swallowtail butterflies wikipedia - EAS
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Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus Ornithoptera. … See more
Subfamilies
The genera of extant swallowtails are usually classified into three subfamilies, Baroniinae, Parnassiinae, and Papilioninae, the latter two being further divided into tribes. … See moreA phylogeny of the Papilionidae based on Nazari (2007) is given:
It is now accepted that the subfamily Papilioninae is monophyletic. The swallowtail … See moreThe key characteristics that differentiate the Papilionidae from the other butterfly families are:
• The osmeterium is a forked, fleshy eversible organ … See moreAs of 2005, 552 extant species have been identified which are distributed across the tropical and temperate regions. Various species inhabit … See more
The caterpillars of various swallowtail butterfly species feed on a wide range of different plants, most depending on only one of five families: Aristolochiaceae, Annonaceae, Lauraceae, Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) and Rutaceae. By eating some of these toxic … See more
Swallowtail butterflies practice Batesian mimicry, a behavior in which the butterflies' appearance closely resemble that of distasteful species that prevents predation. Swallowtails differ … See more
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