Papilio Machaon Melitensis)

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WIED IL-MIŻIEB PROTECTED SITE Did you know? This valley was once used as a quarry. After having extracted the limestone, the holes were filled with soil and used as agricultural land, making it an important agricultural area. Description z Wied il-Miżieb, located within the limits of the town of il-Mellieħa, is a small dry valley hewn in coralline limestone, characterised by a seasonal watercourse. z The valley sides are characterised by garrigue and steppic communities which cover about 60% of the area. z The largest native population of the Sandarac Gum Tree (Tetraclinis articulata) is found in this site. Maltese Spurge - Euphorbia melitensis Mediterranean Thyme - Thymbra capitata z Animal species include the Maghrebian Threats Ecology and importance Mouse-eared Bat (Myotis punicus), the z The main threat is the introduction of z Various rare, threatened and endemic Soprano Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) species incompatible with the Sandarac plant and animal species are known and the endemic Swallowtail Butterfly Gum Tree. from the area, endemic species being (Papilio machaon melitensis). those that are found only in the Maltese z Animals associated with the Sandarac z Another threat is illegal dumping in the Islands. Gum Tree community include the area. endemic and endangered beetle Torneuma strictum which is found in soil at 10-30cm depth under the Sandarac Gum Tree and the endemic beetle Microptinus melitensis found in leaf litter under the Sandarac Gum Trees. Photo: © John J. Borg J. John © Photo: z The most important plant species of the valley are the Sandarac Gum Tree, the Mediterranean Thyme (Thymbra capitata) and the Mediterranean Heath (Erica multiflora) as well as the Maltese Shrubby Kidney-Vetch (Anthyllis hermanniae subsp. melitensis) and the Maltese Spurge (Euphorbia melitensis), both of which are endemic shrubs. Sandarac Gum Tree - Tetraclinis articulata Maghrebian Mouse-eared Bat - Myotis punicus Published by the Environment and Resources Authority - © ERA 2017 A Tree Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation of International Importance in terms of the Environment Protection Act and the EU Habitats Directive..

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59. Chromosomal Studies on Interspeci Fic Hybrids of Butterflies (Papilionidae, Lepidoptera)
No. 6] Proc. Japan Acad., 55, Ser. B (1979) 295 59. Chromosomal Studies on Interspeci fic Hybrids of Butterflies (Papilionidae, Lepidoptera). XV Crosses among Papilio machaon gorganus, P. machaon hippocrates, P. machaon britannicus, P. oregonius, P. bairdii, and P. rudkini By Kodo MAEKI*) and Shigeru A. AE**) (Communicated by Saj iro MAKINO, M. J. A., June 12, 1979) Among six species of Papilio machaon group here under con- sideration, the larvae of Papilio bairdii and P. oregonius grow well on Artemisia plant in the districts of the Rocky Mountains, while the larvae of the following 4 species (P. machaon, gorganus, P. machaon hippocrates, P. machaon britannicus, and P, rudkini) subsist on the leaves of Umbelliferae in the Holarctic regions. A cytogenetical study with particular regard to species-relationship in the above-mentioned butterfly species is to be dealt with as a major subject in this paper. During the past several years our interest has been concentrated around this problem, especially on the significance of chromosomal pairing in male meiosis of F1 hybrids from the standpoint of genic homology. In the previous papers, relevant data have been presented on the meiotic behavior of chromosomes in F1 hybrids produced artificially in the following crosses among Papilio polyctor, P. bianor, P. maackii, P. polytes, P. alphenor, P. hipponous, P. Paris, P. helenus, P, protenor, P, macilentus, P, nepheles, P. aegeus, P. f useus, P. mem- non, P, lowi, P. ascalaphus, P. polymnestor, P. rumanzovia, P. ma- chaon hippocrates, P. machaon, gorganus, P. machaon britannicus, P. xuthus, P. benguetana, P, polyxenes and P. zelieaon (Maeki and Ae 1964, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1976a-d, 1977a-c, 1978a-b, 1979a-b).
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Adult Preference Experiments Suggest Labile Oviposition Strategy
Ecological Entomology (2007), 32, 143–152 Inconsistent use of host plants by the Alaskan swallowtail butterﬂ y: adult preference experiments suggest labile oviposition strategy SHANNON M. MURPHY Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A. Abstract . 1. The Alaskan swallowtail butterfly (Papilio machaon aliaska ) uses three unrelated plant species as hosts: Cnidium cnidiifolium (Apiaceae), Artemisia arctica (Asteraceae), and Petasites frigidus (Asteraceae). The research presented here investigated whether there are any consistent patterns in host choice by P. m. aliaska females. 2. The first two experiments were designed to test if P. m. aliaska host preference is constant or if it changes from day to day. If host preference is labile, the experiments were designed to also test whether a female’s diet breadth narrows or expands over time. 3. The third experiment tested the host preferences of female offspring from several wild-caught P. m. aliaska females. If P. m. aliaska individuals are specialised in their host use, then all of the offspring from a single female would likely prefer the same host-plant species. This experiment was also designed to test the Hopkins’ host selection principle; does the food plant on which a female is reared as a larva influence her future choices when she is searching for host plants for her own offspring? 4. The results from all of these experiments indicate that P. m. aliaska females vary greatly in their oviposition behaviour and in their preferences for the three host plants. Most populations appear to consist of generalists with labile oviposition behaviour.
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Wing Pattern Variation in Diurnal Butterflies Received by Experimental
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Hybrids Between Papilio Xuthus and the P. Polyxenes-Machaon Group
1960 Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society A STUDY OF HYBRIDS BETWEEN PAPILlO XUTHUS AND THE P. POLYXENES-MACHAON GROUP by SHIGERU ALBERT AE Papilio xuthus Linne (pU: fig.2) is found commonly but only in East Asia. It is distributed in Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Amur, China, North Burma, Formosa, Luzon, Guam, etc. It is very common in most parts of Japan, but becomes rare toward the northern part of Hokkaido. It seems also uncommon in hot regions, as in Formosa. In Japan, it is usually not found in the high mountains, unlike P. hippocrates Felder & Felder (Fig. 1), which is found in the high mountains as well as the lower places. The adult of P. xuthus resembles the adult of the P. machaon group, and P. xuthus is usually placed in the P. polyxenes-machaon group. However, the pupa and larva of P . xuthus do not resemble the pup~ and larv~ of species of that group. They rather resemble the pup~ and larv~ of P. protenor demetrius Cramer, P . memnon thunbergii von Siebold, P. helenus nieconicolens Butler, and P. macilentus Janson in Japan. The pup~ and larv~ of these four Japanese black swallowtails resemble each other closely. The larval and pupal resemblances between P. xu thus and P. helenus Linne were pointed out by REMINGTON (1960). These four black swallowtails are Rutace~ feeders as is P. xuthus. Therefore, the phylogenetic position of P. xuthus in the genus Papilio is in teresting and a study of it may help in analyzing the evolutionary process of species in the genus. Dr. C.
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Mark Colvin by Mark Colvin, 04-Jan-12 04:20 AM GMT
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Enemy-Free Space Maintains Swallowtail Butterfly Host Shift
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The Effects of Pollen Consumption of Transgenic Bt Maize on the Common Swallowtail, Papilio Machaon L
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