Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly
by Michelle Meenawong
Title
Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly
Artist
Michelle Meenawong
Medium
Photograph - Metal Print
Description
Papilio aegeus, the orchard swallowtail butterfly or large citrus butterfly is a species of butterfly from the family Papilionidae, that is found in eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea.
The larvae of this species are sometimes considered a pest, due to their feeding on citrus leaves in suburban gardens.
Both male and female have black forewings with a white stripe, though there is more white overall on the female forewing. The hindwing is again black, and there is a white swath through the middle. Here the markings differ in that the female has chains of red to orange and blue crescents toward the edge. The markings on the underside are similar to those on top. The body is black. The wingspan is about 140 millimetres (5.5 in) in females and 120 millimetres (4.7 in) in males, making it rather large overall and the largest butterfly commonly seen in at least part of its range.
Despite being a swallowtail, which group derives its name from the distinctive tails on the hindwing, this characteristic is entirely absent.
A very grateful thank you to the following groups for featuring this picture
ART FOR CLOSE UPS AND MACRO HAPPY AND FRIENDLY
12/16/2019
MACRO MARVELS
12/18/2019
BUGS BUGS AND MORE BUGS
12/18/2019
GROOVY BUTTERFLIES
02/23/2020
Uploaded
December 16th, 2019
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