Madagascar giant swallowtail (Pharmacophagus antenor)

[Trehopr1]

This has long been my favorite out of Madagascar.
Magnificent species. Acquired this wonderful pair
on a visit to Ken Thorne in Canada.

[livingplanet3]

Indeed - a unique species; the largest butterfly in Madagascar, and the only member of its genus.

I obtained some fine beetle specimens from Ken Thorne years ago, including some that have become increasingly more difficult to find. I recently heard that he's in the process of phasing out beetles from his inventory, however. It seems he's going to focus mainly on Lepidoptera, from now on.

[daveuk]

I met Ken Thorne at a show in London a few years back. I have had some wonderful specimens over the years from him.

[bobw]

I've had some good specimens from Ken over the years too. I also saw him at the show in London, and the previous week in Paris. In fact, in London I managed to reverse the tables and sell him some specimens!

[adamcotton]

Pharmacophagus antenor is the most primitive of the Troidini apart from Battus. Its ancestor branched off from the ancestors of the rest of the Troidini about 35 million years ago (Condamine et al. 2018. Mitochondrial phylogenomics, the origin of swallowtail butterflies, and the impact of the number of clocks in Bayesian molecular dating. Systematic entomology, DOI: 10.1111/syen.12284), whereas the ancestors of Parides, Cressida and Euryades only diverged from the ancestors of the birdwings about 30 million years ago.

Adam.