''Papilio anchisiades'', the ruby-black mahaon Anhisiades or ruby-spotted swallowtail, Learn about Butterflies
Butterflies of America or red-spotted swallowtail,''Papilio anchisiades''
funet.fi 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 ...

of the family

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 ...

. It is found from southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

south to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Rare strays can be found up to

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, southeastern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and western

Description (Seitz)

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 70–100 mm.''P. anchisiades''. A widely distributed variable species. Hindwing posteriorly somewhat prolonged, less triangular; the tail is wanting or is only somewhat longer than the other marginal teeth, yet in the female sometimes as long and pointed as in the following species. The red spots of both the rows of the hindwing on the underside partly contiguous, or at least two pairs placed quite close together. Larva often resting together in hundreds on the stems of citrus. A very common insect, which is fond drinking at moist places on the banks of rivers; not a forest species. — ''idaeus'' F. (=''pandion'' Feldr., ''pandonius'' Stgr.). Forewing usually with a distinct white spot at the end of the cell above and beneath or only beneath. Central America, from Mexico to Panama. — ''anchisiades'' Esp. (= ''anchises'' L. partim, ''theramenes'' Fldr,, ''pompeius'' Kirby) (10d). Very variable. Forewing with two white spots posteriorly of 1. median vein, either on both sides or only beneath, on the underside also a spot before the 1. median, rarely present above, and sometimes one before the 3. radial. In other specimens the white spots are wanting above: the forewing is dark from the base to the apex of the cell and then paler, and has a row of white spots beneath. From Colombia to Para and Bolivia. — ''capys'' Hbn. (= ''evander'' Godt.) (10c). Forewing without white spots on the upperside; the disc paler, the dark proximal area rounded; on the underside a row of white spots, one of which is placed in the cell. East Bolivia, North Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. Jordan, K., in Seitz, A. ( 1907) . The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 5: The Macrolepidoptera of the American faunistic region. Papilionidae 1-45 The larvae feed on various species of the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...

, including ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

'', ''

Casimiroa ''Casimiroa'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae. It includes about 10 species native to Mexico and Central America. The genus is named for "an Otomi Indian, Casimiro Gómez, from the town of Cardonal in Hidalgo, Mexico, who f ...

'', and ''

Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the Family (biology), family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and Subtropics, subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type gen ...

'' species. The adults feed on flower nectar.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically. *''Papilio anchisiades anchisiades'' – (Venezuela, Colombia to the Guayanas, Peru) *''Papilio anchisiades capys'' (Hübner,

809 __NOTOC__ Year 809 ( DCCCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 809th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 809th year of the 1st millennium, the 9th year of the 9th century, and the ...

– (Bolivia to Parana, Argentina, Paraguay) *''Papilio anchisiades idaeus'' (Fabricius, 1793) – ruby-spotted swallowtail (Texas, Mexico to Panama) *''Papilio anchisiades lamasi'' (Brown, 1994) – (Ecuador) *''Papilio anchisiades philastrius'' Fruhstorfer, 1915 – (Trinidad)

Taxonomy

''Papilio anchisiades'' is the nominotypical member of the ''anchisiades'' species group *''Papilio anchisiades'' Esper, 1788 *''

Papilio chiansiades ''Papilio chiansiades'' is a swallowtail butterfly from the Papilioninae subfamily. It is found in the Neotropical realm (South America). Description On the upper surface of the forewing before the hindmargin a large yellowish white spot; on the ...

'' Westwood, 1872 *'' Papilio epenetus'' Hewitson, 1861 *'' Papilio erostratus'' Westwood, 1847 *'' Papilio hyppason'' Cramer, 1775 *'' Papilio isidorus'' Doubleday, 1846 *'' Papilio oxynius'' (Geyer,

827 __FORCETOC__ Year 827 ( DCCCXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 14 – Euphemius, exiled Byzantine admiral, asks for the help of North African Arabs, to ret ...

*''

Papilio pelaus ''Papilio pelaus'', the prickly ash swallowtail, is a species of Neotropical realm, Neotropical swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Description There are few differences b ...

'' Fabricius, 1775 *'' Papilio rogeri'' Boisduval, 1836

Etymology

The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is in the

Classical tradition The Western classical tradition is the reception of classical Greco-Roman antiquity by later cultures, especially the post-classical West, involving texts, imagery, objects, ideas, institutions, monuments, architecture, cultural artifacts, ritu ...

and refers to the GraecoRoman Anchisiades

Gallery

File:Papilioniae - Papilio anchisiades.JPG , Mounted specimen from

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

References

External links

Insecta pro
* anchisiades Butterflies described in 1788 Papilionidae of South America Butterflies of Central America Lepidoptera of Mexico Taxa named by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper Lepidoptera of Venezuela Lepidoptera of Colombia Lepidoptera of Peru Lepidoptera of Guyana Lepidoptera of Bolivia Lepidoptera of Argentina Lepidoptera of Ecuador Lepidoptera of the United States Butterflies of Trinidad and Tobago Lepidoptera of Costa Rica Lepidoptera of Panama Lepidoptera of Brazil {{Papilionidae-stub