In our application (Case 3767) we designated a neotype for Doritis ariadne Lederer, 1853 (currently Parnassius ariadne ) and asked the ICZN Commission to overturn the 2011 neotype designation for P. phoebus , and proposed a specimen in St. Petersburg Museum from the type locality as a new neotype. T...

No, Hanus & Theye (2010) decided the illustration of the type (specimen no longer in existence) was actually Parnassius ariadne and changed the names, with the next oldest name replacing P. phoebus . Then in 2011 they made it worse by designating a neotype for P. phoebus which was a specimen of ...

Happy New Year to all members and guest readers.

Hopefully 2024 will be entomologically productive for everyone.

Adam.

The ICZN Commission has passed the application in Case 3767: Case 3767 – Papilio phoebus Fabricius, 1793 (currently Parnassius phoebus ; Insecta, Lepidoptera): proposed conservation of prevailing usage of the specific name and that of Doritis ariadne Lederer, 1853 (currently Parnassius ariadne ) by ...

Alan,

Actually I didn't make this map myself. I just added the red lines and names to a map I found somewhere long ago. I hope I am not infringing on someone's copyright.

Adam.

I moved the above post to a new topic so people can see it more easily. I prepared a sample photo of the various subspecies of Papilio arjuna : https://i.imgur.com/PT3cESM.jpg and here is a map showing the approximate distributions of the various Java subspecies: https://i.imgur.com/tf914zb.jpg P. a...

Chuck wrote: ↑Sun Dec 24, 2023 3:19 pm Well before WW2 Papilio aegeus had become established in Solomon Islands.

Yes, and it was named oberon by Grose-Smith in 1897 ... well before even WW1, although it only occurs on Santa Cruz. Presumably it either never reached the main islands, or it was unable to compete.

Adam.

Have a great time, whether you celebrate or not.

Adam.

Chuck wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2023 7:51 pm North, it's only observed (in iNat) just north of Penang.

Actually, the northernmost record in iNat is on Penang Island, not north of it. I have a paper recording it from Terengganu on the east side of the Malay Peninsula, but I guess less iNat contributors go over there.

Adam.

That is interesting as Cameron Highlands is only about 100km south of Yala without any barrier. I wonder what is it that restrict the species to move northwards . I suspect it may either be an environmental issue or perhaps the food plant does not occur further north. Inayoshi-san asked me earlier ...

Adam Is T.brookiana still can be found in some south regions of Peninsular Thailand and if so do you know exact location. No, it has never reliably been found in the far south of Thailand. There are a few specimens with labels stating 'Yala' (the southernmost province) in Europe, according to Haugu...

I suspect this was filmed at the hot springs 7 miles up the Cameron Highlands road from Tapah, Perak, W Malaysia. Males gather there in large numbers. I vaguely remember going there in 1979.

Adam

Shame there weren't any females. Female Papilionidae don't sand/mud-puddle, and definitely not with males. I once saw a freshly emerged Atrophaneura astorion female (also in tribe Troidini) in Laos drinking at the edge of a stream very early in the morning, but well away from the urine bait I put d...

Perhaps it's a species of winged stick insect? Sorry, I have no idea about the potential species in Kenya.

Adam.

By the way, this is not the newest offering from his team, a paper on American genomics was published a few days ago:
Genomic analysis reveals new species and subspecies of butterflies
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/taxrpt/89

Adam.

Tribes and subtribes are part of the Family-group, so in the case of the new Papilionidae subtribe "Meandrusina Grishin, subtrib. n. (type genus Meandrusa F. Moore, 1888, in Papilionini Latreille, [1802])" Grishin is using the Genus-group name to form a new subtribe name in the Family-grou...

There are two basic female forms, a) black with a red band on the hindwing parallel to the abdomen and b) with a white discal patch on the hindwing but without the red band. There can be considerable variation on these two basic forms, especially in Leyte. The four females (below the male) in the th...

We have common huntsman spiders here in and around my house in Chiang Mai, similar in appearance but fully grown definitely larger than the one on the dollar bill above. They run around the house and garden at night and hunt insects, particularly cockroaches.

Adam.

Of course this is the nominate subspecies. There is considerable variation from specimens with completely dark hindwings to those with a distinct white postdiscal patch in the nominate ssp, but the majority tend to be dark. Ssp. albosyfanius mainly has a distinct white hindwing postdiscal patch. Adam.

Here is one of my boxes of ssp. rumanzovia with a variety of different female forms: rumanzovia box s.jpg Some are similar to ssp. deiphontes but they are not that ssp., which comes from N. Moluccas. If they come from the Philippines (except the small island chain SW of Mindanao) then they belong to...