About Swallowtails and Birdwings

Butterflies in the family Papilionidae are commonly called Swallowtails and Birdwings. They are large with average wingspans 60 to 110 mm. Papilionidae are often black with patches of white or green. 

 

Clearwing Swallowtail

The forewings of the adult Clearwing Swallowtail or Big Greasy Cressida cressida butterflies have black veins, with a black area around the base. Females have a black spot on each forewing while the males have two black spots on each forewing, otherwise they are transparent. The hind wings are black with a white band across each one and a red spot on top, and an arc of red spots underneath mimicking other Australian Swallowtails. The body is black except for a red tip to the abdomen.

Photo: Derek Boddington

This photo shows a female apparently laying eggs on a wattle, not its food plant, though there was a lot of Dutchman’s Pipe nearby which could have attracted it. Photo: Robert Whyte

 

Richmond Birdwings

Richmond Birdwing Ornithoptera richmondia is a large, spectacular butterfly threatened by habitat destruction, loss of its larval food plant and an introduced weed that poisons larvae. The weed Dutchman’s Pipe Aristolochia elegans is a climber with heart-shaped (cordate) leaves and pipe-shaped flowers, native to Brazil and Argentina. Richmond Birdwing’s native food plant is Birdwing Vine Aristolochia praevenosa. Richmond Birdwing has a wingspan up to 150 mm in females and 130 mm in males. Females have dark grey or brown wings and the males have a black forewing with a distinctive iridescent green fore-edge. The male’s hindwing is predominantly iridescent green. In 1870 the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly was reportedly found in great numbers in the streets of Brisbane. Today, no natural breeding sites are known between Caboolture and Nerang. CSIRO’s Double Helix Science Club and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service began a project that encouraged school students and community groups to plant thousands of native Pararistolochia vines in gardens and reserves between Grafton and Maryborough. They encouraged the removal and destruction of Dutchman’s Pipe vines from gardens and bushland. The Scientific name of the group (genus) to which this species belongs is Ornithoptera, Latin ornithos meaning bird and pteron meaning wing.

Butterflies in Don Sands’ collection. Photo: Robert Whyte

Female. Photo: Don Sands

 

Orchard Swallowtail

Orchard Swallowtail Papilio aegeus adults have a wing span around 120 mm. The female has a large white patch on the forewings showing brown veins. Her hindwings each have a row of red crescents and two blue crescents. Occurs in Indonesia, the Solomons, and New Guinea. The subspecies aegeus is common over the eastern half of mainland Australia. Named after King Aegeus of Ancient Greece. Orchard Swallowtail caterpillars are commonly found on the introduced members of the Rutaceae family, that is, citrus trees of various types such as Lemon, Orange, and also Mexican Orange Blossom Choisya ternata, Cumquat Fortunella sp., and Hardy Orange Poncirus trifoliata. They have also been reported to feed on various Australian native plants in this same family such as Common Acronychia Acronychia oblonga, Desert Lime Eremocitrus glauca, Bennett’s Ash Flindersia bennettiana, Australian Willow Geijera parviflora, Saffronheart Halfordia scleroxyla, Finger Lime Microcitrus australasica, Satin Wood Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum and Lanoline Bush Zieria smithii. They have also been reported feeding on plants or accepting leaves from plants from other families, including Jackwood Cryptocarya glaucescens (Lauraceae), and Parsley Petroselinum crispum (Apiaceae). Those feeding on the latter developed faster than those feeding on citrus. Although a pest on suburban lemon trees, Orchard Swallowtail is one of the most interesting caterpillars in Australia, due to its protective mechanisms against predators and its size. It grows into one of the largest butterflies seen in suburban gardens. First stages are dark brown with three white patches: one on the thorax, one above the the first pairs of prolegs, and one on abdominal segments 8 & 9. The young caterpillar often sits by day on the top of a leaf, and resembles a bird dropping. The last instar reaches a length of 60 mm, and is coloured yellowish green with narrow stripes or patches running obliquely upward and backward from the lower edge of the thorax to segments 4 & 6. These stripes vary in colour from pale brown to white, and are edged with iridescent mauve or blue. The larva transforms into a pupa (or chrysalis) by anchoring itself to a substrate and moulting for the last time. The chrysalis is usually incapable of movement, although some species can rapidly move the abdominal segments or produce sounds to scare potential predators. 

Female orchard Swallowtail. Photo: Robert Whyte

Orchard Swallowtail Caterpillar. Photo: Robert Whyte

Orchard Swallowtail Caterpillar. Later instars, such as this one photographed are green with white diagonal patches. This one is everting its brightly red coloured osmeterium from its head, and emitting an unpleasant smell. Photo: Robert Whyte

Orchard Swallowtail Caterpillar. Photo: Robert Whyte

Orchard Swallowtail Chrysalis. Photo: Robert Whyte

Orchard Swallowtail Caterpillar on Crow’s Ash also known as Australian Teak Flindersia Australis is a plant in the Rutaceae family. In this photo you can see three first-stage caterpillars, and one in the inset bottom left. Photo: Robert Whyte

 

Dainty Swallowtail

Adult Dainty Swallowtail Papilio anactus has a wing span around 70 mm. They are black and white, with red and smaller blue spots on the margin of each hindwing. These spots appear to mimic other Australian Swallowtails. The males establish territories which are strenuously defended, an interesting spectacle to watch. The unusual thing is the same territories will be used year after year. The eggs are pale yellow and spherical. They are laid singly on the undersides near the edge of young leaves of a foodplant. The species is commonly found all over the east of mainland Australia. The Dainty Swallowtail caterpillars hatch from cream coloured eggs, laid singly on the young shoots of the foodplant. They are commonly found on cultivated citrus such as Kaffir Lime Citrus histrix, Lemon Citrus limon, Grapefruit Citrus paradisi, Madarin Citrus reticulata, Orange Citrus sinensis, Wood Apple Limonia acidissima and Hardy Orange Poncirus trifoliata. They are also found on the Australian native plants Wild Orange Citrus australis, Large Leaf Lime Citrus inodora, Desert Lime Eremocitrus glauca, Australian Willow Geijera parviflora, Finger Lime Citrus australasica, all in Rutaceae. Dainty Swallowtail early instars are kite shaped, and coloured dark blue with orange spots. The body surface is covered by small fleshy spikes. The later instars are cylindrical with short knob-like spines. They reach a length of 40 mm, and are coloured dark blue, with yellow, white and orange spots. The pupa is slim with a bifurcated head rather like a pair of horns. It is green or brown, and secured to a stem of the foodplant head up, by a cremaster and girdle. Pupae formed in summer mature in about four weeks, but those formed in March or April may stay dormant throughout the whole winter. The pupa has a length of about 30 mm.

Photo: Robert Whyte

Caterpillar. Photo: Robert Whyte

Caterpillar. Photo: Robert Whyte

Pupa. Photo: Robert Whyte

 

Pale Triangle

Pale Triangle Graphium eurypylus is a species of swallowtail butterfl, also known as Pale Blue Triangle. Wingspan about 60 mm, females slightly larger than males. This species can be distinguished from Blue Triangle (see below) by the extra white spots in the black areas along the outside areas of the forewings. The adults fly high and fast with erratic flight, descending to feed on flower nectar.

Photo: Robert Whyte

 

Blue Triangle

The Blue Triangle Graphium sarpedon is a common butterfly around Brisbane, possibly becoming more so in recent years. Wingspan up to 60 mm, slightly less in the males. Adults fly erratically and powerfully, they rarely stop to settle except when breeding and feeding. They sometimes stop to drink from creek pools. Blue Triangle food plants include many in the Lauraceae family, notably Camphor Laurel which may have led to an increase in numbers. Native food plants include the genera Beilschmiedia, Cryptocarya, Endiandra and Neolitsea.

Photo: Robert Whyte

Blue Triangle Adult Pair. Photo: Robert Whyte

Blue Triangle Adults. This pair caught in the act, the male’s wings presumably too fast for the camera, were hovering around Polka-dot Weed Hypoestes phyllostachya and Commelina diffusa (a weedy native) along the creek edge, probably not food plants, just support while they conducted their affair. Photo: Robert Whyte

Blue Triangle young caterpillars and pupae

Thanks to Peter Hendry of the Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club for identification of these Blue Triangle caterpillars and pupae. They were on tubestock of Murrogun Cryptocarya microneura at the SOWN nursery.

Photo: Robert Whyte

Photo: Robert Whyte

Photo: Robert Whyte

Photo: Robert Whyte

Photo: Robert Whyte