Pachliopta atropos (Staudinger, 1888)

OCCURENCE

Habitat: Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
Palawan island lies just north of Sabah, and the island is dominated by a central mountain chain, to the east of which rainfall is much heavier and less seasonal (Collins and Morris 1985). The habitat and climate of the other two islands that the species is thought to inhabit are almost identical to that of Palawan island as they are all in the Palawan province. This species primarily inhabits lowland primary rainforest across Palawan islands (Collins and Morris 1985, Page and Treadaway 2003). It prefers humid forests (Tsukuda and Nishiyama 1982), and flies slowly, close to the ground in open spaces or along the forest edge (Collins and Morris 1985). This species is active in dim light, such as in the evenings (Page and Treadaway 2004). The exact host plant of this species is unknown, however it is thought to belong to the family Aristolochiaceae (Igarashi 1979, Page and Treadaway 2003) . The species is seasonal and is more commonly found in November to January (Page and Treadaway 2004).
(IUCN 2020)

Population: Prior to 1985, adults of this species were thought to be a rarity, however, Collins and Morris (1985) claimed that the species is actually fairly widespread. Treadaway (1995) classified the species as uncommon, while Page and Treadaway (2004) describe it as not a rare species. Additional current data on the population and how it has changed since 1985 are unavailable.
Range: This species is found on the Philippine island of Palawan (Collins and Morris 1985, Racheli and Biondi 1989, Treadaway 1995, Page and Treadaway 2004), where it inhabits the southern, central and northern lowlands of the island (Collins and Morris 1985). It is also reportedly found on the nearby Philippine islands of Busuanga and Balabac (Treadaway 1995, Page and Treadaway 2003). Its estimated extent of occurrence is around 26,500 km². The area of lowland forest on Palawan island was estimated to be around 9,190 km² (Hansen et al. 2013). The area of primary forest is likely more restricted, with actual extent of occurrence likely approaching 20,000 km².
(IUCN 2020)

Occurrence and observation maps

Map of Life
GBIF
i-Naturalist

References

• Collins, N.M. and Morris, M.G. 1985. Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland and Cambridge.
• Hansen, M.C., Potapov, P.V., Moore, R., Hancher, M., Turubanova, S.A., Tyukavina, A., Thau, D., Stehman, S.V., Goetz, S.J., Loveland, T.R., Kommareddy, A,. Egorov, A., Chini, L., Justice, C.O. and Townshend, J.R.G. 2013. High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science 342: 850-853.
• Igarashi, S. 1979. Papilionidae and Their Early Stages . Kodansha, Tokyo.
• IUCN. 2020. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 10 December 2020).
• Page, M.G.P. and Treadaway, C.G. 2003. Papilionidae of the Philippine Islands I. Descriptions of New Subspecies and Changes in Classification. Part 17, supplement 8. Butterflies of the world, Verlag Goecke & Evers.
• Page, M.G.P. and Treadaway, C.G. 2004. Butterflies of the World. Hillside Books, Canterbury.
• Racheli, T and Biondi, M. 1989. Biogeographical observations on the Phillipine Papilionoidea (Lepidoptera). boll. Zoo. 56: 333-347.
• Treadaway, C.G. 1995. Checklist of the butterflies of the Philippine islands (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera). Nachrichten Entomologischen Vereins Apollo (N.F.) Supplement 14: 7-118.