''Graphium macleayanus'', the Macleay's swallowtail, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includ ...

. The species was named after

Alexander Macleay Alexander Macleay (also spelt McLeay) MLC FLS FRS (24 June 1767 – 18 July 1848) was a Scottish-Australian leading member of the Linnean Society, a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. Life Mac ...

Taxonomy

Macleay's swallowtail was first described by

William Elford Leach William Elford Leach (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836) was an English zoologist and marine biologist. Life and work Elford Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of an attorney. At the age of twelve he began a medical apprenticesh ...

in 1814. Two subspecies are recorded in Australia, the nominate form, ''G. m. macleayanus'' and ''G. m. moggana'', which was first described by Leonard Edgar Couchman in 1965. The name is synonymous with ''Papilio macleayanus''.

Description

The caterpillar grows to a length of 4 cm. The pupa is green with thin yellow lines. The adult female Macleay's swallowtail has a wingspan of 59 mm, whilst the adult male has a wingspan of 53 mm. The upperside of the wing is green with white markings and black edges. The lower surface is a deeper green with black, brown and white markings. The lower wings are strongly tailed.

Distribution and habitat

The Macleay's swallowtail is one of the most widely distributed swallowtail butterflies in Australia. It is found in eastern Australia including the ACT,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. It is the only swallowtail found in Tasmania. The species has also been found on

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland Port ...

and

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

, but not since 1893. The habitat of the species includes urban areas, forests, woodlands and heath.

Behaviour

The caterpillars are green, with small white dots all over the body and a humped thorax. They feed on the foliage of members in the ''

Atherosperma ''Atherosperma moschatum'', commonly known as black sassafras, Australian sassafras, southern sassafras, native sassafras or Tasmanian sassafras, is a flowering plant in the family Atherospermataceae and the only species in the genus ''Atherospe ...

'', ''

Cinnamomum ''Cinnamomum'' is a genus of evergreen aromatic trees and shrubs belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The species of ''Cinnamomum'' have aromatic oils in their leaves and bark. The genus contains approximately 234 species, distributed in ...

'', ''

Cryptocarya ''Cryptocarya'' is a genus of about 360 species of flowering plants in the laurel family, Lauraceae. Most species are trees, occasionally shrubs, distributed through the Neotropical, Afrotropical, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms. Most plant ...

'', ''

Daphnandra ''Daphnandra'' is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Atherospermataceae, or formerly Monimiaceae. The genus is endemic to Australia. There are six species, occurring in New South Wales and Queensland: *'' Daphnandra apatela'' Schodde S ...

'', '' Doryphora'', ''

Endiandra ''Endiandra'' is a genus of about 126 species of plants, mainly trees, in the laurel family Lauraceae. They are commonly called "walnut" despite not being related to the Northern Hemisphere walnuts (''Juglans'' spp.) which are in the family Jug ...

'' and ''

Tasmannia ''Tasmannia'' is a genus of about 36 species of flowering plants in the family Winteraceae, and is native to Australia and New Guinea, with one species ('' Tasmannia piperita'') also found in parts of Southeast Asia. Plants in the genus ''Tasm ...

'' genera. The adults feed on nectar from flowers, including the genera ''

Leptospermum ''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of ''Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greate ...

'', ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropics, tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in num ...

'' and ''

Buddleia ''Buddleja'' (; ''Buddleia''; also historically given as ''Buddlea'') is a genus comprising over 140 species of flowering plants endemicity, endemic to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The generic name bestowed by Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus posthu ...

''. The flight period is from August to March.

References

External links

List of host plants for Graphium macleayanus
''Australian Biological Resources Study''. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1764886 macleayanus Butterflies described in 1814 Butterflies of Australia Taxa named by William Elford Leach

Taxonomy

Description

Distribution and habitat

Behaviour

See also

References

External links