A pair of Papilio agenor from Nagasaki, Japan

[Leonard187]

I' ve got a pair of specimens of Papilio agenor from Nagasaki, Japan (Fed in 2024). It is interesting that the hindwings of the female. As we can see in pic 2, there are several white path without scales on the hindwings, and I donot know whether it is common in this ssp.thunbergii, for I have not seen this in ssp.agenor from China.
Herein I have some questions about this ssp. Hoping for your kind reply.
1. On the hindwings of the male one, the 'shining scales' is very rear compared with that of ssp.agenor in China (as seen in pic 3). Whether it is characteristic of this ssp. ?
2. I know there are another ssp.iriomotensis distributed in SW Japan whose female seems much white. So where is the distribution boundary of the two subspecies？

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[adamcotton]

This is a typical pair of ssp. thunbergii.

Ssp. iriomotensis only occurs on the Yaeyama Islands (Iriomote and Ishigaki) not far from Taiwan, with ssp. pryeri in Okinawa Island between that and thunbergii. Interestingly the male of ssp. iriomotensis has a distinct red mark at the base of the forewing upperside and, as you mentioned, the female is very white.

Adam.

[Leonard187]

This is a typical pair of ssp. thunbergii.

Ssp. iriomotensis only occurs on the Yaeyama Islands (Iriomote and Ishigaki) not far from Taiwan, with ssp. pryeri in Okinawa Island between that and thunbergii. Interestingly the male of ssp. iriomotensis has a distinct red mark at the base of the forewing upperside and, as you mentioned, the female is very white.

Adam.

Thanks for your kind reply, Adam. So the ssp. from Japan can be summarized as followed:
ssp. iriomotensis in Yaeyama Islands (Iriomote Is. and Ishigaki)
ssp. pryeri in Okinawa Is.
ssp. thunbergii from Amami Islands to Kanto Area of Japan (I do not know whether it is right)

Interestingly the male of ssp. iriomotensis has a distinct red mark at the base of the forewing upperside

The red marks also can be seen on the base of forewings of spring generations of male from China mainland.

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[adamcotton]

The red marks also can be seen on the base of forewings of spring generations of male from China mainland.

This is typical of spring form ssp. agenor, but some specimens lack this red mark. However, in iriomotensis the red mark can be as well developed as in the female, and also is present in the summer form.

ssp. thunbergii from Amami Islands to Kanto Area of Japan (I do not know whether it is right)

The subspecies in the Amami Islands is pryeri like Okinawa, sorry I didn't specify this above. Most Amami Islands butterflies are related to those of Okinawa rather than further north.

Adam.

[adamcotton]

Here's a photo of the iriomotensis holotype taken from Racheli & Bozano (2024, Palearctic Papilionidae part V):

iriomotensis HT.jpg (47.55 KiB) Viewed 459 times

Adam.

[Leonard187]

This is typical of spring form ssp. agenor, but some specimens lack this red mark. However, in iriomotensis the red mark can be as well developed as in the female, and also is present in the summer form.

The subspecies in the Amami Islands is pryeri like Okinawa, sorry I didn't specify this above. Most Amami Islands butterflies are related to those of Okinawa rather than further north.

Adam.

Thanks, and the subspecies on Tokara islands are also ssp. pryeri, right? And those on mainland of Japan are ssp. thunbergii

[adamcotton]

At a guess Tokara Is. agenor is probably ssp. thunbergii, but I haven't seen any specimens. If you remember P. dehaanii occurs on the Tokara Islands, rather than P. ryukyuensis.

Adam.

[Leonard187]

At a guess Tokara Is. agenor is probably ssp. thunbergii, but I haven't seen any specimens. If you remember P. dehaanii occurs on the Tokara Islands, rather than P. ryukyuensis.

Adam.

Thanks for your help, and I remember the distributions of P. dehaanii and P. ryukyuensis. That has reference significance for the distribution of P. agenor I think.

[adamcotton]

Often the same distribution patterns are repeated for many different butterflies, not only between Japanese islands but many places around the world.

On the other hand there are exceptions too, with one species or subspecies crossing between islands when another one does not.

Adam.

[Leonard187]

Often the same distribution patterns are repeated for many different butterflies, not only between Japanese islands but many places around the world.

On the other hand there are exceptions too, with one species or subspecies crossing between islands when another one does not.

Adam.

Thanks, Adam, and I also have a question about the nomenclature. I know that thunbergii was named for the honor of a Swedish naturalist Carl Thunberg, and iriomotensis was named based on its location. But I cannot find the background of pryeri. Maybe it is also a famous person whose name is Pryer?

[adamcotton]

Yes, pryeri is named after Henry Pryer (1850-1888), who wrote Rhopalocera nihonica: a description of the butterflies of Japan which is available here: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/69314.

Here is his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James_Stovin_Pryer

Apart from P. agenor pryeri there are also other Lepidoptera named after him, such as Ambulyx pryeri (Sphingidae) that I can think of straight away.

Adam.

[benihikage92]

Apart from P. agenor pryeri there are also other Lepidoptera named after him, such as Ambulyx pryeri (Sphingidae) that I can think of straight away.

Adam.

I can think of two more named after him.
Neptis pryeri
Artopoetes pryeri

Kuni

Artopoetes pryeri

[Leonard187]

Yes, pryeri is named after Henry Pryer (1850-1888), who wrote Rhopalocera nihonica: a description of the butterflies of Japan which is available here: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/69314.

Here is his Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_James_Stovin_Pryer

Apart from P. agenor pryeri there are also other Lepidoptera named after him, such as Ambulyx pryeri (Sphingidae) that I can think of straight away.

Adam.

Thank you, Adam, and I will find and read this work.

[Leonard187]

Apart from P. agenor pryeri there are also other Lepidoptera named after him, such as Ambulyx pryeri (Sphingidae) that I can think of straight away.

Adam.

I can think of two more named after him.
Neptis pryeri
Artopoetes pryeri

Kuni

Artopoetes pryeri

Thank you very much, Kuni. ^0^

[adamcotton]

Thank you, Adam, and I will find and read this work.

Interestingly I have been told that the revised version shown in your photo was published in 1982, almost 100 years after Pryer published the first part of his work (1886).

Adam.