Papilioninae facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Papilioninae |
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| Macleay's Swallowtail (Graphium macleayanus) | |
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Papilioninae
Latreille, 1802
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Papilioninae (say "Pa-pil-ee-oh-NY-nay") is a group of butterflies. They are a "subfamily," which is like a smaller group within a bigger butterfly family. This bigger family is called Papilionidae, also known as swallowtail butterflies. You can find these butterflies all over the world!
Contents
What Papilioninae Caterpillars Eat
The young butterflies, called caterpillars, eat different kinds of plants. They especially like plants from families like Rosaceae, Apiaceae, and Magnoliaceae.
Some Papilioninae caterpillars eat plants from the Aristolochiaceae family. These plants make the caterpillars become poisonous. This poison stays with them even when they grow into adult butterflies.
How Butterflies Stay Safe
Because some Papilioninae butterflies are poisonous, other butterflies sometimes copy their look. This is called mimicry. It helps the non-poisonous butterflies stay safe from predators. Predators, like birds, learn to avoid the poisonous butterflies and then avoid the ones that look like them too.
Life Cycle and Migration
Most adult Papilioninae butterflies do not travel long distances. They usually stay in one area.
When winter comes, these butterflies spend the cold months as chrysalids. A chrysalis is like a protective case where the caterpillar changes into a butterfly. They wait in this stage until the weather gets warmer.
Types of Papilioninae Butterflies
There are many different kinds of Papilioninae butterflies. Scientists group them into different "genera" (say "JEN-uh-ruh"), which is a way to organize living things. Here are some of them:
- Atrophaneura
- Battus
- Byasa
- Chilasa
- Cressida
- Euryades
- Eurytides
- Graphium
- Iphiclides
- Lamproptera
- Losaria
- Meandrusa
- Mimoides
- Ornithoptera
- Pachliopta
- Papilio
- Parides
- Pharmacophagus
- Praepapilio
- Protesilaus
- Protographium
- Teinopalpus
- Trogonoptera
- Troides
See also
In Spanish: Papilioninae para niños
