Overview
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail
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.
Physical Description
Color:
Large and black with no tails. Female's upper forewing cell has diffuse white patch ; hindwing has postmedian pink patch.
Size/Age/Growth
Wing span : 2 3/4 - 4 inches (7 - 10 cm).
Habitat
Lowland tropical forests , citrus groves, gardens.
Biology
Diet
Caterpillar hosts: Trees in the citrus (Rutaceae) family including Citrus, Casimiroa, and Zanthoxylum species. Adult food: Flower nectar.
Reproduction
Females lay eggs in groups on host plant leaves. Caterpillars rest in clusters on host plant during the day and feed at night; they all feed and molt at the same time.
Behavior
Flight: Several from May-October.
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
(
)
- 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:
Papilionini
(
)
- Tribe:
Papilionini
(
- Subfamily:
Papilioninae
(
- Family:
Papilionidae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Synonyms
Heraclides anchisiades lamasi Brown • Papilio ideus Boisduval • Papilio theramenes Felder & Felder
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 20-Jan-2007
Similar Species
Members of the genus Papilio
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 81 species and subspecies in this genus:
P. aegus (Citrus Swallowtail) · P. anchisiades (Ruby-Spotted Swallowtail) · P. andraemon (Bahaman Swallowtail) · P. androgeus (Androgeus Swallowtail) · P. antimachus (African Giant Swallowtail) · P. appalachiensis (Appalachian Tiger Swallowtail) · P. aristodemus (Schaus' Swallowtail) · P. aristodemus ponceanus (Papilio Aristodemus) · P. aristor (Scarce Haitian Swallowtail) · P. astyalus (Broad-Banded Swallowtail) · P. brevicauda (Short-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. brevicauda bretonensis (Short-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. brevicauda brevicauda (Short-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. brevicauda gaspeensis (Short-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. caiguanabus (Poey's Black Swallowtail) · P. canadensis (Canadian Tiger Swallowtail) · P. chikae (Luzon Peacock Swallowtail) · P. cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail) · P. cyproeofila (Common White-Banded Swallowtail) · P. demodocus (Citrus Swallowtail) · P. demodocus demodocus (Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly) · P. demoleus (Checkered Swallowtail Butterfly) · P. echerioides (White-Banded Swallowtail) · P. eurymedon (Pale Swallowtail) · P. garamas abderus (Abderus Swallowtail) · P. garamus (Magnificent Swallowtail) · P. glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) · P. glaucus australis (Tiger Swallowtail) · P. glaucus canadensis (Canadian Tiger Swallowtail) · P. glaucus garcia (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) · P. glaucus glaucus (Eastern Tiger Swallowtail) · P. homerus (Homerus Swallowtail) · P. hospiton (Corsican Swallowtail) · P. hyppason (Hyppason Swallowtail) · P. indra (Indra Swallowtail) · P. indra calcicola (Indra Swallowtail) · P. indra fordi (Ford's Swallowtail) · P. indra kaibabensis (Grand Canyon Swallowtail) · P. indra martini (Martin's Swallowtail) · P. indra minori (Minor's Swallowtail) · P. indra panamintensis (Panamint Swallowtail) · P. indra pergamus (Edwards' Swallowtail) · P. indra phyllisae (Indra Swallowtail) · P. indra pygmaeus (Indra Swallowtail) · P. joanae (Ozark Swallowtail) · P. jordani (Jordan's Swallowtail) · P. leucotaenia (Cream-Banded Swallowtail) · P. machaon (Old World Swallowtail) · P. machaon aliaska (Alaskan Old World Swallowtail) · P. machaon bairdii (Baird's Swallowtail) · P. machaon hudsonianus (Hudsonian Old World Swallowtail) · P. machaon oregonius (Oregon Swallowtail) · P. memnon (Great Mormon Butterfly) · P. menatius (Menatius Swallowtail) · P. morondavana (Madagascan Emperor Swallowtail) · P. multicaudata (Two-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. multicaudata multicaudata (Two-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. multicaudatus (Two-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. ornythion (Ornythion Swallowtail) · P. palamedes (Palamedes Swallowtail) · P. palinurus (Emerald Swallowtail) · P. phorbanta (Papillon La Pature) · P. pilumnus (Three-Tailed Swallowtail) · P. polytes (Common Mormon) · P. polyxenes (Black Swallowtail) · P. polyxenes asterius (Black Swallowtail) · P. polyxenes coloro (Desert Black Swallowtail) · P. polyxenes asterius f. pseudoamericus (Black Swallowtail) · P. rogeri (Pink-Spotted Swallowtail) · P. rogeri pharnaces (Pink-Spotted Swallowtail) · P. rumanzovia (Scarlet Mormon Swallowtail) · P. rutulus (Western Tiger Swallowtail) · P. sjoestedti (Kilimanjaro Swallowtail) · P. thoas (Thoas Swallowtail) · P. torquatus (Torquatus Swallowtail) · P. troilus (Coastal Spicebush Swallowtail) · P. victorine (Victorine Swallowtail) · P. victorinus (Victorine Swallowtail) · P. xuthus (Xuthus Swallowtail) · P. zelicaon (Anise Swallowtail) · P. zelicaon nitra (Nitra 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
- Agricultural news. Bridgetown, Barbados, Bowen & sons;1902-22. url p. 219, p. 422, p. 423.
- Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 397.
- Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 461.
- Catalogue of Papilionidae & Pieridae (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill: C.A. Bridges, 1988. url p. 36, p. 97.
- Entomological contributions in memory of Byron A. Alexander / edited by George W. Byers, Robert H. Hagen and Robert W. Brooks. Lawrence, Kan.: Natural History Museum, the University of Kansas, 1999. url p. 241, p. 251.
- Entomological news, and proceedings of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia[Entomological Rooms of the Academy of Natural Sciences] url , p. 52, p. 52.
- Journal of Hymenoptera research. Washington, D.C.: International Society of Hymenopterists, [1992- url p. 183.
- The Entomologist's record and journal of variation. s.l., s.n. url p. 166.
- The Review of applied entomology. Farnham Royal, Eng., etc.: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, etc. url p. 401, p. 569, p. 652.
- The University of Kansas science bulletin. 39 1958 [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. url p. 311.
- Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book IUCN url p. 176, p. 313.
- Timehri. Demerara: "Argosy" url p. 138.
- Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. London, The Society. url p. 160, p. 69.
- Veröffentlichungen der Zoologischen Staatssammlung München. 3 1955 München: Die Staatssammlung, url p. 98.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed March 27, 2012.
- GloBIS (GART)
- GloBIS (GART): Global Butterfly Information System. Release date: November 23, 2008
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 03, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
- LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
- Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. March 26, 2007.
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 03, 2008:
- University of Navarra, Museum of Zoology: Museum of Zoology, University of Navarra
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2631144
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Gar-221
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: IILEP94290
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 165521
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=14&sci=Papilionidae&com=Parnassians and Swallowtails [back]
