Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Papilionidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Tribe Troidini | |
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Similar Parides phalaecus, Parides proneus, Parides chabrias, Parides aeneas, Parides pizarro | ||
Parides gundlachianus, the Cuban cattleheart, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is an endemic species found only in Cuba. The name honours the Cuban naturalist Juan Gundlach.
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It is the brightest-coloured American swallowtail, and may be recognised by the brilliant blue bands on the forewing.
The dark ash-grey larva is striped longitudinally, the head and thoracic legs are black; the black longitudinal stripes in part margined with white; the anterior and posterior segments bear long pointed tubercles which are partly white.
Occurs in the mountainous eastern part of the island, especially near the coast, where it is met with on flowers, and sometimes also drinking at pools.
Subspecies
Etymology
The specific epithet honours the Cuban naturalist Juan Gundlach.