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Post by trehopr1 on Mar 21, 2022 9:15:19 GMT -8
With the coming of spring images of lepidoptera adorn all sorts of things for one to purchase. It is an "uplifting" season of rebirth, hope, and revitalization. A metamorphosis of a kind !    I think that 1st one is Papilio memnon. Maybe Adam can verify.... |
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Post by Paul K on Mar 21, 2022 9:34:25 GMT -8
It is Papilio polytes romulus -female.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 21, 2022 10:05:35 GMT -8
Paul beat me to it; yes he is correct.
Adam.
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Post by trehopr1 on Mar 21, 2022 10:06:31 GMT -8
Thank you very much Paul for that species correction. I should have known that you would know because you are my identification (go to) guy !
That was a lady's tote bag by the way !
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Post by livingplanet3 on Mar 21, 2022 11:08:37 GMT -8
I thought I had a specimen of polytes, but no, not this one, or the others in the polytes species group. In regard to Asian Papilionidae, I do have a reasonable representation of the Achillides subgenus (but probably rather modest in comparison to what many other collectors have). I'm by no means a completest, and my collections are aesthetic, rather than taxonomic.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 21, 2022 12:14:09 GMT -8
The male of polytes is very different, black with a white band on the hindwing.
Adam.
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Post by trehopr1 on Mar 21, 2022 14:01:51 GMT -8
You know livingplanet3 that is exactly my line of thinking in that my collections are all aesthetic; with the exception of my treehopper holdings !
One can't have it all and while I do admire those who specialize; there are just "too many different chocolates in the box" (so to speak) to settle on any one.
As has been said: "variety is the spice of life".
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Post by trehopr1 on Mar 21, 2022 14:07:04 GMT -8
I actually purchased the framed picture because I liked the statement it had of "Love the journey".
A journey through life with an appreciation of all lovely winged things !
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Post by livingplanet3 on Mar 21, 2022 18:10:05 GMT -8
You know livingplanet3 that is exactly my line of thinking in that my collections are all aesthetic; with the exception of my treehopper holdings ! One can't have it all and while I do admire those who specialize; there are just "too many different chocolates in the box" (so to speak) to settle on any one. As has been said: "variety is the spice of life". I suppose that people collect things for a wide variety of reasons, but in regard to natural history specimens (especially things such as insects, fossils and shells), aesthetics is certainly one of the major motives. The other major reason is scientific, but of course a collection can be both aesthetic and scientific simultaneously. |
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Post by Paul K on Mar 22, 2022 16:51:16 GMT -8
Papilio polytes romulus
All specimens collected in Thailand, left row males, right females. Females are mimic of Pachliopta aristolochiae, there is also none mimetic form of females that is quite rare in Thailand and on top it's very looking like male so it is harder to spot one. 
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Post by trehopr1 on Mar 22, 2022 17:52:27 GMT -8
Excellent as always Paul !
Those are so clean it is hard to believe they are wild caught.
The females are huge !
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Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 23, 2022 1:49:44 GMT -8
Females are about 6-7cm across (wing tip to wing tip), maybe about the same size as a large female polyxenes. The male-like female phenotype is expressed through a recessive gene, so the frequency of these depends on the prevalence of the gene in the population. Where Pachliopta aristolochiae is common this gene is rather rare, so very few females are male-like as the gene needs to be present on both sides of the chromosome in order to code for the male-like form, named cyrus. I think the bottom female in the photo posted by Paul has one 'cyrus' gene and one mimetic gene. This specimen has a white postdiscal band on the hindwing, rather than the normal almost round white discal patch. This variation of the mimetic female occurred when I bred male-like cyrus females with males carrying the normal gene. In form cyrus both wings look like the male, not just the hindwing. Here is a photo of a papered bred specimen. I haven't actually spread any of them yet.  Adam. |
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