name
Papilio ulysses
Subspecies
  • P. u. autolycusC.Felder & R.Felder, 1865
  • P. u. denticulatusJoicey & Talbot, 1916
  • P. u. dirceJordan, 1909
  • P. u. jennifeaeJakusch, 2007
  • P. u. ulyssesLinnaeus, 1758

See text

Papilio ulysses, the Ulysses butterfly (also known as the blue mountain swallowtail butterfly or Blue emperor), is a large swallowtail butterfly of Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Its size varies depending on subspecies, but the wingspan is about 10.5 cm (4.1 in) in Queensland. [1]

This butterfly is used as an emblem for tourism in Queensland, Australia.

Description

Male of Papilio ulysses ambiguus from New Britain, Papua New Guinea Papilio ulysses ambiguus Rothschild, 1895.JPG
Male of Papilio ulysses ambiguus from New Britain, Papua New Guinea

The Ulysses butterfly typically has a wingspan of about 14 cm (5.5 in), but depending on subspecies has some variations in size (western subspecies largest). The upperside of the wings are an iridescent electric blue; the underside is a more subdued black and brown. The colours are produced by the microscopic structure of the scales, a phenomenon called structural colouration. [2]

The female of the species is different from the male in that she has little crescents of blue in the back, upside sections of her hindwings, where there is only black for males. When the butterfly is perched the intense blue of its wings is hidden by the plainer brown under side of its wings, helping it to blend in with its surroundings. When in flight, the butterfly can be seen hundreds of meters away as sudden bright blue flashes. Males are strongly attracted to the color blue, including blue objects which are sometimes mistaken for females.

Similar species

The other members of the Papilio ulysses species group.

Subspecies

Diet and conservation

Caterpillar Ulysses Butterfly Caterpillar.jpg
Caterpillar

Conservation

The Ulysses butterfly inhabits tropical rainforest areas and suburban gardens. The Australian government requires breeders to obtain permits, although the species is not endangered. In the past, this butterfly had been threatened but planting pink flowered doughwood has increased its numbers. Reduction in the number of the Euodia trees, a tree heavily used for laying eggs and for leaves eaten by caterpillars, may threaten the survival of this butterfly. Females favour small trees up to 2 metres tall to lay their eggs.

Diet

The larval food plants of this butterfly include kerosene wood, a variety of Citrus , and Euodia . In Australia, the Ulysses butterfly imago is known to feed from the blossoms of the pink flowered doughwood, a tree with clusters of small pink flowers that extrude from its branches. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Papilio</i> Genus of butterflies

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.

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

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.

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

Papilio paris, the Paris peacock(Myanmar name: ဒေါင်းစိမ်းလိပ်ပြာ), is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.

<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 aegeus</i> Species of butterfly

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.

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

Papilio chikae, the Luzon peacock swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It has two subspecies, with P. c. chikae from Luzon and P. c. hermeli(Nuyda, 1992) from Mindoro. The latter was originally described as a separate species, but it resembles the nominate subspecies and there are no significant differences in their genitalia, leading recent authorities to treat them as subspecies of a single species.

<i>Parides</i> Genus of butterflies

Parides, commonly called cattlehearts, is a genus of swallowtail butterflies in the family Papilionidae. They are found in the Americas.

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

Papilio maackii, the alpine black swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Central Asia, Japan, China and South Korea.

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

Papilio blumei, the peacock or green swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found only on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It is sometimes confused with the more widespread P. palinurus, but that species is smaller and has mostly black tails.

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

Papilio peranthus is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Indonesia.

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

Papilio hipponous is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in the Philippines.

<i>Troides staudingeri</i> Species of butterfly

Troides staudingeri is a birdwing butterfly in the genus Troides in the family Papilionidae. It is known from Leti Island, Moa Island, Kisar Island, Babar Island and Wetar Island.

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

Papilio karna is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Java, Sumatra, Borneo and the Philippines.

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

Papilio montrouzieri, occasionally referred to as Montrouzier's Ulysses, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is endemic to New Caledonia. It resembles the more widespread relative, Papilio ulysses. Its name refers to French entomologist, explorer and priest Xavier Montrouzier.

<i>Eurytides dolicaon</i> Species of butterfly

Eurytides dolicaon, the dolicaon kite swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae.

Graphium euphratoides is a butterfly found in Mindanao in the Philippines that belongs to the swallowtail family.

<i>Parides phalaecus</i> Species of butterfly

Parides phaleucas is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It was described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1869. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.

<i>Parides proneus</i> Species of butterfly

Parides proneus is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Brazil and Paraguay.

<i>Parides mithras</i> Species of butterfly

Parides mithras is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and Brazil (Amazonas).

<i>Achillides</i> Subgenus of butterflies

Achillides, the peacock swallowtails, are a subgenus within the genus Papilio containing 25 species.

References

  1. Wildlife of Tropical North Queensland: Cooktown to MacKay. Queensland Museum. (2000), p. 114.
  2. P. Vukusic, J. R. Sambles, C. R. Lawrence, R. J. Wootton (2001) Sculpted-multilayer optical effects in two species of Papilio butterfly. Applied Optics 40:1116-1125 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-22. Retrieved 2007-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Facts About the Migration of the Ulysses Butterfly". PawNation. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2014.

Further reading

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Papilio ulysses at Wikimedia Commons