Battus polydamas, also known as the gold rim swallowtail, the Polydamas swallowtail or the tailless swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1758.

Battus polydamas
B. p. jamaicensis

Secure  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Battus
Species:
B. polydamas
Binomial name
Battus polydamas
Synonyms
  • Papilio polydamas Linnaeus

Description

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The wingspan is 90 to 120 mm (3.5 to 4.7 in) without the tail. The top of the wings are black with a broad submarginal band formed by large yellow spots. The undersides of the forewings have the same pattern, while the hindwings have a submarginal row of red lunules. This butterfly flies from April to November in three generations in the north of its range, throughout the year in several generations in the tropics. The larvae feed on Aristolochia plant species.

Distribution

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It is found in the Neotropical realm throughout Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the southern United States (in Texas and Florida).[3]

Habitat

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Battus polydamas is mainly present in open woods and abandoned fields.

Subspecies

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The species is divided into the following subspecies:

 
B. p. antiquus, extinct subspecies
 
B. p. jamaicensis, Jamaica
  • B. p. jamaicensis (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906)Jamaica
  • B. p. lucayus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) – Florida, Bahamas
  • B. p. lucianus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906)St. Lucia (possibly extinct)
  • B. p. neodamas (Lucas, 1852)Guadeloupe
  • B. p. peruanus (Fuchs, 1954) – Peru
  • B. p. polycrates (Hopffer, 1865)Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic)
 
B. p. polydamas, Southern Amazon, Brazil
  • B. p. polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758) – tropical Central and South America
  • B. p. psittacus (Molina, 1782) – Chile, Argentina
  • B. p. renani Lamas, 1998 – Peru
  • B. p. streckerianus (Honrath, 1884) – Peru
  • B. p. thyamus (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906)Puerto Rico (including Culebra), Virgin Islands
  • B. p. vincentius (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
  • B. p. xenodamas (Hübner, 1825) – Martinique[4]
  • B. p. weyrauchi Lamas, 1998 – Peru[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Grice, H.; Hall, P.; Mega, N.; Nunez-Bustos, E.; Freitas, A.V.L. (2018). "Battus polydamas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T110520503A110520514. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T110520503A110520514.en. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  2. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 - Battus polydamas Polydamas Swallowtail". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  3. ^ a b Savela, Markku. "Battus polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  4. ^ "Battus polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758)". Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  • Mathew, G. F. (1877). "Life history of Papilio archidamas". Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 14 (163): 152–153.
  • Brown, F. Martin & Heineman, Bernard. Jamaica and its Butterflies. (E. W. Classey, London 1972), plate VIII
  • Smart, Paul (1976). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color. London, Salamander: Encyclopedie des papillons. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition) ISBN 9780948427046 ISBN 0600313816 page 159 fig. 19 as B. archidamas Bsdv., underside (Chile), fig. 17 as polydamas (Mexico).
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