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Papilio demoleus demoleus
Papilionidae; Papilioninae; Papilionini; Papilio demoleus demoleus Linnaeus 1758. When I posted this spotting on Aug 5, 2022, I called it Menelaides polytes ledebouria Eschscholtz, 1821, but mentioned that I was uncertain because it might be P. d. demoleus Linnaeus,1758. This was because I had been confused in differentiating the late instar larvae of these two species, in the past. It was fortunate that I inserted the proviso, because that is exactly what this larva turned out to be. On Aug 11, 2022 the larva pupated and this morning, Aug 21 it eclosed and revealed itself to be a magnificent P. d. demoleus.
This larva was spotted on a sapling Lemon Tree (Citrus sp.) growing in a plant pot in our back yard.
This species is also well known under the synonym Papilio demoleus libanius, Fruhstorfer 1908.
3 Comments
Your patience is appreciated. Good luck.
To: tomk3886
Hi, nice to hear from you again. Yes your right it does look rather pathetic, but I'm sure it will cheer up when it morphs into a beautiful butterfly. I plan to take pictures of it each day and I will try to catch the moment when it emerges from its cocoon. But that takes patience, it hasn't even pupated yet. After all the waiting, I usually miss the big moment, but who knows - this might be my lucky time. Best Regards, John B.
What a sad forlorn expression!