Papilio indra

Indra Swallowtail
Grand Canyon Swallowtail (Papilio indra kaibabensis) female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. indra
Binomial name
Papilio indra
Reakirt, 1866

The Indra Swallowtail, Short-tailed Black Swallowtail, or Cliff Swallowtail (Papilio indra) is a western North American butterfly in the family Papilionidae.

Description

The Indra Swallowtail is a black swallowtail similar in coloration to the Black Swallowtail and the Short-tailed Swallowtail. It has very short tails and has dark blue crescents on the topside of the hindwing.[1]

Habitat

This butterfly may be found in rugged, arid, or mountainous countrysides.[1][2]

Flight

The Indra Swallowtail has one brood and is on the wing in spring in southern or lower altitudes but early summer in northern or higher altitudes.[1]

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically.[3]

There is an as-yet unnamed subspecies that has been referred to as "bonnevillensis" by some and as the "Utah-West Desert segregate" by others.

Food plants

Parsley family.[2]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Papilio indra.
External identifiers for Papilio indra
Encyclopedia of Life 130892
Wikispecies has information related to: Papilio indra
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY. ISBN 0-618-15312-8
  2. 2.0 2.1 Indra Swallowtail, Butterflies of Canada.
  3. Papilio, funet.fi