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Papilio palinurus

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Kingdom
  
Class
  
Family
  
Papilionidae

Scientific name
  
Papilio palinurus

Phylum
  
Order
  
Genus
  
Rank
  
Species

Papilio palinurus Papilio palinurus common name Emerald Swallowtail Emerald Peacock

Similar
  
Papilio, Papilio rumanzovia, Papilio crino, Papilio demolion, Graphium

Papilio palinurus, the emerald swallowtail, emerald peacock or green-banded peacock, is a butterfly of the genus Papilio belonging to the Papilionidae family. It is native to Southeast Asia, but is regularly kept in butterfly houses around the world.

Contents

Papilio palinurus Emerald Swallowtail Papilio palinurusquot by Lepidoptera Redbubble

Great emerald swallowtail papilio palinurus


Subspecies

There are several subspecies (from Burma, Borneo, Indonesia, Nias and the Philippines).

Papilio palinurus httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommons99

  • P. p. palinurus – Burma, Malaysia Borneo
  • P. p. auffenbergi Späth, 1992Simeulue, Indonesia
  • P. p. nymphodorus (Fruhstorfer) – Island of Basilan
  • P. p. adventus (Fruhstorfer) – Island of Nias
  • P. p. daedalus (C. & R. Felder, 1861)Philippines
  • P. p. angustatus (Staudinger, 1888) – Island of Palawan, Philippines
  • Etymology

    Papilio palinurus FilePapilio palinurusgwzjpg Wikimedia Commons

    The genus name Papilio comes from the Latin word papilio meaning butterfly. The species name palinurus derives from Palinurus, the name of the pilot of Aeneas's boat in Virgil's Aeneid.

    Description

    Papilio palinurus FilePapilio palinurus 1jpg Wikimedia Commons

    Papilio palinurus has a wingspan reaching about 8–10 centimetres (3.1–3.9 in). The dorsal sides of the wings are covered by a powder of green scales and the background vary from dark greenish to black, with broad bright emerald green metallic bands. The undersides are black with orange, white and blue spots along the edges of hindwings, that show extended tails at the end.

    The flight of these butterflies is swift and quite fast. Caterpillars feed on plants of genus Euodia belonging to the Rutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family.

    Green by structural coloration

    The iridescent green sheen of the bands of this butterfly is not produced by pigments, but is structural coloration produced by the microstructure of the wing scales. They refract the light and give rise to blue and yellow visible reflections, producing the perception of green color when additively mixed.

    Distribution

    This species can be found primarily in Southeast Asia, particularly in Burma - Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Indonesia (Simeulue, Island of Nias), Philippines (Basilan, Palawan, Balabac, Cuyo, Busuanga and Dumaran).

    Habitat

    Papilio palinurus lives in Asian primary forests.

    Other reading

  • Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach. (1998). Schmetterlinge der Erde, Butterflies of the World Part I (1), Papilionidae Papilionidae I: Papilio, Subgenus Achillides, Bhutanitis, Teinopalpus. Edited by Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach. Keltern: Goecke & Evers; Canterbury: Hillside Books ISBN 9783931374624
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  • References

    Papilio palinurus Wikipedia