Papilio saharae.

Share the gems of your insect collection with the InsectNet community
Post Reply
User avatar
mcheki
Junior Member
Junior Member
Reactions:
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:26 pm
Great Britain

Papilio saharae.

Post by mcheki »

Here is a picture of a species of Papilio that I feel very lucky to have obtained. Sent to me some time ago, a pair of Papilio saharae rathjensi Warnecke, 1922. Collected in Yemen.
DSC00548.JPG
DSC00548.JPG (663 KiB) Viewed 922 times
DSC00549.JPG
DSC00549.JPG (756.43 KiB) Viewed 922 times
User avatar
Trehopr1
Global Moderators
Global Moderators
Reactions:
Posts: 982
Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2022 1:48 am
United States of America

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by Trehopr1 »

Wow, bet there aren't many of those in collections anywhere...

Probably won't be any new material (out of that location) for quite some time to come.
User avatar
adamcotton
Global Moderators
Global Moderators
Reactions:
Posts: 743
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:24 pm
Location: Thailand
Thailand

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by adamcotton »

I have one male, data Thamarain, 2600 m., Jabal Sabir, Ta'izz, Yemen 3 August 1999 from the same source as the pair above.

This is indeed very hard to obtain (never mind the current situation in Yemen), as it can diapause as a pupa for very many years until eclosion is triggered by heavy rain. Even if you went to the right place at the same time these were collected the likelihood is high that they would not be flying, unless there was a storm before you arrived there.

Adam.
User avatar
nomihoudai
Junior Member
Junior Member
Reactions:
Posts: 39
Joined: Mon May 23, 2022 10:22 am
Netherlands

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by nomihoudai »

Does Tunisia have machaon or saharae? I have mounted Papilios from Tunisia for a museum many years ago, but I don't know if it was saharae or machaon. Of course those will be a lot easier to come by than these from Yemen.
Lepidoptera distribution maps: lepimap.click
User avatar
adamcotton
Global Moderators
Global Moderators
Reactions:
Posts: 743
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:24 pm
Location: Thailand
Thailand

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by adamcotton »

Tunisia has both species, but perhaps saharae is more frequently seen as it occurs at lower altitudes than Morocco.

It is very difficult to distinguish the two species, probably the easiest way is patiently counting the antennal segments. Papilio saharae has 29-32 segments, usually 31 whereas machaon has at least 33. Usually saharae is smaller, but that is not definitive. Note also the red anal eye spot on the hindwing of saharae is smaller and distinctly rounded, whereas in machaon it tends to be larger and more angled.

Adam.
User avatar
mcheki
Junior Member
Junior Member
Reactions:
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:26 pm
Great Britain

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by mcheki »

Thank you for your comments. Have I got these specimens correctly identified? The data labels say where they came from. The top specimen I have labelled as a male Papilio saharae saharae. The bottom two as Papilio machaon mauretanica (= sphyrus), with a male on the left and a female on the right.
DSC00559.JPG
DSC00559.JPG (751.66 KiB) Viewed 772 times
DSC00560.JPG
DSC00560.JPG (771.66 KiB) Viewed 772 times
User avatar
adamcotton
Global Moderators
Global Moderators
Reactions:
Posts: 743
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:24 pm
Location: Thailand
Thailand

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by adamcotton »

Yes I think the IDs are correct. It is also worth pointing out that saharae usually has thinner tails.

Note that sphyrus is not a synonym of mauretanica. It is the name for the subspecies of P. machaon from southern Italy and Sicily.

Here are photos of my specimen of rathjensi:
rathjensi m d s.jpg
rathjensi m d s.jpg (418.55 KiB) Viewed 743 times
rathjensi m v s.jpg
rathjensi m v s.jpg (388.09 KiB) Viewed 743 times
Adam.
User avatar
mcheki
Junior Member
Junior Member
Reactions:
Posts: 34
Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2022 12:26 pm
Great Britain

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by mcheki »

Thank you Adam for your comments and information on sphyrus.
I am not aware that Papilio saharae is found on the island of Lesvos, just off the coast of Turkey. So presumably this pair from Lesvos is Papilio machaon. Would I be right in labelling them as subspecies syriacus? Syriacus, I believe is found as far south as Saudi Arabia as is P saharae saharae.
DSC00561.JPG
DSC00561.JPG (596.45 KiB) Viewed 707 times
DSC00562.JPG
DSC00562.JPG (575.68 KiB) Viewed 707 times
User avatar
adamcotton
Global Moderators
Global Moderators
Reactions:
Posts: 743
Joined: Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:24 pm
Location: Thailand
Thailand

Re: Papilio saharae.

Post by adamcotton »

Yes, these are machaon syriacus. You are correct that saharae is not found on the Greek islands.

Adam.
Post Reply

Create an account or sign in to join the discussion

You need to be a member in order to post a reply

Create an account

Not a member? register to join our community
Members can start their own topics & subscribe to topics
It’s free and only takes a minute

Register

Sign in