Pachliopta antiphus (Fabricius, 1792)

OCCURENCE

Habitat: Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
It is likely that this species thrives in the tropical rainforest habitat which covers Sumatra and the other Indonesian islands, as well as Borneo. The Philippines too has a tropical climate, and many of its islands are covered by tropical rainforest. In the Philippines at least the habitat of this species is described as lowland forest, coconut groves and cleared but uncultivated land (Page and Treadaway 2003). Subspecies elioti was found to fly around the top of a small mountain with advanced secondary forest, though none of the specimens was observed within the forest (Page and Treadaway 2004). The larvae of this species feed on plants of the genus Aristolochia (Page and Treadaway 2003), however the exact host plant is not known. The Nature Society of Singapore Butterfly List suggests the host plant is Aristolochia tagala , however more research would be beneficial to confirm this and identify whether it also feeds on other plants of the genus. This species is thought to undergo a diapause during its pupal stage to avoid the dry season (Shigeru 1978). It is therefore likely to be well adapted to its tropical environment. Adults have been observed to feed on Lantana flowers (Page and Treadaway 2004).
(IUCN 2020)

Population: It is thought that this species is widespread across many islands of the Philippines, as well as Indonesia. At subspecies level, populations of subspecies elioti (on Siasi) are thought to be likely unstable in the Philippines (Danielsen and Treadaway 2004). Subspecies acuta was considered particularly common on Sibutu, Philippines (Page and Treadaway 2003). However, exact population data is not available and population trend is unknown.
Range: This species is found throughout Indonesia, notably Sumatra and some of the West Sumatran islands such as Nias and Siberut, as well as the islands of Natuna and Krakatoa (Hirowatari et al. 2000). However, it is not found on Simeulue island (Goode and Burk 2013). It is also found in Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak) and in the Philippines, for example on the islands in the Sulu region in the south, Mapun, and islands in the west such as Busuanga and Palawan (Treadaway 1995, Page and Treadaway 2003). The species is considered a lowland species (from 0-700 m asl) in the Philippines (specifically, subspecies anthiphulus and elioti ; Danielsen and Treadaway 2004). Its estimated extent of occurrence exceeds 3 million km².
(IUCN 2020)

Occurrence and observation maps

Map of Life
GBIF
i-Naturalist

References

• Danielsen, F. and Treadaway, C.G. 2004. Priority conservation areas for butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in the Philippine islands. Animal Conservation 7: 79-92.
• Goode, M. and Burk, D. 2013. A new subspecies of Papilio helenus Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) from Simeulue Island, Indonesia. Butterflies 63.
• 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.
• Shigeru, A.A. 1978. A study on the immature stages and diapause of Papilionid and other butterflies of the Philippines. Tyo To Ga 29(4): 227-235.
• Treadaway, C.G. 1995. Checklist of the butterflies of the Philippine islands (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera). Nachrichten Entomologischen Vereins Apollo (N.F.) Supplement 14: 7-118.