| Battus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) | |
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| |
| Polydamas swallowtail (Battus polydamas) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Tribe: | Troidini |
| Genus: | Battus Scopoli, 1777 |
| Type species | |
| Papilio polydamas Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
Battus is a New World genus of butterflies that are usually found around pipevine (genus Aristolochia) plants. The caterpillars feed off the poisonous pipevines, making the insects poisonous themselves; they taste very bad to ward off predators. Since birds avoid these butterflies, other swallowtail species mimic their coloration. The common North American species are Battus polydamas and Battus philenor.
Etymology
In Greek mythology, Battus is a shepherd who witnessed Hermes stealing Apollo's cattle. Because he broke his promise not to reveal this theft, Hermes turned him to stone.
Species
Listed alphabetically within groups:
subgenus: Battuosa Möhn, 1999
- species group: belus Möhn, 1999
- Battus belus (Cramer, 1777) – Belus swallowtail
- Battus crassus (Cramer, 1777) – Crassus swallowtail
- Battus eracon (Godman & Salvin, 1897) – west-Mexican swallowtail, Colima swallowtail
- Battus ingenuus (Dyar, 1907) – Dyar's swallowtail, confused swallowtail
- Battus laodamas (C. & R. Felder, 1859) – green-patch swallowtail, yellow-spotted swallowtail
- Battus lycidas (Cramer, ) – Cramer's swallowtail, yellow-trailed swallowtail
- Battus polystictus (Butler, 1874)
- species group: madyes Möhn, 1999
- Battus madyes (Doubleday, 1846) – Madyes swallowtail
subgenus: Battus Möhn, 1999
- species group: philenor
- Battus devilliersii (Godart, 1823)
- Battus philenor (Linnaeus, 1771) – pipevine swallowtail
- Battus zetides (Munroe, 1971) – Zetides swallowtail
- species group: polydamus Möhn, 1999
- Battus polydamas (Linnaeus, 1758) – Polydamas swallowtail, gold rim swallowtail, or tailless swallowtail
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Museum specimen of Battus philenor
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Battus philenor caterpillar, high-temperature red form
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Battus philenor caterpillar, low temperature black form
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Battus philenor pupa
References
- Pinheiro, Carlos E.G. (1996) Palatability and escaping ability in Neotropical butterflies: tests with wild kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus, Tyrannidae). Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 59(4): 351–365. HTML abstract
- Battus, funet.fi
- Glassberg, J. (2007) A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America, Sunstreak Books, pp.8-9.
- Edwin Möhn, 2002 Schmetterlinge der Erde, Butterflies of the World Part V (5), Papilionidae II: Battus. Edited by Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach Keltern: Goecke & Evers; Canterbury: Hillside Books. ISBN 978-3-931374-70-9 Illustrates and identifies 14 species and 49 subspecies.
External links
- Battus Archived 2017-10-22 at the Wayback Machine, Insects Online
- Battus, BugGuide
- Battus Butterflies of America. Mostly types.
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