Papilio machaon
The Old World swallowtail, also known as the common yellow swallowtail, is the type species of the family Papilionidae. Wingspan is 6.5-9.5 cm. The base color is yellow with black band along the margins of the forewings and eight yellow inlaid oval markings. One third of the wing base is black. Along the margins of the hindwings is a black band inlaid with 6 yellow crescent-shaped markings. Along the inner part of the wings are crescent-shaped blue spots and a red spot. This species is divided into spring and summer types. The spring type is active in May and June and is smaller. The summer type is active in July and August and is larger. Larvae feed on hogfennel root (Peucedanum spp.), fennel (Foeniculum valgare), wild carrot (Daucus carota), dong quai (Angelica spp.), du huo (Heraculem sp.), coriander (Coriandrum sativum), wild celery (Apium graveoleus), and wild parsley (Cryptotaenia) in the Apiaceae family. Divergence began during the late Miocene around 10 million years ago and continued through repeated glaciations from the Miocene to the Pliocene-Pleistocene, resulting in as many as 41 subspecies. Its distribution is in the Holarctic realm (Europe, Mediterranean coast of North Africa, Asia, and North America) and southward into the Indomalayan realm, passing through South Asia along the southern foothills of the Himalayas and then eastward to Taiwan. Pictured here is Japanese subspecies P.m. hippocrates.
