Image of Indra Swallowtail

Description:

EXPLORATION OF THE PAPILIO INDRA FROM THE PAPILONIDAE FAMILY. Papilionidae Papilio indra A.K.A Black Swallowtail. The family traits are larger butterfly’s most commonly black and yellow, most have a hindwing extension although my specimen doesn’t. Members of the Papilio genus feed commonly on Rutaceae, including common ornamental and agriculturally important crops in their larval form. It is black with 2 yellow rows near the bottom of it. Its genus is Papilio and the species is indra. Swallowtails have a number of distinctive features; for example, the Papilionid caterpillar bears a repugnatorial organ called the osmeterium on its prothorax. The osmeterium normally remains hidden, but when threatened, the larva turns it outward through a transverse dorsal groove by inflating it with blood. The forked appearance of the swallowtails' hind wings, which can be seen when the butterfly is resting with its wings spread, gave rise to the common name swallowtail. Differences between Papilio polyxenes and other butterflies of their family is that the black swallowtail has two hindwing extensions that are used to fool predators so they have increased chances of survival. Male and female butterflies release pheromones into the environment. When a female releases these pheromones, male butterflies can detect it from almost a mile away. Once a male butterfly finds a female butterfly that has released pheromones, he will flap his wings extremely fast and release a cloud of tiny scales right above the female butterfly's antennae. These scales also carry pheromones, which create a sexual charge of sorts within the female butterfly. Once a female butterfly detects these pheromones, she will be ready to mate Once the female's dozens of eggs are fertilized, she lays eggs on a variety of different plants. These plants will provide food for the eggs when they become caterpillars. Out of the nearly 100 eggs that a female butterfly can lay in her lifetime, only about 2 percent will survive as a result of naturalistic conditions and other animals. These eggs are tiny but can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the species. The egg stage is the first stage of life for a butterfly. Once the egg hatches, a larva, or caterpillar, appears. It dines on the leaves where it hatched and builds up energy and body-building nutrients. Once the caterpillar has grown to its fullest capacity, it creates a pupa, or cocoon. Inside of the cocoon, the caterpillar's body parts dissolve and change into the body of an adult butterfly. Once the pupa has completed this process, it emerges as a butterfly and starts looking for a mate. This specimen was collected in Darnel Ranch in a open meadow. It was resting near a small puddle.