Parides alopius

Parides alopius, the white-dotted cattleheart, is an endemic Mexican butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It has also strayed once into the United States in southeastern Arizona.[1]

White-dotted cattleheart
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Papilionidae
Genus:
Parides
Species:
P. alopius
Binomial name
Parides alopius
(Godman & Salvin, 1890)

Description

The upperside of the wings is black with the hindwing having two rows of submarginal spots: the first row, white; and the second row, pink. Males have fewer white spots than females. The underside of the wings are similar except the hindwing pink spots are more conspicuous.[1] It has a wingspan of 3–3.5 in (76–89 mm).A full description is provided by Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906)[2]


Flight

This species has been seen on the wing from March to November.[3]

Habitat

The white-dotted cattleheart may be encountered in pine-oak forests.[3]

Life cycle

The larva is ringed with black and white bands and has yellow and reddish-brown fleshy projections. Each side of the body contains red, orange and white spots. The chrysalis is shaped very similar to that of the pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor). It is blue green with the head, parts of the thorax, and abdomen a bright yellow green. It is unknown whether the chrysalis has a brown form or not.[4]

Host Plants

The only recorded host plant for the white-dotted cattleheart is Watson's pipevine (Aristolochia watsonii).[1]

Status

It is uncommon and known from very few localities, but is not known to be threatened.[5]

Etymology

The specific name comes from the classical tradition. Alopius was the son of Antiope the daughter of Thespius.

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References
  1. Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY. ISBN 0-618-15312-8
  2. Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906). A revision of the American Papilios. Novitates Zoologicae 13: 411-752. (Facsimile edition ed. P.H. Arnaud, 1967) and online
  3. "White-dotted Cattleheart" Archived 2009-04-30 at the Wayback Machine, Butterflies and Moths of North America
  4. "Parides alopius", Mariposa Mexicanas
  5. Tyler, H.A. (1975). The Swallowtail Butterflies of North America. Naturegraph Publishers, viii + 192 pp.
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