National Museum of Natural Science

The aurora swallowtail is an alpine swallowtail that is endemic to the island of Taiwan. It is rare and precious, listed as a category III protected species in Taiwan. Wingspan is approximately 10 cm. Neither males nor females have tail extensions. The dorsal surfaces of the wings of the males are black and there are large peach colored markings on the ventral surfaces of the hindwings with obvious black markings inside, resembling slices of watermelon. Females are lighter in color with the outer margins of the ventral surfaces of the hindwings peach with two rows of black markings. The larvae feed on Aristolochia spp. This genus is closely related to the genus Byasa, diverging around the late Miocene epoch.

Atrophaneura horishana