Troides aeacus

Troides aeacus, the golden birdwing, is a large tropical butterfly belonging to the swallowtail family, Papilionidae.

"Golden birdwing" redirects here. For the other butterfly with this common name, see Troides rhadamantus.

Golden birdwing
Dorsal view
Ventral view
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Troides
Species:
T. aeacus
Binomial name
Troides aeacus
C. & R. Felder, 1860
Distribution map for Troides aeacus (red) and Troides magellanus (orange)
Synonyms
  • Ornithoptera aeacus C. & R. Felder, 1860

Description
For explanation of terms, see External morphology of Lepidoptera.

Troides aeacus has a wingspan of about 150–170 millimetres (5.9–6.7 in) but can be as large as 194 mm.[3] In the males the forewings are black, with veins bordered by whitish colour, while the hindwings are bright yellow. The underside of the wings is quite similar to the upside. The females are larger than the males and have dark-brown or black wings. Head, thorax and abdomen of this butterfly are mainly black, with small red patches on the thorax and a yellow underside of the abdomen. Caterpillars are pale brown, with long protrusions resembling thorns. They mainly feed on Aristolochia and Thottea species (Aristolochiaceae).

Troides aeacus closely resembles Troides helena cerebrus and differs as follows:
Upperside, forewing: the pale adnervular streaks more prominent, in some specimens extended into the cell along the outer half of the subcostal and of the median nervules.
Hindwing: the cone-shaped terminal black markings in interspaces 2, 3, and 4 more or less broadly bordered on the inner side by a dusky area that is irrorated with blackish scales; the black on the costal margin narrower, not extended below vein 8.

As Pompeoptera aeacus in Robert Henry Fernando Rippon's Icones Ornithopterorum (1898 to 1906)

Underside similar to the upperside, but the dusky black borders to the cone-shaped marks in interspaces 2, 3, and 4 wanting.

Antennae, head, thorax, abdomen and abdominal fold as in Troides helena cerebrus, but the abdomen beneath with two rows of black spots.

In the female the differences from cerebrus are:
Forewing: the pale adnervular streaks very broad, very prominent and extended well into the cell.
Hindwing: the basal third of the cell and of interspace 2 black, the middle portion of the latter yellow anteriorly, buffy-white posteriorly; the posterior half of the discal area between the postdiscal spots themselves and between them and the terminal cone-shaped markings more or less irrorated with blackish scales; lastly, the black in interspace 7 interrupted by an inner triangular and an outer small yellow spot.

Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in cerebrus, but the abdomen beneath with two lateral and two median rows of black spots.[4]

Range and status

It is found in northern India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, peninsular Malaysia, and Taiwan.

Although it is classified as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List, it may require protection in peninsular Malaya.[5]

  • Female
    Female
  • Male
    Male

Subspecies
  • Troides aeacus formosanus Rothschild, 1899
  • Troides aeacus insularis Ney, 1905
  • Troides aeacus malaiianus Fruhstorfer, 1902
  • Troides aeacus szechwanus Okano & Okano, 1983

Troides aecus is the nominate member of the Troides aecus species group. The members of this clade are

Cited references
  1. Böhm, M.; Chowdhury, S.; Khanal, B.; Lo, P.; Monastyrskii, A. (2020) [amended version of 2018 assessment]. "Troides aeacus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T62160A177265323. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T62160A177265323.en. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. Panthee, Shristee; Smetacek, Peter (June 2020). "Modifications to the Known Expanse of Indian Butterflies" (PDF). Bionotes. 22 (3): 69–74 – via The Entomological Society of India.
  4. Bingham, C.T. (1907). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. II (1st ed.). London: Taylor and Francis, Ltd.
  5. Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.

See also

References
  • Evans, W.H. (1932). The Identification of Indian Butterflies (2nd ed.). Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society.
  • Gay, Thomas; Kehimkar, Isaac David; Punetha, Jagdish Chandra (1992). Common Butterflies of India. Nature Guides. Bombay, India: World Wide Fund for Nature-India by Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195631647.
  • Haribal, Meena (1992). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History. Gangtok, Sikkim, India: Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation.
  • Kunte, Krushnamegh (2000). Butterflies of Peninsular India. India, A Lifescape. Hyderabad, India: Universities Press. ISBN 978-8173713545.
  • Kurt Rumbucher; Béla von Knötgen (1999). Part.6, Papilionidae. 3, Troides. 1 aeacus- group in Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach Eds. Butterflies of the World Keltern: Goecke & Evers 1999. ISBN 978-3-931374-72-3
  • Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander (1957). Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society. ISBN 978-8170192329.
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