A malformed specimen of Papilio agenor ♀ farmed in Xishuangbanna

[Leonard187]

I've got a malformed specimen of Papilio agenor ♀ farmed in Xishuangbanna of Yunnan, and this 'male-like' individual is attractive for me because of its white forewings and with much less white patch on hindwings. It is much similar to the phenotype of f. phoenix according to the hindwings, so should it be this form or just a variation of f. agenor?

P.agenor-farmed Xishuangbanna.jpg (143.94 KiB) Viewed 986 times

P.agenor-farmed Xishuangbanna2.jpg (137.43 KiB) Viewed 986 times

[adamcotton]

I bred some of these many years ago here, it is indeed an aberrant form butlerianus (the recessive form that mimics Atrophaneura astorion female, with a white band along the lower edge of the forewing) with hindwings that look like form phoenix.

Note the malformed forewing is a result of a misshapen right wing case when the pupa was formed. I saw this every so often in agenor, and not always the same shape.

Adam.

[Leonard187]

I bred some of these many years ago here, it is indeed an aberrant form butlerianus (the recessive form that mimics Atrophaneura astorion female, with a white band along the lower edge of the forewing) with hindwings that look like form phoenix.

Note the malformed forewing is a result of a misshapen right wing case when the pupa was formed. I saw this every so often in agenor, and not always the same shape.

Adam.

Thanks for your kind reply, Adam. It is very lucky for me having a chance to learn so much from you ^0^. About f.phoenix, I only saw two specimen from your post previously. So what is the 'character' of this form ? Can this specimen I post here be named as f. butlerianus-phoenix ? Of course I also have seen many specimen with 'transitional' phenotype between two typical form and I do not know how to name their form.
I also have a question. I noticed that there are many white individuals in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan, but similar phenotype can not be seen in the other part of China. Are they all named as f.agenor ?

QQ截图20241201115617.jpg (135.1 KiB) Viewed 956 times

[adamcotton]

This photo is interesting, it shows how the mimetic patters become less stable in areas of China where the model species (particularly Atrophaneura for the tailless forms) do not occur.

The white form (bottom row right specimen) occurs occasionally naturally in Mukdaharn, NE Thailand, and rarely further west in Thailand and in Laos. I selectively bred this form, and eventually much whiter than this, from breeding stock I obtained from Phrae, as well as many different forms, some similar to the above, some different.

Basically this shows how the phenotype is very plastic, but is controlled in nature by predator pressure. Birds (and maybe other predators such as lizards) in a local area will avoid attacking those forms that closely resemble any local distasteful species. As a result any other form that may arise tends to be selected out (= gets eaten) and over time stable forms are established that mimic the local models very closely.

Interestingly in most places form butlerianus is rather rare. The genes that control this form are recessive to agenor and distantianus and it is only common where the model for form butlerianus occurs (these are female A. astorion astorion in NE India and female A. astorion varuna in the Malay Peninsula). Interestingly where these models occur the recessive 'super-gene' is so common that 50% or more of females are form butlerianus.

Adam.

[Leonard187]

This photo is interesting, it shows how the mimetic patters become less stable in areas of China where the model species (particularly Atrophaneura for the tailless forms) do not occur.

The white form (bottom row right specimen) occurs occasionally naturally in Mukdaharn, NE Thailand, and rarely further west in Thailand and in Laos. I selectively bred this form, and eventually much whiter than this, from breeding stock I obtained from Phrae, as well as many different forms, some similar to the above, some different.

Basically this shows how the phenotype is very plastic, but is controlled in nature by predator pressure. Birds (and maybe other predators such as lizards) in a local area will avoid attacking those forms that closely resemble any local distasteful species. As a result any other form that may arise tends to be selected out (= gets eaten) and over time stable forms are established that mimic the local models very closely.

Interestingly in most places form butlerianus is rather rare. The genes that control this form are recessive to agenor and distantianus and it is only common where the model for form butlerianus occurs (these are female A. astorion astorion in NE India and female A. astorion varuna in the Malay Peninsula). Interestingly where these models occur the recessive 'super-gene' is so common that 50% or more of females are form butlerianus.

Adam.

About the white one, I saw a wild-caught female with very white wings. It is attractive due to the white pattern on the cells on hindwings, and the red triangles seem to decreased.

QQ截图20241203003317.jpg (47.15 KiB) Viewed 827 times

QQ截图20241203003329.jpg (82.29 KiB) Viewed 827 times

[adamcotton]

That is a superb specimen, especially for a wild caught female. It should be used for breeding to produce even more white specimens than this.

I did occasionally find specimens with a reduced red triangle at the base of the forewing.

Adam.

[Leonard187]

That is a superb specimen, especially for a wild caught female. It should be used for breeding to produce even more white specimens than this.

I did occasionally find specimens with a reduced red triangle at the base of the forewing.

Adam.

Though it was not caught by me, the owner has used it breeding to produce more offsprings. I am waiting for seeing more white specimens ^0^

[martellat0]

While on the topic, allow me to share some photos from an individual I've been following on Twitter. He is a collector and breeder based in Okinawa who - for the past few years, it seems - has been selectively breeding P. agenor in order to produce individuals with extreme white pigmentation. He can be found under the handle @rhetenor12.


https://x.com/rhetenor12/status/1831644452248809632
Here is a prized specimen. The translate function provided by Twitter can sometimes be unreliable, but from what I can gather, he seems to be trying to recreate the phenotype of a certain population of P. agenor from Nagasaki in the 1970s. He has shared pictures of other specimens with varying degrees of amelanism, but in my opinion, this is one of the most striking examples.


https://x.com/rhetenor12/status/1705157856436318680
https://x.com/rhetenor12/status/1804744344093565097
https://x.com/rhetenor12/status/1762714940706828460
He has also produced both male and female individuals with malformed (possibly absent) wing veins.


https://x.com/rhetenor12/status/1198916482723266561

About the white one, I saw a wild-caught female with very white wings. It is attractive due to the white pattern on the cells on hindwings, and the red triangles seem to decreased.

Here is a specimen similar to that other one. According to the caption, it is a wild-caught specimen from Taiwan.

[Leonard187]

While on the topic, allow me to share some photos from an individual I've been following on Twitter. He is a collector and breeder based in Okinawa who - for the past few years, it seems - has been selectively breeding P. agenor in order to produce individuals with extreme white pigmentation. He can be found under the handle @rhetenor12.

Here is a prized specimen. The translate function provided by Twitter can sometimes be unreliable, but from what I can gather, he seems to be trying to recreate the phenotype of a certain population of P. agenor from Nagasaki in the 1970s. He has shared pictures of other specimens with varying degrees of amelanism, but in my opinion, this is one of the most striking examples.

He has also produced both male and female individuals with malformed (possibly absent) wing veins.

Here is a specimen similar to that other one. According to the caption, it is a wild-caught specimen from Taiwan.

Thanks for sharing, the white one is really amazing ^0^. Hoping for more pictures of Papilio agenor or memnon.
About the breeding pair, the round wing-shape make them seem like Ornithoptera sp.