''Parides photinus'', the pink-spotted cattleheart, is a species of

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 ...

in 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 was first described by

Edward Doubleday Edward Doubleday (9 October 1810 – 14 December 1849) was an English entomologist primarily interested in Lepidoptera. He is best known for ''The Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera: Comprising Their Generic Characters, a Notice of Their Habits and ...

in 1844.

Description

''Parides photinus'' has a wingspan reaching . Adults are black with the hindwing having a blue-green metallic sheen, especially in the male. There are no wing bands. Two rows of red spots are found along the hindwing margin. The submarginal spots are strongly arched except for the upper two or three and the anal one; the latter is distinct on the upperside only in the female. The hindwings have short tails. The undersides are similar to the upsides. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e feed on '' Aristolochia grandiflora'' and '' A. asclepiadifolia''. A full description is provided by Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906)Rothschild, W. & Jordan, K. (1906)
"A revision of the American Papilios"
''

Novitates Zoologicae ''Novitates Zoologicae: A Journal of Zoology in Connection With the Tring Museum'' was a British scientific journal devoted to systematic zoology. It was edited by Lionel Walter Rothschild and published between 1894 and 1948 by the Tring Museum ...

''. 13: 411-752. (Facsimile edition ed. P.H. Arnaud, 1967)

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

, in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

and in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. It lives in forests, where it is common to abundant. Its range extends from the sea level to 5000 feet (1500 metres).

Gallery

FaunaamericanparsII1plate1.jpg, ''Parides photinus'' from ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World'', Jordan, K., in Seitz, A. (1907) Illustrations of new species of exotic butterflies Papilio XI.jpg, ''Parides photinus'' from ''New Species of Exotic Butterflies'' (1869). Plate: Papilio XI

Taxonomy

''Parides photinus'' 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 unusually 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
pdf
/ref> The members are: :*'' Parides agavus'' (Drury, 1782) – Agavus cattleheart :*'' Parides alopius'' (Godman & Salvin, 890 – white-dotted cattleheart :*''

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 – Fluminense swallowtail :*'' 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'' (C. & R. Felder, 1864) – Cuban cattleheart :*'' Parides montezuma'' (Westwood, 1842) – Montezuma's cattleheart :*'' Parides phalaecus'' (Hewitson, 1869) :*''Parides photinus'' (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

External links

Butterflycorner
photinus Butterflies of Central America Lepidoptera of Mexico Butterflies described in 1844 Fauna of Costa Rica Taxa named by Edward Doubleday {{Papilionidae-stub