Red-bodied swallowtails, or ruby swallowtail (due to the color), are butterflies in the swallowtail family, that belong to the genera Atrophaneura, Byasa, Losaria, or Pachliopta. They are generally found in Asia (Indomalayan realm).
Collectors have found the red-bodied swallowtails difficult to kill. Pinching the thorax, a method which kills most butterflies, is withstood and only stuns the butterfly temporarily.
The larvae resemble those of other Troidini. Fleshy spine-like tubercles, often with red tips, line the caterpillars' backs, and their bodies are dark red to brown and velvety black or shades of grey with a pattern of black lines. They feed on species of Aristolochia and Thottea. Chrysalids are camouflaged to look like a dead leaf or twig. They are attached by a girdle and an anal pad. Adults are nectar feeding.
Many species of red-bodied swallowtails show aposematism,[1] and serve as models for Batesian mimicry. The biology of Pachliopta hector and Pachliopta aristolochiae are well studied.
Species limits may be either narrow (many species - forma and subspecies raised to full or "good" species) or broad (fewer species - rank reduction) see Jürgen Haffer for a discussion.
Listed alphabetically within genera:
genus: Atrophaneura Reakirt, [1865][2] (earlier considered as the nominotypical subgenus of Atrophaneura but now it is a genus without subgenera)
genus: Byasa Moore, 1882 (earlier considered as subgenus Byasa but now raised to genus level)[4]
genus: Losaria Moore, [1902] (earlier considered as subgenus Losaria but now raised to genus level)[4]
genus: Pachliopta Reakirt, [1865] (earlier considered as subgenus Pachliopta but now raised to genus level)[4]