''Papilio neumoegeni'' is a species of

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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the islands of

Sumba Sumba ( id, Pulau Sumba) is an island in eastern Indonesia. It is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of , and the population was 779,049 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate as a ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Description

''Papilio neumoegeni'' has a forewing length of 43–48 mm. Male: The upperside forewing is black with metallic, golden-green scales scattered over most of the wing excluding the outer and costal margins. A metallic, golden-green median band starting from the costa passes outside the cell to just inside the tornus. It is interrupted in the lower part by a large brown-black sex brand. The upperside hindwing has a scalloped outer edge and a long, spatulate tail which may bear green scaling over the tips. The ground colour black has metallic golden-green scales which are scattered over the basal third of the wing. A broad emerald-green discal band extends inwards over the cell apex (not over the black hindwing apex), and a series of large emerald-green lunules or spots sometimes merge into the band subapically. The underside is brownish black with a few golden scales scattered over all but the lighter coloured distal part. The underside of the forewing has an oblique, pale grey postdiscal band tapering towards the tornus. The discal region of the under hindwing has a border of black lunules and a black eyespot. These are all edged with orange and pale blue. Female: Slightly larger than the male, differing in the lack of a sex brand on the upperside of the forewing. She may be browner and have an ochrous subapical spot on the upper hindwing.

Distribution

''Papilio neumoegeni'' is found only on the island of

Habitat and ecology

Males are known to fly all year round along paths or in forest glades. They rest in bushes during the afternoon Associated species are ''

Papilio polytes ''Papilio polytes'', the common Mormon, is a common species of swallowtail butterfly widely distributed across Asia. This butterfly is known for the mimicry displayed by the numerous forms of its females which mimic inedible red-bodied swall ...

'' and '' Atrophaneura oreon''. The female flies slowly and generally high up in the forest canopy. The larval food plant is not known.

References

Sources

External links

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Butterfly corner
Images from

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...