All, having seen the distinctive caterpillar of Papilio machaon on three
continents, I would be VERY surprised if the Lachung photo shows anything but a
darkly patterned ("atypical") midsize larva of this butterfly. If not, what
else could it be? All other known Indian swallowtail cats look much different
or have adults that allow us to more or less reliably predict their larval
appearance, and the herb in Usha's image strongly resembles an umbellifer
(Apiaceae) -- another compelling indication of P. machaon, which specializes on
this aromatic plant family.
Krushnamegh, Bhutanitis, Meandrusa, and Teinopalpus have radically different
caterpillars and host associations (yes, I have illustrations of all three).
Best wishes,
Keith Wolfe
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: Thu, 03 Mar 2011 07:46:17 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: Re: [ButterflyIndia] 2 butterfly and 1moth cats and a butterfly
for id from Sikkim
Krushnamegh, I have bred heaps of machaon here: this is certainly not machaon.
I cannot suggest what it could be, but it might help narrow things down a bit
if the LFP were known.
On Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:16:21 +0530 wrote
Peter, Lachung is pretty high elevation. What other swallowtails occur there
that would have this type of caterpillars? Please let me know, I do not have
much experience with early stages of high-elevation butterflies.
Krushnamegh.
From: Peter Smetacek
Reply-To: butterflyindia
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2011 11:16:31 -0500
To: butterflyindia
Subject: Re: [ButterflyIndia] 2 butterfly and 1moth cats and a butterfly for id
from Sikkim
The first larva is a swallowtail but crtainly not machaon.
the next 2 larvae are hawkmoths, the green one with mauve stripes is probably
Acherontia lachesis (death's head hawkmoth)
The butterfly is Hypolimnas bolina.
On Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:47:13 +0530 wrote
Dear All, please see attached and help id:
Swallowtail Cat?: *Krushnamegh's*: is your caterpillar from Lachung of Yellow
Swallowtail?
1. Labin Rai's caterpillar: which butterfly?
2. Labin Rai's caterpillar: which moth?
3. Labin Rai's: which butterfly?
Thanks in advance,
Usha
--
Enjoy
