Alice Springs Fauna •
Alice Springs ButterfliesBlue Moon Butterfly Caper White Butterfly, Egg and Instar Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) Glasswing (Acraea andromacha) Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia) Meadow Argus (Junonia villida calybe) Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) Two-spotted Line-blue Butterfly (Nacaduba biocellata)
Papilio demoleus is native to Australia and Asia, being a common and widespread butterfly. Unlike most swallowtail butterflies, the Chequered Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio demoleus) does not have a prominent tail. A short-lived butterfly, the adult stage of the butterfly is four days for males and a week for females.
The species Papilio demoleus occurs as a number of subspecies over much of tropical Asia, with the subspecies Papilio demoleus sthenelus found from the northern part of the Northern Territory down through the arid regions of Australia and New Guinea.
The Papilio demoleus pictured here was retrieved from a swimming pool in Alice Springs, and left to dry off in the garden. The butterfly is not expected to survive for long, having also lost parts of the lower hind wings.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Lepidoptera
- Family: Papilionidae
- Genus: Papilio
- Species: Papilio demoleus
- Subspecies: Papilio demoleus sthenelus
Footnote & References
- Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp. sthenelus), ausemade, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/189948744
- Chequered Swallowtail butterfly – Papilio demoleus, Brisbane Insects and Spiders Home Page, https://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_butters/ChequeredSwallowtail.htm
- Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758, Lime or Chequered Swallowtail, Papilionidae, Papilionoidea, Coffs Harbour Butterfly House, http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/papi/demoleus.html
- Chequered Swallowtail, Papilio demoleus sthenelus, South Australia Butterflies & Moths, https://sabutterflies.org.au/papi/demoleus.html
- Papilio demoleus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papilio_demoleus (last visited Dec. 2, 2021)
Alice Springs ButterfliesBlue Moon Butterfly Caper White Butterfly, Egg and Instar Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) Glasswing (Acraea andromacha) Lesser Wanderer (Danaus petilia) Meadow Argus (Junonia villida calybe) Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) Two-spotted Line-blue Butterfly (Nacaduba biocellata)
Alice Springs Butterflies & Moths (Lepidopterans)Butterflies Moths
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