Atrophaneura priapus explained

Atrophaneura priapus, the Priapus batwing or white-head batwing, is a swallowtail butterfly found in Burma, Malaysia, Sumatra, and Java. The subspecies A. p. hageni was named to honour Hermann August Hagen. It may be a full species.

A. priapus is a large butterfly (11–14 cm wingspan). The forewings are black with the wing veins bordered by white. The hindwings are black and have a wavy margin. There is a broad, slightly yellowish white band on the hindwing. This band contains large black spots. In males there is a white area with red edge next to the body. The underside is similar to the upperside, but the white area is missing. The abdomen is yellow and black above. The head (hence the common name white-head batwing) and the underside of abdomen are white or yellow. The thorax is black.

Subspecies

• Atrophaneura priapus priapus west Java
• Atrophaneura priapus dilutus (Fruhstorfer, 1895) east Java The band of the hindwing is above more or less distinctly shaded with black and the whole upper surface of the female is very pale..^[1]
• Atrophaneura priapus hageni (Rogenhofer, 1889) Sumatra, Indonesia Abdomen above black, beneath red and black. Forewing of the female very pale black-brown, the light stripes semitransparent. Hindwing in both sexes with large white discal area which encloses black discal spots, the cell broader than in sycorax.

Biology

Atrophaneura priapus is a Troides mimic and is, itself mimicked by females of Papilio forbesi and Papilio lampsacus.

Taxonomy

Atrophaneura priapus, A. priapus hageni and A. sycorax, are often confused and may represent one, two or three good species although the hindwing pouches and androconial scales are variously modified.^[2]

Status

It is not known to be threatened, though the status is uncertain.^[3]

External links

• Butterflycorner Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
• Global Butterfly Information System text and images including holotype (access via "tree" left)

Notes and References

1. Seitz, A. Band 9: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die indo-australischen Tagfalter, 1927, 1197 Seiten 177 Tafeln pdf
2. Parsons, M.J. (1996). Gondwanan evolution of the troidine swallowtails (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): Cladistic reappraisals using mainly immature stage characters, with focus on the birdwings Ornithoptera Boisduval Bulletin of the Kitakyushu Museum of natural History 15: 43-118, 34 figures, 2 tables pdf
3. Book: Collins . N. Mark . Morris . Michael G. . Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book . 1985 . . Gland & Cambridge . 978-2-88032-603-6 . Biodiversity Heritage Library.