Biology:Graphium macleayanus
| Macleay's swallowtail | |
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| Macleay's swallowtail (Graphium macleayanus moggana), Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Tasmania, Australia | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Graphium |
| Species: | G. macleayanus
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| Binomial name | |
| Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814)[1]
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| Range of Macleay's swallowtail G. m. moggana; G. m. macleayanus
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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
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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
- Papilionidae
- List of butterflies of Australia
- List of butterflies of Victoria
- List of butterflies of Tasmania
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Macleay's swallowtail". CSIRO and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. 18 September 2004. http://www.ento.csiro.au/aicn/name_c/a_2526.htm.
- ↑ Herbison-Evans, Don; Newman, Stewart; Crossley, Stella (5 September 2009). "Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814)". http://www-staff.it.uts.edu.au/~don/larvae/papi/macleay.html.
- ↑ 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. https://books.google.com/books?id=cSElAFnbkocC&q=Graphium+macleayanus.
- ↑ "Names List for Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814)". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 9 October 2008. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Graphium_macleayanus/names.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Macleay's Swallowtail ( Graphium macleayanus )". OzAnimals.com. http://www.ozanimals.com/Insect/Macleay%27s-Swallowtail/Graphium/macleayanus.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Graphium macleayanus – JCU". http://cms.jcu.edu.au/discovernature/butterfliescommon/JCUPRD_044477.
- ↑ Tasmanian year book, Issue 11. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Tasmanian Office. 1977.
- ↑ Australian natural history, Volume 14. Australian Museum. 1962.
- ↑ Charles Barrett; Alexander N. Burns (1951). Butterflies of Australia and New Guinea. N. H. Seward.
- ↑ "Macleay's Swallowtail Fact File". Australian Museum. 4 November 2009. http://faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=190.
- ↑ "Host taxa for Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814)". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 9 October 2008. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Graphium_macleayanus/hosts.
- ↑ Daley, Elizabeth (2007). Wings: An introduction to Tasmania's winged insects. Riffles Pty Ltd.
External links
- List of host plants for Graphium macleayanus. Australian Biological Resources Study.
Wikidata ☰ Q1764886 entry
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