Papilio machaon schantungensis
Papilio machaon, also called Swallowtail or Schwalbenschwanz is a great butterfly from the Palaearctic ecozone (Europe). The first description was in 1758 by Linnaeus. With a wingspan of 6.5 – 7.5 cm the Swallowtail is one of the largest butterflies from Europe. It is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The butterfly is yellow and black. Hind wings have tails. Papilio machaon has one of the largest distribution of PAPILINIDAE. In Holarctic (North Africa, Europe and Asia) it is distributed. The forewings are black and have a chain of small yellow spots at the margin. There is a chain of big yellow spots in the middle of the wing. On the wing leading edge there are three yellow spots. The big dark zone nearby the body is powdered by yellow scales.
The underside is a copy of upside, but there are some differences. All yellow areas are broader than upside. Therefore both chain of yellow spots are change to two yellow bands.
The hind wings are yellow and have tails. The margin is ridged. There is a black band going backwards with contain a chain of blue spots. At the beginnig of the black band there is a red eye. At the margin there is a chain of yellow spots. There is a little dark zone around the body. In the yellow area there is a little black strip.
The underside is yellow with black veins. There is no dark area, but the dark area from upside shows through the wing. The blue spots and the red eye are also there. Some of the blue spots have red eyeshadows.
The body is yellow with a small black strip on side and the upside is black.
Sex differences: None The Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) is a global player among butterflies. In Holarctic ecozone (North America, Europe and Asia) this butterfly is distributed. You can see the Swallowtail until 2500 m sea level. Papilio machaon, the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this species was the first to be given the name). It is the type species of the genus Papilio.
