''Battus polydamas'', also known as the gold rim swallowtail, the Polydamas swallowtail or the tailless swallowtail, 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 ...

. The species was first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in his 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', published in 1758.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is without the tail. The top of the wings are black with a broad submarginal band formed by large yellow spots. The undersides of the forewings have the same pattern, while the hindwings have a submarginal row of red lunules. This butterfly flies from April to November in three generations in the north of its range, throughout the year in several generations in the tropics. The larvae feed on ''

Aristolochia ''Aristolochia'' () is a large plant genus with over 500 species that is the type genus of the family Aristolochiaceae. Its members are commonly known as birthwort, pipevine or Dutchman's pipe and are widespread and occur in the most diverse clima ...

'' plant species.

Distribution

It is found in the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

of South America, the southeastern U.S., and Mexico.

Habitat

''Battus polydamas'' is mainly present in open woods and abandoned fields.

Subspecies

The species is divided into the following subspecies: Battus polydamas antiquus 1

* '' B. p. antiquus'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) –

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

* ''B. p. archidamas'' (Boisduval,1836) –

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

* B. ''p''. ''atahualpa'' Racheli & Pischedda, 1987 –

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

* ''B. p. cebriones'' (Dalman, 1823) * ''B. p. christopheranus'' (Hall, 1936) * ''B. p. cubensis'' (Dufrane, 1946) –

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

* ''B. p. dominicus'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) –

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

* ''B. p. grenadensis'' (Hall, 1930) * ''B. p. jamaicensis'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) –

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

* ''B. p. lucayus'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) –

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

* ''B. p. lucianus'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) –

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

* ''B. p. neodamas'' (Lucas, 1852) –

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

* ''B. p. peruanus'' (Fuchs, 1954) – Peru * ''B. p. polycrates'' (Hopffer, 1865) –

Haïti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Polydamas swallowtail (Battus polydamas polydamas)

* ''B. p. polydamas'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – tropical South America * ''B. p. psittacus'' (Molina, 1782) –

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

* ''B. p. renani'' Lamas, 1998 – Peru * ''B. p. streckerianus'' (Honrath, 1884) – Peru * ''B. p. thyamus'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) –

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

* ''B. p. vincentius'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) * ''B. p. xenodamas'' (Hübner, 1825) –

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

* ''B. p. weyrauchi'' Lamas, 1998 – Peru

References

* Mathew, G. F. (1877). "Life history of ''Papilio archidamas''". ''

Entomologist's Monthly Magazine ''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'' is a British entomological journal, founded by a staff of five editors – T. Blackburn, H. G. Knaggs, M.D., R. McLachlan, F.L.S., E. C. Rye and H. T. Stainton – and first published in 1864.Wale, Matthew ...

''. 14 (163): 152–153. * Brown, F. Martin & Heineman, Bernard. ''Jamaica and its Butterflies''. (E. W. Classey, London 1972), plate VIII * Smart, Paul (1976). ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Butterfly World in Color''. London, Salamander: ''Encyclopedie des papillons''. Lausanne, Elsevier Sequoia (French language edition) page 159 fig. 19 as ''B. archidamas'' Bsdv., underside (Chile), fig. 17 as ''polydamas'' (Mexico).

External links