Papilio Machaon - Description

Description

The imago typically has yellow wings with black vein markings, and a wingspan of 65–86 millimetres (2.6–3.4 in). The hind wings of both sexes have a pair of protruding tails which give the butterfly its common name from the resemblance to the birds of the same name. Just below each tail is a red eye spot.

It can be distinguished from Papilio hospiton, which occurs sympatrically with it on Corsica and Sardinia, by the longer "tails" on the hind wings. It can be told apart from the Algerian species Papilio saharae only by counting the segments on the antennae.

Read more about this topic:  Papilio Machaon

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