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
()
- 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
- 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
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
First described: Staudinger, O. Lepidopteren von der Insel Palawan.
Staudinger, O. (1888) Lepidopteren von der Insel Palawan. Correspondenzblatt
des Entomologischen Vereins "Iris" zu Dresden 1 (5): 273-280., 1888.
Comment: 4 ST
(1 [m
], 3 [ff], VI.-X.1887, Platen leg
.)
Last scrutiny: 05-Feb-2007
Similar Species
Members of the genus Troides
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 2 species and subspecies in this genus:
T. dohertyi (Talaud Black Birdwing) · T. prattorum (Buru Opalescent Birdwing)
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
- Checklist of CITES Species CITES, WCMC url p. 232.
- Checklist of CITES Species: a reference to the appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES url p. 231.
- Checklist of fish and invertebrates listed in the CITES appendices and in EC Regulation 338/97 JNCC url p. 12.
- World Checklist of Fish and Invertebrates Listed in the CITES Appendices Joint Nature Conservation Committee url p. 162.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
- GloBIS (GART)
- GloBIS (GART): Global Butterfly Information System. Release date: November 23, 2008
- 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 & 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.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3387148
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Gar-480
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 872544
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=14&sci=Papilionidae&com=Parnassians and Swallowtails [back]
