''Protographium leosthenes'', the four-barred swordtail, is a medium-sized butterfly of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

found in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is similar to the five-barred (or chain) swordtail (''

Graphium aristeus ''Graphium aristeus'', the chain swordtail, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. The Indian subspecies ''G. a. anticrates'' is protected by law in India. It is found in ...

'') found in both Australia and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Appearance

Adults are brown and white, with four brown parallel bars running down the leading edge of the forewing. The hindwings have a pointed tail. Their wingspan is approximately 49 mm for males and 53 mm for females. The four-barred swordtail can be distinguished from the five-barred swordtail by the number of bars, and pale orange and blue spots on the upperside of the hindwing. In addition, the four-barred swordtail has pale orange markings on the underside of its hindwing, rather than red markings.

Biology

The eggs are cream coloured and laid singly on young leaves of the larval plant. The larvae feed on '' Melodorum leichhardtii'', '' Melodorum rupestre'', '' Polyalthia nitidissima'' and occasionally '' Desmos wardianus''. Early

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

s are pale green, with black spots and a black thorax and tail. The caterpillar later becomes green with brown or yellow spots, and reaches a length of up to 3.5 centimetres. The pupa is about 2 centimetres in length, and green with pink markings. There is usually one generation per year, with adult emergence varying with the season. The preferred habitat is monsoon forest and subtropical rainforest, where the larval plants are found. Adults fly near the ground (within about 2 metres) with their wings spread. The males frequently hilltop.

Subspecies

* ''P. l. leosthenes'' (south-eastern coast of New South Wales and the Murray-Darling basin, northern Gulf and north-eastern coast of Queensland) * ''P. l. geimbia'' (Tindale, 1927) (northern coast of the Northern Territory)

References

* Lepidoptera and some other life forms
Protographium

Appearance

Biology

Subspecies

References

Further reading