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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Swallowtails, Parnassians (Papilionidae) » Papilioninae » Fluted Swallowtails (Papilionini) » Papilio » Short-tailed Swallowtail - Hodges#4163 (Papilio brevicauda)

Species Papilio brevicauda - Short-tailed Swallowtail - Hodges#4163

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Remarks · See Also · Internet References

Papilio brevicauda - Short-tailed Swallowtail - Papilio brevicauda

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)

Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails, Parnassians)

Subfamily Papilioninae

Tribe Papilionini (Fluted Swallowtails)

Genus Papilio

Species brevicauda (Short-tailed Swallowtail - Hodges#4163)

Hodges Number

4163

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Proper spelling of species name, based on rules of Zoological Nomenclature, should probably be "brevicaudus", though the name has rarely appeared in literature this way.

Numbers

3 subspecies: brevicauda, bretonensis, gaspeensis

Size

wingspan 57-73 mm

Identification

Adult: wings rounded, black, crossed by double row of yellow spots, often with an orange wash; hindwing has red-orange eye-spot with black center; tails generally quite short

Larva: early instars brown with white saddle, resembling a bird dropping; later instars have green-and-black bands with yellow dots in the black, appearing paler than most P. polyxenes larvae

Range

maritime provinces of Canada: Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and eastern Quebec along southern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Habitat

gardens near larval foodplants; coastal areas along grassy clifftops and rocky beaches; inland meadows and mountainous areas close to the treeline

Season

adults fly from mid-June to end of July

Food

larvae feed on cow-parsnip (Heracleum spp.), Angelica (Angelica atropurpurea), and Scotch Lovage (Ligusticum scoticum)

Remarks

Molecular studies imply that P. brevicauda might be a subspecies of P. machaon.

See Also

Black Swallowtail is the only similar species within its range; it has longer tails, more pointed wings, and has not been recorded in Newfoundland (according to CBIF)

Internet References

pinned adult images plus description, distribution map, subspecies, similar species, foodplants, flight season, habits (Butterflies of Canada, CBIF)

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 16 January, 2007 - 9:18pm
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, David Ferguson
Last updated 3 July, 2017 - 3:17am

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