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Post by relliott on Dec 18, 2014 23:04:16 GMT
Hi all, I've just joined this forum and I just thought you would like to see the male specimen I have of Papilio hellanichus. It was obtained in La Cumbre, Cordoba, Argentina in November 2014. Additionally I have a few larvae (ex-ova also from La Cumbre, Cordoba), which I am breeding. Currently in the final instar, close to pupating As you may know, they are extremely rare and also very hard to breed in captivity. They are extremely cannibalistic and feed on an aweful small plant, "Berberis ruscifolia", thorny, scarce and very difficult to transplant. Regards, Rod   |
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Post by wollastoni on Dec 18, 2014 23:10:17 GMT
What a splendid caterpillar !
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 19, 2014 8:54:10 GMT
Rod has done a fantastic job rearing these. The larvae must be kept separately as they are highly cannibalistic, and the food plant is hard to obtain in sufficient quantities, even if you live where it grows - never mind the nasty thorns.
Adam.
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Post by wollastoni on Dec 19, 2014 8:59:39 GMT
Rod,
Could you tell us more about this species ?
Is it rare in Argentina ? Localised ?
Thanks
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Post by relliott on Dec 19, 2014 17:15:38 GMT
Thanks Adam.
My guess is if we look at the collections around the world of Papilios, the CITES I species, Papilio homerus, is one of the rarest. However in my view, there is probably more homerus in collections than there is of hellanichus.
This is a nightmare species, cannibalistic and a larvae that appears perfectly healthy will drop off and die of no apparent reason...
For several years we've been looking across Argentina, and so far we have only found one area where there is a chance of finding livestock, and even there, it is hard work. This species is totally intolerant of any human disturbance, it's habitat is a 2 meter thornbush which is impenetrable and small areas of flat rock within the thornbush is where the female lays its eggs. There is one sight where we go to, there is endless amount of hostplant, but we have not found a single egg or larvae on the roadside. THey only lay inside impenetrable thornbush.
The small amounts of adults we have seen are unreachable as they are flying over the thornbush.
For our stock, we have had to rely on penetrating the thornbush with heavy clothing to obtain a few egg and larvae to breed.
This is one very rare butterfly.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 19, 2014 17:23:33 GMT
Olivier,
It is basically restricted to dry thorn scrub habitat in western Argentina and Paraguay. Although the foodplant can sometimes be found in other habitats in the area, the butterfly is not found there other than as an occasional stray. There are normally two generations per year, although sometimes weather conditions can result in it skipping a season and not emerging from the pupa.
This is the only species of Papilionidae anywhere that feeds on Berberidaceae, and is related to the Pterourus group species scamander, menatius and similar species.
I am sure Rod can give some more local information.
Adam.
PS. I see Rod has replied while I was writing this.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2014 18:22:33 GMT
my one and only specimen to date, so hard to find at reasonable cost. Attachments:
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Post by wollastoni on Dec 28, 2014 4:23:28 GMT
Rod, could you post some biotope and foodplant pictures of this unique Papilionidae ?
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Post by relliott on Dec 29, 2014 17:18:32 GMT
Rod, could you post some biotope and foodplant pictures of this unique Papilionidae ? Hi, here's a picture showing the area where it is found, also a close up of the food plant I transplanted. As you can see it is a small plant, maybe it is not clearly visible from the photograph, but it is also full of sharp thornes, which makes it more complicated to work with. This was taken as soon as I had transplanted them. After a couple of days, most leaves started going brown and finally died. Let me know if you would like any more info. Regards, Rod  |
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Post by relliott on Dec 29, 2014 17:19:49 GMT
Hi all, I thought you'd like to see I finally got the first P hellanichus pupa. It's been a hassle to get these all the way through. Much cannibalism, food plant dieing and very few specimen in the wild to work with!!! Hopefully I will have the first adults soon!! Regards, Rod  |
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Post by cabintom on Dec 29, 2014 17:34:43 GMT
Congratulations! I'm sure we're all looking forward to seeing pictures of the adults.
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Post by wollastoni on Dec 30, 2014 11:18:21 GMT
Congratulations Rod !
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Post by EarlyStages on Jan 28, 2015 9:02:05 GMT
This is the only species of Papilionidae anywhere that feeds on Berberidaceae, and is related to the Pterourus group species scamander, menatius and similar species. , indeed the family, is a most unusual foodplant – and not just for swallowtails. I believe the only other butterflies known to utilize that genus are a couple of Asian Aporia (Pieridae) and Athyma opalina (Nymphalidae). I wonder if P. hellanichus hatchlings could successfully feed on Persea, which is possibly an ancestral host. FYI on this larger larval photo . . . www.flickr.com/photos/16504650@N00/4498171536/Keith |
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Post by jmg on Jan 28, 2015 13:35:22 GMT
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Post by relliott on Feb 18, 2015 17:59:42 GMT
Congratulations! I'm sure we're all looking forward to seeing pictures of the adults. Hi all, well, I finally have some news on this scarce butterfly! Three adults have hatched so far, one female and two male. I have placed them in my flighthouse to pair. Here is a picture of one of the males and the female.  |
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