Papilio machaon brucei

[Trehopr1]

I acquired this lovely large specimen of
this subspecies recently. It was bred from
3 "wild collected" females found in Tooele Co.,
Utah.

[eurytides]

I thought that in machaon, the black “pupil” on the hindwings are eccentric as opposes central, as in your specimen. Am I mistaken? Is this trait variable or unreliable? Is it possible your specimen has some zelicaon genes?

[Trehopr1]

You could very well be correct. I really cannot say as
I'm only going by the data on the label. This specimen
comes from a collection of western swallowtails which
were sold.

I was told the owner/breeder of the collection
would live capture females of various Papilio species and
subspecies (from out west) and then bring them home
where he had a greenhouse to raise the offspring under ideal
controlled conditions. He did "tinker" with hybridization on
a few select things but, generally just wanted scale-perfect
examples from what he had "wild collected".

Perhaps, when Adam sees this he can impart his insights....

[adamcotton]

I thought Brian Banker lived in California, but I may be mistaken.

I agree with eurytides about this specimen. I looked at it for some time before scrolling down to see the comments below. It may have genes from zelicaon or polyxenes rudkini. Another possibility is a mix-up with the data, which could also happen.

Adam.

[Trehopr1]

Indeed Adam, southern California was his home base. However, I was told he made extended trips afield to wild capture females of varying species and subspecies. Then he would bring them home and try to get perfect specimens from the offspring.

I know nothing more about this specimen other than what the data label presents. Perhaps your suggestions are closer to the facts of what happened here.