Caterpillars of the
World - Peru
Anchises Cattleheart
Parides anchises
LINNAEUS, 1758
Family -
PAPILIONIDAE
subfamily -
PAPILIONINAE
Tribe - TROIDINI
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Parides anchises nephalion, Rio
Pindayo, Peru |
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Introduction
The family
Papilionidae is comprised of about 600 species, found throughout
the world in almost every environment including deserts,
mountains, grasslands, tropical rainforests, temperate forest, meadows, marshes and coastal dunes.
There are 3
subfamilies. The Parnassiinae comprises about 50 species, known as
Apollos, which breed in mountainous areas of the northern
hemisphere. The Papilioninae comprises of about 550 species of
worldwide distribution, and includes the Swallowtails, Dragontails
and the giant Birdwings of south-east Asia. The other subfamily
Baroniinae consists of a single species
Baronia brevicornis which is endemic to the mountains of
western Mexico.
There are 33 species
in the genus Parides, which is the
neotropical "sister" genus of the Troides
Birdwings of the Oriental region.
Parides anchises occurs in most of the tropical and
subtropical areas of Central and South America, from Mexico to
Bolivia. There are 20 subspecies.
Habitats
This species is
a denizen of lowland rainforests, and is found at altitudes
between about 200-800m.
Lifecycle
The caterpillars of
all Papilionidae bear tubercules when in their first instar. In
some genera such as Papilio and
Eurytides these are absent in the
mature larva, but in others including Troides,
Battus and
Parides they develop into soft fleshy appendages.
All Papilionidae
larvae are equipped with an extrusible forked appendage - the
osmaterium, which is situated behind the head. This is everted if
the larva is molested, and gives off a noxious odour
containing isobutyric acid, which is believed to be used as a
defence against ants.
The
caterpillar illustrated above is of subspecies nephalion,
which is found in southern Ecuador, eastern Peru and in Mato
Grosso state, Brazil.
Adult
Both sexes are
typical of the genus Parides, having
black wings, with the hindwings marked with pink. In some
subspecies such as P. anchises foetterlei
the pink markings are contiguous and form a single large patch,
while in others including nephalion
they are greatly reduced, and separated into a series of smallish
spots. The pink makings are always more extensive in the females,
which also have a suffused white patch in the centre of the
forewings. Males on the other hand have a large patch of brilliant
metallic green scales on their forewings, and are a beautiful
sight when seen fluttering gently around flowering bushes.
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