Wisley swallowtail ID problem

[Philzoid]

As mentioned on my post on the Wisley Butterflies in the Glasshouse thread on the field trips and events board, some of the swallowtail butterflies proved difficult to identify. This issue was commented upon by both Guy and Mark in relation to the great variation displayed by the Asian Swallowtail and Great Mormon and others belonging to that group. As I like to name things correctly I thought I'd post my pictures with names for (hopefully) ID confirmation.

Initially I used the identification hand-outs as a guide for naming them, but after seeking further help on the net it soon became clear that species which looked superficially the same, were being given different names. In the event, my 'research' simply involved looking at dozens of pictures on google in various websites before making my mind up. My thought at the time was that many on the web were named incorrectly but now I not sure . The Great Mormon female it seems, is highly variable and able to mimic other species. Factor in interbreeding and naming them on appearance alone, becomes an impossible task?

Anyway, lets see how I do with these:-

A. Pink Rose Swallowtail Pachliopta kotzebuea?

B. Pink Rose Swallowtail Pachliopta kotzebuea?

C. Asian Swallowtail Papilio lowi?

D. Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) or Asian Swallowtail (papilio lowi)?

E. Great Mormon Papilio memnon?

F. Great Mormon Papilio memnon

Great Mormon (Papilio memnon) or Scarlet Swallowtail (Papilio rumanzovia)?

Scarlet Swallowtail Papilio rumanzovia?

Scarlet Swallowtail Papilio rumanzovia?

African Swallowtail Papilio dardanus and two Asian Swallowtail or Great Mormon females?

Thanks
Phil

[Mark Colvin]

Hi Phil,

This is not as simple as one might hope.

What I can say is that anything in the Papilio memnon group, especially in captivity, is going to be a best guess based on the external characteristics. I spent considerable time yesterday looking through the reference collections in the Hope Department of Entomology at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and I have also been in touch with a UK importer of tropical pupae. He stated “These butterflies are part of an island speciation complex with different islands producing differing forms. They also have the added confusing factor of mimicry. Also, where they are artificially kept together fertile crosses do occur. Our breeders from the Philippines are sending us Papilio lowii and Papilio rumanzovia but I do know Papilio memnon also flies there. I'm not sure that they know the exact origin of all the pupae that they send us”.

As I mentioned in an earlier post “there are many regional subspecies, forms and variations of Papilio memnon with mimicry also in play, particularly with the females. In addition it is highly likely that all subspecies, forms and variations will interbreed, especially in captivity”.

So there you have it …

My IDs based on the features I can see as follows:

A) Pink Rose Swallowtail (Pachliopta kotzebuea)
B) Pink Rose Swallowtail (Pachliopta kotzebuea)

My best guesses …

C) Papilio memnon agenor (female)
D) Papilio memnon agenor (female)
E) Papilio memnon possibly ssp. lowii x rumanzovia (male)
F) Papilio memnon lowii (male)
G) Papilio memnon possibly ssp. agenor x lowii (male)
H) Papilio memnon rumanzovia (unsure of sex)
I) Papilio memnon rumanzovia (female)
J) Papilio dardanus and Papilio memnon agenor (females)

The image below shows a 'classic' female Asian Swallowtail (Papilio memnon lowii).

Asian Swallowtail (Papilio memnon lowii)

[Gibster]

Makes the female Adonis vs Chalkhill Blue ID problem all seem a bit...pathetic?