''Papilio indra'', the Indra swallowtail, short-tailed black swallowtail, or cliff swallowtail, is a western North American
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
in the family
Papilionidae
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larges ...
.
Description
The Indra swallowtail is a black swallowtail similar in coloration to the
black swallowtail
''Papilio polyxenes'', the (eastern) black swallowtail, American swallowtail or parsnip swallowtail, is a butterfly found throughout much of North America. It is the state butterfly of Oklahoma and New Jersey. An extremely similar-appearing spe ...
and the
short-tailed swallowtail. It has very short tails and has dark blue crescents on the topside of the hindwing.
[Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). ''Butterflies of North America''. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY. ]
Habitat
This butterfly may be found in rugged, arid, or mountainous countrysides.
[
]
Flight
The Indra swallowtail has one brood per year and is on the wing in spring in southern or lower altitudes but early summer in northern or higher altitudes.[
]
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically:''Papilio''
funet.fi
''There is an as-yet unnamed subspecies that has been referred to as ''bonnevillensis'' by some and as the "Utah-West Desert segregate" by others.''
*''P. i. calcicola'' Emmel & Griffin, 1998
*''P. i. fordi'' Comstock & Martin, 1956
*''P. i. indra'' Reakirt, 1866
*''P. i. kaibabensis'' Bauer, 1955
*''P. i. martini'' T. & J. Emmel, 1966
*''P. i. minori'' Cross, 1936
*''P. i. nevadensis'' T. & J. Emmel, 1971
*''P. i. panamintensis'' Emmel, 1982
*''P. i. pygmaeus'' J. Emmel, T. Emmel & Griffin, 1998
*''P. i. pergamus'' H. Edwards, 1874
*''P. i. phyllisae'' J. Emmel, 1982
*''P. i. shastensis'' Emmel & Emmel, 1998
Food plants
Parsley
Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...
family.[Indra Swallowtail]
Butterflies of Canada.
References
*Emmel, J.F. and Emmel,T.C., 1964. The life history of ''Papilio indra minori''. ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society'' 18: 65-7
pdf
*Emmel, T.C. and Emmel, J.F., 1967. The biology of ''Papilio indra kaibabensis'' in the Grand Canyon. ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society'' 21: 41-49
pdf
*Emmel, J.F. and Emmel, T.C., 1968. The population biology and life history of ''Papilio indra martini''. ''Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society'' 22: 46-5
pdf
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3019475
Butterflies of North America
indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
Butterflies described in 1866
Taxa named by Tryon Reakirt