Red-bodied swallowtail

Red-bodied swallowtails or ruby swallowtail ( due to the color ) are butterflies in the swallowtail family, that belong to the genera Atrophaneura, Byasa, Losaria, or Pachliopta. They are generally found in Asia (Indomalayan realm).

This article is about several genera. For the specific species known as red-bodied swallowtail, see Pachliopta polydorus.

red-bodied swallowtail
Pachliopta hector
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Papilionidae
Subfamily:
Papilioninae
Tribe:
Troidini
Genus:
Atrophaneura
Reakirt, [1865]
Byasa
Moore, 1882
Losaria
Moore, [1902]
Pachliopta
Reakirt, [1865]
Species

About 46; see text

Synonyms
  • Polydorus Swainson, [1833]
  • Pangerana Moore, 1886
  • Panosmia Wood-Mason & de Nicéville, 1886
  • Tros Kirby, 1896
  • Karanga Moore, [1902]
  • Balignina Moore, [1902]

Collectors have found the red-bodied swallowtails difficult to kill. Pinching the thorax, a method which kills most butterflies, is withstood and apparently only stuns the butterfly temporarily.

Life history

The eggs are simple. The larvae resemble those of other Troidini. Fleshy spine-like tubercles, often with red tips, line the caterpillars' backs, and their bodies are dark red to brown and velvety black or shades of grey with a pattern of black lines. They feed on species of Aristolochia and Thottea. Chrysalids are camouflaged to look like a dead leaf or twig. They are attached by a girdle and an anal pad. Adults are nectar feeding.

Many species of red-bodied swallowtails show aposematism,[1] and serve as models for Batesian mimicry. The biology of Pachliopta hector and Pachliopta aristolochiae are well studied.

  • Pachliopta hector egg
  • Pachliopta aristolochiae larva
  • Byasa alcinous pupa

Taxonomy

Species limits may be either narrow (many species - forma and subspecies raised to full or "good" species) or broad (fewer species - rank reduction) see Jürgen Haffer for a discussion.

Genera and species
Plate from Adalbert Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World, depicting species now in the genus Atrophaneura
Plate from Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World, depicting species now in the genera Losaria and Pachliopta.
Plate from Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World, depicting species now in the genus Pachliopta

Listed alphabetically within genera:[2]

genus: Atrophaneura Reakirt, [1865][2] (earlier considered as subgenus Atrophaneura but now raised to genus level)[3]

genus: Byasa Moore, 1882 (earlier considered as subgenus Byasa but now raised to genus level)[3]

genus: Losaria Moore, [1902] (earlier considered as subgenus Losaria but now raised to genus level)[3]

genus: Pachliopta Reakirt, [1865] (earlier considered as subgenus Pachliopta but now raised to genus level)[3]

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References
  1. Kitching, Roger Laurence (1999). Biology of Australian Butterflies. Csiro Publishing. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-643-05027-3. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
  2. Savela, Markku (16 Feb 2008). "Atrophaneura". Lepidoptera and some other life forms. nic.funet.fi. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  3. Häuser, Christoph L.; de Jong, Rienk; Lamas, Gerardo; Robbins, Robert K.; Smith, Campbell; Vane-Wright, Richard I. (28 July 2005). "Papilionidae – revised GloBIS/GART species checklist (2nd draft)". Entomological Data Information System. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Germany. Retrieved 21 June 2013..
  4. Gimenez Dixon, M. (1996). "Atrophaneura schadenbergi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T2379A9436065. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T2379A9436065.en. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  5. Hancook, D.L. (1982). A note on Atrophaneura palu (Martin) 1912. Papilo International. 1(3): 71-73
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