Pachliopta kotzebuea

Pachliopta kotzebuea (Pachliopta kotzebuea)

Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — papilionidae

Genus – pachliopta

Appearance

The caterpillar is black with a white ring in the middle of the body and two rows of thick outgrowths on the back.

The wingspan of butterflies is 65-85 mm. The wings are velvety black. The underside is black with small red spots on the edge. The hindwings have long «tails».

Habitat

It is found in the Philippines.

Behavior

Pachliopta kotzebuea demonstrates daily activity. The flight is fast.

Like other caterpillars of this family, the caterpillars of this butterfly have an osmetrium – a gland behind the head that extends in danger and looks like two long orange-red "horns".

Diet

Larvae feed on plants in the Aristolochiaceae family.

Butterflies feed on nectar.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. Females lay eggs one at a time on the young leaves of the forage plant. The eggs are creamy-white and globular. The incubation period is 3-4 days. It is better to keep the caterpillars in containers with a mesh lid of 6-8 pieces. In the container, you need to place a forage plant. The temperature is 23-25 ^oC at the humidity of 65-75%. The pupa is marbled brown with outgrowths. The duration of the pupa stage is 10-14 days. The butterfly lives 5-7 days.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours. You can feed the butterflies with honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10 and freshly squeezed fruit juice.