Citrus swallowtail butterfly

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Ditrysia
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. demodocus
Binomial name
Papilio demodocus

_Papilio demodocus, also known as the citrus swallowtail, is a large swallowtail butterfly common to sub-Saharan Africa.
It is a pest species, the caterpillar feeding on citrus trees.
Life cycle
Citrus swallowtails pass through approximately three generations per year.
Eggs are laid singly on citrus tree leaves.
Eggs
Female butterflies lay their eggs singly on citrus leaves.
After about six days, the egg hatches into an immature larva.
Immature larva
The immature larvae are black, yellow, and white with spikes.
Their coloration provides effective camouflage, as they resemble bird droppings.
They grow to a length of 10 or 15 mm before changing into mature larvae.
Mature larva
Mature larvae are green with white or pink markings and eyespots.
They grow to a maximum length of about 45 mm.
Mature caterpillars lack the camouflage of their immature state.
Instead, when threatened by a bird or other predator, they produce a forked, orange-colored organ known as an osmeterium.
The organ emits a strong smell which acts as a discouragement to the predator.
Pupa
The caterpillars attach themselves to branches with silk, transforming into pupae.
They remain in the pupal form for 2–3 weeks before emerging as adults.
Adult
Adult butterflies have black and yellow markings with red and blue eyespots. Female butterflies tend to be larger than males.
Natural enemies
Citrus swallowtail eggs and pupae are known to be parasitized by certain species of parasitic wasp, notably Ooencyrtus (eggs) and Pteromalus puparum (pupae).

Control:
Control is only recommended for seedlings and very small citrus trees.
The young caterpillars can easily be found and handpicked from the seedlings and destroyed.
In all other cases you should just leave the caterpillar as you found it and enjoy its sheer beauty.
At Onankali Nursery in Oshikoto region, the citrus seedlings are under constant attack by swallowtail caterpillars.
The workers regularly inspect the seedlings and handpick the young caterpillars.
No chemical control was ever needed.

Other notes:
The swallowtail is very easy to hatch in captivity and is large and visible. It is therefore very suitable for biology classes that can hatch them in the classroom and learn about its life cycle. The class thereby gets first hand experience of the life cycle of all butterflies and moths. The learners only need access to a citrus tree for fresh fodder and for instance a large glass container or an aquarium.

_A butterfly becomes after going through stages of larva and pupa.
It is the larva stage that is the most damaging.
The larvae devour plants profusely, eating the leaves of the tender plants.
Take the example of lemon butterfly.
You can recognize it by its big size and green wings with yellow spots. The full-grown larva would finish a full grown leaf in a matter of five minutes.

_Since the art of camouflage is the biggest asset of these devouring devils, they utilize it to there advantage.
After the young ones emerge from singly laid, cream yellow tiny eggs, they look sluggish, shiny glistening drop of bird.
Their color is, deep green with small white streaks, exactly like birds’ excreta.
The birds however, do not eat their own excreta.
They escape.
Over a period of time, extending to a few weeks, these insects develop into green larvae nearly an inch or so long.
These are heavy feeders.
Come near them, and they throw out two red extensions from their head which — even though they are harmless — are dreaded repulsive.
You may also confront an offensive odor.
In case of young plants where you find leaves half-eaten, you can look for these larvae or else look near the base of the plant.


info(at)rijskamp.com 
Cagayan de Oro, July 3, 2007      

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