Pachliopta polydorus

{{Short description|Species of butterfly}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Red-bodied swallowtail

| image = Pachliopta polydorus queenslandicus.jpg

| image_caption =

| taxon = Pachliopta polydorus

| authority = (Linnaeus, 1763)

| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies

| subdivision = See text

}}

Pachliopta polydorus, the red-bodied swallowtail, is a butterfly from the family Papilionidae found in north-eastern Queensland, Australia and Papua New Guinea.http://en.butterflycorner.net/Pachliopta-polydorus.531.0.html Butterfly Corner

Description

The forewings are black, with white internervular shading. The hindwings have scalloped edges, are black and have no tails. The hindwing has a line of dark-red postdiscal spots. In the middle of wing there is a big white discal patch. The underside of both wings are the same as the above side, but the underside has brighter red spots. The body is black with a red abdomen. The sexes are alike. Average wingspan size is 72 mm for males and 76 mm for females.{{cite book |last=Braby |first=Michael F |date=2004 |title=The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iwzbCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 |location=Clayton South, Victoria |publisher=CSIRO Publishing |page=60 |isbn=978-0643090279 }}

Life history

The larva is mottled brown with the rows of red and yellow fleshy tubercles typical of Troidini. The larval food plants are in the genus Aristolochia - Aristolochia chalmersii, Aristolochia indica, Aristolochia tagala, Aristolochia thozetii, Aristolochia australopithecurus, Aristolochia deltantha, Aristolochia linearifolia, Aristolochia peninsulensis.

The pupa is white with brown marks. The dorsum is concave, and there is a row of flanges along each side. The pupal length is 3 cm.

Distribution

Indonesia (Moluccas (not Morotai, but including Seram and Ambon), Tanimbar, Irian Jaya, Kai, Aru, Waigeu and Skouten Islands), Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago (including New Britain), Bougainville, Solomons (including San Cristobal and Ulawa Island), Trobriand Islands, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, Louisiade Archipelago and Australia (northern Queensland).

Status

It is generally common and not threatened as a species, though some subspecies may be threatened.

Subspecies

The following subspecies are recognised: (up to thirty-one subspecies are described)

{{Div col|colwidth=21em}}

  • P. p. aignanus [Rothschild]
  • P. p. asinius [Fruhstorfer]
  • P. p. dampierensis [Hagen]
  • P. p. godartianus [Lucas]
  • P. p. humboldti [Rothschild]
  • P. p. kajelanus [Fruhstorfer]
  • P. p. lascarus [Fruhstorfer]
  • P. p. leodamas [Wallace]
  • P. p. manus [Talbot]
  • P. p. meforanus [Rothschild]
  • P. p. naissus [Fruhstorfer]
  • P. p. novobritannicus [Rothschild]
  • P. p. orinomus [Rothschild]
  • P. p. polydaemon [Mathew]
  • P. p. queenslandicus [Rothschild, 1895]
  • P. p. septentrionalis [Rothschild]
  • P. p. tenimberensis [Rothschild]
  • P. p. thessalia [Swinhoe]
  • P. p. utuanensis [Ribbe]
  • P. p. varus [Fruhstorfer]

{{div col end}}

Gallery

Red-bodied Swallowtail f7 9628.jpg|Red-bodied swallowtail, Cairns, Australia.

References

{{Reflist}}

  • {{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=N. Mark |last2=Morris |first2=Michael G. |title=Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/98674#page/7/mode/1up |year=1985 |publisher=IUCN |location=Gland & Cambridge |isbn=978-2-88032-603-6 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}
  • Heidelberger, D., and J. B. Heppner. 1999. Pachliopta polydorus biology in Queensland, Australia (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Tropical Lepidoptera 10(1): 18. [http://www.troplep.org/TLR/10-1/img002.pdf pdf (pars)]