Macleay's Swallowtail

Macleay's Swallowtail
Macleay's Swallowtail (Graphium macleayanus moggana), Franklin – Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Graphium
Species: G. macleayanus
Binomial name
Graphium macleayanus
Leach, 1814[1]
Range of Macleay's Swallowtail
      G. m. moggana;       G. m. macleayanus

The Macleay's Swallowtail (Graphium macleayanus) is a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. The species was named after Alexander Macleay.[2][3]

Taxonomy

Macleay's swallowtail was first described by William Elford Leach in 1814. Two subspecies are recorded in Australia,[1] the nominate form, G. m. macleayanus and G. m. moggana, which was first described by Leonard Edgar Couchman in 1965.[4] The name is synonymous with Papilio macleayanus.

Description

Illustration

The caterpillar grows to a length of 4 cm. The pupa is green with thin yellow lines.

The adult female Macleay's swallowtail has a wingspan of 59mm, whilst the adult male has a wingspan of 53mm.[5] The upside of the wings is green with white markings and black edges.[6] The lower surface is a deeper green with black, brown and white markings.[6] The lower wings are strongly tailed.[7]

Distribution and habitat

The Macleay's swallowtail is one of the most widely distributed swallowtail butterflies in Australia.[8] It is found in Eastern Australia including the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania. It is the only swallowtail found in Tasmania.[9] The species has also been found on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, but not since 1893.[1] The habitat of the species includes urban areas, forests, woodlands and heath.[10]

Behaviour

The caterpillars are green, with small white dots all over the body and a humped thorax. They feed on the foliage of members in the Atherosperma, Cinnamomum, Cryptocarya, Daphnandra, Doryphora, Endiandra and Tasmannia genera.[11]

The adults feed on nectar from flowers, including the genera Leptospermum, Lantana and Buddleia.[5] The flight period is from August to March.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Macleay's swallowtail". CSIRO and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. 18 September 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  2. ↑ Herbison-Evans, Don; Newman, Stewart; Crossley, Stella (5 September 2009). "Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814)". Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  3. ↑ Robyn Stacey, Ashley Hay. Museum: the Macleays, their collections and the search for order. Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 9780521874533.
  4. ↑ "Names List for Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814)". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Macleay's Swallowtail ( Graphium macleayanus )". OzAnimals.com. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Graphium macleayanus – JCU". Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  7. ↑ Tasmanian year book, Issue 11. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Tasmanian Office. 1977.
  8. ↑ Australian natural history, Volume 14. Australian Museum. 1962.
  9. ↑ Charles Barrett, Alexander N. Burns (1951). Butterflies of Australia and New Guinea. N. H. Seward.
  10. ↑ "Macleay's Swallowtail Fact File". Australian Museum. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  11. ↑ "Host taxa for Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814)". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  12. ↑ Daley, Elizabeth (2007). Wings: An introduction to Tasmania's winged insects. Riffles Pty Ltd.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Graphium macleayanus.