Swallowtails workshop, Part 1: Paper 8. Notes on breeding the individual Swallowtail species (divided by country or region). Nigel Venters: May 2012

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2 Swallowtails workshop, Part 1: Paper 8. Notes on breeding the individual Swallowtail species (divided by country or region). : May This is the Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) from India and Sri Lanka. (There is not much blue on this specimen!) An easy-to-breed forest species that feeds on the Citrus (Rutaceae) family of host-plants. I will now focus on the individual Swallowtail species, which are easy to breed and fall into the host-plant category covered in this first Workshop. The second Workshop will cover the remaining species that are more difficult to breed and feed on different host-plants. A quick reminder of the category in which the following tables of Swallowtails occur. Group 1 - The slow flying Swallowtails that settle down to captivity inside a flight-house quickly. They do occasionally spend a short time fluttering at the brightest side of the enclosure, but soon adopt a more normal behavior pattern. Most of these Swallowtails pair by themselves easily in captivity, and the females freely lay their eggs. The species covered below feed only on one of the following host-plant groups. The Citrus family, (Rutaceae)-feeding larvae. The Carrot family, (Umbelliferae)-feeding larvae. The Dutchman s Pipe or Pipevine (Aristolochia)-feeding larvae. Page 1

3 The Swallowtails that feed on other host-plants are covered in the second workshop. A single exception for this Workshop: The Parnassius group of Swallowtails fall into group 1 and I have referred to them a number of times in this first Workshop. However, the larvae of this group do not feed on the main host-plant groups discussed, and the specific host-plants for each species are shown in the tables below. This group of Swallowtails are in fact quite easy to breed, but to succeed with them at the larval stage you will need to be aware of some differences from the general discussion in these papers. For this reason I have added some extra breeding notes about this group, and related groups, to this final paper. Tables by country. The following tables are by country. They include all of the Swallowtail species in group 1 for the US and Europe, and many from other regions of the World. By checking the data in the tables in conjunction with the information contained within the previous papers, it will give you the initial requirements to start breeding the Swallowtail species that you have selected. Example 1: Eastern Black Swallowtail (Papillio polyxenes). Hostplant: Umbelliferae. Pairing methods: Suitable for both natural and hand-pairing. Example 2: Gold-Rim or Polydamas Swallowtail (Battus polydamas). Hostplant: Aristolochia. Pairing methods: Best to choose hand-pairing only. Page 2

4 Note: Breeders in the US tend to use English names; for this reason I include them in Table 1 ONLY Table 1: The US Swallowtail Species Swallowtail species Host-plants Pairing methods English Name Latin name Umbelliferae Rutaceae Aristolochia Hostplant Hand Natural Eastern Black Swallowtail Desert Swallowtail Short-tailed Swallowtail Old World Swallowtail Anise Swallowtail Short-tailed Black Swallowtail Thoas Swallowtail Giant Swallowtail Ruby-spotted Swallowtail PipevineSwallowtail Gold- Rim/Polydamus Papilio polyxenes Papilio rudkini Papilio brevicauda Papilio machaon Papilio zelicaon Papilio indra Papilio thoas Papilio cresphontes Papilio anchisiades Battus philenor Battus polydamas The Parnassians: the Mountain or high altitude Swallowtails Eversmann's Parnassian Parnassius eversmanni Corydalis Clodius Parnassian Parnassius clodius Dicentra Phoebus Parnassian Parnassius phoebus Sedum Note: After pairing, the Parnassian male leaves a plug called a Sphragis in the female. This prevents other males from pairing with her. Breeders note: The Phoebus Parnassian uses Sedum lanceolatum & Sedum obtusatum in the US. Page 3

5 Table 2: Some Central & South American Swallowtail Species Swallowtail species Papilio polyxenes Papilio thoas Papilio cresphontes Papilio astyalus Papilio androgeus Papilio anchisiades Papilio rhodostictus Papilio torquatus Battus polydamas Battus belus Battus laodamas Battus lycidas Battus crassus Battus belus Parides photinus Parides montezuma Parides sesostris Parides childrenae Parides lycimenes Parides erithalion Parides iphidamas Parides arcas Host-plants Pairing methods Latin name Umbelliferae Rutaceae Aristolochia Hand Natural Breeders note 1: P. thoas throughout most of its range feeds on Piper only. Sub-species thoantioides will take Rutaceae as a host-plant. Breeders note 2: Battus will eat most Aristolochias. Many Parides lay best on specific species of Aristolochia, although the larvae are not particularly fussy and will eat most species. Page 4

6 This is the larva of Parides sesostris, feeding on the European Aristolochia sempervirens. Parides species really need their own favoured species of Aristolochia to lay well, but they will usually lay a lesser numbers of eggs (given good feeding and time!) on other species. Once the larvae hatch, they will generally eat most species of Aristolochia. Swallowtail species Table 3: The European Swallowtail Species Host-plants Pairing methods Latin name Umbelliferae Rutaceae Aristolochia Hostplant Hand Natural Papilio machaon See note 2. Fennel Papilio saharae See note 2. Fennel Zerynthia rumina Zerynthia polyxena Zerynthia cerisy Archon apollinus Parnassius apollo Parnassius phoebus Parnassius mnemosyne A. longa, A baetica A.clematites A.clematites A. baetica, A.bodamae The Parnassians: the Mountain or high altitude Swallowtails Sedum album Saxifraga aizoides Corydalis species Note 1: After pairing, the Parnassian male leaves a plug called a Sphragis in the female. This prevents other males from pairing with her. Note 2: Both P. machaon and P. saharae will also feed on Rue (Ruta graveolens) which is in the Rutaceae family. Page 5

7 Table 4: Some Far Eastern Swallowtail Species Swallowtail species Host-plants Pairing methods Papilio machaon Papilio hippocrates Papilio bianor Papilio demoleus Papilio polytes Papilio maackii Papilio xuthus Atrophaneura alcinous Latin name Umbelliferae Rutaceae Aristolochia Hand Natural Atrophaneura neptunus Atrophaneura latreillei Pachliopta annae Pachliopta hector Pachliopta aristolochiae Parnassius actius Parnassius bremeri Parnassius clarius Some Parnassians: the Mountain or high altitude Swallowtails Sedum species Sedum species Sedum species Note 1: After pairing, the Parnassian male leaves a plug called a Sphragis in the female. This prevents other males from pairing with her. Note 2: P. machaon & P. hippocrates will also feed on Rue (Ruta graveolens) (Rutaceae) Papilio anactus Papilio aegeus Papilio ambrax Papilio fuscus Papilio ulysses Table 5: Some Australian Swallowtail Species Swallowtail species Host-plants Pairing methods Papilio demoleus Cressida cressida Latin name Umbelliferae Rutaceae Aristolochia Hand Natural Atrophaneura polydorus Note 1: Not all Swallowtail species from Australlia feed on plants covered in this paper. The others will be covered in the Swallowtail Workshop Part 2. Note 2: The two endemic Swallowtail species found in Christmas Island and Norfolk Island are not covered here. Page 6

8 Table 6: Some African Swallowtail Species Swallowtail species Host-plants Pairing methods Latin name Umbelliferae Rutaceae Aristolochia Hand Natural Papilio demodocus See note 2. Papilio ophidicephalus Papilio menestheus Papilio rex Papilio phorcas Papilio nireus Papilio dardanus Papilio constantinus Papilio echerioides Papilio charopus Papilio antenor Note 1: Other African species feeding on host-plants not covered by this group are covered in Workshop Part 2 Note 2: Papilio demodocus feeds on Rutaceae throughout most of Africa, but takes Umbelliferae in the far south Note 3: Papilio antenor is the only Swallowtail species in Africa that feeds on Aristolochia. The Parnassius group of Swallowtails. As I mentioned at the start of this paper, the Parnassius group of Swallowtails fall into group 1, and I have referred to them a number of times in this first Workshop. However, the larvae of this group do not feed on the main hostplant groups discussed, and individual host-plants specific to each species are shown in the tables above. I also mentioned that this group of Swallowtails are, in fact, quite easy to breed, but need some changes to the general breeding information previously discussed. These changes are at the larval stage. The Mountain Apollos (Parnassius) are nearly always found in the mountains and high elevations. A few exceptions occur where they inhabit northern latitudes, and in these situations they are found at lower elevations. One species, Parnassius apollo, is on the Red Data list for protected species. However, captive bred livestock may be available from other breeders. It is advisable to check the status of your own native species before you collect livestock from the wild. As Mountain Apollos are mountain species, they generally feed on low growing plants and herbs and need sunshine to thrive. Page 7

9 I use a large plastic bowl for my set-up. I drill some drainage holes in the bottom and fill it with a mix of gravel and potting compost. I then plant my host-plants, which are usually easily transplanted. As with many fleshy alpine plants, they root immediately and do not wilt. I then push some bamboo rods around the outside edge of the bowl to hold a fine sleeve in place. This is the set-up. The host-plant, for this species is Sedum album, and is planted in the middle of the bowl. Then some stones and flat rocks are added. These stones and rocks are vital, as the larvae use them to sunbathe! The sleeve is open on the photo above. All that is required now is to close the sleeve and place the bowl in a sunny position. If you live in a hot region, then allow a couple of hours of early morning sunshine on the set-up and keep it in the shade for the rest of the day. The flat rocks are important, and it is best to place some of them slightly raised on stones. This enables the larvae to cool down by going underneath them when it gets too warm. The larvae in this group are mostly black in colour. This enables them to absorb heat from the sun quickly in cold, high altitude conditions. Page 8

10 Parnassius apollo larvae sunbathing on flat stones in the bowl set-up. The larvae like to sunbathe in groups, as seen here through the sleeve. Page 9

11 The rest of the process is similar to the other Swallowtails, except that the larvae pupate amongst the stones and plant material and don t spin a silk support to hold them in place. Just remove the pupae and let them emerge in cage with some rough kitchen paper to give them grip. Keep the pupae well misted. One interesting fact that after mating the male passes a plug called a Sphragis, which seals the female sexual opening and prevents her from mating again with another male. (A bit like knights of old and chastity belts!) This final photo shows the Sphragis in place and an unpaired female to the right. Swallowtail Workshop Part 2 will go into greater depth for many of the subjects covered in Workshop Part 1. It will also cover those Swallowtails groups whose larvae feed on different host-plants. : May Swallowtail workshop part 1. Paper 8. Notes on breeding the individual Swallowtail species, (divided by country or region). Page 10