Graphium antiphates
| Graphium antiphates | ||||||||||||
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Graphium antiphates |
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| ( Cramer , 1775) |
Graphium antiphates is a butterfly found in Asiafrom the family of the knightly butterflies (Papilionidae) and the subfamily of the swallowtails (Papilioninae).
features
butterfly
The average wingspan of the moth is 55 to 70 millimeters. Individual females can reach 100 millimeters. There is no sexual dimorphism between the sexes , as males and females have the same drawing elements. The wing tops are creamy to pure white. From the front edge to the top of the forewing, five black stripes run to the median vein or just beyond it. In English usage, the species is therefore referred to as a five-bar swordtail . Two further, wider and longer black stripes run along the submarginal region and on the outer edge . The area between the outer and inner stripes is greenish in color. At the gray-colored anal corner of the hind wings there are long black tails. The drawing on the underside resembles the upper side, but is more intensely greenish and yellowish in color. The black stripes are also more pronounced. A red-brown area stands out at the anal angle .
Pre-imaginal stages
The egg is round, smooth and creamy white to light yellow in color. The diameter is approximately one millimeter.
The caterpillar is ringed dark gray and black in its first stage and shows short, branched thorns on the entire body surface. In the third and fourth stage, the caterpillars show short, lateral spines on the front three thorax segments and on the anal segment. The fully grown caterpillar is ocher colored, with dark brown stripes and has a wide, dark side stripe in which whitish stigmas stand out. There are also specimens with a light reddish basic color.
The pupa has an elongated shape, is predominantly green in color and has a brownish horn-like outgrowth on the back of the head. It is attached to branches or leaves as a belt doll .
Similar species
The moths of the similarly colored and similarly drawn species Graphium agetes differ in that only four black stripes run on the upper side of the fore wing, which is why they are referred to as four-bar swordtail in English .
Distribution, subspecies and habitat
The species occurs from India and Sri Lanka across the entire Indochinese area to southern China . Twelve subspecies are currently classified in the various occurrence areas . Graphium antiphates prefers to colonize rainforests.
Way of life
The moths fly in several generations a year. The eggs are usually deposited individually on the underside of young leaves of the food plant. It takes three days for the caterpillars to hatch, which first eat the egg shell and then go through five stages to pupate. The puppet time averages eleven to twelve days. While the females visit flowers to take in nectar, the males sometimes suckle in large numbers on the ground at damp places in the earth in order to take in liquids and minerals. The caterpillars feed polyphagously on the leaves of various Annonaceae .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Horace Tan: Life History of the Fivebar Swordtail In: Butterfly Circle, Singapore, June 28, 2014 (retrieved from http://butterflycircle.blogspot.de/2014/06/life-history-of-fivebar- swordtail-v20.html on February 20, 2018)
- ^ Charles Thomas Bingham: The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Butterflies. Vol. II, Taylor & Francis, London, 1907
- ^ Pre- imaginal stages
- ↑ Markku Savela: Tanaecia Butler (1869) - distribution. In: Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved February 20, 2018 .
Web links
- Lepiforum e. V. - Graphium antiphates in the Lepiforum
- ifoundbutterflies - Butterflies of India
- learnaboutbutterflies - Five-bar Swordtail
- eol.org - Encyclopedia of Life