Byasa alcinous (Klug 1836)

Byasa alcinous,^[1] the Chinese windmill, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae.

Description

Byasa alcinous has a wingspan reaching about 9–10 centimetres (3.5–3.9 in). The basic colour of the wings is black or dark brown. The hindwings have long tails and a chain of red spots at the edges. The thorax and the abdomen are mainly black on the upperside and the underside, with several black spots, while the other areas are red.^[3] Adults are on wing from May to August in two generations.

The larvae feed on Aristolochia species including A. mandshhuriensis, A. debilis and A. manchuriensis.^[3] Subspecies has been recorded on A. shimadai, A. liukiuensis, A. kankauensis, A. elegans, A. debilis, A. kaempferii, A. onoei, A. tagala, Cocculus trilobus and Metaplexis chinensis. The species overwinters as a pupa.^[2][3]

Distribution

This species can be found in the Asian part of the Palaearctic realm and partially in the Indomalayan realm, from Bhutan, and eastern China to the southern Ussuri region, Korea and Japan.^[3][4]

Habitat

Byasa alcinous is present in mixed broadleaved forests.

Subspecies

• B. a. alcinous
• B. a. confusus (Rothschild, 1895) (Ussuri)
• B. a. yakushimana (Esaki & Umeno, 1929) (Japan)
• B. a. loochooana (Rothschild, 1896) (Japan)
• B. a. miyakoensis (Omoto, 1960) (Japan)
• B. a. bradanus (Fruhstorfer, 1908) (Japan)
• B. a. mansonensis (Fruhstorfer, 1901) (south-central and south-eastern China, Taiwan) ^[3]

Gallery

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  Dorsal view

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  Ventral view

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  Caterpillar

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  Chrysalis

References

• Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.