''Parides photinus'', the pink-spotted cattleheart, 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 was first described by

Edward Doubleday Edward Doubleday (9 October 1810 – 14 December 1849) was an English entomologist primarily interested in Lepidoptera. He is best known for ''The Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera: Comprising Their Generic Characters, a Notice of Their Habits and ...

in 1844.

Description

''Parides photinus'' has a wingspan reaching . Adults are black with the hindwing having a blue-green metallic sheen especially in the male. There are no wing bands. Two rows of red spots are found along the hindwing margin. The submarginal spots strongly arched except the upper two or three and the anal one; the latter distinct on upperside only in the female. The hindwings have short tails. The undersides are similar to the upsides. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e feed on ''

Aristolochia grandiflora ''Aristolochia grandiflora'', the pelican flower, is a deciduous vine with one of the world's largest flowers that emits an odor that smells like rotting feet, attracting flies. Description ''Aristolochia grandiflora'' produces large solitary f ...

'' and '' A. asclepiadifolia''. A full description is provided by Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906)Rothschild, W. & Jordan, K. (1906)
"A revision of the American Papilios"
''

Novitates Zoologicae ''Novitates Zoologicae: A Journal of Zoology in Connection With the Tring Museum'' was a British scientific journal devoted to systematic zoology. It was edited by Lionel Walter Rothschild and published between 1894 and 1948 by the Tring Museum ...

''. 13: 411-752. (Facsimile edition ed. P.H. Arnaud, 1967)

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

, in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

and in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. It lives in forests, where it is common to abundant. Its range extends from the sea level to 5000 feet (1500 metres).

Gallery

FaunaamericanparsII1plate1.jpg, ''Parides photinus'' from ''The Macrolepidoptera of the World'', Jordan, K., in Seitz, A. (1907) Illustrations of new species of exotic butterflies Papilio XI.jpg, ''Parides photinus'' from ''New Species of Exotic Butterflies'' (1869). Plate: Papilio XI

Taxonomy

''Parides photinus'' is a member of the ''ascanius''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

("Fringe-spots white. Hindwing with submarginal spots and unusually also discal spots or dots, or a discal band; mostly with tail").A quadrate whitish spot in space 2 of the forewings is quite peculiar of the ''ascanius group''Racheli, Tommaso an Olmisani. Luca 1998. A cladistic analysis of the genus ''Parides'' Hubner,

819 __NOTOC__ Year 819 (Roman numerals, DCCCXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I marries Judith ...

based on androconial structures (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). ''Neue Ent. Nachr''. (Marktleuthen),41:119-13
pdf
The members are: :*'' Parides agavus'' (Drury, 1782) – Agavus cattleheart :*'' Parides alopius'' (Godman & Salvin,

890 __NOTOC__ Year 890 ( DCCCXC) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Frankish nobles, who have ruled Provence in anarchy (since 887), declare Lo ...

– white-dotted cattleheart :*'' Parides ascanius'' (Cramer,

775 __NOTOC__ Year 775 (Roman numerals, DCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 775 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domi ...

– Fluminense swallowtail :*''

Parides bunichus ''Parides bunichus'' is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. The larva is brownish black, with an oblique white band, extending laterally from the 6th segment to the tubercle on the 7th. ...

'' (Hübner,

821 __NOTOC__ Year 821 ( DCCCXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine general Thomas the Slav leads a revolt, and secures control ...

:*'' Parides gundlachianus'' (C. & R. Felder, 1864) – Cuban cattleheart :*'' Parides montezuma'' (Westwood, 1842) – Montezuma's cattleheart :*'' Parides phalaecus'' (Hewitson, 1869) :*''Parides photinus'' (Doubleday, 1844) :*'' Parides proneus'' (Hübner,

831 __NOTOC__ Year 831 ( DCCCXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Arab War: Emperor Theophilos invades the Abbasid dominion ...

References

External links

Butterflycorner

photinus Photinus (Greek Φωτεινός; died 376), was a Christian bishop of Sirmium in Pannonia Secunda (today the town Sremska Mitrovica in Serbia), best known for denying the incarnation of Christ, thus being considered a heresiarch by the Catholic C ...

Butterflies of Central America Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1844 {{Papilionidae-stub