Atrophaneura horishana

Aurora swallowtail
Male
Female
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Atrophaneura
Species:	A. horishana
Binomial name
Atrophaneura horishana (Matsumura, 1910)
Synonyms
Papilio horishanus Matsumura, 1910 Atrophaneura horishanus Papilio sauteri Hayne, 1913

Atrophaneura horishana, the aurora swallowtail, is a species of butterfly from the family Papilionidae that is found in Taiwan.[1]

The wingspan is 110–130 mm. The wings are black. The body has red hairs. There is a large red patch on the underside of each hindwing. The wing veins are bordered in white.[2][3]

Biology

Adults visit flowers. The eggs are yellow and spherical. The larvae have prominent tubercles, a whitish black ground colour and two white bands on the third and fourth abdominal segments. The larvae feed on species of Aristolochia - A. shimadai and A. liukiuensis.[4] It is in general found at 1000–2500 m in elevation and is only abundant in primary forests.

Status

Common, but status should be monitored.[5]

Taxonomy

Has been ranked as a subspecies of Atrophaneura nox.

References

1. Shirozu, T. (1960). Butterflies of Formosa in Colour. Hoikusha. Osaka, Japan (in Japanese). 483 pp.
2. ButterflyCorner.net Archived 2012-09-19 at the Wayback Machine Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
3. Illustrated Identification Guide to Insects Protected by the CITES and Wildlife Conservation Law of Taiwan, R.O.C
4. Atrophaneura at Funet
5. Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.

External links

• Image representing Atrophaneura horishana at EOL
• Global Butterfly Information System text and images including holotype of sauteri Heyne, 1913