- Scarce Swallowtail
Taxobox
name = Scarce Swallowtail
image_width = 300px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
classis =Insect a
ordo =Lepidoptera
subordo =Ditrysia
familia = Papilionidae
subfamilia =Papilioninae
genus = "Iphiclides "
species = "I. podalirius"
binomial = "Iphiclides podalirius"
binomial_authority = (Scopoli, 1763)The Scarce Swallowtail ("Iphiclides podalirius") is a
butterfly found ingarden s, fields and openwoodland s. It is found in places with sloe thickets and particularlyorchard s. It is also called Sail Swallowtail or Pear-tree Swallowtail.Distribution
It is widespread throughout
Europe with the exception of the northern parts. Its range extends northwards toSaxony and centralPoland and eastwards acrossAsia Minor andTranscaucasia as far as the Arabian peninsula,India , and westernChina . A few specimens of the Scarce Swallowtail have been reported from centralSweden and the UK but they were probably only strays and not migrants. The scarcity of UK migrants is responsible for the English common name. In theAlps it can be found up to altitudes of 1600 m.tatus
In some years the Scarce Swallowtail is quite abundant. The Scarce Swallowtail is getting rarer as the blackthorn bushes are being cleared; and it is now protected in some central
Europe an countries. It is protected by law inCzech republic ,Slovakia ,Germany ,Hungary ,Luxembourg andPoland . It is considered Rare-Endangered and protected in some provinces of Austria and of status Indeterminate throughout Europe.Life cycle
The food plant includes hawthorn bushes. The caterpillars spin little pads on leaves and grip them firmly. The newly hatched caterpillar is dark in colour with two smaller and two bigger greenish patches on the dorsal side, later they are greenish with yellowish dorsal and side stripes. The summer chrysalids are green as a rule, the hibernating ones are brown. A number of hibernating chrysalids fall prey to various enemies.
References
* Collins, N.M., Morris, M.G. (1985) "Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World". IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6
ee also
*
List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)
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