Pharmacophagus antenor

[mcheki]

I attended the AES exhibition at Kempton Park, London on the 1st October this year and was lucky to be able to obtain two pupae of Pharmacophagus antenor. This species is found in Madagascar. I was then fortunate that these produced a pair that emerged within two days of each other. I managed a hand pairing and I am now trying to get the conditions right for the female to lay. She is active and has an Aristolochia plant on which to lay, but no ova yet.
The photographs show the newly emerged female (which, by the way, is smaller than the male) and the pair in-cop in a netting cage. The cage is by a window, inside the house. They stayed joined for seven hours and fifteen minutes.

[wollastoni]

Wow splendid !

I wish you many babies !!!
Superb species !

[mcheki]

I am using a tropical Aristolochia vine. It is a potted plant, but I do not know its specific scientific name. Those are it's leaves in the background of the first photo. The foreground plant is a citrus plant used purely as a fixing stem to support the pupa during emergence.

[Adam Cotton]

The leaves, what I can see of them look like A. tagala, but there is so little visible it's hard to be sure.

If they stayed paired for 7 hours the mating should have been successful. Most Papilionidae only pair for about 1 hour or less.

Feed the female well and it should start laying after a few days delay. She won't lay immediately. Note that the first few eggs laid are often infertile.

Adam.

[mcheki]

Update:--- The female died today. Despite being active and feeding she failed to lay any ova. I will have to try again sometime.

[nomad]

Sorry to here that after all of your efforts with this species. Hopefully you will have better luck next time.

[Adam Cotton]

I think that you need to try to obtain seeds or plants of the native Aristolochia from Madagascar first. Some Troidini will lay on many different species of Aristolochia but others are much more fussy, and only lay on their own natural foodplant.

Adam.