Papilio polytes

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

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

Synonyms

Papilio alphenor var. thesalphenor Staudinger • Papilio pammon Linnaeus • Papilio pammon var. borealis Felder & Felder • Papilio polytes perversus Rothschild • Papilio polytes var. cyroides Fruhstorfer • Papilio polytes var. falcidius Fruhstorfer • Papilio polytes var. messius Fruhstorfer • Papilio polytes var. neomelanides Fruhstorfer • Papilio polytes var. nicomachus Fruhstorfer • Papilio polytes var. passienus Fruhstorfer • Papilio polytes var. rubida Fruhstorfer • Papilio polytes var. vigellius Fruhstorfer • Papilio romulus Cramer

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

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Further Reading

• 2nd International congress of entomology, Oxford, August, 1912. .. Oxford, Printed by Hazell, Watson & Viney, Ld., 1913-14. url p. 107, p. 17.
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• A hand-book to the order Lepidoptera. By W.F. Kirby. .. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url , p. 293.
• A handbook to the order Lepidoptera. By W. F. Kirby. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url p. 293, p. 304.
• A natural history of the British Lepidoptera: a text-book for students and collectors / by J.W. Tutt. London: S. Sonnenschein, 1899-1904. url p. 78.
• A natural history of the British butterflies; their world-wide variation and geographical distribution. A text-book for students and collectors. London: E. Stock, [19--?] url p. 78.
• A naturalist in north Celebes: a narrative of travels in Minahassa, the Sangir and Talaut Islands, with notices of the fauna, flora and ethnology of the districts visited / London: J. Murray, 1889. url , .
• A naturalist on Lake Victoria: with an account of sleeping sickness and the tse-tse fly / by G.D. Hale Carpenter. .. with 2 coloured plates, a map, charts, and 87 illustrations. New York: E. P. Dutton, c1920. url p. 269.
• A naturalist on lake Victoria, with an account of sleeping sickness and the tse-tse fly, by G.D. Hale Carpenter. .. with 2 coloured plates, a map, charts, and 87 illustrations. London, T.F. Unwin ltd.[1920] url p. 269.
• Annual report / Albany: University of the State of New York, 1902-1918. url p. 64.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 388, p. 389.
• Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 167, p. 74.
• British journal of entomology and natural history. [London]: British Entomological and Natural History Society, 1988- url p. 78, p. 82, p. 83.
• Bulletin of the Hill Museum: a magazine of lepidopterology; Edited by J. J. Joicey. Issued at the Hill Museum, Wormley, Witley. London: John Bale, sons & Danielsson, 1921- url p. 519, p. 630, p. 644, p. 649, p. 655.
• Butterflies. Vol. I-II. / By Lieut.-Colonel C. T. Bingham. Calcutta and Simla, Taylor and Francis;1905-1907. url , , p. 51, p. 61, p. 63, p. 64, p. 69.
• Carnegie Institution of Washington publication. Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1902- url p. 18, p. 53, p. 63.
• Catalogue of Papilionidae & Pieridae (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill: C.A. Bridges, 1988. url p. 17.
• Contributions to the theory of natural selection: a series of essays. New York: Macmillan, 1871. url p. 381.
• Cooperative economic insect report. Hyattsville, MD. [etc.]Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs Animal and Plant Health Service. url p. 692.
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• Entomology, with special reference to its ecological aspects, by Justus Watson Folsom. .. Philadelphia, P. Blakiston's Son & Co.[c1922] url p. 209.
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• Essays on evolution 1889-1907, Oxford, Clarendon press, 1908. url , , .
• Essays on evolution 1889-1907, by Edward Bagnall Poulton. Oxford, Claredon Press, 1908. url p. 373, p. 429.
• Essays on evolution 1889-1907. OxfordClarendon Press1908 url p. 373, p. 388, p. 401, p. 429.
• Heredity and sex / by Thomas Hunt Morgan. New York, Columbia university press, 1914. url p. 125, p. 125, p. 126, p. 126.
• Heredity and sex, by Thomas Hunt Morgan. .. New York, Columbia University Press, 1913. url p. 125, p. 126.
• Heredity and sex. New YorkColumbia University Press1914 url p. 125, p. 126.
• Indian Museum notes. Calcutta: [Indian Museum]: 1889-1903. url p. 114.
• International catalogue of scientific literature. LondonPublished for the International Council by the Royal Society of London1901-1920 url p. 145, p. 299.
• Journal and proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 6 1910 Calcutta, Asiatic Society of Bengal. url p. 103, p. 106, p. 247, p. 253, p. 255, p. 258, p. 261, p. cliii.
• Lepidoptera indica. By F. Moore. London, 1890-1913. url p. 347.
• Mendel's principles of heredity, by W. Bateson. Cambridge [Eng.]University Press, 1913. url p. 319, p. 319.
• Mendel's principles of heredity. CambridgeUniversity Press1913 url p. 319.
• Mimicry in butterflies, Cambridge, University Press, 1915. url , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
• Mimicry in butterflies, by Reginald Crundall Punnett. .. Cambridge, University press, 1915. url , , , p. 100, p. 101, p. 102, p. 103, p. 116, p. 124, p. 125, p. 13, p. 185, p. 186, p. 26, p. 52, p. 56, p. 75, p. 76, p. 77, p. 78, p. 79, p. 80, p. 81, p. 82, p. 83, p. 84, p. 85, p. 86, p. 87, p. 88, p. 89, p. 90, p. 91, p. 93, p. 94, p. 95, p. 96, p. 97, p. 98, p. 99.
• Mimicry in butterflies. CambridgeUniversity Press1915 url , , , p. 100, p. 101, p. 102, p. 103, p. 116, p. 124, p. 125, p. 13, p. 183, p. 26, p. 52, p. 56, p. 75, p. 77, p. 78, p. 79, p. 80, p. 81, p. 82, p. 83, p. 84, p. 85, p. 86, p. 87, p. 88, p. 89, p. 90, p. 91, p. 92, p. 93, p. 94, p. 95, p. 96, p. 97, p. 98, p. 99.
• Museum bulletin / New York State Museum. Albany, N.Y.: University of the State of New York, 1908-1916. url p. 64.
• Nature. London, Macmillan. url p. 237, p. 300, p. 340, p. 364, p. 611.
• Physiological genetics, by Richard Goldschmidt. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company inc., 1938. url p. 130, p. 328, p. 373.
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• Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia url p. 85, p. 85.
• Proceedings of the South London Entomological & Natural History Society. London [Eng]: South London Entomological and Natural history Society, [1897-1933] url , p. 101, p. 140, p. 156, p. 17, p. 50, p. 59, p. 63, p. 95.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] url p. 145.
• Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. London: Academic Press, [etc.], 1833-1965. url , p. 108, p. 259, p. 259, p. 487, p. 614, p. 615, p. 616, p. 618, p. 619, p. 702, p. 707, p. 708, p. 719, p. 720, p. 729, p. 732, p. 840.
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• Report of the proceedings of the third entomological meeting: held at Pusa on the 3rd to 15th February 1919 / edited by T. Bainbrigge Fletcher. Calcutta: Supt. of Government Printing, 1920. url p. 109, p. 340.
• Report of the proceedings of the. .. Entomological meeting Calcutta;Superintendent government printing, India, 1917-24. url , , p. 13, p. 210, p. 259, p. 264, p. 265, p. 267, p. 268, p. 269, p. 903, p. 905, p. 906.
• Rhopalocera Malayana: a description of the butterflies of the Malay peninsula / by W.L. Distant. London: W.L. Distant, 1882-86. url p. 347.
• Sex-linked inheritance in Drosophila, Washington, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1916. url , p. 18.
• Spolia zeylanica. S.l.: s.n. url , , , , p. 107, p. 11, p. 14, p. 15, p. 150, p. 19, p. 2, p. 217, p. 218, p. 22, p. 23, p. 299, p. 4, p. 5, p. 6.
• The Annals and magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology being a continuation of the Annals combined with Loudon and Charlesworth's Magazine of Natural History. London, Taylor and Francis, Ltd. url p. 273.
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Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• 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
• Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 and 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:

• National Institute of Genetics, ROIS: Entomological Specimens of Museum of Nature and Human Activities, Hyogo Pref., Japan

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3915346
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Gar-298
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 648920

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=14&sci=Papilionidae&com=Parnassians and Swallowtails [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.