Battus polydamas explained

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.

Description

The wingspan is without the tail. The top of the wings are black with a broad submarginal band formed by large yellow spots. The undersides of the forewings have the same pattern, while the hindwings have a submarginal row of red lunules. 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. The larvae feed on Aristolochia plant species.

Distribution

It is found in the Neotropical realm throughout Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States (in Texas and Florida).^[1]

Habitat

Battus polydamas is mainly present in open woods and abandoned fields.

Subspecies

The species is divided into the following subspecies:

• B. p. antiquus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) – Antigua (extinct)
• B. p. archidamas (Boisduval, 1836) – Chile
• B. p. atahualpa Racheli & Pischedda, 1987 – Peru
• B. p. cebriones (Dalman, 1823) - Martinique
• B. p. christopheranus (Hall, 1936) - Saint Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat (possibly extinct)
• B. p. cubensis (Dufrane, 1946) – Cuba (including Isla de la Juventud), Cayman Islands (Grand Cayman)
• B. p. dominicus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) – Dominica
• B. p. grenadensis (Hall, 1930) - Grenada, possibly southern Grenadines

• B. p. jamaicensis (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) – Jamaica
• B. p. lucayus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) – Florida, Bahamas
• B. p. lucianus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) – St. Lucia (possibly extinct)
• B. p. neodamas (Lucas, 1852) – Guadeloupe
• B. p. peruanus (Fuchs, 1954) – Peru
• B. p. polycrates (Hopffer, 1865) – Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic)

• B. p. polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758) – tropical Central and South America
• B. p. psittacus (Molina, 1782) – Chile, Argentina
• B. p. renani Lamas, 1998 – Peru
• B. p. streckerianus (Honrath, 1884) – Peru
• B. p. thyamus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) – Puerto Rico (including Culebra), Virgin Islands
• B. p. vincentius (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• B. p. xenodamas (Hübner, 1825) – Martinique^[2]
• B. p. weyrauchi Lamas, 1998 – Peru^[1]

See also

• List of butterflies of Jamaica

References

• Mathew, G. F. (1877). "Life history of Papilio archidamas". Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 14 (163): 152–153.
• Brown, F. Martin & Heineman, Bernard. Jamaica and its Butterflies. (E. W. Classey, London 1972), plate VIII
• Smart, Paul (1976). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color. London, Salamander: Encyclopedie des papillons. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition) page 159 fig. 19 as B. archidamas Bsdv., underside (Chile), fig. 17 as polydamas (Mexico).

External links

• Web site: Lotts . Kelly . Naberhaus . Thomas . amp . 2017 . Polydamas Swallowtail Battus polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758) . Butterflies and Moths of North America . September 16, 2019.
• Polydamas swallowtail on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site

Notes and References

1. Web site: Savela . Markku . Battus polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758) . Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms . September 16, 2019.
2. Web site: Battus polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758) . Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles . September 16, 2019.