Iphiclides
Iphiclides | |
---|---|
Scarce swallowtail | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Papilionidae |
Subfamily: | Papilioninae |
Tribe: | Leptocircini |
Genus: | Iphiclides Hübner, [1819] |
Species | |
See text |
Iphiclides is a genus of butterflies of the family Papilionidae.
Species
It contains three species:
- Iphiclides podalirius (Linnaeus, 1758) – Scarce Swallowtail
- Iphiclides podalirinus (Oberthür, 1890) – Chinese Scarce Swallowtail
- Iphiclides feisthamelii (Duponchel, 1832) – Southern Swallowtail
I. podalirius
Iphiclides podalirius, the scarce swallowtail, is a butterfly found in gardens, fields and open woodlands. It is found in places with sloe thickets and particularly orchards. It is widespread throughout Europe with the exception of the northern parts. Its range extends northwards to Saxony and central Poland and eastwards across Asia Minor and Transcaucasia as far as the Arabian peninsula, India, and western China. The Scarce Swallowtail is getting rarer as due to loss of habitat and foodplant. It is protected by law in some European countries. It is considered Rare-Endangered in some provinces of Austria and of status Indeterminate throughout Europe.
I. feisthamelii
Iphiclides feisthamelii, the Southern Swallowtail, is a Swallowtail found on the Iberian peninsula and in Northwest Africa. The Southern Swallowtail was previously considered a subspecies of I. podalirius.
I. podalirinus
Iphiclides podalirinus, the Chinese scarce swallowtail, is a little-known species occurring in China, that was also previously considered a subspecies of I. podalirius. It is not known to be threatened but more data is required on this butterfly.
See also
References
- Collins, N.M., Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6