Graphium macleayanus

Macleay's swallowtail
Macleay's swallowtail (Graphium macleayanus moggana), Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Tasmania, Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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

Graphium macleayanus, the Macleay's swallowtail, 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 59 mm, whilst the adult male has a wingspan of 53 mm.[5] The upperside of the wing 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. ^ a b c "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)". Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  3. ^ Stacey, Robyn; Hay, Ashley (24 October 2007). Museum: the Macleays, their collections and the search for order. Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-521-87453-3.
  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. ^ a b "Macleay's Swallowtail ( Graphium macleayanus )". OzAnimals.com. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Graphium macleayanus – JCU". Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. 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. Archived from the original on 30 September 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. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  12. ^ Daley, Elizabeth (2007). Wings: An introduction to Tasmania's winged insects. Riffles Pty Ltd.
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