Dahelmi, S. Salmah, I. Abbas, N. Fitriana, S. Nakano and K. Nakamura
Duration of immature stages of eleven swallowtail butterrflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
Number: 182, Pages: 1 - 9
The duration of the immature stages of 11 Sumatran swallowtail butterflies was examined under laboratory conditions. The total developmental times of seven Papilionini species (average 43.6 days) and one Graphiini species (39.8 days) were shorter than those of Troidini species (62.1 days). Among these 11 species, Papilio nephelus showed the largest variation in the duration of its immature stages (35-141 days) due to a variable pupal stage and the longest total developmental time (average 78 days). Fifty six percent of P. nephelus pupae were considered to enter diapause. All individuals of Pachliopta aristolochiae passed through six instars while the other 10 species had five. We compared the developmental times of the present species with those of related species reported previously and discuss the variation in larval period in relation to diapause and the extra instar.