Pachliopta aristolochiae DATASHEET

 

<> Pachliopta aristolochiae  (Fabricius, 1775) <>

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Pachliopta aristolochiae
Photo taken at Chiang Dao Nature Sanctuary, Chiang Mai, Thailand  540m a.s.l.

Pachliopta aristolochiae is fairly common and widespread throughout the whole region. The species is only mildly dimorphic and both sexes are visually similar but the female is slightly larger and the hindwing spots tend to be redder. The apex of the forewing on the female is more rounded and the hindwing tails more pointed. It usually flies high and slow, and is active from early in the morning and throughout most of the day. The red colouring on the body and wings serves as a warning to potential vertebrate predators, such as birds and lizards, that the butterfly is distasteful or toxic.

This species is multivoltine with seven or eight generations per year. The adult female lays her eggs singly on the young leaves or shoots of the host plant. She lays around 100 eggs in total. The species is solely dependent on plants in the Aristolochiaceae family as its larval hosts. The larvae ingest toxins from these plants and these are passed on to the adults to give them the protection from predators as mentioned above.

Synonyms:    Atrophaneura aristolochiae, Papilio aristolochiae, Papilio ascanius, Papilio diphilus, Tros aristolochiae

 

Taxonomy:  Animalia - Arthropoda - Insecta - Lepidoptera - Papilionidae - Papilioninae - Pachliopta - aristolochiae

Regional subspecies:   P.aristolochiae aristolochiae (India), P.aristolochiae asteris (S.Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore), P.aristolochiae goniopeltis (Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, S.China), P.aristolochiae interpositus (Taiwan, Philippines). There are also a number of different subspecies listed amongst the islands of Indonesia.

Regional Distribution:  India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines

 

Pachliopta aristolochiae
Lamnamkok National Park, Chiang Rai, Thailand  450m a.s.l.

Habitat:  Pachliopta aristolochiae is found in  a wide variety of habitats, including open forest, forest edges, grassland, and urban parks & gardens. Often seen in the vicinity of streams at low to moderate elevations up to 2400m a.s.l.

Flight time:  all year depending on location                                                Wingspan:  80-100mm

Life History:      egg   3-7 days         instar 1   1-3 days         instar 2    3-4 days         instar 3    3-4 days  instar 4    4-5 days       instar 5   4-7 days      pupa   12-18 days      Total egg to adult   30-48 days.       All times are approximate and various studies have found significant differences in life cycle periods. It was also noted that sometimes there are only four larval instars and sometimes as many as six.

Larval Hosts:  Aristolochia acuminata, Aristolochia bracteolata, Aristolochia cucurbitifolia, Aristolochia fordiana, Aristolochia foveolata, Aristolochia griffithi, Aristolochia heterophylla, Aristolochia indica, Aristolochia kaempferi, Aristolochia klossii, Aristolochia littoralis, Aristolochia ringens, Aristolochia zollingeriana, Thottea parviflora, Thottea philippinensis, Thottea piperiformis, Thottea siliquosa, Thottea tomentosa (Aristolochiaceae), Dioscorea wallichii (Dioscoreaceae).
Actual host plant used depends upon location and availabilty of plant species.

Adult Food Sources:  Nectar - Buddleja  davidii (Scrophulariaceae), Duranta erecta, Lantana camara, Stachytarpheta  indica (Verbenaceae), Ageratina adenophora, Chromolaena odorata, Cosmos sp., Crassocephalum crepidioides, Dahlia imperialis, Tagetes erecta, Tridax procumbens, Zinnia sp. (Asteraceae), Jatropha sp. (Euphorbiaceae), Clerodendrum infortunatum, Premna serratifolia, Vitex negundo (Lamiaceae), Alstonia scholaris, Catharanthus roseus, Wrightia tinctoria (Apocynaceae), Caesalpinia pulcherrima, Libidibia coriaria (Fabaceae), Adina cordifolia, Ixora coccinea (Rubiaceae), Ziziphus mauritiana, Ziziphus oenoplia (Rhamnaceae), Ehretia aspera, Trichodesma indicum (Boraginaceae), Senna siamea (Amaranthaceae), Cestrum aurantiacum, Solanum mauritianum (Solanaceae), Abutilon hirtum, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Sida acuta, Sida cordifolia, Waltheria indica (Malvaceae), Hypericum mysurense (Hypericaceae), Rhododendron arboreum (Ericaceae), Acacia mearnsii (Mimosaceae), Antigonon leptopus (Polygonaceae), Bougainvillea spectabilis (Nyctaginaceae), Muntingia calabura (Muntingiaceae). Other - mud puddling.

Pachliopta aristolochiae
Phou Si Mountain, Luang Prabang, Laos

Chromolaena odorata
Chromolaena odorata, a nectar source

Duranta erecta
Duranta erecta, another nectar source

Aristolochia acuminata
Aristolochia acuminata, a larval host

Pachliopta aristolochiae larva
a late instar larva

Pachliopta aristolochiae larva
the unusual and uniquely-shaped pupa

Aristolochia indica
Aristolochia indica, another larval host


Butterflies of Thailand and SE Asia  -  BugsAlive Species Information Sheet
© All images are the copyright of Tim Stratford

 

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               This page updated 23rd October 2024