Pharmacophagus antenor
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Pharmacophagus antenor |
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| Pharmacophagus antenor | ||||||||||||
| ( Drury , 1773) |
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Pharmacophagus antenor is endemic to Madagascar occurring butterfly from the family of the swallowtail butterfly (Papilionidae).
Taxonomy
Pharmacophagus antenor is the only member of the genus Pharmacophagus . This name is based on the ancient Greek words φαρμακευτικός ('pharmaceutical' or 'medicine') and φάγος ('wolverine'). Thus, the name can be interpreted as a "medicine eater", which is due to the fact that the caterpillars feed on an aristolochia ( pipe flower type), which has been used as a medicinal plant since the ancient Egyptians . Their vines contain poisonous compounds, the aristolochic acids , which the caterpillars can tolerate, which they store and which make them inedible for predators. The species was described by Dru Drury in 1773 as Papilio antenor . Since Drury, like Carl von Linné, named many Papilio species after personalities from Greek mythology , the specific epithet in the present case should refer to Antenor from Troy .
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 120 to 140 millimeters. They are among the large knightly butterflies and are called Madagascar Giant Swallowtail in English . The species is not characterized by any sexual dimorphism . In both sexes, all wings on the upper side have a black base color. Many white spots are evenly distributed on the forewings. There are more white spots in the basal region of the hind wings. Several red to orange-red spots stand out along the toothed edge of the hind wing around the anal angle . All the drawings on the top shine through to the undersides of the wings. The hind wings have tails that are rounded at the end.
Pre-imaginal stages
The egg has a diameter of around two millimeters, a whitish color and a spherical shape. The bottom is slightly flattened, the top has the shape of a cap. The slightly ribbed surface is covered with a pink, waxy, sticky layer.
The caterpillars are initially reddish-brown in color, have many tubercles and, up to the fourth stage, show a few whitish, saddle-like tubercles on abdominal segments three and four. When fully grown, the caterpillars are about 58 millimeters long and the color of the body and the tubercle is then dark brown.
The doll has a yellow-brown color and is clearly S-shaped in the side profile and egg-shaped in the back profile. A few tubercles stand out on the abdomen. It is attached to branches as a belt doll .
distribution and habitat
Pharmacophagus antenor occurs exclusively in the western part of Madagascar . The species inhabits light forests and areas rich in bushes there.
Way of life
The moths fly in several generations a year and are particularly numerous during the rainy season between August and November. During the dry season from mid-April to mid-June, the pupae remain in a diapause . Both sexes visit different flowers for feeding. The eggs are laid on the underside of a leaf of the food plant. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of the plant family of aristolochiaceae counting (Aristolochiaceae) Aristolochia acuminata . The dolls rest averages 14 days.
Individual evidence
- ^ Name according to Pharmaceutical Journal
- ↑ a b c d Michael J. Parsons: The Immature Stages of Pharmacophagus antenor (Drury) (Papilionidae: Troidini) from Madagascar , Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 50 (4), 1996, pp. 337-344
- ↑ Markku Savela: Tanaecia Butler, [1869] - distribution. In: Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved January 27, 2019 .
Web links
- inaturalist.org - flight time and occurrence
- butterflycorner.net - Butterfly Corner
- insecta.pro - Taxonomy at Insecta Pro