''Troides andromache'', the Borneo birdwing , is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 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 ...

. It is found only in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

Description

The wingspan ranges from 150 to 180 mm (female), the hindwings are discreetly scalloped. The body is black with yellow marks on the ventral abdomen. ''Troides andromache'' is

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

. The males have black upperside forewings. The underside of the forewings is black marked, in the postdiscal area and between the veins, with white. The hindwings are yellow with black veins and have a border of marginal black triangles. The females have white forewings with black veins lined with grey. The black veined yellow hindwings have wide-bordered black margin and a wide submarginal formed of confluent black spots.

Subspecies

The

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are *''Troides andromache andromache'' northern

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

*''Troides andromache marapokensis'' Fruhstorfer, 1899 northern Borneo, northern

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...

*''Troides andromache nishikawai'' Kobayashi, 1992 western Borneo

Biology

The host plants for the caterpillar are ''

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 ...

'' - '' A. acuminata'' and '' A. foveolata''.

Biotope

''Troides andromache'' is found in rain forest canopy in the mountains of Borneo at an elevation of 1,000to 2,900 m.

Etymology

In Greek mythology,

Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler' or ...

(/ænˈdrɒməkiː/; ancient Greek: Ἀνδρομάχη) was the wife of Hector and daughter of Eetion.

Related species

''Troides andromache'' is a member of the ''Troides amphrysus''

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 members of this

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

are: *''

Troides amphrysus ''Troides amphrysus'', the Malay birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly in the genus ''Troides'' in the family Papilionidae. Taxonomy Subspecies *''T. a. amphrysus'' (Java, Bali) *''T. a. ruficollis'' (Butler, 1879 (Peninsular Malaya, Thailand, Bur ...

'' (Cramer,

779 __NOTOC__ Year 779 ( DCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 779 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Eur ...

*''Troides andromache'' (Staudinger, 1892) *''

Troides cuneifera ''Troides cuneifera'', the Mountain Birdwing,Ek-Amnuay, P. (2012). Butterflies of Thailand. 2nd Edition (English) is a large butterfly belonging to the swallowtail family, Papilionidae, found in the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java and Borneo ...

'' (Oberthür, 1879) *''

Troides miranda ''Troides miranda'', the Miranda birdwing, is a birdwing butterfly that inhabits Borneo and Sumatra. Related species ''Troides miranda'' is a member of the ''Troides amphrysus'' species group. The members of this clade are: *''Troides amphrysu ...

'' (Butler, 1869)

References

* *D'Abrera, B. (1975) ''Birdwing Butterflies of the World''. Country Life Books, London. *Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1978–1985. ''A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies''. 2 volumes. Scandinavian Press, Klampenborg; 663 pp. *Staudinger, O. 1892 ''Ornithoptera andromache'' n. Sp. ''Deut. ent. Zeit.'' ris5:393-394. *Kurt Rumbucher,Béla von Knötgen and Oliver Schäffler, Knötgen 1999 Part 7, Papilionidae IV. Troides II., amphrysus-group in Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach Eds. ''Butterflies of the World''. Keltern: Goecke & Evers .

External links

ARKive
Photo and more information.

Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (English/German)
NagypalBorneo Montane Rain Forests Ecoregion

Butterflies of Borneo Endemic fauna of Borneo Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Butterflies described in 1892 {{papilionidae-stub