''Parides bunichus'' 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 in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

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 ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. The larva is brownish black, with an oblique white band, extending laterally from the 6th segment to the tubercle on the 7th. The pupal stage lasts three weeks. The butterfly is very common and is one of the earliest spring species (August). From August to April there are at least three generations. Hubner1821SammlExotSchmett2Plate103

Subspecies

*''P. b. bunichus'' (Brazil: Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Santa Catarina) *''P. b. chamissonia'' (Eschscholtz, 1821) (Brazil: Santa Catarina) Both wings with white band, that on the hindwing abbreviated; cell-spot of the hindwing not extending further towards the base than to the second median; red anal spot v-shaped. In forma ''echedorus'' Boisduval the fringes are partly black, at least at the extremities of the veins. *''P. b. damocrates'' ( Guenée, 1872) (Argentina, Uruguay) Much paler; the head and palpi are black, and the submarginal spots on the upper surface of the hindwing are not bright red. *''P. b. diodorus'' (Hopffer, 1863) (Brazil: Goias, Bahia, Minas Gerais) Has entirely white fringes. The breadth of the white band is variable. *''P. b. perrhebus'' (Boisduval, 1836) (Paraguay, Brazil (São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul), northern Argentina)

Status

''Parides bunichus'' is common and not threatened.

Taxonomy

''Parides bunichus'' is a member of the ''ascanius''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

("Fringe-spots white. Hindwing with submarginal spots and usnally also discal spots or dots, or a discal band; mostly with tail") A quadrate whitish spot in space 2 of the forewings is quite peculiar of the ''ascanius group''Racheli, Tommaso an Olmisani. Luca 1998. A cladistic analysis of the genus ''Parides'' Hubner, 819 based on androconial structures (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). ''Neue Ent. Nachr''. (Marktleuthen),41:119-13
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/ref> The members are :*'' Parides agavus'' (Drury, 1782) :*''

Parides alopius ''Parides alopius'', the white-dotted cattleheart, is an endemic Mexican butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It has also strayed once into the United States in southeastern Arizona.Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). ''Butterflies of Nort ...

'' (Godman & Salvin, 890 :*''

Parides ascanius ''Parides ascanius'', the Fluminense swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Brazil where it is confined to the municipalities of Atafona ( São João da Barra) and Itaguaí.It is found in subcoastal s ...

'' (Cramer, 775 :*''Parides bunichus'' (Hübner,

821 __NOTOC__ Year 821 (Roman numerals, DCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine general Thomas the Slav leads a revolt, and secures control over most of the Byzan ...

:*''

Parides gundlachianus ''Parides gundlachianus'', the Cuban cattleheart, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is an endemic species found only in Cuba. The name honours the Cuban naturalist Juan Gundlach. It is the brightest-coloured American swa ...

'' (C. & R. Felder, 1864) :*'' Parides montezuma'' (Westwood, 1842) :*'' Parides phalaecus'' (Hewitson, 1869) :*''

Parides photinus ''Parides photinus'', the pink-spotted cattleheart, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It was first described by Edward Doubleday in 1844. Description ''Parides photinus'' has a wingspan reaching . Adults are black with the h ...

'' (Doubleday, 1844) :*'' Parides proneus'' (Hübner,

831 __NOTOC__ Year 831 (Roman numerals, DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Abbasid Empire and Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Arab wars (780–1180)#Period of 780–842, Byzantine–Arab W ...

References

Parides Butterflies described in 1821 Papilionidae of South America Taxa named by Jacob Hübner Lepidoptera of Argentina Lepidoptera of Brazil {{papilionidae-stub