Red-bodied swallowtail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Red-bodied swallowtail |
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Pachliopta
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P. polydorus
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| Pachliopta polydorus (Linnaeus, 1763)
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see text |
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The red-bodied swallowtail (Pachliopta polydorus) is a beautiful butterfly. It belongs to the swallowtail family (Papilionidae). You can find this butterfly in north-eastern Queensland, Australia. It also lives in Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The red-bodied swallowtail has black front wings. These wings have white shading between the veins. Its back wings are also black and have wavy edges. They do not have tails, which is common for some swallowtails.
Colors and Patterns
The back wings have a line of dark-red spots near the outer edge. In the middle of the back wing, there is a large white patch. The underside of both wings looks similar to the top. However, the red spots on the underside are much brighter.
Body Features
The body of this butterfly is black. Its abdomen (the back part of its body) is bright red. Both male and female butterflies look very much alike.
Life Cycle
Like all butterflies, the red-bodied swallowtail goes through several stages in its life. These stages include egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa, and adult butterfly.
The Caterpillar Stage
The larva, or caterpillar, of this butterfly is mottled brown. It has rows of red and yellow fleshy bumps called tubercles. These bumps are typical for caterpillars in the Troidini group.
What Caterpillars Eat
These caterpillars mostly eat plants from the Aristolochia genus. Some of their favorite food plants include Aristolochia chalmersii, Aristolochia indica, and Aristolochia tagala. They also eat Aristolochia thozetii and several Pararistolochia species.
The Pupa Stage
After growing, the caterpillar turns into a pupa. The pupa is white with brown marks. It has a curved back and a row of ridges along each side. The pupa is about 3 centimeters long.
Where It Lives
The red-bodied swallowtail lives in many places. It is found in Indonesia, including islands like Seram, Ambon, and Waigeu. It also lives in Papua New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago. You can also find it in Bougainville, the Solomon Islands, and various smaller island groups. In Australia, it lives in northern Queensland.
How Many Are There?
This butterfly is generally common. This means there are many of them, and they are not considered an endangered species. However, some specific types (called subspecies) might be less common.
Subspecies
Scientists have identified many different subspecies of the red-bodied swallowtail. A subspecies is a group within a species that has small differences, often because they live in different areas. There are up to thirty-one known subspecies of Pachliopta polydorus.
Images for kids
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Plate from Adalbert Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World, depicting species now in the genus Atrophaneura
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Plate from Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World, depicting species now in the genera Losaria and Pachliopta.
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Plate from Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World, depicting species now in the genus Pachliopta
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Pachliopta hector egg
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Pachliopta aristolochiae larva
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Byasa alcinous pupa
See also
In Spanish: Atrophaneura para niños
