Interesting Facts
Description
Family Papilionidae
'The Papilionidae belong to the Superfamily
Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Swallowtails are worldwide in distribution and comprise approximately 560 species. They are richest in the tropics, and their brilliant colors make them favorites of butterfly enthusiasts. Many swallowtail species, especially in the tropics, mimic
other butterflies that are distasteful, while others are distasteful and cause birds and other vertebrate
predators
to regurgitate. Swallowtail adults
are medium to large and may or may not have tails, while parnassian adults are medium, tailless, and have translucent
wings
. All adult parnassians and swallowtails have three pairs of walking legs
, and adults of all species visit flowers for nectar.
'[1]
Subfamily Papilioninae
Swallowtails are members of the Family Papilionidae. They comprise about 560 species, have a worldwide distribution, and are richest in the tropics. Many are brilliantly colored and are favorites of butterfly enthusiasts. Many species, especially those in the tropics, mimic other butterflies that are distasteful, while others are distasteful and cause birds and other vertebrate predators to regurgitate. Adults are medium to large, may or may not have tails, and have three pairs of walking legs . Adults of all species visit flowers for nectar. Males of most species patrol for mates, while males of one group (Black, Old World, Anise, and Indra Swallowtails) perch on hilltops or ridges instead of patrolling . Swallowtails lay globular eggs and overwinter as pupae. Some species spend more than one year in the pupal stage, likely to survive drought years when little caterpillar food is available. In arid areas, the Black, Anise, and Indra Swallowtails often display this strategy.
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
)
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
)
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
)
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
)
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
)
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
)
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
)
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
)
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
)
- Class:
Insecta
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Insects
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
)
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
)
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
)
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
)
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
)
- Family:
Papilionidae
(
)
- P.A. Latreille, [1802]
- Swallowtails
- Subfamily:
Papilioninae
(
)
- Swallowtails
- Tribe:
Graphiini
(
)
- Genus:
Iphiclides
(
)
- Hübner, [1819]
- Specific name:
flammaeus
- Fourcroy 1785
- Scientific name: - Iphiclides flammaeus Fourcroy 1785
- Specific name:
flammaeus
- Fourcroy 1785
- Genus:
Iphiclides
(
- Tribe:
Graphiini
(
- Subfamily:
Papilioninae
(
- Family:
Papilionidae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Class:
Insecta
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name .
Similar Species
Members of the genus Iphiclides
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species and subspecies in this genus:
I. podalirius (Scarce Swallowtail) · I. podalirius podalirius (Scarce Swallowtail)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 17, 2012.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 7686986
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-167357.0
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1574261
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=14&sci=Papilionidae&com=Parnassians and Swallowtails [back]
