Mimoides phaon

Red-sided swallowtail
Green form
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Tribe: Leptocircini
Genus: Mimoides
Species: M. phaon
Binomial name
Mimoides phaon
(Boisduval, 1836)
Synonyms
  • Papilio phaon Boisduval, 1836
  • Papilio ulopos Gray, [1853]
  • Papilio xenarchus Hewitson, [1853]
  • Papilio eridamas Reakirt, 1866
  • Papilio metaphaon Butler, 1874
  • Papilio pharax Godman & Salvin, [1890]
  • Papilio hipparchus Staudinger, 1884
  • Papilio pharnabazus Ehrmann, 1920
  • Papilio pyrholochus Ehrmann, 1920
  • Papilio phaon f. nero Röber, 1931 (preocc. Fabricius, 1793)
  • Eurytides hipparchus

Mimoides phaon, the red-sided swallowtail or variable swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is native to the Americas.

Description

Red form

The dorsal side of the red-sided swallowtail's wings is variable. They are mainly black with the hindwings having a postmedian band of spots, which are either greenish blue or red.[1] Some individuals have one or two rows of smaller light colored spots along the outer margin of the hindwing. The forewing has a row of whitish spots along the outer margin, which may be reduced or lacking in some individuals. The underside of the wings is less variable than the upperside. The outer margin of the hindwing has a row of small red crescents. The basal area of the hindwing, the thorax, and the head are spotted with red. The abdomen has a row of lateral red spots, which distinguish M. phaon from other members of its genus.[2][3]

Subspecies

Distribution

The nominate subspecies, M. p. phaon, is found in northeastern Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. The other subspecies, M. p. therodamas, is found in Colombia, Venezuela, and eastern Ecuador.[5] In October, 2008, M. p. phaon was found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas, making it the first swallowtail of the genus Mimoides to stray into the United States.[1]

Life cycle

The red-sided swallowtail caterpillar is mainly black with its head and thorax spotted with blue and yellow. The abdomen is striped laterally with blue, yellow, black, and white. The last segments are spotted like the head.

Host plants

The red-sided swallowtail feeds on Annona species as a caterpillar.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Reid, Martin (2008). "A New Genus of Swallowtail for the United States: Mimoides phaon (Boisduval, 1836) (Papilionidae: Papilioninae)". News of the Lepidopterists' Society. The Lepidopterists' Society. 50 (3, 4): 87. ISSN 0091-1348.
  2. ↑ Glassberg, Jeffrey (2007). A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America. Sunstreak Books, Inc. p. 13. ISBN 1-4243-0915-8.
  3. ↑ Lewis, H. L., 1974 Butterflies of the World ISBN 0-245-52097-X Page 24, figure 1
  4. 1 2 Lamas, Gerardo (2004). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera; Checklist: Part4A Hesperioidea–Papilionoidea. Gainesville, Florida: Scientific Publishers, Inc. p. 89. ISBN 0-945417-28-4.
  5. 1 2 Savela, Markku. "Mimoides". funet.fi. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
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