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Battus polydamas

Species of butterfly From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battus polydamas
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Battus polydamas, also known as the gold rim swallowtail, the Polydamas swallowtail or the tailless swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1758. Adults generally have black wings with yellow markings while the larval stage is mainly about consuming acids from toxic plants to make themselves unpalatable to predators.[3] They are mainly found in the Neotropical region, and in many of the Caribbean islands.[4]

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Morphology

The wingspan of an adult B. Polydamas is 84 to 110 mm without the tail. The top of the wings are black with a broad submarginal band formed by large yellow spots.[3] The undersides of the forewings have the same pattern, while the hindwings have a submarginal row of red lunules.[5] This butterfly flies from April to November in three generations in the north of its range, throughout the year in several generations in the tropics.[6]

  • Life cycle
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    Mating
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    Larva
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    Larva
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    Pupa
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    Emerging from pupa
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Chemical Defense in larvae

Swallowtail butterflies build their chemical defense by feeding on toxic host plants that make them distasteful to predators, ultimately increasing their fitness.[7] For instance, the larvae of Battus Polydamas feed exclusively on plants of Aristolochia species, containing aristolochic acids (AA).[8] Throughout their larval development, they consume and accumulate aristolochic acids in their body and integument.[8] And the amount of AA content they can contain increases with the size of larvae.[8]

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Distribution and Habitat

The Polydamas swallowtail is widespread in the Neotropical realm throughout Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and in southern United States, including Texas and Florida.[4] It also inhabits many Caribbean islands such as Jamaica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.[9] Within this broad range, B. polydamas prefers habitats where they can access its larval host plants, particularly species in the genus Aristolochia.[3] However, it is most often found in open woodlands, along the edges of forests, or abandoned fields, and occasionally in gardens with their preferable host plants.[3]

Subspecies

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The species is divided into the following subspecies:

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References

External links

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