''Papilio ambrax'', the Ambrax butterfly, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

of the

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

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 larg ...

. It is found in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, as well as the

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a ...

, Papua (Indonesia), and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. 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 o ...

is . The larvae feed on ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

'' species, '' Clausena brevistyla'', ''

Limonia acidissima ''Limonia acidissima'' is the only species within the monotypic genus ''Limonia''. Common names for the species in English include wood-apple and elephant-apple. It is sometimes also called monkey fruit. Description ''Limonia acidissima'' is a l ...

'', '' Microcitrus garrawayae'', '' Microcitrus inodora'', '' Murraya koenigii'', '' Zanthoxylum ailanthoides'', ''

Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum ''Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum'', known as thorny yellow-wood, satinwood, satin tree or scrub mulga, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It is a rainforest shrub or tree with thick, cone ...

'', '' Zanthoxylum nitidum'', '' Zanthoxylum ovalifolium'', and ''

Morinda citrifolia ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. Its native range extends across Southeast Asia and Australasia, and was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout th ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Papilio ambrax ambrax'' (western Irian to Papua) *''Papilio ambrax dunali'' Montrouzier, 1856 (Woodlark Island) *''Papilio ambrax epirus'' Wallace, 1865 (Aru) *''Papilio ambrax epigius'' Miskin, 1876 (north-eastern coast of Queensland) *''Papilio ambrax artanus'' Rothschild, 1908 (Mefor, Geelvink Bay)

Taxonomy

''Papilio ambrax'' is a member of the ''polytes''

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 ...

. The clade members 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 ...

'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Papilio ambrax'' Boisduval, 1832 *'' Papilio phestus'' Guérin-Méneville, 1830

External links

Australian Faunal Directory
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 ...

ambrax Butterflies described in 1832 {{Papilionidae-stub