Pachliopta polydorus is a wide-ranging species found from Bachan, Halmahera, and Buru east to northern Australlia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. There are numerous named subspecies.

The subspecies thessalia is found on Key Island (equal Kei Island, equal Kai Island)

Pachliopta genus is found from Asia east to the Solomon Islands. Following is a list of the probable sixteen species in the genus (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

SPECIES - - - - - - - - - - - LOCATION
Pachliopta annae* - - Philippines
Pachliopta aristolochiae* - Afghanistan to Japan
Pachliopta atropus* - Palawan (Philippines)
Pachliopta hector* - Southern India, Sri Lanka
Pachliopta jophon - Sri Lanka
Pachliopta kotzebua - Philippines
Pachliopta liris* - - - Timor, Wetar, etc. (Indonesia)

Pachliopta mariae* - Luzon, Leyte, etc. (Philippines)
Pachliopta oreon - - Lesser Sunda, etc. (Indonesia)
Pachliopta pandiyana - Southern India
Pachliopta phegus - - South Philippines
Pachliopta phlegon(=annae) - Philippines
Pachliopta polydorus* - Indonesia to Solomons
Pachliopta polyphontes* - Miscellaneous Islands, Indonesia
Pachliopta schadenbergi - Luzon, etc. (Philippines)
Pachliopta strandi - - - Philippines

Eurasia and Indo-Australian Aristolochia groups contains the Atrophaneura, Byasa, and Pachliopta genera. Most of these forms are characterized by a red (or pink) pattern. Some of the Atrophaneura have a blue or green pattern. (Some scientists are combining several of the genera below into a smaller number of genera in this group.)

Following is list of the species in this group (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

SPECIES - - - - - LOCATION
Atrophaneura aidoneus* - India and Burma and Siam
Atrophaneura coon* - Sumatra and west Java
Atrophaneura dixoni* - Sulawesi (Indonesia)
Atrophaneura hageni - Sumatra (high plateau)
Atrophaneura horishanus* - Taiwan (=Formosa)
Atrophaneura kuehni* - Sulawesi (Indonesia)
Atrophaneura luchti* - Mountains in east Java
Atrophaneura neptunus* - Burma, Thailand, Malay & Palawan
Atrophaneura nox* - Malaysia and Thailand
Atrophaneura palu* - Sulawesi (Indonesia)
Atrophaneura priapus* - Java and south Sumatra
Atrophaneura rhodifer - Andaman Isle
Atrophaneura semperi* - Philippines
Atrophaneura sycorax* - Burma, Thailand, Malay, and more
Atrophaneura varuna* - India to Malaysia
Atrophaneura zaleucus* - Burma and Thailand

Byasa genus contains fifteen known species limited to the Indo-Australian region. The species are as follows (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

SPECIES - - - - - - LOCATION
Byasa adamsoni* - Burma and Thailand
Byasa alcinous* - Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea
Byasa crassipes - Northeast India, Burma, Laos
Byasa dasarada* - N. India, Bhutan, Burma, Laos, etc.
Byasa daemonius - China
Byasa febanus* - Taiwan
Byasa hedistus - South China
Byasa impediens - China
Byasa laos - North Thailand and Laos
Byasa latreillei* - Afghanistan to northern India
Byasa memicus - Central and southeast China
Byasa nevilli - Northeast India, Burma, and W. China

Byasa plutonius* - China, India, high elevations Byasa polla - Northeast India
Byasa polyeuctes* - North India, Burma, China to Taiwan

Pachliopta genus is rather complicated from a taxonomic viewpoint. Some of the Philippine forms are especially difficult to understand. Following is a list of the probable sixteen species in the genus (an * indicates that this species is pictured):

SPECIES - - - - LOCATION
Pachliopta annae* - Philippines
Pachliopta aristolochiae* - Afghanistan to Japan
Pachliopta atropus* - Palawan (Philippines)
Pachliopta hector* - Southern India, Sri Lanka
Pachliopta jophon - Sri Lanka
Pachliopta kotzebua - Philippines
Pachliopta liris* - Timor, Wetar, etcetera(islands of Indonesia)
Pachliopta mariae* - Luzon, Leyte, etcetera (islands of Philippines)
Pachllipta oreon - Lesser Sunda, etcetera (islands of Indonesia)
Pachliopta pandiyana - Southern India
Pachliopta phegus - South Philippines
Pachliopta phlegon(=annae) - Philippines
Pachliopta polydorus* - Indonesia to Solomons
Pachliopta polyphontes* - Miscellaneous Islands, Indonesia
Pachliopta schadenbergi - Luzon, etc. (Philippines)
Pachliopta strandi - Philippines

There are several different forms of P. annae which would lead one to suspect that P. annae really should be two species. P. sabinae, strandi, and phlegon are involved in this confusing situation.

(not pictured) Pachliopta strandi might be just a subspecies of P. phlegon.

Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails), Papilio family, contains about five hundred and fifty different species with perhaps a new species still being discovered every two or three years. Many species are sexually dimorphic in that the females do not look like the males. A common example of this is the Tiger Swallowtail of North America where the males are always yellow and black and the females can be either yellow and black or occasionally a blue color.

Swallowtails are usually medium to large species and strong fliers. They are unusual in that the adults have six fully developed legs. Many newer families of butterflies have only four well-developed legs with the front two legs being very underdeveloped.

Butterfly scientists are attracted to this group, and high prices are paid for the largest and the rarest kinds. Most of the species are bred locally on a hobby-business basis to fill the demand.

The Queen Alexander might be extinct. Although this species has been protected, the damage seems to have been done by land clearing projects which took away its natural habitat. The number of specimens in collections seems to be so small that collectors cannot be blamed for this extinction. There are probably less than ten collections in the United States that have over five hundred different species of Papilionidae.

Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera) are a group of insects with four large wings. They go through various life cycles including eggs, caterpillar (larvae), pupae, and adult. Most butterflies and moths feed as adults, but primarily do most of their growing in the larval or caterpillar stage. Also, most species are restricted to feeding as caterpillars upon a unique set of plants. In this pairing of insects to plants, there arises a unique plant population control system. When one plant species becomes too common, specific pests to that species also become more common and thus prevent the further spreading of that particular plant species.

Although most people think of the Lepidoptera as two different groups: butterflies and moths, technically, the concept is not valid.

Some families, such as Silk Moths (Saturnidae) and Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), are clearly moths. Other families, such as Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae), are clearly butterflies, However, several families exhibit characteristics that appear to be neither moths nor butterflies. For example: the Castnia Moths of South America are frequently placed in the Skipper Family (Hesperidae). The Sunset Moths (Uranidae) have long narrow antennae and fly during the day.

The Saturnidae (Silk Moths) and Papilionidae (Swallowtails) are two Lepidoptera families that have been very carefully researched as to species and subspecies. The current thinking is that if the male genitalia are alike, then the two specimens belong to the same species. As an amateur, your editor disagrees with this premise. If the genitalia are different, then no doubt two species are involved. However, if the genitalia are alike, it only proves that the genitalia are alike.

Consider Papilio multicaudata which is found in southern Canada at higher altitudes. Papilio multicaudata is found south through the Rocky Mountains as far south as Mexico City, and recently as far south as Guatemala. With different food plants, different soil types, different climates, and different seasonal patterns, it is hard to believe that this complex is all one species.

Consider capturing 100 living individuals at any life stage in Guatemala and then carrying them north to southern Canada. Would these individuals survive through several generations. If they would not survive, then this author would conclude that two different species are involved!

In the Saturnidae consider Eacles imperialis subspecies pini. This life form feeds on pines. Is not this sufficient to justify a full species status?

Note: Numerous museums and biologists have loaned specimens to be photographed for this project.



Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000. (Recent estimates place the number of worldwide species at four to six million.)

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

Odonata: - Dragon and Damsel Flies
Orthoptera: - Grasshoppers and Mantids
Homoptera: - Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
Diptera: - Flies and Mosquitoes
Hymenoptera: - Ants, Wasps, and Bees
Lepidoptera: - Butterflies and Moths
Coleoptera: - Beetles


Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:
Arachnida: - Spiders and Scorpions
Crustacea: - Crabs and Crayfish
Chilopoda: - Centipedes
Diplopoda: - Millipedes
Insecta: - Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

Sub Phylum Chelicerata
C. Arachnida: - Spiders and scorpions
C. Pycnogonida: - Sea spiders (500 species)
C. Merostomata: - Mostly fossil species

Sub Phylum Mandibulata
C. Crustacea: - Crabs and crayfish

Myriapod Group
C. Chilopoda: - Centipedes
C. Diplopoda: - Millipedes
C. Pauropoda: - Tiny millipede-like
C. Symphyla: - Garden centipedes

Insect Group
C. Insecta: - Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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