''Parides montezuma'', the Montezuma's cattleheart, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

in the family

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful 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 includes the larges ...

. It is native to the Americas.

Description

The upperside of the wings is black, without a band and with one row of red crescents along the hindwing margin. The underside of the wings is almost the same as the upperside. A full description is provided by Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906)

Distribution and habitat

''P. montezuma'' is found in dry forests from

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

to Costa Rica, occurring from sea level to . It is rare in Costa Rica, being more common northward. It is not threatened.

Host plants

* '' Aristolochia acanthophylla'' * '' Aristolochia foetida'' – Jalisco Dutchman's pipe * ''

Aristolochia grandiflora ''Aristolochia grandiflora'', the pelican flower, is a deciduous vine with one of the world's largest flowers that emits an odor that smells like rotting feet, attracting flies. Description ''Aristolochia grandiflora'' produces large solitary f ...

'' – pelican flower * '' Aristolochia micrantha'' * '' Aristolochia orbicularis'' ''Parides montezuma'' 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 diseal 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 __NOTOC__ Year 819 ( DCCCXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Louis I marries Judith of Bavaria in Aachen.Rogers, B ...

based on androconial structures (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). ''Neue Ent. Nachr''. (Marktleuthen),41:119-13
pdf
/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 North ...

'' (Godman & Salvin,

890 __NOTOC__ Year 890 ( DCCCXC) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Frankish nobles, who have ruled Provence in anarchy (since 887), declare L ...

:*''

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. Description ''Parides asca ...

'' (Cramer,

775 __NOTOC__ Year 775 ( DCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 775 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

:*''

Parides bunichus ''Parides bunichus'' is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. The larva is brownish black, with an oblique white band, extending laterally from the 6th segment to the tubercle on th ...

'' (Hübner,

821 __NOTOC__ Year 821 ( DCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine general Thomas the Slav leads a revolt, and secures contr ...

:*''

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 swal ...

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

Parides phalaecus ''Parides phaleucas'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It was described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1869. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Description ''Parides phalaecus'' has a spatulate tail. The body is very hairy and ...

'' (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 ''Parides proneus'' is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Brazil and Paraguay. Description Males and females:both wings with narrow white band, the red submarginal spots of the hindwing straight or slightly curved; ...

'' (Hübner,

831 __NOTOC__ Year 831 ( DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Arab War: Emperor Theophilos invades the Abbasid dominion ...

Etymology

The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

honours the Aztec king Montezuma.

References

External links

* montezuma Butterflies of Central America Butterflies of North America {{papilionidae-stub