Papilio aristodemus
| Schaus' Swallowtail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. aristodemus |
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio aristodemus Esper, 1794 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Heraclides papilio, Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus | |
The Schaus' Swallowtail or Island Swallowtail (Papilio aristodemus) is a species of American butterfly in the Papilionidae family. It is found in southern Florida with subspecies in the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and Cuba. Historically it occurred in tropical hardwood hammock from South Miami to Lower Matecumbe Key, Florida. It is named in honour of William Schaus.
Caterpillar host plants are in the family Rutaceae and include Hoptree (Ptelea trifoliata), Citrus species, Sea Torchwood (Amyris elemifera), and Lime Prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum fagara).[2]
Description
Dorsal sides of forewing are dark brown with a central yellow or white band. Tails have yellow margins and a row of yellow or white crescents. Wingspan is 9.2–11.8 cm (3.6–4.6 in).
Conservation
S. a. ponceanus was listed as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1984 due to dramatic declines in numbers and contraction of range. Threats include mosquito control and destruction of its tropical hardwood hammock habitat.[3] In 2011 only 41 individual butterflies were counted. When the 2012 census resulted in only five, emergency procedures were initialized in June 2012. Up to four of the five, including the presumed only female will be caught and held until they will lay eggs. Those eggs will be removed and bred at the University of Florida McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity. The caught butterflies and those bred from the eggs will be set free inside Biscayne National Park.[4] By June 2013 several larvae and one living female with one egg had been taken in custody.[5] In August the National Park Service announced the spotting of 31 adult butterflies, several female laying eggs and a large number of larvae along with nine adult Papilio andraemon, thought to be extinct in the US, on one of the more remote islands of the National Park.[6]
References
- ↑ "Papilio aristodemus - (Esper, 1794)". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
- ↑ "Schaus' Swallowtail Papilio aristodemus Esper, 1794". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
- ↑ "Schaus’ Swallowtail Butterfly" (PDF). Species Conservation Guidelines for South Florida. South Florida Ecological Services Office. 2004-02-19. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
- ↑ National Park Service: Emergency action underway to protect endangered Schaus swallowtail butterfly, press release, June 13, 2012
- ↑ National Park Service: Biscayne National Park − Capture of Imperiled Butterfly in Biscayne National Park Raises Hope for a Species, June 3, 2013
- ↑ Report of the Spotting on the National Parks facebook timeline, August, 23 2013
External links
- Schaus' Swallowtail, Butterflies and Moths of North America
- Island Swallowtail; Schaus swallowtail
- Schaus swallowtail on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
- Schaus' Swallowtail at EOL
- Butterfly Corner Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
- Collins, N.M., Morris, M.G., IUCN, 1985 Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book (1985) IUCN pdf