Papilion machaon
Papilion machaon holm oak woodlandpseudo-steppediurnalnon-evaluated
Old World Swallowtail

 

ORDER: Lepidoptera
FAMILY: Papilionidae
SIZE: 65-86 mm

BREEDING SEASON:
J F M A M J J A S O N D

CHARACTERISTICS: big caterpillar with segmented body, fleshy legs and bright colors (green, orange and black) but small and black with a white spot (mimicking the excrement of a bird) in the beginning of its development; adult butterfly of big dimension, with yellowish anterior wings with black nervures and spots and posterior wings swallow- tail-shaped with several blue ocelli.
DEVELOPMENT: indirect.
ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR: herbivore larvae with a gland behind the head that exhales a pungent odor able to keep away some of its predators; adult consume juices and obtain nutrients in wet soil.

Species from the same group